What is the best, most discrete way to confirm a provider's rate for a session?  The reason I ask is that the rate on the website of a lady I am considering seeing has changed overnight.  Is it all right to ask, in the initial contact e-mail, "what do you charge for your time?" or "how much for the visit?" or "just to confirm, your rate is XXX dollars?", or something like that, or is that indiscreet?  I don't want to step over any lines with respect to what I bring up, but we need to agree on a price beforehand and as of now it's not clear what the lady expects to find in the envelope.

Thanks for the help.

you saw it, and some won't. I always grandfather men who've seen me in the past, but that's a different story from this situation. No harm in asking as long as you don't mention sex.

Sounds like this is your first time seeing her. The amount she expects in her envelope is the amount listed on her web site when you meet her. You have not met with her yet.

If this is not your first time seeing her most women grandfather in your original rate.

Not sure why this is hard or why you think you would get a rate that she is not offering when you show up for your first meeting.

Sounds like he was CONSIDERING requesting an appointment, but hadn't even contacted her yet.  If that's the case, I'm guessing it would be unlikely that she would grant the "old" rate as they had never even communicated about an appointment prior to the rate change.  

I'd personally consider it tacky to ask her to honor an old rate if we hadn't communicated about an appointment prior to the increase.  I'd just pay the new rate.  

That's based on my extensive experience, of course.

I am having a new website done and will be doing a small rate change.  If a gentleman were prebooked with me at the old rate, the old rate would apply.  But if he was just thinking about booking, no sorry, the new rate applies.