Backpage has gotten to be a bit too expensive now that Craigslist has closed. Economically speaking this is almost considered to be a monopoly. Backpage could charge as much as they want now since they are just about the only game in town.
*Would you continue posting your ads if the price went up to somewhere between $15-$20 per listing because if something doesn't come along soon this will be what everyone is paying.
*If Craigslist opened their adult service categories again would you post there?
Perhaps it would be a good thing if Backpage raised their rates. Might help to shake out some of the lowlifes, scammers and B&S artists if it suddenly becomes too pricey (though I doubt BP's rates would ever reach those of, say, Eros).
You do have a point and there are many scammers. However, the adult services industry is just like any other industry when it comes to economics because of the price market equilibrium or the point where supply and demand collide for a certain price. Raising the price will actually have the opposite effect and create a shortage of ads because most people would find somewhere else to post their ads. You do realize they didn't start raising their prices until Craigslist shut down their adult categories. This is simply because BP understands the laws of supply and demand. They simply couldn't do this when Craigslist was around.
"Craig" please come back!
prices do not mean anything since there are scammers in other sites too and also in the VIP section of Eros whose ads are very expensive.
-- Modified on 12/7/2010 11:27:44 PM
Guys are always under the impression that Eros has more "class" because it's more expensive to place an ad there. Before BP's rate increase the rates were very close in cost for 30 days of consecutive advertising.
Now, here in Atlanta....
Eros for 30 days is approximately $180.00 (what my friend said her ad runs).
BP for 30 days is $300.00.
Price doesn't always equal quality --- you will find this to be true in many "areas" it this hobby.
Guys are also sometimes led to believe that it a girl has professional photos that they are higher "class".
In a lot of cases (not all cases) the girl traded sessions with a photographer with a talent for airbrushing. So you guys get your hopes up by the sophisticated designed website such as Eros and touched up photos only to be disapointed in some cases.
These are just some points to keep in mind. Don't fall victim to tricks of the trade.
Happy hunting and humping 
Xoxo,
Stephanie in Atlanta
Guys are also sometimes led to believe that it a girl has professional photos that they are higher "class".
In a lot of cases (not all cases) the girl traded sessions with a photographer with a talent for airbrushing. So you guys get your hopes up by the sophisticated designed website such as Eros and touched up photos only to be disapointed in some cases.
Stephanie in Atlanta
I actually like to see professional images along with a few non-professional candid's. Most people do not know how to pose (look at BP), having a professional will bring out your best look and will peak allot more interest. As far as touch-up goes, I will agree with you. Photoshop should be used only to get rid of a temporary blemish or give some minor skin softening to create a more film like appearance. Good digital cameras will pick-up skin irregularities and enhace them..this is not good.
I will disclose that a few years ago, my career was a professional photographer. It was my business. I was given a financial opportunity that I couldn't refuse and closed down my business. When I retire, I plan on re-opening a studio. I occasionally, break out the camera's to keep my skills up. I do shoot for free if a person can benefit my portfolio. Many woman, if they take the time, can find a good pro/am on websites like model mayham and first model place. These men and woman will shoot you TFP. (Time for picture) There is really no excuse not to have a good photo done except you don't want to take the time....
I have no illusions about scammers not appearing on Eros; I was a victim of one myself, and I learned the same painful lesson that I think many (most?) others in this hobby learned at least once. However, I stand by my (low) opinion of Backpage, and will continue to eye it with suspicion, at least here in the Detroit area (and that's not to say I won't be doing my homework with someone from Eros or any other source, either).
I also agree, a rate increase might help to weed out the scammers/fake pic users, etc, as hopefully they wouldn't want to post 3-6 fake ads/day anymore. And yes, BP now has certain restrictions, but it doesn't seem to affect many, as girls are still posting "booty" pics(even though they're technically not allowed), and they're still posting 30 and 15 min rates, they just don't put down their time brackets(80-100-200 is what they'll post, and somehow it gets through the cracks). Here in WI, BP now limits ads to 500 characters.... not words, but actual characters.. but there are ways around that too, obviously. I'd rather BP were just eliminated, as the scammers/B&S artists are probably less likely to create ads on other sites, as they would be found out too quickly.. but who knows.
BP has also implemented new rules about only allowing discussion of hour or longer sessions, no nude images, ie no boobs shots or bare bottoms. They have also limited the ads to 1500 characters as well.
The owner stated that they are also and I quote: "not allowing links to sites that are not safe for work. We realize these are big changes, but in the end, we think this will help our site be much more upscale."
