High Price of Cuddling

661

Just my 2 cents, but I think the price of pro cuddlers is a bit steep. I am not hurting for money by any means, but $70 - $95 for the hour? I am now instead going to a massage place nearby. It's cheaper and I feel as though I'm getting more bang for the buck.

Obviously I am in the minority. The market sets pricing, and a lot of people are willing to fork over that kind of cash.

It says a lot that so many are in such a need for this kind of service, and are willing to pay so much.

Morpheus

This is been a very sore subject for a long time and you are not in the minority, many people think the prices are too high. I would suggest you start reading at the link below.

https://www.cuddlecomfort.com/forum/discussion/3265/cuddling-rates/p1

Scarlette

This topic is truly beating a dead horse. I think at this point we have a agreed to disagree. Pay or don't pay, pay a little or pay a lot, spend your money on cars or golf or massages or vacations .... whatever, it's your money.

I will however say that a massage is EXTREMLY different than a cuddle. That is comparing Apples to oranges. I suggest you experience a couple cuddles with good, reputable pros so you can see for yourself.

661

Thanks. I read all of the posts and agree with most of them. I laughed at the one who claimed to net $2 in an $80 session.

I try to see both sides. If I were a pro and had a choice between 4 sessions per day at $40 each, or 2 at $80 each, it would be easy to go with the second option. I understand that. But to pay more than $60 an hour for something like this is ridiculous to me.

I am going to try the non-pros, although I don't expect too much success there.

Scarlette

@661... definitely give it a try. The description on your profile of what you're looking for does not lead me to believe massage is going to meet your needs . (Although, a good massage is magical!)

"I have very little physical contact these days, and I really miss it.

Fall and winter are the worst. Night after night of being alone isn't as much fun as it sounds.

It's surprising how difficult it is to find someone who wants to share something like this."

That's a nice warm, comfy cuddle not a massage.

Also, don't initially be turned off just by the pros rate as most of us offer discounts. For example, I charge $95/hr. But with the right combination of discounts the price may be able to drop to $60hr. I've never had to drop it that low but it's probably possible.

Good luck!

ubergigglefritz

And smart new pros start cheaper (akin to going for a cut at barber college instead of a fancy place, ha). I started at $50, now at $60, and like Scarlette, I have discounts to get it lower.

Definitely different from a massage, but I admit that if you're touch starved enough, a massage can be pretty awesome for the touch alone. If you can't find a pro you want to use, a massage is at least something.

And another consideration. I not only would prefer the two for $80 over the four for $40, but I need to do it that way in order to be any good at this. Cuddling takes emotional energy. I only have so much to go around, so I need to make the necessary amount in fewer hours or I will burn out and be lousy at it. As opposed to how many hours I could sit and program in a day.

We all have our reasons, and that's one of mine. Like is always said, if people weren't willing to pay, I would have to switch work or drop my prices.

calineur

I believe that this has been discussed, and that the price was justified, but like anything else, if you buy more “units”, you might get a per unit discount, since the cost per unit decreases to the professionals.
I am curious though, are massage places cheaper?? And what does “more bang for your buck” mean? I stopped going to massage places because all I wanted was to cuddle and the price with tip was actually a little more at the massage places. I did find, though, that the majority of massage therapists were ok with cuddling.

I agree, one cuddler wanted $150 for one hour, WHY??

ubergigglefritz

@navyman35 It doesn't matter why, don't use her, haha. I agree it's ridiculous. I also get really annoyed when new people come and charge average or above rates when I'm starting lower to attract people and get more experience before "promoting" myself. But that's their choice, and the client's choice on who they use. All I can control is myself and what I do. O:-)

661

Navyman35, I'm a business guy and I have to admit that I have to hand it to a cuddler who is able to get $150 for one hour. They are obviously worth it to enough people for them to charge that kind of rate. I don't understand it, but I don't have to.

It will be interesting to watch the hourly rate trends. I predict that they will head north.

