Nothing agreeth worse/Than a lady’s heart and a beggar’s purse. – John Heywood
The story is told that George Bernard Shaw was once at a party and said to a woman that anyone would agree to do anything for money, if the price was high enough. “Surely not,” she said.
“Oh yes,” he said.
“Well, I wouldn’t,” she said.
“Oh yes you would,” he said. “For instance, would you sleep with me for… for a million pounds?”
“Well,” she said, “maybe for a million I would, yes.”
“Would you do it for ten shillings?” asked Shaw.
“Certainly not!” said the woman; “What do you take me for? A prostitute?”
“We’ve established that already,” said Shaw; “Now we’re just trying to fix your price.”
It is a strange but true fact that (excluding depressed markets like Dallas, Texas) the annual incomes of most competent whores except for those at the very top (popular porn stars and mercenary “wives” of rich men) and those at the very bottom (the most exploited brothel girls and most degraded streetwalkers) tend to fall very roughly into the same general range. This is because those who charge more attract fewer customers and therefore earn fewer fees, while those who charge less earn a higher number of their cheaper fees. Prostitutes in large and wealthy cities (again, excluding Dallas) can command higher fees on average, but of course the cost of living and doing business in those cities is also proportionately higher so their net income is similar even if their gross income is much larger. Also, girls who do a higher number of calls with cheap clients put themselves at far higher risk of disease, rape, assault, arrest, exhaustion and psychological burnout than their sisters in the higher echelons. The key to maximizing one’s profits is to realistically assess the market value of one’s services in one’s own market and to charge the highest price which that market will bear without exceeding the point of diminishing returns; of course, finding that point may take careful observation and trial and error.
If the majority of independents and agencies in an area advertise prices or at least communicate with one another, a neophyte whore can start by simply charging the going rate, then experimenting once she has a feel for her average weekly income adjusted for seasonal variation and other circumstances (such as competing entertainment due to sporting events, fairs and the like). If she does not advertise her prices it isn’t difficult to recognize an increase in the number of inquiries which fail to result in completed calls, but if she does advertise prices it’s a bit more difficult to tell. In any case some judgment and rudimentary calculation skills are necessary if one means to experiment thus; a girl whose computational ability is not up to the task would be better off just charging the going rate and being done with it.
Since in the United States prostitutes have no guild or union, the prices of individual girls in a highly-competitive market may vary widely; this is the reason for the aforementioned buyer’s market in the Dallas area. For some reason, there are a large number of pretty young girls working there, and since the supply always exceeds the demand Dallas girls will wheel and deal more than those in most other cities. Though some independent escorts in every city may offer discounts from time to time when the market is slow due to the economic climate or seasonal slumps, in Dallas this is the norm; some girls get so desperate they will cut their already subnormal prices even lower, with the result that many escorts who could make a good living elsewhere are reduced to glorified streetwalkers there. To any unhappy Dallas girl who reads this I have only one thing to say: Get out while you can, because it isn’t going to get any better. The Dallas market has been this way since long before I started stripping, and I see no reason to believe it will get any better in the near future. There are plenty of cities within a few hours’ drive where you will be appreciated and can earn the respectable living you deserve.
New Orleans, for all its reputation, is the exact opposite; when I was working the going rate there was the same as that of much larger cities, namely $300 (about twice the Dallas average). And due to the fact that a large percentage of our business came from tourists and travelling businessmen, we often had to deal with men (especially Dallas men) who insisted that our prices were too high. When I was the one answering the phone, my response to these men varied with the caller’s attitude; if he was rude I would simply say something like, “You’re welcome to try elsewhere, but you’ll find that is the going rate in New Orleans.” If he had talked to other services before me and asked “Why is it so high here?” (this was the typical question from Dallas residents), I would respond with a one-sentence economics lesson along the lines of, “Supply and demand; there are too many girls in Dallas so the price drops, but few in New Orleans so the price increases.” If he lied to me with “So-and-so only asked for $150,” I would simply say either “Caveat emptor” or “You get what you pay for.” But if he was polite and asked for my help rather than demanding a bargain, I would generally ask, “How much do you have, sweetie?” and then let him know if there was anything I could do. Most New Orleans girls would accept $250 if it was daytime or early evening or the call was close and the client seemed nice, and when girls helped the service by taking such calls I rewarded them by selling their services a bit harder to future clients. If the client had less than $250 but we weren’t busy, I would offer him a half-hour and lower the agency’s fee to $75 so the girl could still make out OK.
One advantage of a tourist economy is that one can make such deals without ruining one’s reputation; if word got around that a $300 internet independent was accepting $250, pretty soon every man would demand that price and it would turn into a PR nightmare. But in a tourist economy there is little communication between clients, and since many ”hobbyists” disdain agencies a girl who works for one has more leeway to deal without having to worry about long-term repercussions either to herself or to other escorts in that market. Also note that there is a vast difference between a client who negotiates on the phone and one who attempts to do so in person after pretending to accept a girl’s price in order to get her there; the latter is not only dishonest but potentially dangerous, and the wise escort should simply take her cancellation fee and go rather than face the possibility of rape and/or robbery.
