assuming no legal risk, what do you believe is the biggest issue with responding to these ads? A) Not the service level promised/desired
B) Not the person pictured
C) total rip off or
D) other?

The problem with ads is they are ADS!  Recognize that they may be some sort of scam...  a total WILD CARD to shop there.
To lessen the risk, you need to cross reference the ad information, name, phone, e-mail, web site with TER reviews.  That's a lot of work.  It's less work to start with TER Reviews.  Some of the TER Reviewed ladies do indeed advertize in a variety of venues.  
NO, a TER review does NOT guarentee the review is a good one.  Sometimes I see ads which state "See my TER reviews" & link to them.  When I read them, it's clear the "Provider" does not expect the client to read the reviews.
YES, you need VIP to read the reviews.  The cost of VIP is less than even one spoiled date...  

I sometimes flip the pages in an ad site but never shop there anymore.
skb

I am not going to throw CL or BP under the bus.
The key is to make sure the provider you find has TER reviews. There are a lot of legitimate providers on BP especially and some on CL.

If you are experienced you can sort of sniff out the BS. I don't recommend that those sites become your sole hunting avenues.
There are some gems to be found on both sites. Just be careful.

I know it is all of the above. I was wondering which people felt was the biggest risk. It is obvious they all are, but think of which you think is most likely some one would find.

They are not my sole source at all. I am asking for what people feel is the biggest of these risks.

For all the criticism of these sites you'd be surprised to find out how may reviewed providers are there.  If something catches your eye send a polite email introducing yourself and asking for reviews.  If she doesn't have them move on.

D) Other - Scam/ROB!! As in, situations where you might fear for your life and have your money taken forcefully from you!

As others have said, and as a lady had asked about, technically BP/CL gets a bad rep here because so many gentlemen attempt to use those sites EXCLUSIVELY. However, they do get a lot of page views and so legitimate ladies do post there. It's your job to weed through all the spam and traps and use your big head to find the legitimate providers through research.

I avoid CL/BP because I don't have the time to weed through everything to find that 'gem' that's always talked about.

just do a lot of homework and common sense as I rather spend the effort on homework than be cuffed.

i agree all of the above , i would never try to find a provider on CL site.. forget it

CL is almost guaranteed to cause you trouble. I have seen good reviews for women in BP ads, but I have seen plenty of ripoff alerts also. I wouldn't contact someone from BP unless she had at least five positive reviews.

CL does not allow nude pics and so cops can use that easily for lady cops to set up a sting. CL is a cop trap.

Look for nude Ladies on BP. Most likely, lady cops will not go nude, show their butt and boobs. Ladies I saw of BP had realy nude pics and they are ok.  Just clarify  if you provide FS or GFE .. some don't.  

I also choose ladies with face pic .. don't be a victim of bait and switch. What you see should be what you get.  But even so, some ladies trick you with pics that are 5 years old and they are actually older and fatter. Ask them if the picture is recent.

This is the unknowable thing.

If you really want to know, unload your 401K, do a survey and let us know when you run out of money.

Where I live, I can't seem to find anything on backpage.  
I say all of the above can possibly happen without any type of review history. Your best bet is to check out review sites similar to TER.

The question was not whether to use CL or BP. It was not whether to do reaserch or not. The question was given that you don't worry about LE risk for whatever reason. The question is which is the largest risk in your opinion.
A) Not the level promised
B) Not the person pictured
C) Total rip off (which includes robbery type risk
D) other

I was not looking whether BP or CL were too risky, good with research but which of the above people felt were the biggest issue.

You get what you pay for.  For many of the regulars here, it's a tougher question than you think because we continually beat over the heads of the newbies not to use either of them.  After hearing it often enough, we blindly believe what we hear without questioning why.  I'd venture a guess that some of the people answering here have never tried, so they'd have no idea which risk is biggest.  They've just heard the risk is too large, and stay away.

When I read reviews about scams, A,B, and C all always show up. D)upselling is a huge issue too.

I'm a newbie myself, but my guess is the biggest issue is B)Not the person pictured. I say this mainly due to common sense. If a woman looks like she could be a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader or Playboy Playmate, she isn't going to be advertising on CL for $150 a pop. I laugh and wonder how gullible some men could be. If it appears TGTBT, it is.

Sorry from newby. Can someone point me to a list of acronyms. I don't know what BP & CL are, except that co. dumping lots of oil in the gulf.

Personally, I am well reviewed on here and another review site and I advertise on BP..I won't however (just a personal choice)advertise on CL.

There is nothing wrong with calling someone off of these sites...however, make sure they have reviews.

It saddens me that someone has a bad date because they decided to just take the plunge.  But hey, maybe it will turn out good and then a great review can follow..

Again...think wisely and you should be just fine..

Makenzie

"Sorry from newby. Can someone point me to a list of acronyms. I don't know what BP & CL are, except that co. dumping lots of oil in the gulf."

From a fellow newbie who doesn't know if there's some reason they aren't named...

BP = backpage
CL = Craig's List

Well, for me, I'm a visual guy, and if it's not the person pictured,(b) then (a) is a certainty

I think the most likely risk is (b) and given that there are so many wonderful ladies that are well reviewed in my area, I have no reason to take that risk.

I did it once.

(c) would be worse but is probably a lot less likely.

Aren't all of those risks a really good reason to stick to well reviewed ladies?

What is the BP site?  searching only comes up with the oil spill????  Thanks