It appears there are less reviews being posted.
There appears to be more providers from outside offering the same services at half the cost.
The cost of liveing is unfortunaely much higher for NY based providers, especially those that need to maintain a place in the city. Rent for a half way decent walk up is ridiculous. The only alternative they may see to attract business is to provide more bang for the same buck.
The agencies that provide a working environment carry some of this burden and the providers can commute to work. The agencies that only represent providers have little in the way of overhead, take a large percentage for thier services and will be the ones that need to look closely at the economic situation. (They do provide other essential services for the providers). I see more providers that were "exclusive" to this type of agency now working with more than one agency.
It will take some time before the community feels the full impact of the situation. They should consider alternate pricing stratagies.
Just my 2 cents.
...touching this fine hobby? I saw below someone labeling this the "NY Ad Board" and it IS true -- there are A LOT more ads than six months or a year ago. Is business THAT slow for some girls? Also, I'm seeing more ads for visiting providers. Could it be that business is slow in (whatever city) and the provider figures New York is a bigger market than Oshkosh, so she'll set up shop there for a while and rake it in? My two favorite providers in honest moments admit that business is down, by about half. Any thoughts on this? Realistically, I don't know anyone -- hobbyist or provider or civilian -- who's saying they're making just as much or more money than they did a year or two ago. Maybe a double-dip will help restore some sanity to the price inflations we have here in New York (at least compared to Chicago, Atlanta or Florida). What say ye, hobbyists?
Joe,
Let me know how the "date" works out. I think we live in the same area. Would be interested in a SP that age.
I think we're still effectively in a recession and it's affecting The Hobby. I'm seeing a lot more ads, especially with the girls visiting NYC (I prefer the out-of-towners, myself). But that's not such a bad thing; variety's the spice of life, right? You should see my hobbying bills for January.... and February is looking to be just as fun, too! *smile*
Understood, but my main point is this: Has anyone sensed that business is down among providers? Little signals I'm getting are like one provider who would never BBBJ is now doing BBBJTC. Another has started letting me hang out in her apartment for two-three hours for two cups for the cost of an hour. Now, maybe it's because I'm such an an entertaining personable guy. Right. But classic marketing strategy dictates giving extra service to sustain your customer base when business is down. The reason I'm wondering if business is slowing among providers is that it gives us hobbyists more leverage. Any cogent thoughts?
Nobody is spending serious money until Iraq is resolved. Especially the major business players who create the cash flow that revives the economy. If we get a double dip from these levels, it will be a bone crusher. Everybody has their game face on, but you can feel the reality underneath.
Consider this rude stastistic that your media don't feel like explaining to you. There's an index of help wanted advertising in newspapers that closely tracks our economic strength. During three bad recessions, 1971,1974,1982, this index bottomed out at 50, and in 1991 it bottomed out at 60.
Today it is at 40 and appears to still be falling. If it breaks down from this point, it isn't a recession, it's a depression.
Just the facts, m'am.
It appears there are less reviews being posted.
There appears to be more providers from outside offering the same services at half the cost.
The cost of liveing is unfortunaely much higher for NY based providers, especially those that need to maintain a place in the city. Rent for a half way decent walk up is ridiculous. The only alternative they may see to attract business is to provide more bang for the same buck.
The agencies that provide a working environment carry some of this burden and the providers can commute to work. The agencies that only represent providers have little in the way of overhead, take a large percentage for thier services and will be the ones that need to look closely at the economic situation. (They do provide other essential services for the providers). I see more providers that were "exclusive" to this type of agency now working with more than one agency.
It will take some time before the community feels the full impact of the situation. They should consider alternate pricing stratagies.
Just my 2 cents.