In a way it's sad, given what this is about, but that's how it works.

ubergigglefritz

@661, I genuinely hope that I get to a point where I can donate cuddles at a certain frequency. There are so many people who have no funds, but desperately need it. But I need enough kind hearted people WITH funds in order to make that possible, haha. So yeah, I completely agree with you, that it is sad, but I also have bills to pay :-( And honestly, if I have to get another job and stop doing this, I won't have the energy to do cuddling also. So it's either cuddling helps pay the bills and I get to help some people, or I help no one and go back to boring meaningless work :-P

quietman775

@661 said, "It says a lot that so many are in such a need for this kind of service, and are willing to pay so much."

Nah. For some of us, it's not about need. Simply about enjoyment. People spend all sorts of sums for enjoyment. Seen the price of concert tickets lately? Or a day at a Major League Baseball game? How about a Swiss watch? And tell me you've never spent $60 on a restaurant meal that took you less than an hour to eat. Some folks go out for such a meal once a week. If that seems unreasonable to you, limit yourself to once a month or once a quarter. You'll still enjoy it. Or maybe you are unwilling to spend that kind of money on a meal on principle. That's okay. But there's no sense bemoaning the existence of $60 meals (or $20k timepieces), or speculating on what it says about people who are willing to pay for them.

I count cuddling as a sort of hobby. And all of my hobbies cost money, some more than this one. I'm trying to do The 50-State Cuddle, because I find the concept fun. Not a lot of "need" involved.

The forums have gone 'round and 'round the this particular mulberry bush enough to make everybody dizzy. What's to be gained by all the kvetching? Enthusiasts of both sexes outnumber pros. Perhaps finding one or more of them will obviate your concern. I've met five enthusiasts in the last few years. As a category, enthusiasts present their own unique challenges. I tend to gravitate to pros for the sake of convenience and lack of complications. That may not suit everybody. But since the free option exists, there seems to be no good reason to complain about the cost of the paid option.

661

Quietman775, you have confused my stating both sides of the coin as complaining. I am not complaining. Nowhere have I expressed hope that prices come down.
I was saying that it didn't work for me, but there is hardly any hand-wringing there.

pmvines

Re the 150 per hr , just cus you are charging that doesn't mean you are getting business . One recently popped up in my search radius charging 200 and after I spoke with her and forewarned that she likely wont get much business , or could be misconstrued as offering extras due to the big gap in rate , she went down to 150 . No karma yet so not sure if has gotten business . However I do also support her right to charge it and wish her luck if she is able to pull it off then good on her I suppose . Since I don't pay to cuddle I dont really have a dog in the fight but am able to understand basic economics and supply and demand

It's a shame that most are so expensive, as some are desperate for cuddles and have nobody local who doesn't charge and it's hard to find local pros who don't charge so much.

It's a job like any other and people have bills to pay, but it's sad that so many charge X amount for cuddling, when there's a fair number who can't afford that or find cheaper ones. To me, it's like doctors who charge a lot for their time or dentists, therapists, etc. People who are needed, yet are too expensive for a large number of people who need their services to be mentally/physically healthy.

voic123

I was hoping it to be between 40 to 60 too; but most of them are not affordable at or above 80

ubergigglefritz

Suggestion: if you can afford 40, but not 80, do it half as often as you would prefer. At least try. If it's not worth it, don't do it again, or after some time passes and you've saved, try a different pro. You need to find a good match :-)

Scarlette

What you don't realize is how low the prices are here on Cuddle Comfort. I charge $120/hr. elsewhere. I just booked a 1.5 hr cuddle for $180. My 3 hour Zen cuddle is $250 on Cuddle Comfort and $335 elsewhere and I get booked equally from both places. I have a 6 hr cuddle coming up for $646 and I charge less $500 here.

It's not a bad thing to have choices.

Sashamcgee

I not particularly keen on getting into a debate of this nature BUT I think it's worth mentioning the hours and hours that pros spend screening potential clients, and depending on who the pro is, building a relationship with the client. I know personally I have spent countless hours outside of cuddling doing such screening and relationship building.

So my $80 for an hour worth of cuddling is actually and hour of cuddling and potentially hours worth of time answering questions and building a raport to make sure that we can be as comfortable as possible when cuddling time comes.

