Let’s Talk Tributes
Tribute: an act, statement, or gift that is intended to show gratitude, respect, or admiration.
Gentleman, and ladies as well. When you go see your Domme you know by now that you are asked to provide a Tribute in either a gift, a monetary donation or by providing an act (a service usually), or some kind of mix of the three.
This Tribute can literally range from $50 per hour to $500 per hour (or even more!) depending on several different factors, which we will get into later and is given, not simply as a payment for a service, no, it is much much more. In the following post I am going to break down Tributes for you from what Pro-Dommes currently do, and what they have taken from history, and just how much we actually do, so that the next time you think about pissing and moaning about your Tribute amount or the next time you question if you should even bring your Domme a gift, opting to be cheap instead, thinking you have already “overpaid” her, you might want to consider this article for reference.
In all honesty – in most cases – you should probably be offering her extra – you should probably almost always be bringing her a gift or two.
Now shut up and listen to what I have to say – Good Boys and Girls.
Where Did Tributes Come From and what are they? Gifts?
Tributes are a form of payment, but in a way so that the client makes his Tribute of free will. If he will not Tribute then he does not have to, but then again, the Mistress also doesn’t have to session with him either. Though, the Mistress can session with anyone she chooses and anyone can give the Mistress whatever they want as a Tribute as well at times too. Some Mistresses have a set Tribute, like a limit you must hit, but you can always Tribute more.
Like, often times, I will have a session and my submissive will not only Tribute my lowest limit, but more as well, especially if the session went particularly well, they will clean my house, they will clean my playspace, they will shine my latex, they will give me gifts, buy things off my wish lists, they will basically spoil me until they feel as though they have done me justice and even then, if they can offer a foot rub or back rub, they will do so, anything to please me or help take care of me. This is a Tribute or gift.
Sometimes a service is offered. Ladies always need certain things and if you can be of use to her in some way – offer your services. I’ve been offered landscaping services, woodworking services, legal aid, mechanic services, veterinary services, dental work if needed, you name it, it’s been offered to me.
What you don’t offer is giving a back rub or foot rub, home cleaning services (unless extranagent, and even then it’s iffy), driving us places, etc. Small errands are not going to be an okay Tribute for sessions, these are usually done during a session or as small gifts, don’t offer, it just doesn’t look good.
So, for example, a Mistress may be $150 per hour, but you could offer her $100 per hour and car detailing work, plus clean her home 3 times a week for 2 sessions per week. She may accept or decline. OR You could find her your only Mistress and desire and love her so intensely you decide to give her $300 per hour plus lavish her with gifts as your Tribute. She won’t say no, unless you are foolish with your money and are in debt, then she will smack you silly and tell you to get your financial planner out and cut the crap to see what you can do to make things better. (If she is a good Mistress) OR you may simply give her the $150 per hour and bring her at least a small gift when you session because it is a custom.
Gifts are a custom – like bringing an offering to a Queen – when you session with your Mistress it is custom to bring her an offering of something she will enjoy, whether that be a nice bottle of her favorite wine, or a gift card to her favorite store, or perhaps a delicious pastry from her favorite bakery. Bring her something that will bring her joy, just as she brings you joy. Show her how much you care about her and show her you were thinking about her. Because she has been thinking of you the previous night and that day, or perhaps earlier that week, planning your time together. So figure out what she likes and don’t forget to bring her something, even if you cannot afford something grand, the smallest of gestures are appreciated more than you know.
How Much Time Goes Into a Session?
Now, you might be super surprised to hear this, but we don’t all pop out of bed with amazing makeup, latex on and floggers, whips and canes ready to go. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE some of my whips enough to sleep with them, but I don’t feel like strangling myself in my sleep and I am pretty sure my husband would give me the strangest look if I curled up with a 6 foot bullwhip after brushing my teeth the night before. “Mmmm goodnight beautiful bullwhips…” *kiss kiss* – now with that being said we are up at the ass crack of dawn (most of us, I get up around 5:30 – 6:00 am) and have my coffee, answer emails from clients, check social media, do my thing for a bit, then start planning the session for the day. Then I shower and start getting ready, which takes about another 90 minutes to 2 hours after my skincare routines (there’s a lot to looking good), hair care crap, makeup and picking out an outfit. (So far we are at about 3 hours worth of time spent on your session)
Next we get the Dungeon/Playspace ready if we have one, if not, we drive there, which can take up to an hour or more! Let’s take the low end and high end, I will compute at the end. So, we spend another 30-90 minutes doing this. We have no spent 3.5-4.5 hours on your session.
Next we usually greet you, and here is where I differ from pretty much every other Domme, I spend an hour with my clients prior to sessioning, and I am basing this on an hour so, I greet you, we sit and chat then do our session. Now we stand at 5.5-6.5 hours on your session.
Finally, aftercare is a MUST for me and for most Pro-Dommes (I hope) and usually runs about half an hour between snuggling, chatting and saying goodbye. Now, after you leave there is always, always, always clean up and usually we shoot you a “thank you” or a something along those lines – this is usually about 30 minutes, so now we are at 6-7 hours and that is without some Pro-Dommes drive home.
