That's a feel good answer but not practical. Doesn't take into account things like choppy connection, bad camera no sound or any other things that factor into member decisions. Giving business reasoning so models understand the 'why' of pricing.
You're right, in that aspect that I should have talked about connection and camera, as well as the computer - because that is important. I beefed up my computer when I realized my old Macbook Pro wouldn't get the job done as well as it should have (not enough RAM).
The higher you set your price the more active you will have to be at convincing members to pay it. This is just harder for newer models to get used to. A new model might not be able to sell the idea of $10/min like a veteran model can. As you get good at selling the easier you're able to sell at a higher and higher rate. Sometimes just being too busy lets you raise your rate, making yourself more available for higher paying members.
You're right to an extent. She wasn't asking about $10/min though. She was asking about a lower rate than that.
In all honesty, charging low rates (under $2 or $3/min) on Streamate, isn't going to bring in "quality" clientele. They're usually (not always) demanding and rude plus it's not a high percentage payout for models. SM takes 65-70% of our profits - depending on if we're with a daily pay like Boleyn Models or not. This is to cover the cost of affiliates as well as keeping the site up and running. But that means not much is left over for us.
We're literally putting ourselves naked on the interwebs for everyone to see. For me, it's not worth it if I'm only making $2 or less my cut, per minute. Obviously it's a choice that we've made to put ourselves into this situation of possibly being recorded or found out or whatever but if I'm doing that then I better be making enough money for it to be worth being found out and even in general for people to see me nekkid doin' sexy stuff on the interwebz. That's just my opinion though and what factors go into my pricing personally and I'd think others as well.
Members on SM have expectation within certain price range not only for what's offered but quality of cam/sound/session, if the model uses toys if the model has a bed, chair room to move in general, if she's offering penetration, oral, anal what outfits are available if she's serving a niche fetish. These are all factors into price justification.
The only thing I really think is a factor is the cam/sound. I also don't think ALL of those go into the price justification for every member. If someone wants to take a girl private/exclusive, they're going to take her private/exclusive. Just because she doesn't offer a certain fetish or she may not have the right set up for you, or she doesn't offer penetration, doesn't mean she should charge less than what she feels she is worth.
Personally, I charge on the higher end of the spectrum, mostly because I put a lot into my aesthetic (hair, makeup, background, lighting) and I want to appeal to a certain type of clientele. I don't want to have a show all of the time with just anyone. I offer the allure of exclusivity and that's what works for me - not everyone can afford it and it's okay. Sometimes that means I'm in freechat a lot longer than most and sometimes I'm not. I'm fairly well versed in fetishes as well. I also don't want to do shows dildo-ing myself all day long because it can be exhausting.
But that being said, even before I jacked my rates up and was knowledgeable about fetishes, I still had higher rates. Because that's what I felt I was worth and what made it worth it for me to being naked and showing myself on the damn internet.... and people still took me private/exclusive.
A big part of camming is confidence. If you're confident in yourself (or at least act confident, fake it til ya make it), it's a lot easier than when you're not.
Say I log on one day and I've been having a bad day mentally, I'm less likely to get shows.
If I log on and I've been doing good mentally, I'm usually a lot more likely to get shows.
tldr; please don't try to mansplain this business when you're not a camgirl. We have a right to charge what we feel we are worth because in the end it's us putting ourselves out there, for the world to see and not you. We're lowering our ability for future employment, safety, etc. Which going into it I'd hope everyone understands that. Just bc we don't offer a certain fetish, have a large space, a lot of toys, doesn't mean we should charge below what we personally are comfortable with. Sometimes it takes a little time to find the sweet spot with pricing, but it should always be what WE are comfortable with, not the customer. There's a customer out there for everyone.