As you pointed out, sometimes you don't have any other choice.  TER is great if you're in a big city and can spend $250-400/hr on a date.  If not, there aren't many other choices.  There was another site that has since shut down that had far more available for those of us in smaller towns.  Unfortunately, they weren't very smart.

I live in Augusta and do 95% of my hobbying in Atlanta. But on this night, I decided to give the locals a shot.

As you might imagine, reputable agencies and top-notch indies are much harder to find in this smaller area. But I had an urge, so - against my better judgement - I went to Backpage. What I found surprised me.

If you've ever been on one of the pages for smaller markets, you know that the number of providers posting ads is far fewer than it is in Atlanta. Well, from past browsing, I can tell you that Augusta generally has somewhere between 5-10 ads per day with the selection ranging from rough to mediocre at best.

However, when I went to the site tonight I noticed that the total was around 50 and the quality of the girls had improved quite a bit. Naturally, this puzzled me. In my quest to get to the bottom of it, I decided to call up one of the girls that I was particularly attracted to. I did this to get a feel for how legit this ad was. I feel confident that I can use a line of questioning that would help me sniff out LE.

Well, it wasn't LE. It was actually one of the local agencies that is popular (relatively speaking) around here. The operator, who was actually helpful, explained to me that a sting was indeed going on and that she had heard of a few of her regulars being busted.

For me, crisis averted. But it's just another reminder of how dangerous that site can be. And yes, I know there are perfectly legit providers who post there and do quite well. But, boy, the risks are immense.

I must respectively disagree. A hobbyist ALWAYS has a choice, as does a provider. The problems occur when good judgment is not used.