So, even if you see a Domme that makes $300 for that 1 hour session they did that day for you, they really only made $35 per hour from you that day. If you did a 2 hour session, they made $70 per hour. So yes, we make decent, but now – think about where that goes…
Where Do We Invest?
When it comes to putting money back into out business, we most certainly do so – between upgrading our equipment, buying new toys, buying upgraded toys (gotta have that latest milker or that new badass Flogger!) things can get extremely pricey! Not to mention, people expect us to look good 24/7. So – we really cannot step out of the house looking like a pile of shit, at any given time, as we have a certain image to uphold. We do not wear clothing from Goodwill – we do not wear shoes from Walmart (most of the time at least) and we do not, I repeat, we do not wear drugstore brand makeup.
No, we are not stuck up, we need clothing that can take a beating (literally), we need shoes that are going to be relatively comfortable (yes, they make heels we can session in, thanks Pleasers!) and we need makeup that can stand up to blood, sweat and tears (yours, hahaha – our maybe ours from laughing) and also look fantastic during photoshoots. Drugstore makeup just doesn’t make the cut 99% of the time. So we very much invest in our looks, plus, we have to be on par with your idea of what a “fantasy” women is like.
Let me put it to you this way. Fantasy woman takes a lot of time and money and doesn’t shop at Walmart and CVS. Yo like her, pay your Tribute like a good boy and stop giving us shit.
Those “oh so soft” pantyhose you love to touch after you’ve been a perfect boy, slut or bitch for us? They cost about $30-$50 a pair and you’re not always the one who bought them before you came over that day. That latex you love to shine – a single dress can cost up to $500+ darlings.
We are an investment
Now – the Dungeon/Playspace is a whole nother ball game. You don’t even know what’s in there. You know how you have your favorite flogger out of the zillion or so hanging on the wall? Or maybe a preferred leather whip? Maybe that special strap on that she wears for you with that wonderfully huge cock? Or that one toy you just couldn’t live without that you scream for every time you’re hog tied with those leather straps and cuffs that you don’t even think about how much they cost?
$$$$$$$$ Cha-ching Cha-ching Cha-ching Boys $$$$$$$$
Floggers = $100-$300+
Leather Whip = My favorite costs me $600 and they only go up from there
Strap Ons = $150+ for a decent one
Dildos = $25-$30 a piece and every Domme has like 10 or more
Leather straps and Cuffs = $200 – $800 per set
Now think about her bondage furniture
St. Andrews Cross = $500+
Spanking bench = $100-$600
Chairs = $100-$800
Cages = $500-$1500+
Stocks = $300-$500+
Beds=$800-$5,000
And if she has hydraulics in her Dungeon – forget it
Etc Etc Etc
Now – does she rent a Dungeon or Playspace (this starts at $50 per hour usually)? Does she drive to that Dungeon and pay gas money? Does she pay electricity? Heat, hot water, gas, A/C??? Does she pay a fee to work there? All Pro-Dommes pay some kind of overhead for their business. Running a business is never free and working at a commercial Dungeon, they always take a cut of what you make.
And guys – she had to pay her bills, live, eat, have money to survive too. I mean, I am not saying we are starving or dying, but we are people too, we have families, houses, we eat real food (imagine that), we have cars (not private jets) and we pay to live too.
Final Thoughts
Your Tribute to us pays for one flogger in our entire Dungeon.
Think about that next time you decide to complain about paying your Tribute to your Domme. Instead – give her extra, get on your hands and knees and thank her for all the hard work she does for you, from getting up early to look beautiful for your undeserving asses, to cleaning that Dungeon up after you leave (if she doesn’t have a Sissy Maid, stay late and help her clean up!), to keeping the damn electricity running so you can session there – to the beautiful aftercare she might give you – to even dealing with your late night texts while she is trying to deal with her own shit she has going on, she still makes time for you. You get to come there and worship her, carefree and happy, participate in something that barely anyone really does because let’s face it, it takes a lot to be a Domme.
We take on the weight of the world and then some every single week. We are basically under paid therapists who do physical work, sometimes downright physical labor to make sure you leave feeling a little lighter and happier after you’ve seen us, and we are damn good at what we do too. And There is no Domme school, we bust our ass to get where we are and let me tell you, it’s not easy. To get respect, you have to earn it, and not every Domme has what it takes.
So – I tell you this my special boys – be proud and be kind to your Domme because she is special and she is “one of a kind” – you will never find another one like her. She deserves more than what you give her and more than what she asks for.
So keep quiet – bow down and make your Tribute with a smile on your face and without complaining about it.
Cause when the day is over and things are all said and done, we do care about you guys, each and every one of you or we wouldn’t do what we do and risk what we risk every, single day. Trust me. We show you we care – show us you care as well, it means more to us than you will ever know.
XOXO
Mistress Scarlett
