Seriously, cut the bs, not cutting prices, etc, lets get real. I'll bet your gross is down 50% at least. I am in a recession proof business, so my budget has not suffered, I spend 5k/mo.  Ladies are tripping over each other to make a date.  No?

Not one bit...in fact I have raised my rates and might do so again in June. If the day comes to when I have to trip over anything to this ...that is the day I quit.

This question and others that are similar have been asked for the last year...are you hoping some ladies will be stupid enough to admit it under their escort name so you can call and try and beat them down?

There is no such thin as a stupid question obviously hasn't been on this board. where the same redundant and pointless questions are asked. Don't  you  know where the search button is?  If you did  you would know that lots lots and lots of people have asked this question and it doesn't get anywhere, it doesn't prove anything, why ask?

No ones tripping over anything  if they call that's great  but I'm not getting  my panties in a twist and jumping over mountains to make a date hun.

in reality, he's making more of a declarative statement. I think he's going to believe what he wants to believe despite what anyone says.

I know a few months ago when the stock market was in the tank things were bad. Things are recovering big time especially with the stock market. I noticed that at one restaurant I had to wait an hour before I was served this past weekend.

Many ladies save and plan for a rainy day. They are loaded to handle downturns.

There are always new guys who come into the hobby that are willing to splurge when other guys cutback.

Somethings are worth it.

500 is a small price to pay to feel great about life after watching what the market has done.

It's stilling getting worse, but being with a lady makes up for a lot of other things.

seems like the guys need us more the worse things get.
They need some stress relief.

Just looking at the DC board (where I am from), there are at least 2 pages of reviews everyday.  Many of them for new ladies.  This industry is also recession proof.  Studies have shown that the more stress men are under, the more they look for "outside interests" to relieve that stress.  The porn industry has seen a marked increase in sales.  Maybe you should do some research before making assumptions.  But then again, you know what they say when you assume....


Kari

My ATF is so busy with high end mutliple hour appointments she is no longer taking new clients and is removing her ads and profile..so your point makes no sense. Maybe lower end ladies are feeling it but those that are in demand will always be busy.

You are right the low end providers are experiencing a downturn but a high quality prrovider is probably the same or better people want the most for their money and high quality girls give that. beside after your done you usually couldn't care less if the market had fallen 400 points

Maybe what is happening is that some women are losing their Civie jobs, or in a pinch from reduced hours, and so new to this business... then as with many new enterprises having to actively market or 'cold-call' to get the wheels turning.

It does not take an economist to figure this one out. Many providers are hurting. They just don't want to admit it. Some are still doing well, but a much smaller percentage.

As far as you, where did you come up with your 50% (at least figure)? This industry is not the flea market, and certainly not the pharmaceutical industry.  
Since you are spending $5k a month, how about some reviews?
Do me another favor, please resupply my Viagra, free of charge, of course.

I was trying to downsize my travel last year so I could go back to school.  With the turn of events over the fall/winter, I am suspending studies and traveling more to markets I haven't visited in awhile.  

My monthly earnings are right in line, I'm just running around more to find it.

I'm very grateful to my loyal clients that still are able to see me, and for the new clients that appreciate the experience I offer, at the rates I list.

xoMegan

As a business owner with a loss of revenue more than 50%, I first cutback staff, then advertising and then expenses such as lunch.  I am sure the ladies are doing the same, cutting back on the unnecessary expenses, going from a 5 star to a 4 star (I do not enough class to know the difference anyway)

Stop waiting for the bottom of the market! LOL

Take a look a the hotel rates in the dc area. One lady told me her hotel was $500/night. You can things are good for providers because dc area has visiting providers from Vegas and NYC touring on a regular basis.

Interesting...no reviews and defensive behavior. Why are you hiding behind an alias?  I am calling you out, admit who you really are.

Please make sure I never accidently hire you so I can give you a wonderful orgasim.  That's right, I want want to have fun, but my main goal is to please the woman I am with...except you.  You and your contempt for men.

I have had lots of providers in the Orlando admit to me that they are not getting their usual amount of business.

