The total cost of actual service providers for me is roughly between $90,000-100,000. That spans a time from 1995 to now. Much, much more money spent when I was younger. It was weekly, and sometimes two a day at times. The amount has curtailed dramatically in the last 15 years, to around $1000-2000/year. So, that tells you how busy I was in my 20's. The prices were much lower in the mid 90's, and I'd say the average was $140/hour, and that was FS, everything included. Back then there was much more of a street scene, and prices could also be negotiated a lot more. You simply don't negotiate now, which really sucks, but I understand why - there are some real fricking cheapskates out there. I never in 25 years of doing this have ripped off a provider.
Now, if I calculate how much time I have spent searching (the street scene), looking through ads before internet (Buy n'Sell, Georgia Straight, Westender), and searching the earliest sites (Hollywood North Escorts, Escorts Canada) etc, then my cost of this hobby easily reaches $500,000. Seriously - the cost of fuel alone is exorbitant. I'd sometimes drive from Surrey to Vancouver to New West three times in one night searching. This is why I asked this question to begin with. While I have no regrets in doing this, if I were to do it again, I would be more choosy and selective. It's much easier now, but many years ago you could search Hastings for hours and end up settling for something less than stellar. Or, spend hours searching and calling various paper ads, only to end up at some Surrey crackhouse with a crackhead.
I can honestly say, the only thing from preventing me from making this an almost daily hobby are my finances. If money was not an issue then I'd be spending a crap load more. Maybe if I win the lottery...