I personally prefer this anyway because I tend to be anxious around new people and it helps me to be comfortable as well, but it is still time that I'm not being spending with my family or friends or living my life.

Anyway I thought it was worth noting.

cuddlebugTM

How many posts are going to be on the same subject . There are plenty you could join that already exist !!

Morpheus

I was gonna comment but I started thinking, somewhere on these boards, @Scarlette told me she loved me and @pmvines and I commented today in solidarity against someone. I think I’m just gonna revel in it.

I guess you meant me. I'm permanently done with the forum because of false accusations, lies, and the deletion of threads by moderators.

661

CuddlebugTM, and yet here you are, reading this thread and commenting again.

661

LastKnightDown, what you described are actual problems or concerns - not issues. I agree with the rest of your statement.

Most of the population have never even heard of professional cuddling. I bet that most would laugh at the costs. The pros are working with a very small audience.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out over time. Maybe the number of people doing it for free will increase. Maybe cuddling will become even more popular and expensive; or less, if more people decide to be pros.

Time will tell.

Morpheus

Every single argument that I have ever heard pros make regarding inflated prices has been weak. The only reason that Pros increase their rates is because, to put it politely, they want to make more money. I really wish the pros would just say this rather than continuing to make these weak arguments.

alexb2

if you think a cuddlers price is high, it does not mean they are getting that money, they are just testing the market. There is nothing to stop you from offering a lower rate. If they are having a quiet period they may appreciate the business. A cuddlers price could also change over time, as they will have to test demand at the price. I would imagine most cuddlers will start at the price of other pros in their area. But since every cuddler is unique, they will have to adjust that price based on demand.

andy8502

Gosh quite some strong opinions ? . I guess charges for professional services are set by the market and maybe a little by the motivation of the person providing the service.

Given the specialism of the subject it’s not something a professional is likely to do for 40 hours a week so to me the charges seem very reasonable. The OP compares to a massage but the two are not comparable.

I’m still looking for a cuddling buddy in the UK professional or otherwise but money will not be a factor in my choice.

661

Come on, Morpheus, they are doing this mostly because they want to share their energy and benefit people, and sometimes at great sacrifice. There was one big-hearted cuddler here who charges $80 per hour but she only nets $2.00!

I have little doubt that many of the $75/hour people are actually losing money on each session. They deserve our gratitude for their selflessness.

P.S. Andy8502, massaging and cuddling are not that far apart. One big difference: Massage takes much more training and is much more demanding physically for the person doing the work.

Morpheus

I’m actually expecting a huge price hike sometime in the near future once someone reports all of these unreported wages to the IRS. Once the IRS comes down on pro cuddlers and forces them to all pay taxes, the pros will take that out on clients and their rates will skyrocket.

ubergigglefritz

@Morpheus What are weak arguments? My main one is that for each hour I get paid, I'm actually working many more hours unpaid, so my net hourly rate is WAY lower. Is that a weak argument? Do I need to log how much time I'm working on the business unpaid to convince you?

@alexb2 I guess I'm stupid (or smart), lol. I started way LOWER than others in the area, because I was brand new, with no experience or karma. Even after only a month I have more karma than others in the area, lol (no one sticks around). Technically, I should raise my rates up to at least average at this point, but I'm going to stay at 60 until I feel more confident in my skills and I'm actually getting business more regularly. I probably could get away with 80 since it's normal, which would help me a lot, but oh well...

@andy8502 you hit it right on the nose as another reason. I'm not going to "cuddle" for 40 hours a week :-P lol. Also, you are in the wrong country. I want to cuddle you, lol. It's really frustrating all the people I could help, living places where I can't, and they can't find anyone who will :-(

@Morpheus , I pay my taxes on all income (I report my Airbnb income also). I may be in the minority, but that annoys me just as much as you.

ubergigglefritz

I could be a cheaper cuddler if I laid there like a dead fish and you weren't allowed to do anything other than hold me. Oh, and zero conversation. Pay less, get less. Pay more, get more.