The absolute lowest amount of money I would advise any self-respecting escort to accept is $200 no matter how short the time; I have heard of internet girls accepting less than that for a half-hour, but I would never accept such a deal myself nor allow any of my girls to do so. The reason is simple: Every ATM I have ever seen will give out at least $200, so a decent man might legitimately claim to only be able to get his hands on that much in a strange city. If a man cannot come up with at least $200 it means he cannot afford $200, which in turn means that the money is dearer to him than to a more affluent client and he will be more likely to try to get every last penny’s worth out of his escort’s hide; as I previously observed about black men, such a client will often be rougher and far more demanding, and nine times out of ten will cause the girl to exceed the agreed-upon time. As an experienced escort told me when I first started, “The less they pay, the more they want,” and I found that to be absolutely true. Another factor, of course, is that prices under $200 attract a poorer clientele who are less likely to have perfect health and may not be as wary of public exposure as professional men usually are, which creates an unacceptable security risk.
Doug once told me that Linda had been at his office earlier that day and secretly looked into his books while he was on the phone with a client; when he hung up she angrily confronted him with, “How come Maggie makes so much money?”
Doug replied, “Because she’s out doing ten $250 calls while you’re waiting for one $400 one.” While this was a bit of an exaggeration, the point is nonetheless a valid one: Even though most of us fall into the same general income range, a whore who sets her price to the highest her market will comfortably bear and then makes occasional exceptions as conditions require and reputation allows will earn at the high end of that range, while a whore who sets her price too far above everyone else’s in her market will generally earn at the low end.
So what is it with Dallas? I get the supply and demand thing: lots of pretty working girls in Dallas=lower price (which is actually good news for me).
But is that girls in Dallas are more likely to take up the business, or fewer of them are driven out of the business by law enforcement, or what? Are Dallas girls just more comfortable with the idea?
Search me. I doubt it has anything to do with cops, because it’s been this way at least since the mid-90s and shows no signs of changing. A friend of mine who still works says Dallas girls are always whining about the low prices and lack of business, yet never think of just moving out of Dallas.
Actually, it isn’t; lower prices mean more desperation and that reduces the quality of the girls and increases the chance they will take unacceptable risks. If you want cheap you can always get a streetwalker, but for escorts to reduce their prices to those of streetwalkers also reduces their condition to that of streetwalkers, which sort of defeats the purpose of going to an escort rather than a streetwalker in the first place.
Think of it this way: If you want cheap food you can go to McDonald’s, but let’s imagine a city in which there are so many fine restaurants the competition drives their prices and quality down to that of McDonald’s. So where do you go in that city if you actually want a fine meal? The Dallas situation distorts the market and that’s bad for everyone, whores and clients both (not to mention the girls in Shreveport, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, etc who have to put up with the constant whining from foolish, spoiled Dallas men that their prices are “too high”).
Well it’s mostly academic in my case anyway. If I imagine that I can afford Dallas call girls, I might as well imagine that I can afford to go to Tokyo and hire a kogal.
I heard that girls in California, especially LA, are charging very low rates due to the amount of women attempting to make it in showbiz.
Yeah, I’ve heard that about LA as well; in San Francisco I believe the going rate is the same as New Orleans, but in Los Angeles it’s very variable (or so I’ve heard).
Girls can make a fine living in Dallas charging $300+. There was the “I can’t make rent” group back in 2002 when I started and they were always the girls charging less. I VERY quickly found clients who wanted a lower-volume, less-desperate girl to see on a regular basis. From what I can tell, it’s still true in Dallas today. It’s just not something easily found on discussion boards.
Tough economic times are everywhere right now, of course. The Dallas scene has a lot of issues, and I believe most of them are because the girls generally rely on the message boards there, they aren’t truly independent (IMO).
XX
Amanda, I’ve heard Dallas also has more problems with aggressively-recruiting pimps than most cities do; is that really true, or is it just drama on the part of the low-end girls?
Drama.
I mean, honestly — if you don’t want to belong to a pimp no one’s going to force you to get off the computer to go drive down to the ghetto and get bitch-slapped.
Pimps aren’t intelligent and if they send an email they’re easy to spot and just as easy to delete. IMO, of course.
XX
Yeah, that’s what I thought. 🙂
Hi Maggie
The relationship between price and income (in most cases price is compared to Market Share* instead of income or gross sales) is called the Price Sensitivity of the market. Virtually all major marketing companies conduct Price Sensitivity studies to determine what is the optimal price that can be charge for their product ( e.g., Proctor and Gamble would do such a study for a new laundry detergent). The problem with these studies is that they are highly unreliable due to large error terms and often the price is adjusted once the product has been on the market for 6-12 months. Therefore, it seems it would be quite difficult for a sex worker to conduct such a study in their territory.
(*Come to think of it, Market Share of Clients vs Market Share of Dollars would be really interesting parameters to determine for sex workers in a certain geographic area. )
Best
David
I didn’t really mean she should do a scientific study, David; it’s more something one has to feel out. And really, it isn’t difficult; as long as she pays attention she can pretty much tell when she’s at the optimum price. 🙂
Hello,
Read your column on a lark. You are very articulate, interesting, personable, entertaining and write very very well.
