@Morpheus, i agree. Price is important. It be nice if ownership invested in a hierarchy scoring method that allowed fiddlers/pros to work their way up based on activity level, frequency and reviews that are confidential except to mods, as a scoring method of sorts. Of course this requires investment. @WriterGF what do you think of this? @charliehustle anything I'm overlooking? @TxTom does address the exploitation, what would you do?
@WriterGF You could say the same of any job as far as driving to and from the place you work. Obviously there’s variance with something like cuddling, but distance traveled could something that could be part of the conversation if you’re being asked as a pro to drive a long way.
I didn’t say cuddling should be free and that charging for cuddling was wrong. I said that charging $100+ is exploitative. I agree that if less was charged, then the site would need to take less of the income per session because it would be a much higher percentage at that point. But also, is that $15 you mentioned per hour or per session? That makes a big difference if you’re talking about a 1 hour session vs. a 3 hour session.
To Everyone: I feel like I’ve said all I have to say though. I guess to summarize my final thoughts before I stop responding to this thread, life is a challenge, and we’re all in this together. Everyone has their struggles. I joined this site because one of my struggles was being alone and touch starved. I was very depressed and was just looking for others who were in a similar boat and were looking for mutually beneficial interactions with cuddling. On the face of it, this site seemed like a great way for people who wanted platonic physical contact to meet each other. It wasn’t obvious upfront that it’s nearly impossible to find enthusiast women wanting to cuddle, and the price for pro cuddling is incredibly high. I’m sorry, but $100+ per hour is a LOT of money. If you disagree with that, that’s fine. The average income per hour is projected to be around $31.49 next year. So I personally think 3x the average income is a lot for cuddling, but to each his/her own. Back to the original point though, because of the imbalance and high pro prices, the site has actually made my mental health worse instead of better, and based on the poll results I’d say most enthusiast men feel that way. It’s clear from this thread that many people are in the same boat. So it’s ok if you disagree with me. It’s ok if you hate me after you’ve seen my comments in this thread. I knew I was probably making myself a public enemy when I started it, but I’d already given up so I figured the least I could do before I go is get the conversation started. I hope to see the pricing become more reasonable as time moves on. Like I’ve mentioned in other responses, the majority of people I’ve interacted with in the threads have been great people, pro and enthusiast alike. I genuinely wish you all the best ❤️
@BigAndCuddly27 💯, youre spot on. Thread has gotten off topic, I played a part in that. But you're spot on. There are enthusiast who are well intended, but I have found for many on here, in some of my seasons of “need” others maybe less responsive. That's not on you. Its on them. Stay healthy, be active, eat write. All you have to do is read some people’s post and know they are half glass full, and lets face it, that's why many are here, we are here to get filled up. Sometimes this site wont do that. I've paid paid nothing and up to $900. Emotional state afterwords has nothing to do with price.
We all have trauma, healing is good, we need each other for that.
Just to be clear: I 100% support everyone doing what is best for them as long as it's not hurting others.
I've said this a dozen times, but I've hired pros and it's always been great. I think they are all great people.
As Mark Knopfler once said, “Money for nothing and chicks for free”
Although I am able to afford pros, I find the prices to be particularly high for my liking. Hence, I am only looking for other enthusiasts. I haven't had any luck so far and probably won't for a very long time - platonic cuddling just isn't popular enough yet. All of this is to say that I am also in your boat too I hope you find peace and happiness sometime in the future. If you'd like to personally message me, I am more than happy to talk
@Nick4Cuddling If I am understanding your question correctly, I don't think that will happen. CC does one thing, facilitate the meeting of people who want to cuddle. Pros do not work for the site and the site is not going to provide grades for them. This is strictly a "let the buyer beware" situation.
While this is not a dating site, it functions much the same. People post profiles, trying to meet other people. The site does not vet them or take responsibility for them.
Think about it - if the site instituted a rating system and essentially recommended a cuddler based on past behavior or assigned them a level - and then they do something egregious during a session - would that not open the site up to lawsuit because they recommended this person?
The best way to think of this site is like the phone company. They make it possible for A to talk to B, but they have no responsibility for what gets said.
