Here is a business idea that I am throwing to the board.  I think it makes a certain amount of sense but I would be interested in how the board feels about this, particularly the ladies.

In brief, how about applying the Pricline "name your price" business model to escorting?  

Escorts tend to pick a price point for themselves, but the simple fact is that this business, even more so than most others, lends itself to negotiation.  Here is how it would work: in addition to having a posted "buy it now" price, escorts can accept bids on their services.  A lady who normally charges $400, might get a bid for $300.  If business is slow, or the customer is a well-liked regular, or she is just "in the mood," she can accept without having it be known that she is discounting.  Conversely, if she doesn't like the guy or isn't in the mood, or whatever, she just says no.  

Only the escort will have a complete picture of how often and under what circumstances she discounts.  And, this model would be especially good for agencies.  

I think its a great idea, I have gotten discounts from ladies I have repeated with down to free at times. TER could charge like 1 percent of the aggreed price from both buyer and seller or just buyer like EBAY does. It could work. -Joel

The real question is will you ever be able to go on a date and not get a visual of William Shatner at a critical moment.  Eeewww.

Interesting thought...  Truly, everybody wins--nobody has to participate and those that choose to come out ahead.

How do you fund the mechanics of it (web site costs, etc) without the "hub" being a broker that participates in the transaction (like Priceline does)?

Participation in transaction = lightning rod for LE
Non Participation in transaction = no revenue for infrastructure

It would be interesting to get the legal wonks that support TER to chime in on this.

I'm not a lawyer (but I have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express) but I suspect there's a legal problem in that.

Well no one is saying to actually get Priceline in on this. If TER could just get one of their programmers to put up some links and direct contacts to the providers and so forth, it may work. -Joel

I'm ignoring the legal problems for now.  

If TER can exist, then so can this.  It can also be done individually not through a centralized website.  It's really more the concept:  "I charge $400, but if you wish to submit a bid..."

As with any illegal activity, you cannot have a legally binding contract.

Call me a bit snobbish, but I find it offensive when someone tries to bargain my rate with me.  It's one thing for me to run a special or something, but it's quite another thing to be heckled with.  As I have often stated to the bargain hunters that happen to call me, I am not on the auctioning block nor do I belong in a discount store.  My prices are where they are for a reason.... the biggest being that I want to cater to a certain class of clientele... Just my .02

Jaclyn

Actually, I think that's exactly the right way of thinking.  You have to "imagine the possibilities" first, and know that somehow all the little details can be worked out if there's a will to do so.

As for the argument that "If TER can exist, then so can this":

My thought was that TER lives by walking the finest of lines between freedom of speech by it's "unregulated" members vs. actually getting involved in the commerce.  Kind of the argument used by Napster, except Napster had a much more influential foe than LE will ever pose, and they lost.  To date, TER has won, and the jury's still out on TBD.  Again, I'm no lawyer, but this ideas feels VERY different than a review/discussion site from a legal standpoint.

Still, I like the idea of dreaming about the upsides first, and worrying about the downsides only if the idea picks up enough speed to be worth overcoming them.

Jaclyn,

I second you on this-nothing snobbish here.  I am not a provider and I am sure that  if the price can go down, then the price can go up...then everyone will be searching for a provider who states her price, fair and simple.  There is already too much to have to worry about in what should be a pleasant experience.  This business idea, if it were to happen would be the proverbial case of fixing something that isn't broken.

That's the "simple elegance" of the way OSX has proposed this.  By using a priceline model, no one's EVER asking you for an offensive discount, and you're not offering.  Even if you choose to give a discount, nobody else would ever know you did.

The priceline model simply says that if you're a hobbyist looking for spankings tomorrow night in Atlanta, but only willing to pay $$, you would post this info on the "Priceline."  Any provider that looked at the site (web model) or subscribed to the e-mail digest group (e-mail model) and chose to reply can, but there's NEVER any pressure or expectation for anyone to do so.  You have complete freedom to say "what the hell, I'll take this sorry SOB for 2 clams", or not.

If you're never interested in discounting, then you wouldn't join/participate.  If you are, but only on case-by-case basis, that's really what this would be about.

I sound like I'm arguing in favor and don't mean to come across that way.  I saw the orignal post, it got my wheels spinning, and thought it's worth debating the pros/cons.

Sorry, I admit that I am a bit touchy about people asking for discounts, especially with the hard economic times that have fallen upon us.... I just posted a discount to TER member only on my local board..... not out of desperation, just to see how much interest I can drum up.  

