Dear Just Curious,
Most weeklies and adult magazines are full of scammers, doesn't matter where you are. In Seattle it's no different. It's not uncommon to see a ton of provider ads in the back of the weeklies, and almost all the numbers route back to the same place, some throne job or dance-n-dash game. Sure, there might be a legit provider in the bunch, but your odds are very poor compared to online review boards.
The reason you rarely see the scams posted online is simple. The hobbyists that use internet resources don't use the weeklies anymore. They aren't answering those ads, or seeing those providers, they are using the online review boards to find action. In a large market city, with one or two robust review boards, once a hobbyist finds them, he'll never open a weeklie again. Unless he just wants to take a trip down memory lane remembering how tough it was back in the day. In a large market, the offline and online worlds have become distinct, they rarely even touch each other. Totally different group of providers, totally different group of hobbyists.
Unfortunately, it's the offline guys and/or smaller market guys who are stuck getting ripped off the most, and having no way of letting anyone else know. There just aren't many good info boards for smaller cities, not enough traffic, not as many providers. In these situations, the yellow pages or the weeklies may be the only option for poon. Poor odds to be sure. If you're offline altogether, whether in a big or small city, you're stuck, it's the weeklies, yellow pages, "exxxotics" ads, or a big jar of KY and a stack of Hustlers, the odds on each option? "Pick em". LOL
As far as PDX goes, that's a town that is sort of mid-market, there are no dominant review boards that I know of, it's more fragmented. So yes, right now, guys in PDX are forced to work in both worlds, guessing at who provides and who doesn't from the weekly rags. If the guy is online, he'll try to cross-reference them with the Internet, but with inconsistent results.
I'm sure in PDX, since the internet scene isn't as mature, a higher percentage of "legit" providers are still advertising in the weeklies as well, muddling matters more. Until PDX gets a strong review board and online scene, the scams and poor odds are likely to continue. TER is shrewd to advertise in these markets, to try to fill this void.
Yes, the occasional TOFTT appears online about weeklies ripoffs, typically they are these huge sighs of relief, like, "Boy am I glad I found these boards, and to think I've been trolling the weeklies for so long, getting ripped off left and right." Unfortunately, these TOFTTs are never gonna reach the poor offline souls who need them the most. Let's all join hands and have a moment of silence for them...
Amen to the internet,
iceman