So, I'm trying to decide how upset I should be over this....
There is a certain PSE who posts semi-regularly on this board to let everyone know she is available in Los Angeles and occasionally on tour. In those messages, she provides a direct email address. She is also listed with a few of the different agencies.
She is also intermittently on a certain social/hobbyist networking site that I believe mention of is otherwise banned here. I had joined the site because of a few other PSE's that are there but, to date, had not seen anyone through the site and, consequently, had not built up a list of "In-Network" references, which is kind of a more complicated (and confusing) version of TER's "whitelist" references. I do, of course, have references from PSE's I have seen on my own or through the occasional use of an agency.
Anyway, she posted on the social networking site that she would be in my area next week at a rate that even she noted was about 1/3 of anywhere else where you can find her available. I thought it was one of those too good to pass up opportunities so I contacted her through the website's Private Message system and she responded promptly. We exchanged schedules and had agreed on a date and time when she sent me a message saying she couldn't see me because I did not have any girls in my "network page."
I had said that I could provide her with references in one of the earlier messages to her but she may have just missed it, so I sent her another message that included some of my references she could contact including the agencies I had used and the girls I had seen through those agencies. That's always been fine in the past regardless of whether the PSE works with the particular agency or not and I figured if she knew I was cleared with one or more of the agencies she works with, she would feel more secure and comfortable with the booking. I also gave her my TER ID so she could look up my reviews and whitelist referrals and let her know if she needed more, I could provide a couple of others.
She responded by telling me that because I have used the agencies in the past to see OTHER PSE's, I had to book her through them. Just to be clear, this was not a case of trying to book her through an agency and then trying to undercut the agency. I have never sought to book her through an agency in any way. Nonetheless, to see her, because I had disclosed using agencies before to see other PSE's, she would not book me direct and if I wanted to see her, I would have to use one of the agencies and pay 3X what she was asking for on the networking website to book her direct.
I was somewhat stunned but thought perhaps it would make a difference if I gave her references from PSE's I had booked directly on my own without any assistance from an agency so I asked her if the non-agency references would be acceptable to her. This was her response verbatim:
"sorry because you do use agencys that will be the only way i see you."
At that point, I politely wished her the best of luck.
So, regardless of what references I can provide, she won't do a direct booking because I've used one or more of the agencies she works with to see other PSE's in the past.
Its not a huge deal deal, there are plenty of other PSE's out there for me to see and I am sure she can replace the booking but it was disappointing and I still do not see the logic. Maybe someone here can explain it to me.
Apparently she's not an UTR with the agencies and openly advertises on her own. So it makes no sense. Love the ladies but women, provider or not, think differently than men and trying to understand will make your head spin.
Maybe agencies have something similar to a secret shopper type system where they have someone call a provider and say they saw them on the agencies website but want to book direct, circumventing the agency process. This could be to prevent providers from signing up for agency representation simply to get their pic on a web page for advertising then taking clients under the table and cutting the agency out of their cut. If that's the case, maybe she got stung by one of her agencies before and got penalized for it so now she is just looking out for her best interests. I also could be completely wrong. Like I said, just a theory.
Except that she's openly advertising on the website for roughly 1/3 what any of the agencies are asking for. For that matter, she openly advertises to contact her directly here. In both cases, she is effecitvely openly undercutting the agencies, which allow her to do it because they don't gain anything by dropping her for doing it.
Most likely, when I told her I had used the agencies before, she thought that I would still see her even if she forced me to go through an agency and, that way, she would end up making more money. Hard to believe she would think a new potential client could be treated that way and then be willing to pay 3X what she would be charging everyone else but I guess she is entitled to her opinion.
Sometimes I just get a little to conspiritorial I sent you a PM.
A lot of girls make the same money regardless of whether they book through an agency or not (depends on the agency), but this is in fact weird.
agree...she figures you've paid a lot more in the past and that you can afford to pay more than the 1/3 direct rate.
Nobody ever accused some of these girls as being very smart when it comes to business.
Kindly tell her that if you know you can see her at 500 hamburgers, you certainly aren't going to pay an agency 1500 hamburgers when the market rate is 1/3 what the agency wants.
As an agency owner who very much appreciates loyalty I have to say this still makes no sense. If you did not contact an agency regarding this star before contacting her I don't see how your prior history is remotely relevant, beyond verifying your references of course. Just my two cents...
She posted an ad and she is not living up to that ad.
I sense she is just too lazy to do her own screening and figures she can make more money directing you to her agency.
I have a hunch who this is and which board.
You did the right thing by walking away.
This is the PSE version of B&S. Get you to call because of the TGTBT rate, and then say you don't qualify. She must have hired a marketing analyst from a credit card company or airline.
Without being privy to your conversation, I have an unpleasant thought? Perhaps either you said, or she misread, something in your message that rubbed her the wrong way, and is using the agency as an excuse to either decline to see you, or to undergo their screening process.