I think what you are shooting for is a completely different site than what CC is. As you get to know the place better, you may want to consider whether CC meets your needs or not.
Thank you @TxTom for at least trying to explain, but I don’t think it worked
@BigAndCuddly27 You are speaking about your own needs. Everyone is different. I don’t have the same needs as you do. I haven’t felt the need to cuddle lately because of a lot of things going on in my life. I am OK without it for now. Many other people have different needs than me. It’s troubling when you seem to think everyone is in the same situation as you.
$100 per hour Is not a lot to some people. I used to be a Pro. Clients didn’t think a single thing about spending that amount of money for a cuddle and actually quite a bit more when they booked multi hour sessions . Again, E v e r y o n e is different.
I can barely buy groceries. Am starting a thread complaining about that? (Maybe a gofundme instead 😊) No, it is what it is. I could’ve had a different career that might’ve put me in a better situation for retirement. That is On Me and frankly, I didn’t want a different career. But in the end, it doesn’t matter what I say or what you say because people tend to see everything through their own lens and don’t try that hard to understand someone else’s perspective or life situation.
I agree @WriterGF. Whether I am a pro or enthusiast I would not want a small group of people telling others what kind of cuddler I am or am not, especially on some kind of grading system. The current karma system is a little like that to me and I find it not very accurate or useful. Letting a few people tell others what and how you are is a bad idea, especially when you consider how difficult it is for some people to be impartial. Would you want those people telling you how every little thing is gonna be?
The first time a person is adversely affected by a small group of people passing judgment on them would probably cause them not to want this kind of system.
I prefer to be totally responsible for myself. I trust myself.
@BigAndCuddly27 Cuddling is important for Some People’s mental health. I know many people who don’t need it at all! I know people who think the whole idea is a little bit weird because they don’t need it They find other things that are good for their mental health like reading exercising socializing getting out traveling
I find the fees to be quite arbitrary, and are supplemented with a range of everything from “two hour minimum” (which can be close to $500 with some pros) to “available for dinners, events, and trips” which sounds tangentially related at best. That’s not how grocery stores set prices, despite the earlier comparison.
I relate to the OP somewhat because it is difficult for me to find cuddles. I find people to chat with, but most cuddle offers come from guys with significant others, or people that I am totally incompatible with, or people that are not local. (I do make my situation harder by only wanting a local cuddle, granted.) Most people I message first are not interested in cuddling me.
I don't think his situation is uncommon and I grieve for him and all the other forum posters who are having trouble (when I get the feeling they are really nice people like the OP). Much like me.
@SeekerInVA Oh, I am sure they are arbitrary. Some pros set really high prices until they find out they can't get much business at that rate and have to lower it. There is no standard, except an informal one. On the other hand, everyone has the right to say, "That cuddler is too expensive for me" and move along. Since no one is being forced to use the service, they can ask for whatever they want -- whether they get clients is another matter.
@BigAndCuddly27 The 15% fee is based on the entire price of the cuddle. So a multi-hour cuddle ends up being a higher fee.
@Nick4Cuddling The two admins are the site owners, who have full access to the site. Us mods have more restricted access that allows us to handle reports and forum flags. We do not police the site. We are not going out of our way to bust people (we are not paid employees) so we primarily respond to reports as we volunteer our time.
An exception would be sometimes I will see something inappropriate when browsing the site as an enthusiast and I’ll flag/report just like any other user.
After years on here, my enthusiast experience has been non-existent.
Nothing is going to change. Cuddlecomfort isn’t going to implement any type of pricing system and honestly they don’t have to. The only way that prices will drop is if clients all ban together and stop paying inflated fees but that isn’t going to happen either. All you can do is to determine whether or not you think it’s worth it or not. For me, it’s no longer worth it unless there are special circumstances.
...if clients all ban together and stop paying inflated fees...
If you want to blame "inflated fees" on someone, blame it on those who have been devaluing your dollar by running the printing presses non-stop. The value of everyone's dollar is less, therefore it takes more dollars. This isn't complicated.
Stop blaming the women.