@AZMisty...what a bunch of BS coming from the owner of BP! I wonder how many people actually believe that crap and why does he give a f$#@ about the external links in the ads. I actually liked going to BP and looking at the naked photos because you could really see what you were going to pay for. "This was the highlight of my day. Now I would rather look at porn and keep my money in my pocket and I am sure I am not alone! I wonder how many providers have had their sales go down because of this as their prices continue to rise. I hope everyone sees what I am talking about here. We all need to move on now.
I do have to agree that slightly raising their prices will help separate the class from SOME trash...Its all what you are looking for, and hey, we all started somewhere, however, I advertise on RS2K and EROS now, pay 10x what I use to however, the type of clients I get inquiring and I see has MUCH improved as well...so from MY prospective I dont see slightly higher rates on BP as a bad thing, but everyone needs a lil competition...Just my 2cents...
and when do you get what you see on that site??? get real!!!
Not only have they gone up on the price, but there is still an abundance of women that charge less than what I do for 30 minutes for 90 minutes. Additionally, alot of the women doing this are Black BBW, like me. So for me personally it is just a waste of time (and $10) just to have my ad basically disappear after 50 other women post as well (I'm in Chicago so that might actually be a low estimate). I'll pass. lol
i haven't even glanced at BP in a year or more, but if these changes you and the other poster below mention are true, it actually piques my interest. it makes me think that maybe, just maybe, i could place an ad on BP myself someday, which i haven't done in years. and even back then, it was no more than 3 or 4 ads over the course of many months, because being in the midst of a bunch of crude language and vulgarly displayed female body parts made me feel pretty uncomfortable. so if they've increased their rates and placed some serious restrictions on the types of postings they allow, then maybe there's hope for them yet. still i think i'll wait a while before giving it a peek...any worthwhile change takes time.
I didn't know about the changes until reading this thread. I also think raising the prices is a good thing, it might weed out some of the BS on there. Although I always cross check with TER for reviews, BP is the only place I really start because I don't know where else to see who's available on a given day. I've taken a few for the team by going in without reviews, with decent success and always post a review afterwards for the next TER VIP to reference... hope you're all following suit!
I've tried repeatedly to get my money refunded, but have given up. I got a good deal of legitimate traffic from decent hobbyists when they posted a couple of my ads previously. I would have considered paying more than the $5 they charged, but they aren't getting another dime from me now.
Back-page also has a limit of 500 characters per advertisement. You also have to be careful what the ad consists of because Back-page will block your ip address from posting in the future.
The $15 listing (at least in Houston) includes putting up your ad 4 times a week. But I don't like that if I pay for an ad at 5 pm on Monday the ad will be re-posted at midnight for the rest of the week.
I have been told that Back-page charges different rates in different cities.
It is a pity that Back-page does not care about biting the hand that feeds them.
The $15 listing (at least in Houston) includes putting up your ad 4 times a week. But I don't like that if I pay for an ad at 5 pm on Monday the ad will be re-posted at midnight for the rest of the week.
I have been told that Back-page charges different rates in different cities.
It is a pity that Back-page does not care about biting the hand that feeds them.
Its not really worth it to post there. After paying $10 min per day for an ad, if you post every day then you are spending more than you would for Eros, cityvibe, ect... The list moves too fast to get proper exposure for that price. Especially when many people associate the site with fakes, B&S, and other bad experiences.
-- Modified on 12/8/2010 5:49:36 PM
backpage, of course, rules with 2,776,877 unique visitors for the month of October
freepostsite.com is not too shabby with 42,142 unique visitors for October and they are doing a link/banner exchange program, so they are marketing themselves wisely.
globalcommunity.me has no stats as of yet because they are probably too new and I am not seeing a link/banner exchange program. They will probably wise up eventually.
There are metro and regional member boards providing ads and other helpful info. AESource and EscortVault in SE Michigan, Indys in Pittsburgh cover a number of areas beyond their based area. Membership is free and each has an ad program allowing providers to get more bang for their buck....so to speak.
I only use backpage in Atlanta if I'm buying a sponsor ad. Just buying a regular ad is a complete waste of money and time as it will disappear within a few minutes. A while ago I didn't realize that they had changed the restrictions on the ad and I kept wondering what I was doing wrong because they would remove pictures or words from my ad and after that I could no longer edit the ad. I eventually took the time to read the restrictions and follow them to the letter so as not to waste my money.
However, increasing the rates and even putting the restrictions there doesn't seem to have "classed up" BP any more than it was before. I still see plenty of ads with girls showing much more than I show in my pics. I also still see girls posting with really low rates. It's really just a way of getting more money out of customers cause it's really the only option. I post on cityvibe and even Eros from time to time but I get much more clientele from BP.
If you do it the smart way, at least for high volume cities, getting a sponsor ad for the month is actually still cheaper than Eros. Posting an ad every day, however, will definitely add up. But providers will still continue to do it because dishing out $10 a day just seems more feasible than giving someone almost $200 in one lump sum.