Charlotte,
I appreciate your point of view and value your opinion. The problem with the theory is that she told me to book her through 2 specific agencies she knew I had used before and already been verified by. If I did do what she said, she would then end up seeing me. The other thing is, we were exchanging emails essentially. She could always just stop responding and/or just block me altogether if I said something that rubbed her the wrong way.
Bad business for a girl to block a client who might otherwise book through an agent after all.
Someone earlier mentioned that they felt it was unfair that there aren't $1000 girls, only $1000 clients. What they don't realize, is that most porn stars are payed around $1000 for a boy/girl scene. The guy they're working with is STD tested, it's done in a controlled environment, and she doesn't usually even have the hassle of booking it herself, her agent usually takes care of it. Escorting is a very different animal, one that takes a slightly different mindset.
I've seen a client for $1000. If he calls me and says he's seen my ad elsewhere for $300, and would like to start seeing me at that rate, I'd refuse. It's not that I don't like him, but the amount of time and effort he requires to maintain at $1000 (regular texting, phone calls, special requests during session) would make him a no-go as a regular client. For every hour he's spent with me, he's required nearly five hours of my 'off duty' time.
Just a few thoughts, from the other side of the fence. Hope it works out for you.
~Charlotte
You're right that this is weird. But after a few decades in the hobby little surprises me anymore. One day you're seeing a PSE $$$$ and getting ok service and the next day you see an indy who literally and figuratively blows away the PSE for less than 1/2 the price. Then you meet a 9 who'll do just about anything on the menu, followed by a 6 with a list of rules a yard long. Go figure.
. . . is the name of a better than fair book on the art of negotiation.
You have already established the key facts that (1) she is willing to provide (2) what her direct price point is and (2) she won't book directly if you book through agencies.
With those facts there are a couple of ways to skin this cat.
As escorts you have seen who are on Hx to go ahead and post on you, recall her using a pseudonym emphasizing that you have seen lots of regular girls, not PS. Could pretend you don't even know she is a PS.
Anyway, lots of ways to skin this cat. When you are six inched deep inside of her you can ask what her logic was, if that topic still interests you, but at this point, as they said in Apollo 13, you have to work the problem. LOL
And get her to yes. Oh, YES! Yes! Yes! Yes!!!
Kevin,
you are as always an eternal optimist and that is what is really great about you. Thank you for the suggestions and comments. The truth is the bloom is somewhat off the rose at this point. My level of excitement about seeing her has dwindled. She is also apparently miffed about this thread even though I never mentioned her name. From the feedback I have received in PMs, it would seem that she has done similar things to others so at least I now know it was not just me.
The great thing about the hobby is how many hot ladies there are out there who will be happy to see you. If you're in LA I recommend you take two aspirin (say Jaelyn Fox and Victoria Sinn) and call me in the morning.
And well, I think there's a quote that explains it best:
"It's not so much that there are $1000 escorts, it's more like there are $1000 clients."
To put this another way: I know an escort from that "social networking site" who joined a different LA-based message board, one reputed for having lots of high-dollar clients and hotties... and promptly jacked her rates from that "social networking site" by about 100%.
Always nice to feel like you're an ATM, huh?
It's not the most effective marketing strategy... but hey, who knows.
I can write a comprehensive list of all those ladies who have raised my rate just because of the board I was on.
It is the ladies right to set her rates to whatever she wants on each board, it is just more works for us guys now. The level of service directly depends on the donation, especially with the PSE market. You can't expect the ladies to serve a 5 course international meal for the price of a Happy Meal. On the other hand, ladies shouldn't arbitrarily raise rates because guys from one board are considered high dollar clients. This is not the most effect marketing strategy but I will save my thoughts about this for another thread that would deal with this in the future.
Kem99 is handling this is a dignified manner. He asked for our opinion in this matter. He got the information he needed to satisfy his inquiry and has moved on to the next starlet.
As another hobbyist told me when I first started, “never session with a lady that has aggravated you while booking, you will not enjoy your session.” Kem99 enjoy the next lady.
Perhaps that since you have booked other through the agency before, she wouldn't want to circumvent the agency in order to book you and stay in their good graces. While most agencies are aware that some ladies also book directly, these same ladies are not likely to call their agency in order to gain a reference from them regarding your validity. That being the case, it is easier for her to simple request that you book her for through the agency of your choice - that you have built a reputation with, so that she can insure not only that you are a verified client but also so that the agency does not drop her to the bottom of their list. Often, when an agency knows that a starlet actively books directly, they will not put as much effort and energy into booking her as if they know she is booking exclusively through them. This is a shame, but the same applies for the big porn agencies. An agent may have 100s of girls on their roster, but only 10-20 of them are consistently working on a regular basis. When the agent realizes girls are booking independently, it feels like undercutting and they are less likely to book them work and instead, "let them fend for themselves."
Try not to take it personally. If you are attempting to book ladies independently, try to book a lady of interest that is NOT with a big agency altogether so you can establish a non-agency girl reference. Then you'll be more likely to get others to book you as well.