Also, in many cases, the dollar has fallen significantly compared to the local currency (Brazil, Thailand) or local inflation has been significant even with a currency that's fallen relative to the dollar (Argentina, Mexico.)

As others note, when Brasil was so cheap it was because the real (their currency) was so weak against ALL other currencies, not just the greenback. Prices in TJ have not changed in a decade.

I've been saying that for years, yet a lot of guys just don't want to believe it. Even some of the so called "experienced" guys. Add that to the declining dollar, and it all goes to hell.

In fairness, I would say the same applies to street whores here in SFO. Many were demanding very high prices when enough guys drive away, they have to rethink it all, and the prices come down or the whores move on.

an item's value is what people will pay for it.

there are only 2 possible cases here...

1. enough of those gullible lapdogs were willing to pay $100 for a fuck. in that case, by definition, that's what the market price for the fuck was, and your desire to get one cheaper actually makes you a cheap bastard, not them gullible lapdogs.

2. not enough of those gullible lapdogs were willing to pay $100 for a fuck. in which case, the situation you're whining about doesn't exist. instead, just a relative handful of guys are paying more than bonedonor's and fillmorekid's approved whore-fuck rates, but it's not enough to impact the market price.

since it's clearly case #1, it's more accurate to label the participants properly, and for you to just admit that other people are willing to pay more for an item than you personally want to pay for it, and it ticks you off. waahh... cry a little more.

and keep focusing on the symptom that annoys you instead of the broader trends causing it, to ensure that you incorrectly answer the question that was asked.

if we have case #1 (and i think we do), whether it wads your panties or not (clearly it does for BD and FMK), the proper questions are "is it that i'm a tightwad? or relatively poor? or is something else going on here?"

as much as i'd like to name-call for dramatic and comedic effect (you poor tightwads), i think it's the "something else," not that you're poor tightwads (you cheap bastards).

it boils down to debt, awful govt policies encouraging debt (ever hear an elected official talk about "credit," and how it's the "backbone of our financial system?"), and idiots who don't know how to manage their finances.

at the aggregate, this country has been living above its means, the bill is coming due, and we have a structural unemployment problem. welcome to the dawn of a long economic winter. finally.

now that we've crossed over the Peak Credit hump, watch what happens to those bozos who were running around feeling rich, buying everything on debt, and outspending you on whores... given that we can all feel your bitterness towards them in every post, i'm somewhat confident that you're going to enjoy the upcoming tsunamis of personal bankruptcies and home foreclosures (and no, we ain't seen nothing yet... 2008 was just the prelude).

to be honest, so will i. in most cases, it'll just be people who foolishly lived above their means (via debt, used for pleasure and not to invest) and failed to save a single penny when times were good... getting what they deserve. we need a nice deflationary depression to clear out all the system's debt.

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obligatory mention of whores

I believe the correct term is Lame Dupe Over Payer (LDOP).

It is nice to see that Gabor added his invention to the Urban Dictionary for us:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=LDOP

Lame Dupe Over Payer Born on the Pattaya mongering scene as a summary of the two week millionaries, low esteem ego tourists on the mongering scene, weak personalities try to talking up the prices or justify their overpays ( whilst crying about 5 baht on the pickup taxis ) Persons fooled by the barowners, managers, the girls compare the prices always with the prices at home to justify their own feelings of guilty. Created by the hungarian notorious Pattaya board poster, Gabor.

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obligatory mention of whores

Speaking of lapdogs, look what the cat dragged in...

>since it's clearly case #1, it's more accurate to label the
>participants properly, and for you to just admit that other
>people are willing to pay more for an item than you
>personally want to pay for it, and it ticks you off.
>waahh... cry a little more.

Doesn't tick me off. I just don't spend my money on whores much anymore, and save it for other stuff. If you want to be suckers, be my guest.

>now that we've crossed over the Peak Credit hump, watch what
>happens to those bozos who were running around feeling rich,
>buying everything on debt, and outspending you on whores...
>given that we can all feel your bitterness towards them in
>every post,

How am I bitter for pointing out what is clearly fact?

> i'm somewhat confident that you're going to
>enjoy the upcoming tsunamis of personal bankruptcies and
>home foreclosures (and no, we ain't seen nothing yet... 2008
>was just the prelude).

I don't care or worry about the misfortune of others, I just take care of myself.

BoneDonor

this "counterargument" always boggled me. even the people that in my opinion needlessly overpaid never gave a shit about this, so i'm not sure why those on the other side of the fence always bring it up in an argument.

the handful of guys i encountered who gave a shit whether a hooker (or any thai person) respected them were always trying to "prove" it was all about something besides the money and spending as little as they could.

never met a single big-spender who thought he was buying anything but a good time with no hassle.

> 2) simply paying more for something
>others can get cheaper does NOT make it better,

of course not. but it might make it more convenient or easier, and if you have the money to burn and that's appealing to you, why the fuck not?