There's nothing wrong with that, it is just reality.

I don't want to beat anyone down, nor get them to provide to me for less than they are comfortable.  Sure, I ask if they are running any specials, and if they are, fine.  But I do not want to be with a provider that resents me. It is clear that you resent men.

I'm fairly new to this profession, but in the last month I've seen an exponential increase in business, especially at the higher rates I offer now. I have been receiving at least 3 serious inquiries a day and booked almost everyday, getting longer sessions booked, and grateful. I don't think I'm the best out there, but I would love to be. Still working on bringing something completely different and remarkable to the market.

I feel so bad for those people who have to suffer in this economy, but I keep working hard and praying for them, and I hope that we all get out of it soon. We ladies appreciate the business. Sorry if that was off topic.

the regional boards have a lot of posts from providers offering lower prices due to the economy.

I don't know if they've lost a 50% market share, but the economy is hurting them as much as everyone else.

A year ago or so, the boards were full of laments about the increase in prices for providers.  Now the market has forced a correction.

Things are tough, and yes I think some ladies need to lower their prices or at least offer some temporary specials.

On the other hand, it is all about supply and demand...whatever the market will bear.

About 10 years ago, I had a car I was trying to sell.  Hardly anyone came to see it and I had no offers.  The next week I put it in the paper for twice the amount and sold it in less than three days.

and the majority of them are local ladies.  Priceline has been giving hotels away at 1/4 of the cost that your friend paid.

I'm new to the hobby, but I've read that certain industries are basically immune to recession and/or depression. One is the 'hobby'. The booze and tobacco industries are also immune, as well as national defense.

Think about it. A person gets laid off, or has to take a pay cut. But you FIND a way to pursue your habits. These things get you through the day.  

National Defense? Shit! We'll always be at war with someone.

Here's a for instance. My job I service mainly car dealerships.

Yeah, you get the picture....

I'm going to lose 2 Toyota and 1 Lexus in the next 4 weeks.

Most of my pay is a percentage of the volume of service I provide.

BUT, I'm going to LV in 3 weeks and I'm going to tear it up!

I figure, if I'm going to live under a bridge with my 2 dogs, I might as well have something to remember it by!

That is, in case, some provider might take it upon herself to take in a hobbiest, in hopes of a comeback and showing gratitude in a most illustrious way?!!!

I'm just fucking around. My situation is real, but I'll make it work. Won't be the first time!

Besides, I'm smarter than the average bear!

with the shape of the economy I have hesitated to increase my rates. I see a  great deal of regulars and like the Gentlemen I see so no my rates are consistant and staying put for a while.
I have for a select few, offered specials I want to see the Gentlemen I enjoy, know are safe and have been seeing for yrs. Its about, for me at least, appreciation in my clients.
Yes this market has changed some as well. I have had less calls but being low volume its mostly been less calls to turn down really. I still am turning down more appts than I make. I have seen some of my regulars less over the winter but have also gained many new regulars so all in all its down a bit but not what you think it is. In the end I am fortunate to be able to work as I see fit and I know this.

Actually, she didn't post under an alias. You can tell by the yellow envelope by her name. I don't know if her handle is the same as what she uses as a provider, but just wanted to point that out.

Yes, some of her posts are less than favorable to hobbyists, but I'm not sure what kind of response we'd expect to see from this question. It's been asked by so many guys so many times. Hell, I'm sick of hearing, so I can only imagine how the ladies must feel.

There's no reason they need to give us a weekly update on the status of their business.

Just yesterday i had to stand on my head and spit wooden buffalo nickels out of my eyeballs, while giving a blow job

I agree with sweetnicole. I am a low-volume provider so I haven't noticed much of a difference in my business, although I find now -- and I've said this before -- that I have to make martinis on his ass while doing flips.

Hugs,
Ciara

Nope...

no BS here toots! When 1 has an education and profession already in line PRIOR to other things, she doesn't really FEEL the pain of economy, nearly as much as others to go and trip over another, for a date.

