Relatively new to the hobby and was wondering about tipping....

What, if any, is expected?  

I always felt that agency girls needed the tips as the service was skimming off the top, while the indies got to keep 100%.

What is appropriate?  (I don't want to stiff anyone, but I don't want to be a sucker either....)

Personal opinion:  tipping is appropriate if you think your experience was significantly better than what is the norm for what you paid.  That shouldn’t matter if the Lady is an independent or not.

Through trial and error, I’ve found that small non-monetary gifts (flowers, etc.) tend to be much more appreciated (though both, of course, is appreciated even more).  Some of the Ladies, and many of the men, will disagree with this view, but I would suggest trying it and seeing what your results are (unless the Lady explicitly says “no gifts”, it will never be un-appreceiated).

I treat all of my experiences as dates and always bring roses, drinks and massage oil (I have been told I give a mean massage).  These are very much appreciated

Tips are up to you.  I think exceptional service should be rewarded, indie or agency.  20%ish would be appropriate (say $40-$50, depending on rate).

You are right about agencies taking a piece.

i'm not trying to give you a hard time, but this was posted and replied to (by a few wise hobbyists including moi!) just coupla weeks ago (2 pages back on this board)  

here's what you should do:

1. click on "Find Message" in the bottom-left of your browser when you're reading the posts on this forum (do "Back to Forum" first if you don't see it)

2. enter "Tipping" as a keyword, adjust # of days back for the search (in this case 30 is sufficient)

and you'll get this (among many others):

http://theeroticreview.com/MsgBoard/ViewMsgBody.asp?BoardID=33&Page=2&Messageid=2904

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make a note of a powerful (and useful) feature in the "Find Message" search: you can restrict the search to all msgs posted by a certain individual ... "Find Message" is thoroughly under-used on TER (that's why i'm being so didactic with this reply)

and no, there's no need to tip me!  

ReO EXACTLY AS I SAY ....

Deepest Apologies........

It's tough to know what is a "common sense" question asked by numerous rookie hobbyists before us and which are unique.

Usually I go back 4 or 5 pages to make sure I am not repeating question, but your text search suggestion is a good one.

Thanks for the help, .... and patience with us newbies asking the same questions over and over again.

May all your providers be ATFs and may all your French Lessons be translator free and NQNS.

See, there may be hope yet!

I was at a get-together with several provider friends and we discussed tipping vs gifts.

Obviously any lady is going to like flowers, candy or a little gift--we certainly do appreciate your thoughtfulness and trouble to get these items.

But my friends and I agreed that most of the time we would have preferred the money you spent on the gift to be given as a tip instead (assuming you liked our performance, of course). We can't tell you this to your face, though, because we don't want to hurt your feelings.

There have been occasions when I received flowers so often I had to give them to my sister or mother because my apartment was overflowing with them. I have over ten bottles of unopened wine and champagne given as gifts recently.

What would make me the happiest would be some extra money as a tip (if I deserved it) plus a little email note the next day to say you had a good time.

I love getting those kinds of notes. Flowers will die and candy will be eaten but the extra money will definitely add up in time, and those email thank-you's will always be there to give me warm memories of our time together.