Posted By: boredathome99
I'm a complete newb to the hobby. So far I'm thinking this over stamp collecting was a good decision.
Note to self: "Provider Stamps and Trading Cards" - picture and city on front, profile, stats, brief reviews on back; buy a foil pack of five and it comes with a condom inside. Collect the whole set! Gotta contact Fleer about this before someone beats me to it. Don't forget the other merchandise: Provider Bobble-Heads, Satin Team Jackets with embroidered names, flannel pennants, ...
Anyway, I digress. I've seen a few providers and have been thrilled with all, of course some were better than others. I want to know how to be sure my donation is sufficient. With the reviews here I feel like there could be discrepancies (ex. Notes say no anal and read the details and there was anal) I chalk that up to ymmv. But how about the ladies who are not active role n this site? They may have reviews, but maybe they don't check in or have input. So if it says $2 bills and one sets up a session, it would suck to find out its 3 or 4 instead. So how/when is a good time to bring it up. I always bring extra, but I like to tip if deserved, or maybe the list was way off? I already got blocked for trying the rose approach with one provider. Really bummed as I was looking forward to seeing her.
Yes, anyway ...
For indies, her most recent ad or website should say something about her rate, fee, donation, gift, honorarium, consideration or similar word. In your prelim or penultimate contact (email, text, voice), you can ask something like "Are the rates in your slixa ad current?" "Are the rates on your main website up to date?" "I could only find rate information in your TER Profile. Is that still OK?" Some post their ads to the Local Ad Board and they do include rates, esp if touring to different cities with different expenses.
Be careful how you phrase things: "I saw your website. Is that the current rate or has it gone up, 'cause I really want to see you a whole lot and not bring the wrong amount." [Provider brain ticking ... ... ... ... ... DING!] "Thank you for asking, My rate just went up by 1$."
It isn't unusual for some guys to price shop her ads and her ads might be all over: 5 on one site; 4 on another site; 3.5 on a third site. "I saw your ad on [the cheapest site]. ... I'll have the 3.5 ready for you when I arrive." (In my early going, I found a current ad for $X and didn't even see any other ad. It turns out she had another ad for $2X (!!) which I didn't have when I showed up. Embarrassing for both, but we worked it out.)
Not all sites carry freshness dates. BP actually does (or did) and it isn't unusual to see a BP ad from 6+ months ago. If she is only on BP, she better have reviews or skip her.
There are many safe ways to make sure you show up with the right gift. It does require a little reciprocal communication