It's always a great idea to have Plans A & B BEFORE starting on Plan C!  

The MIND will prosper more and for longer length of time than the BODY. So Plan A & B are that of the mind(education etc.). Plan C is more of utilizing the BODY.

The other is to save more than spend...but saving should have started waaayyyy back before the economy caused any "pain".

I'm not 1 in which waits for something to happen and not be somewhat prepared. However, the unexpected does occur and it's then that I fall back on Plan A & B!

Plan C...I don't always bank on but it's been pretty "stable" for me and I think it's because of my attitude, approach, and having pure "fun" with it. Everything else just simply seems to fall in place.

NEVER will trip another for a date, not worth it, not me, and I have other means of making a REAL living.

Unless of course you are one of these people that bet the -13 point spread for the Laker's and all then that's understandable.  

But seriously, don't act like you know what is going on in OUR business because obviously you don't.  If you are looking for ladies to cut prices for you can buy Heinz ketchup at Kroger price, then you might want to stick to CL or backpage.

I don't see a reason for ANY lady to cut rates.  Just like Mama said, why fix something that isn't broke.  

I think your statement is not only none of your business either way, but completely irrelevant.

Laughing So Hard I Just Peed My Panties!!! OMG, i have to meet you Ciara!! You are quite honesly amazing!! Muah!!

I am BUSY AS HELL.

Spend your money and mind your own business.

The only guys who are preoccupied with how much a provider makes are the ones who don't value the service and resent paying for it in the first place.

Its a business.  It goes up, it goes down.

Who cares?

First, as another pointed out, she is not posting under an alias.  Famkejensen is her TER handle.  She simply either has not linked her reviews to her name or has chosen to not have any reviews period.  Based on the way some guys here scrutinize every provider post, I can see why she would opt to go that route.

Second, I personally find her posts refreshing.  I understand that this forum is first and foremost a mode of advertising and business generation for most of the providers that post here.  Therefore, they must be circumspect about what they post and how they post it.  Since famke is not constrained by the same concerns, she is free to post her unfiltered and honest opinions.  While I do not always agree with her opinions, I read just about every one of her posts because I am interested in the truth about this little world from the provider's perspective.  She offers a small, relatively clear portal into one provider's viewpoint.

Why is it that so many people are only interested in someone's opinion if it agrees with their own?  Isn't it more interesting to consider the other side of the argument once in a while?

Regarding the original subject of this thread, what is the purpose of such a post?  I think the VAST majority of people in this country are experience some negative repercussions related to the current economic trends.  Why does anyone care whether providers in particular are feeling the crunch?  Do you ask your dentist this?  Have you chatted about this with your cable repair guy?  I would guess not.  The only reason to ask about this on this forum is to see if you could possibly gain some kind of leverage when trying to 'negotiate' rates with a prospective provider.  In fact, I would have skipped this entire thread if I hadn't seen famke posting on it.

I don't understand the ad hominems aimed at Carltonscreen impuning his motives. The economy is a top news story, and recently such a story ran regarding porn -- noting that even porn sales had suffered.

If a person is intimately involved as a consumer of a product -- be it cars, software, electronic parts or escort service -- he is quite rightly interested in the state of that industry.

That having been said, I think impact will be by region and less than one would expect.

For example, most of the money in Washington, DC comes directly or indirectly from government contracts and salaries. i.e. from my pocket against my will. (Or adjunct lobbying and regulatory compliance businesses.) Since government has the ability to essentially kill people to secure its funding; it's a pretty recession proof business.  Thus, escorts in that area are unlikely to see a downturn -- especially at a time when the primary business in the area (i.e. picking my pocket) is expanding.

On the other hand, in a region where the primary business activity is the manufacture of cars and various adjunct businesses that support that, there is likely to be a net decrease in the number of people willing and/or able to afford escort service. Escorting is a business, and like any other it is competitive. When the pool of money available to the business shrinks, you will see a combination of lower prices and increased services in an attempt to either gain or hold on to market share.

