@geoff1000 Could you give me the short version of the point? That made my head hurt. : )
I am not even sure if you are agreeing or disagreeing, or have no opinion of my feelings that pros talking amongst themselves about not going below a threshold is wrong wrong wrong! Can't stop it unless the mods want to, but why would they? $$$$$ But the pros themselves COULD simply decide that was wrong. Of course that would involve putting ethics ahead of bottom line, so only certain type might even consider it. Or maybe then that pro who drops her price gets banned. Would not surprise me, but I don't have that perspective since I'm not a pro.
Just know that here in Fairfax, a very expensive area, I can still go to about 7 different massage places and get GREAT massages from beautiful girls with nice music, oils, and in a few of them they even have the bars on the ceiling so they can walk on my back which is my favorite, and for $60 per hour. So that is why that is my choice every week.
@AceCuddlerMike I think we should allow pros to charge as little as they want, with no implication that they are bad or spoiling the income of others ; just as we should let them charge as much as they want, without implying they offer more "services". My feeling is that most pros are so geographically-separated, that clients don't have much choice ; so there wouldn't be a "turf war" with clients flying 1000 miles to find one who is $10 cheaper.
If I were a pro, I would want to be able charge less initially, to build up a reputation and customer base, increasing to maybe 5 cents / hour when I was established.
Pro-cuddling has some fixed outgoings ; but I'm told that any business which actually makes a profit in the first year, didn't invest enough.
"but I'm told that any business which actually makes a profit in the first year, didn't invest enough."
Haha true!
@AceCuddlerMike Could you persuade some of those massage girls and / or establishments to go pro-cuddler ?
Maybe they don't even know such an activity exists ?
Ruby Roundhouse, on seeing her "strengths and weaknesses" list. "Dance fighting ? Is that even a thing ?"
I have come across professional cuddlers who charge much lower prices, so it's not as if competition is non-existent . But the thing is, most of these women will be approaching it more like an enthusiast, and will be as selective as other enthusiast women. If people aren't being paid that much, then chances are they will only cuddle with people they really connect with, otherwise they won't feel it's worth their time and energy. So I'm not convinced it would give men easier access to cuddling with the women they want to cuddle with. Cuddling is a much more intimate and vulnerable activity than massage therapy in many respects.
@TouchSanctuary So less like a taxi-driver, and more like a car-sharing friend asking for some gas money ?
I think we should encourage that. Non-pro females are so in demand, I'd be happy if we men could at least ensure that cuddling isn't costing them, without breaking CC "amateur status" rules.
The only way for a cuddle to cost someone nothing, is if they host, and not everyone can do that.
I'm fairly sure the cuddle market isn't particularly subject to price fixing. You've got dozens of individual businesses with minimal contact between each other. Even if a handful of pros talk and decide they shouldn't lower their prices past $X, there are regularly new cuddlers showing up on the market.
I think to the extent that prices are high, it's just because of the weird nature of the cuddle market. Potential pros are not as likely to actually become pros as one might naively think, and so there are not enough cuddlers to keep up with demand.
I also have some evidence that the cuddlers charging much higher than average prices, like $150 or more, get many fewer clients than those charging $100 or less, but I don't know this for certain.
@CuddleMeLater Idk if that last sentence was intended to be funny, but it made me laugh. : )
@CuddleMeLater yeah I think the people on the extreme ends of the pricing spectrum (those who charge very high or very low) have fewer clients, though maybe for different reasons.
The pros who charge very low probably don't view this as a main or important source of income, and are probably far more picky about who they cuddle with - so it's not that different to dealing with an enthusiast. Some prospective clients may also be put off by an unusually low price, wondering "what's the catch?" or whether they are poor quality/less serious about the work. If the majority of pros charge between $60-100 per hour and there's someone charging $20-40, I suspect people might wonder. They might be more like an enthusiast who just charges a few bucks to cover costs like transport, food/drinks, or going to a movie together. For example, if someone is unable to drive, then it would cover the cost of an Uber there and back.
The ones who charge a very high price are most likely only looking for clients of a certain socioeconomic status or demographic, and I suspect they would get less clients as a result (unless they frequently offer discounts privately).