The first thing I noticed was the site itself. It is very well organized and looks great. I find the design very appealing. Many blogs are too busy with advertising to be enjoyable.
Yours is one of the very few sites I have commented on. Your intelligence, honesty, openness, and sincerity really shine through.
Thank you for being willing and able to share your wisdom with those of us interested in “the business”.
Sincerely,
TimP
You’re very welcome, Tim, and thank YOU for taking the time to compliment me; input like this is what lets me know that I’m on the right track. 🙂
I’m helping a friend enter the business. No, I’m not a pimp. But we feel we may be able to help each other. I am entering the film business at an older age than most, while at the same time a young girl (she’s twenty two and just moved here from the midwest, where she was an escort) gorgeous as she is, has to compete with actress’s who will do anything, oral, intercourse, anything for a small non-speaking role holding a bottle of water! We are going to go to soiree’s so we can both network. Eventually, she’ll be invited to more parties than I. but more power to her. I hope thru her to meet some movers and shakers. The question is, for both of us, what’s the approach? And again, what’s the charge? She seems to be right on target with the 300 you mention in your article. But I hear of girls here who charge a much higher price, going to the very high end hotels. She wants to get off of CL. Are there any other sites you can suggest?
Your blog is excellent, and you have a great style. I’m waiting for the book!
Thanks!
L
Backpage is a slight step up from Craigslist, but what she really wants is to join one of the escort boards; their popularity varies in different parts of the country (for example ECCIE is most popular in Texas and surrounding states, Big Doggie in Florida, MyRedbook in the Bay Area, etc) That way she can gauge her prices from those of the other girls. Escorts who ask more tend to be those with more experience who have learned the market; it’s not really something a beginner can pull off successfully.
Hi, I am looking towards becoming an escort for the sake of my 2 month old son because I am unable to get a job as of right now and do not wish to become homeless again. The thing is I do not know how to go about this on my own. I have call a lot of escort places asking if they are hiring and if they would hire me but none have called me back and I am running out of time so I thought I should try to do this on my own instead. What is your advise on this?
Here’s my answer to a woman who asked a similar question a while back, and coincidentally, tomorrow’s column is not dissimilar. I would definitely also read all the questions in the “mentoring” section of my Questions page, even if you don’t think they really apply to you. It will help you get a feel for the business. Joining an escort board is also a good idea; the other ladies can really help you to get started and to avoid some of the problems you may experience. Good luck, please be careful and don’t hesitate to write me if you have any questions you don’t see the answers to elsewhere.
WOW DALLAS WAS LISTED IN THE TOP HIGHEST PAYING ESCORT BUSINESS ….BUT AFTER READING THIS I GUESS NOT ANYWHO SOUTH FLORIDA SUCKS!!!!!! NEVER WORK THERE AS FAR AS FORTLAUDERDALE,MIAMI,HOLLYWOOD THE MEN THERE ARE CHEAP AND WINE ONLY OFFER 50 DOLLARS AND THE WOMAN THEREARE CHARGING AS LOW AS 40 ROSES …JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL
Girl you speak the truth you are exactly right a lot of the women in South Florida are so damn stupid and cheap it’s not even worth it I’ve seen 35spl once, I live there but I never work in the area I prefer the Northeast part of the country a lot better!
There IS an erotic service providers union, people might want to consider joining it!
espu-ca.org
The union is connected to the Erotic Service Providers Legal Education and Research Project which has filed the Federal case to expand sexual privacy rights and will decriminalize consensual sex work in nine states when won!
Rightsnotrescue.com
That’s quite a thing to know. Prostitution is the new marijuana? And perhaps, someday, the new same-sex marriage.
I will have to admit..coming from a girl that is in the business and lives in Dallas..im hardly ever home..i do more traveling than anything..Dallas is a horrible city to work in..its very slow and they do stings damn near every week..the men are full of shit and very spoiled because their are females that do $40 specials so the men think everyone will do that..the men are also pretty hard out there..you have tp have security..they will try to rob you, kidnap you, the recruiting is ridiculous…some good days…more bad
Dallas has always been bad for stings. When I worked/lived there my attorney advised me to live in a different county than where my incall was so if they wanted to raid my home for computers etc, they would have to involve two different counties, judges and PD, making it more work which equaled less desirable to come after.
Money can be very good there with the right marketing (lots of big business execs) and lots of patience. What I found was I made the same amount of money whether I worked 30 days or 9 days; I just had to learn to be very clear I was only available on certain days and prebook those days accordingly. Over time (as I mentioned; patience) building up my regular client list ensured my financial stability and growth.
BUT you do have the other side, women underselling themselves and listening to clients guide them, ie; well she does this and she does that all for $. And there is a high percentage of that going on, unfortunately it’s spread like wildfire to nearly all major markets. And that really became apparent in the housing/market crash.
Personally I loved the money I made in Dallas but wouldn’t return because of the heavy LE presence, which no matter how much you screen, is never guaranteed safe 🙁