This will mostly take the form of increased quality of service as many of the best providers have other economically viable skills. If the price falls below a certain point, they just re-register as lawyers/doctors/psychologists/etc. So those able to provide high quality will stay in business and those who can't will be left with so little business that they'll close up shop.

In a competitive situation, a commodity is worth only what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller -- no more or less. Oil is worth $60 today, and $140 tomorrow and $70 the next day.

The primary benefit to escorts is that they are in a business that has some legal liabilities that serve as an artificial restraint of supply. Because the supply of escorts is generally insufficient to meet demand; prices are high. Even in a recession, prices may fall a bit in some areas but a more likely scenario is that the available funds flow to the best providers and others leave the business.

So while the escort business is not completely "recession-proof", the best providers will have no trouble staying in business through anything short of a second Great Depression or demand destruction through Peak Oil.

The one thing that would completely alter the economics of the situation would be changes in the legislative environment that ended the artificial restriction on supply. Current artificial supply limitations lead to higher-than-equilibrium pricing, and an end to such artificial restrictions would introduce greater supply and competition -- thereby forcing prices lower overall.

So the short answer is that, among the very best of top-tier providers, demand continues to exceed supply. In some regions (i.e. DC) demand is even growing while in others (Detroit) demand is decreasing. But due to artificial constraints of supply, the impact in such regions is more likely to be a decline in total providers rather than a decrease in the pricing of remaining providers.

In my region *some* providers have offered specials or reduced prices a little; but most have not and some have even raised prices.

(Post script on supply and demand: In the Western World there are very few places where legal constraints don't restrict supply. One of the few is Amsterdam. The prices in Amsterdam, though, do not reflect equilibrium pricing because the prostitution business is a major tourist attraction causing Amsterdam to be a locus of demand for the entire region. There is no way of knowing what the actual price would be; and just like with cars (economy, family, luxury models) there would still be differentiations based upon quality or even perceived quality.)

a fine example makes things clear

I think I'll survive not having you as a client. I'll say it again...the gentlemen I see are great, and I have previously admitted that I do have contempt as you put it for some men who hobby and because my business does not depend on those who review or who govern the boards, I can be honest. If that bothers you, just don't open any of my posts.

I answered your question and obviously you didn't like what I said. No big deal.

Interesting observation you made about me resenting men...I guess because I don't bow and scrape and kiss ass that makes me, in your eyes, resentful of men. OK so be it. I'm too busy to try and change your mind.

You have yourself a nice day Slant.

I'm sorry.  I should not have said those things. Here I am, a newbie to the General board and I acted like an idiot.

You write with intelligence and I'd like to compliment you on that.

BobbyTZ and Dblhappy brought up excellent points, thanks for the enlightenment and I will try to behave more open-minded.

I got a very nice $300 room for $125 per night through priceline.

I'd guess that the combative nature of the replies would be clearer to you if someone made a point to attack how much you make, or SHOULD make.  That tends to make many folks get cranky.  Plus, this topic has been discussed so many times that it comes across as someone trying to talk down the prices, as opposed to asking a question.

You sound a lot like my macroeconomics professor from a really long time ago.  I loved that class, but never realized that I could apply the knowledge to escort pricing.  I was young an naive then

Apology accepted.

I also took a few macro and micro economic theory classes in college. One of the classes focused on price elasticity and demand. I think you and I need to find a cross section of 100 providers and do an exhaustive interview session. Of course, after 5 minutes of the 1st interview, I'll ask her the price, and then determine how elastic my penis is.

It is a business.  Mind your own business.  Spend your money on the business but don't ask any business-related questions regarding the business.  hmmm  All the guys pay for the service.  But somehow if he actually realizes the value the money he pays, he no longer values the service -- although he just paid with the money that he now values.  So it is a "pay for play" business, but a guy does not get the priviledge of enjoying it if he actually does things to spend his money more wisely.  If you want a new BMW, you can only value it if you buy from the first dealer you see, because if you start comparing deals, you really would not value the BMW anyway.  

That is a lot of twisted logic in so few words, I do have to salute you there!