I have been out of the hobby for some time sort of.  Serious relationship, then Covid came and this biz nearly died.  Still saw a couple of hometown favorites that shared a mutual trust.  As Covid went away I started to shop again.  When I first started the key advice was to see only well reviewed ladies by long time reviewing clients.
Today everyone wants a deposit.  They ask for it in ridiculous ways Venmo accounts that have photos of themselves nude.  Or cash app with very pointed names.
Cheap advice, name your account marketing or accounting services.  Something that fits nicely in business accounting.
My biggest surprise is when asked for a photo of myself holding two forms of ID.  I guess I may have answered my own question in that we can just say NO at any point we don’t feel comfortable.  That would be about 70% of ladies i want to see.  I drew the line at photos and ids!!

It is no longer a buyers market and has clearly become a sellers one. Covid, Sesta and twitter has changed all that. It's been an adjustment for many to be sure, but some price points and locations aren't affected as others. It has greatly affected me, no doubt and I had to adapt. It is what it is.

Yeah, far more difficult than it used to be with deposits, extreme screening, and high rates.  I guess I’ll just continue to see sugar babies instead.  

If you're smart about where you shop, the same with any goods or services.  Men, especially those new to this biz, are just not smart how the approach getting into it, so sellers have learned they can take advantage of the low-information customers.    

You grow & evolve, or you stay in your comfort zone. As a respectable provider who has stellar reviews and I have required a deposit to book, since 2010 it’s nothing new. Don’t send deposits if you don’t want to. I never advise sending deposits to an unknown provider.  Safety is a high priority for me.

while i feel many have priced themselves out of the mass market .. however it must be there enough gentleman who will pay these higher rates and screening requirements ..  so if so then god bless these women who can obtain those.    

Two things I haven’t done and will NEVER DO:

Classy can come at all price points.  High prices alone are not an automatic indication that a particular provider is high class.  

No one dies without pussy. Don’t pay deposits. Lots of great ones who don’t.

Just as in every business or service you need to do your diligent research. Lots of us reputable providers require a deposit because we want to make sure our time is not wasted. A reputable provider won’t steal your money. Also there are many discreet ways to send a deposit.  
On the other hand if deposit is really not your thing then go with a provider that doesn’t require one.  
Btw I’ve had clients prepay in full prior to our date and that shows my integrity and their trust in me.

I really don't understand where these proclamations about "everyone" is doing this,  or "70%" are doing that come from. There appears to me--in my admittedly non-empirical study--to be quite a few providers offering a great time at fair (albeit increased) pricing without having to jump through flaming hoops. It might take more work, but anything worth having does.

You do get a lot of thoughts/statements that seem to reflect some type of helplessness in a cruel world. That's being a bit harsh but as you say, we all still get to make our choices and what others do doesn't change that simple fact.

What’s the advantage of a client seeing you who requires a deposit?  

The advantage to the girl is that the guy is much less likely to cancel. If you are asking what the advantage is for the guy, there isn't any. It's another hoop you have to jump through to see her.  
.
I send them but only to women I truly want to see, and only after I do my due diligence that she is trustworthy and only for about 25-30% of the total required fee. That is where I draw the line but many men wont ever send one and that is their right.

"I send them but only to women I truly want to see . . . ."     How many guys do you know that send deposits to women they DON'T want to see?   I wish everyone here could have had this information earlier.  We have been sending deposits to random women we didn't want to see and have been getting ripped off.  It's a good thing we have you here to tell us how to do it correctly.   Bwahahahahaha

Don't worry Robert, all the intelligent people understood what you were saying.  The Bozo who takes a snippet of your words to use against you so he can be negative is his Modus Operandi.   It would have been nice if he contributed something in a constructive way.  But of course, that isn't in his nature.

The puberty process is difficult for a tween.

Only a fool would do that. Like you said, there are plenty of trustworthy providers who ask for them. It really isn't that hard of a process to weed out the scammers from those honest and legit girls.

reviews, so we know you are the real deal.  But let's face it, these junior-high insults only go to show your lack of creativity.   You should take your time and think of something really clever to say, lest you make yourself look a little dim.
To have an alias with no reviews white-knighting for you is laughable.  

You don’t pay “more” money bc you send a deposit. The balance due is lowered by the amount you put upfront. Maybe you should refrain from commenting on the math of it all as it really isn’t your strong suit. Just sayin’.
.
Now, what were you saying about “stupid” guys and the “dumbest” customers again?

How do you know they didn't raise the price for the amount of the session the same amount as the deposit in the first place, figuring guys will pay $600 at the door, so they take a deposit so they can charge you $800 and break it into two payments for the marginal mongers.  The deposit is long gone and you are still paying $600 at the door.

