Leolist used to be a pretty decent site before they sold it overseas. Now it is one of the worst out there! For all the reasons listed above, as well as how they treat their legitimate paid advertisers.
In 2017, one bump cost only $0.25. Now, one bump costs between $7.95-$9.95, that’s an increase of over 3800% in 8 years. I understand that inflation happens, but a 400% increase per year is just bonkers! Not only that, but they now post their own sponsored ads that lead to other websites that they also own, which forces advertisers like us to bump more often just to stay on the first couple of pages. In 2017, I could bump once and stay on page one for a whole day, possibly even 2. In 2025, when I bump in Victoria, I am off page one within a few hours, and when I do it while visiting Vancouver I am off page one in just a few minutes! So not only are they continually gouging us for the price of bumps, they are also deliberately making it more difficult to be seen in the sea of fake/sponsored ads, and rampant scammer ads. They refuse to address the scammer issue, because there are so many of them that they are making more money from the scammers who post ads, than they are from legit providers, so they don’t care to get rid of them. Reporting doesn’t really help, because the scammer will just start a new ad immediately. There is no verification process besides holding a sign with a date on it which anyone can fake in Photoshop.
Then, just a couple of weeks ago, they introduced a new way to gouge us, called scheduled bumps. Bumps are sold in packages between 2 and 30, and there is only a slight cost incentive to buy 30 so many providers just buy 2 at a time. We used to be able to use those bumps whenever we wanted, but now, Leo is forcing us to schedule them both for the same day, and if we don’t, they just use them for us. The only way to get around it is to buy a bigger bump package, which some simply can’t afford to do all in one go. It is quickly becoming even more inaccessible for low volume, or low income providers, making it even more difficult for them to get ahead.
Perb is pretty great as there are no scammers here, and if they tried, they would be quickly found out and banned. But the downside is, even though it is much more economical than Leo list, the monthly cost is still a deterrent for some and so there isn’t a very large selection of providers regularly advertising here. However, the reviews are very helpful for clients and providers, and the 411 is helpful for clients who want to verify the legitimacy of providers who may not be advertising here.
Tryst is my favorite, as it was started by sex workers, and has a tiered pricing system that is accessible to everyone. Providers can have a free account, and still be seen if they are in a smaller city. Vancouver not so much, they need to pay a higher tier to be noticed on the first several pages, but there is no such thing as bumps, Tryst randomly shuffles providers within each tier and they have an available now button which does push you to the top of your tier for a limited amount of time, for no extra cost.
Until recently, it was more difficult for scammers to advertise there, because they require ID to open an account. However, in bigger cities, people have been noticing there are more and more scammers popping up, which I think is because they don’t have a great verification system for ID, so scammers can provide fake ID that bypasses their screening, and they end up getting a free account doing just what they’re doing on Leolist which is unfortunate. I hope they find a way to address this, but for now their report button works well, so if you ever find a scammer on tryst, please report it and they will not let that person back on using the same ID and photos.
Sadly there are no perfect sites, but avoiding scammers is fairly simple if you follow a few general guidelines. Look for ads that include a personal website, scammers don’t usually go that extra mile to pay for a domain name and registered website for a fake person. Look for ads that include some kind of social media, a real phone number, and/or email, not a WhatsApp # or only accepting messages through onlyfans. Do a simple Google lens search on one of their images to see if it’s a famous Instagram model or porn actress with a different name. Phrases like avail 24/7, party friendly, 100% real, lots of grammar and or spelling errors, can sometimes indicate a fake ad. Of course none of these guidelines are 100% foolproof, lots of legit providers don’t have social media or a website, do use an app number, are party friendly or available often, and some happened to fail the spelling bee….but that’s when your common sense comes in and you should pop over here and see if there are any reviews or mentions of the person you are looking at. A little research goes a long way!
😘
