I have been hobbying in various degrees since 1997 and have always wondered what kind of experience I'd have with an SP who charges what could be termed 'high' hourly rates (eg. a lady charging over $350.00/hour). I've thought about it but have backed away -- not because I'm overly cheap but because of several important points.
Firstly,what am I getting from a high priced SP as opposed to one whose rates are more middle of the road, say $300.00 and less? We all know that there are plenty of beautiful, classy ladies out there with great bodies and great attitudes who provide excellent service. Why should one charge more per hour than another? To me, the only way I would consider the higher priced lady would be if she had some kind of notoriety or some sort of fame or recognition that would be worth the premium. A porn star, or a lady who was a centrefold model or who has posed for the cover of a well known magazine would be good examples. Forgive me for saying this but a lady who could charge a high hourly rate for her notoriety would be, say, Karla Homolka, if she was an SP. I'm sure a lot of men would love an hour with her and even at a premium rate. If an SP simply offers herself as 'stunningly beautiful' or 'extremely sexy and selective' etc. well, to me, that's just not enough. You can get that anywhere.
Secondly, the higher the hourly rate, the less YMMV should be a factor. Conversly, the lower the rate, the more important YMMV becomes. If a high priced lady describes herself as selective or in the business strictly by choice or who openly states in her website that YMMV is important to her, I say, avoid, avoid, avoid. YMMV should not be an issue and a premium priced lady who is vague about the services she offers could mean poor value for money spent. It could also mean that the lady in question is charging a higher rate because she is not comfortable working as an SP and in order to reconcile her work with her insecurities, she's going to call herself 'a premium priced' lady even though she has little reason to do so. Personally, I only wish to see ladies who enjoy their work, are secure about themselves and reasonable in their financial expectations.
Thirdly, some clients may pay premium rates in order to get an ego boost because they can 'afford' the higher priced lady. But unless there is a compelling reason to pay double the rate for services that are no better or worse than those offered by other, less expensive ladies, your ego might get a boost but so will your stupidity. No matter how much money we hobbyists have available, I believe most of us want good value for dollars spent. If a high priced SP finds this reasoning objectionable or considers a hobbyist a loser for this kind of thinking, she is just trying to shame him and play on his ego. Not engaging the services of a high priced lady when there is no reason for me to do so doesn't mean I'm a loser. People, no matter what they are buying, always look for good value and the ones who don't look for good value are actually the real losers.
Finally, high priced SP's tend to discourage clients posting reviews and protect themselves with the 'no review policy'. Some are quite vociferous when it comes to review boards like TERB. This is another reason for caution. I don't believe any high priced ladies do this in order to take advantage of clients or to cover up bad service but I do believe they do this because they don't want word getting out that their services are no better than any other SP's. With so many wonderful ladies offering PSE and GFE experiences, the higher priced ladies don't want hobbyists comparing notes and seeing where exactly the value is.
To conclude, I've learned it is important to know what precisely you are paying for and to have good reason to pay what you are considering paying. Clear and logical thinking will protect you from disappointment and unfulfilling encounters and will hopefully ensure satisfaction with money spent.