> nor does it
>make the "prudent shopper" a cheap skate.

no, to be a cheap charlie, you need to do more than look for a bargain and be frugal with your $. you need to whine to no end about how others spend their money and how that impacts you. oh, and wake up each morning wondering where the free food will be, then plan your day based on that.

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obligatory mention of whores

You know, if anyone's doing the whining, it's you. Some of are of the opinion that what's being offered isn't worth the price being ask, so we choose other activities accordingly. I don't regret setting aside the extra cash that would have otherwise gone to feed the ego of some bimbette who thinks that the fact she owns a vagina justifies charging what I would pay a doctor or attorney for their services, which I find to be of far greater value. As for the value proposition, most of my most enjoyable hobbying memories have been experiences where I paid less than $100, and the women who offered those services did so voluntarily without feeling put upon or taken advantage of. If I don't find a $300 experience any more enjoyable than a $100 experience, and can't justify the difference in my own mind, why should you care or not?

I have seen a lot of things on this board change over the last 8 years, and one of the more notable ones has been on the emphasis of who is being served here. This started out as an exchange for HOBBYISTS, but over the last few years has completely turned tail and instead pandered to the PROVIDERS, who with the help of their various and sundry sycophants have sanitized and effectively dumbed down the board to where said providers have forums where they can babble on and on about things of no interest to the average john, but bad reviews and critical remarks seem so somehow disappear. If you're proud of your role in turning a once-great site into a vehicle for provider ego gratification and incessant self-promotion, that's your perogative, but don't go around castigating us long-timers because we don't share your desire to uncritically accept every bit of nonsense shoved our way. Got it?

BoneDonor

Years back when I first started going to LOS, all the girls took the same standard "going rate." Guys didn't send them money every month, buy them cars and trucks, live stock, or houses etc...we didn't call them our "tee-luks" or "little Thai girl friends" it was what it was. We were respectful and so were they, and the service was a lot better.

We ran the game back then, not the other way around as is now often the case. We went there to fuck whores. Now guys go there to date them. How often do you read a post about where to take a bar girl for dinner that will impress her? or "I wanted to here, she wanted to go there...so we went there..." "...oh how do I deal with this girl who is causing me grief...?" "where do I go to get a "Good girl?"" (here's a clue, if you can't score at home with non whores, you will strike out everywhere) That kind of crap just didn't happen back then.

In comes the internet, guys with issues different from mine, suddenly decided to flood into BKK and get laid for the first time. They had been Castrated by PC bullshit, and had this idea of "...what? only $12.50 for a short time? that isn't fair, I could never get a girl at home for that (no, he could never get a girl at home period) so I'll pay her a lot more..." and like it or not, the prices shot up! The service also went down, and there seems to be a lot less respect shown to the customer.

Fhead and the rest can throw out all the philosophical economic crap they want but the fact is, when money floods into an area, and people voluntarily pay more than is asked for or expected, it effects the local economics and prices as a whole. Why all the economics experts and "millionaires" here can't see that is just sad. It really isn't difficult to see.

please excuse my laughter... it's not that i'm a world-class economist or even a financial expert, it's just that after psycho-babble drivel such as this:

>In comes the internet, guys with issues different from mine,
>suddenly decided to flood into BKK and get laid for the
>first time. They had been Castrated by PC bullshit, and had
>this idea of "...what? only $12.50 for a short time? that
>isn't fair, I could never get a girl at home for that (no,
>he could never get a girl at home period) so I'll pay her a
>lot more..." and like it or not, the prices shot up! The

...mixed in with the ol' "a" happened and "b" happened, therefore, one absolutely must have caused the other...

it's hard for me to imagine you labeling anything anybody else writes as crap.

you haven't described a single "big-payer" that i've _ever_ met in the thai whoring scene.

in fact, i don't know that i've ever met a PC-castrated whoremonger -- most of them are too busy telling people that fucking a whore is evil.

i'm sure that the guy you describe is out there, just as you describe him. pushing up prices, in force and certainly worth all your disdain. keep up the good work.

at least bonedonor said some sensible things in his response.

hey, why did college tuition prices shoot up so much in the last 2 decades? or housing? was it all those pussy-whipped college admissions and mortgage loan officers, giving out diplomas and loans to every XX that came their way (fuckin' pc bastards!)? can't wait to hear your link on that one. and i'm sure it has nothing to do with debt either.

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obligatory mention of whores

No idea why College tuition went up, maybe the over all cost. Housing cost shot up because over over speculation (basically a bunch of ill informed fools thought it was worth more than it really was, kind of like some guys in Thailand?) and because a bunch of greedy bastards bid way more than the asking price. The price of whores has nothing to do with debt, it has to do with greed, and a fool willing to pay the outrageous price...just like the price of housing maybe? And where are many of those people now? under water on a mortgage. And that influences the price of a Thai girl selling her ass how?