How do you know they are not???   I prefer not to pay deposits and have only done so one time.  The one time with a Provider with a great reputation, awesome reviews and hot as hell.  She pushed all my buttons, so I went for it after doing MY due diligence.  The deposit + the payment at the door = the amount advertised.    

Amazing he thought that the deposit was in ADDITION to the stated fee! I don't think he needs to wait on Mensa contacting him anytime soon. lol.

You wouldn't think you would have to spell it out for the Bobbsey Twins since they are both experts on how deposits work but have NEVER paid one. Oh, ok, guys. Lmao!

For the buyer . Of course, there is a lot of advantage for the seller.  

No woman has ever tried to sell me it was an advantage for me to pay a deposit. NOT...ONE...EVER. How are you SO wrong on SO many topics? You and CDL are so much alike it's incredible.

but this thread is about paying a deposit for a normal session.  I have only paid a deposit for an extended engagement of 24 hours or more.  I think that is fair because if she books me, she is blocking off a large amount of time, and if I flake on short notice, she is not losing just an hour of income, because it's not likely she can fill ALL of the time with other customers.  Obviously, I have only done with a woman I have seen multiple times and completely trust not to pull a fast one with my deposit.  However, it IS true that I have never paid a deposit for my normal one- or two-hour session.  

Sure, I shouldn't have put "always" there, my fault. But to claim something isn't true because it hasn't happened to you, is a weak claim.  

I think we both agree there is an advantage for the provider. Deposits minimize the financial risk of a cancellation and reduce the occurrence of cancellations. There is a clear advantage for them.  

You said it "always" happens but you backed down off that and I commend you for doing so. All good.

As a provider, I can say that I require a booking fee because I have to lock MY time to meet YOU.  

If you've noticed I never told providers they shouldn't institute deposits. Or indirectly said they shouldn't, for that matter.  

a week unless I'm sick and not in shape to see anyone at all.  I generally see three women a week, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.  If you know how to do a search of this board, you can find where I have been consistent in this over many posts over many years.  

Blah Blah Blah   You've told this tired old story before.  And you're right the search button is my friend.  I only see 400 reviews.  I don't see any of your friends vouching for your 800 reviews so that must be all made up.  Did you know that the search button can be your friend too?  If you did, you would have seen I have posted on the Reviewer Only Board.  How can I do that with less than 5 reviews?

So many dangerous people ? Lol what. I hope your business model works out for you.

Are you planning to require that in the future ?

First of all not all providers ask for deposit and not all providers charge high. I don't.

Just in my personal experience I was afraid of reviews at first because I had started out on a different site, and had literally no idea what a "good companion" was supposed to be, I was naive when I first started my journey so I was basically copying from what I saw in other ads. Due to the nature of the business I tried to keep everything so discrete, so I never even thought of posting myself on social media to advertise. And I was told by a few men that wearing make up or dressing sexy was not encouraged because I shouldn't look too good--which was crazy bad advice lol.  
 I don't ask for a deposit generally speaking because I see how it has degraded the trust between providers and companions. I'll even own up to my two reviews that say I was lousy-because it taught me something-though I hope people read the good ones too.  
 I have learned a lot in the last couple months that I hope aide in my success of being a great companion/provider.

I love it when a woman gets done up and dresses sexy. It’s fun in Vegas. I love the looks of disgust I get when my old ass is out with a young 10. lol 😂 fuck em.

A few years ago I had a date with an ATF; a slim, tight-bodied Korean-American girl (so not a K-Girl). She had a tongue stud and knew how to use it. After our session we went to one of NY's better steakhouses for dinner with another couple, also a monger and a hooker friend. My gal was wearing a skin tight faux-leopard mini dress with platform wedgies and looked wide-eyed innocent but sexy as hell. We drew lots of glances from our fellow diners as we walked to the table. I was hoping some old biddy would say to me: "Shame on you! She's young enough to be your daughter!" My reply was going to be: "No madam, she is FAR too young to be my daughter."
Oh, well.

Went the SB route years ago. Prices are up and service is way down.

That's easy to say because you've been doing it so long that you can learn about and be verified by word of mouth.  Those avenues simply aren't open to people new to the hobby who've yet to get a foot in the door.

There ARE providers who are not stringent on screening.  The second half of the month when rent is coming up is a good time to look for those who are more desperate and may be willing to relax their screening requirements a little.  If you want to START with top-tier ladies, I agree it's going to take a while to be able to get who you want.  

that's kind of hot and kinky!  thank you for sharing your experience with us. I love that story!

Once again, you hit the nail on the head.