I think that it would be okay if someone could anonymously post that they wanted this or that and make an offer.  I think that if this ever really happened, though, that a)it would cause a "rate war" amongst providers.... more than there already is and b)there would have to be a stipulation that the "special price" agreed to would be kept secret... between the provider and the client, in other words.... not posted in reviews.  The reason for this is that e.g., if you read my reviews, then you'll realize that I'm definitely not a clock watcher by any stretch of the imagination if I'm having a good time.... someone posted that about me.  However, this lets every Tom, Dick, and Harry think that for the hourly rate, they're going to get twice or three times what they paid for.... not so....  This is not to say that I watch the clock at all... it's just saying that I'm not going to b@$#h if someone goes over by let's say 20 minutes....   I know, I'm rambling, but it's a good point!!!

Jaclyn

Thses ladies are people, not commodities.  Get to know them and, if they like you, the discounts will be forthcoming willingly, as an act of friendship rather than as a negotiation that leads to resentment.

I posted this idea just to see what people thought of it and the responses are interesting.  

You talk about hard economic times and that is my point exactly.  No worthwhile provider wants to be seen as a discounter, and no worthwhile client wants to be seens as a bargainer.  But let's face it, the economy is middling, the stock market is lousy and gas prices are through the roof.

Maybe not today, but at some point you might WANT the option of making more money at a lower average price, and this gives you the option.  

The interesting question is, if this model took off, whether it would dramatically impact the rate structure of the industry as a whole.  That, of course, would be a negative to escorts (but a positive to providers).

"am I willing to spank this SSOB for 2 clams?"

Sounds like I need to know a little more information on the SSOB first....  

Does this come with, well, not reviews, but say, a 1- to 5-stars system for overall provider rating?

BJ, Palm Beach, Florida
[email protected]

...it's up to the provider as an individual whether or not to participate.  Unfortunately, like Priceline, the client isn't going to know who is going to show up at the door, unless he's able to be selective about the responses he receives to his "ad" for the discounted work.  But, I suppose, like at EBay, "users" of the system (both clients and providers) can build up a generalized star rating system for reliability/et al, based on their experience with others using the system to get over that.

You have to realize, that if I'm sitting around on a tour in a hotel room in NYC, and have a 3-hour opening where I don't choose to sit and stare at CNN and do my nails for the umpteenth time, I could just hop online... fill the spot for what it's worth....  And at least change a 3-hour dead spot in my schedule to one that's fairly productive, even at a discounted rate.  Some bills are better than no bills.  No one is forcing me to participate, and I'm taking it upon my own volition to respond to ads the client has placed for discounted services.

I have a feeling, though, that this would have very little effect on the "mass" market of providers, and that the participation of providers would be sporadic, not constant.  There would probably be a huge upsurge in the number of independent providers, though.

JM 0.02,

BJ, Palm Beach, Florida
[email protected]

Well Said!

This is a business afterall... and most men have wised up to the notion that you don't always get what you pay for. I don't associate my self-worth with what a man is willing to pay for an hour romp. If he offers me less, I'm just as interesting in finding out what kind of value I could add to make my service worth my asking price. This is basic sales give and take. So I don't consider it an "insult". Even the guys who offer $20 are a source of amusement. It's strange that the *bad* customers are the ones who are most memorable --and likely to make it into the chapters of our books and topic of our conversations -- not the good ones.

Many of my clients are simply comfortable talking about money and negotiating. Due to my location, I see a lot of investment bankers, lawyers, marketing types and the like and they can be very direct about this. They aren't embarassed talking about money. They understand risk/reward/value and I have no problem talking with them about these things, I'm a very direct person myself and very comfortable pitching my 'product'.

However, I will say that I don't negotiate a rate change for a first time client.

The first time seeing a customer is the biggest risk: risk he's LE, an informant, a nutcase, weird, rough, is looking for a girlfriend, is drunk, smelly, argues about safety, is extremely well-endowed, has medical or performance problems which make him very difficult to satisfy, ..the list goes on.. and even  referrals can't prpare me for some of a client's potential bad points... So that initial price is somewhat of a 'calculated average'. There will be many men I'd be willing to see for less, but some (about 25% in my experience) that I simply never want to see again and even my initial fee isn't enought to put up with them again. The others will be priced just right. The initial rate simple attempts to make allowances for these variable which are unknown ahead of time.

My experience also shows me that men who are argmentative initially tend to be problem "can't-take-'no'-for-an-answer clients. This is one of the first things experts say to look for when identifying a potential stalker and having had several myself, I agree with them.

Once I've seen him, if he's the type of guy I want to add to my client list: seems discreet and *well-adjusted* (has realistic expectations of the hobby), doesn't act lonely, needy or ask me on dates, isn't too puppy-eyed, is low maintainence, easy to service, fun and time passes quickly with him, I often will accept a discount or even offer one--though my discounts tend to be added time or buy one full price session, get subsequent sessions within 30 days for 30% off or something that encourages more frequent visitation and loyalty rather than discounted single sessions.