413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

Rates and Pricing Structures
Rates varied significantly across respondents and were closely tied to the number of transactions
completed by the business and its employees. Respondents employed similar pricing structures, such as
rates based on time and/or sex act. Other pimps set a price for dates, regardless of the time commitment
and sex act. Business philosophy could impact a pimp’s approach toward pricing:
Respondent: In the ad, I would charge $80 for a half-hour. My partners would charge
$350 [for in-calls], $250 for out-calls. But who makes more money Neiman Marcus or
Walmart
Interviewer: So you were the Walmart
Respondent: Yes. (D13)
Other pimps tended toward higher rates and fewer transactions. Regardless of business philosophy,
common pricing methods were reported across respondent interviews. Figure 7.1 illustrates the
percentage of respondents reporting the use of time increment-, date-, and sex act-based pricing
structures. Since some respondents used multiple different pricing structures, the categories below are
not mutually exclusive.
Figure 7.1 Pricing Structure
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