Complaining about pros because you can't afford them is like complaining about fish because you can't afford caviar.
@BigAndCuddly27 Great question and good moderating of the conversation. Dealing with enthusiast has been something I do but dont get it the same time. A bunch have responded to initial messages and even more conversation, yet I still have never cuddled with an enthusiast all though I have tried. I have a few ideas on what may be the reason, some have already been stated.
For the record most comments are stating that enthusiast cuddlers seem to be non existent in reality. This is important for people to understand before they try and hijack the thread. It is part of this sites business model as well as part of their rules and regulations to site activity. If it is a type of clickbait where yes join and cuddle with a pro or enthusiast, but 10 cuddles in its all pros and not enthusiast then it is false advertisement. False advertisement is not ok. Especially when mental health hormones and money is involved.
Objectively speaking this is probably one of the top 3 things this site can address to streamline the user experience. If not then redesign the business model and be prepared at some point to make hard decisions on what this site will look like for the next 20 years. If it lasts that long.
This thread is ultimately about business decisions and making it a better experience for a large numbers of users who are experiencing the same outcomes.
Full disclosure - I only read the 1st full page of comments and skipped over the next 3 pages (it is a beautiful day in Central Indiana and I’m going for a bike ride rather than spending a big chunk of the afternoon reading the forum).
I just wanted to share my observations as I rapidly approach my 3rd anniversary on this site.
I view CC not so much as a “community” but almost like a big, emotional, community hospital. There are people who come here with the equivalent emotional damage of someone who had a bad fall at home and needs some immediate care to help them recover.
There are some who have more chronic conditions and need longer term care. Some have serious, critical conditions that require specialist not commonly found in a community hospital and they really need to seek the help of specialists outside of this hospital.
Like most big hospitals, there are some talented / gifted practitioners of the healing arts here and there are some “quacks” who should have their medical license revoked because they do more harm than good. I have been blessed by finding many more of the former than of the latter.
Like all hospitals, I am thankful they exist and are there when you need them but nobody should want to live there. In reading the forums, I see a constant stream of new “patients” arriving needing attention and I truly wish them all the best but some have unrealistic expectations about how soon they will “get treated”, especially if they are don’t want to pay for a professional to see them.
@ScroogeMcducky But female enthusiasts do exist, and there are male enthusiasts who have cuddled with them. It's not accurate to say they don't exist and it makes no sense to expect the site to guarantee you will find one.
All this site exists for is to put people with a similar interest in cuddling in a position to meet. That's it. They don't have control over how many female enthusiasts there are, how many choose to turn pro, or whether any of them will respond to you.
I'm really confused about what people want from this place. It's like if someone rented a hall for a dance .. is the hall responsible for whether or not someone dances with you? No.
Pros are a shortcut if you need cuddling now. They also have guidelines about why clients can or cannot be rejected. Enthusiasts can be as choosy as they want to be and may decide the whole business is too risky to be bothered with.
It is a weird feeling, tho not important really, to keep hearing enthusiasts don't exist and don't cuddle since I exist and have cuddled.
It's always a good idea to make sure you are not posting anything in the forum that makes you look unkind, even if you aren't speaking to women in the forum. Women read and no woman really wants to cuddle with a guy that is not nice to others.
@achetocuddle Or gives off the feeling that, if you cuddled with him and then decided you didn't want to do it again, he would make a huge emotional scene about it.
True.
Have any men here felt touch deprived and booked professional cuddlers; then subsequently bought a pet dog? I'm wondering if the touch deprivation and need to book professional cuddlers decreased post pet dog purchase. 🐶🐕
@WriterGF I appreciate an respect your opinion. Im just stating facts from a business standpoint.
@JohnR1972 interesting analogy. I still am hoping they gave you all the access you need to lay out a dull statistical analysis of this forum. Enjoy the day, put those calves to work!
@ScroogeMcducky What business model do you think they should adopt? I will concede that one of the issues I see here is that the marketing makes it sound like all you have to do is show up here and you will get a cuddle immediately, and that should probably be toned way down. Granted, that is how dating sites market themselves as well, and they face the same problem -- way more men than women.