I think this problem is a problem of risk vs reward. Most of player here would agree that the service of our "for profit" porters created here are very nice to have. The disagreement is how much is a port worth.
I think every porter have a price on their mind, price on how much a port (their time) is worth. And when that price is not reached, feels are hurt. One would simply ask, "why not just list out the price that you think is fair. So people who agree with that price will use your service and people who disagree will leave you alone."
Well that's where risk vs reward comes in. If a porter list out that each port will cost 50pp, they will risk loosing the one customer that will "tip" above their asking price. People are less likely to "tip" 80pp if you are only asking for 50pp. In the same time, they also risk loosing business to other porters who will only charge 45pp. But the reward here is they will unlikely to run into people who will put 5pp in the trade window after a port to CS running to SG and evac.
Other way to do is what most porter do here, they port for "tips" and not list a price. The risk and reward here are flipped. They will risk people "tip" them a useless buff or below their "asking" price. But their reward is that they have no price competition against other porters, they often are tipped with the average agreed porting fee, and once a while they will receive a big tip from a rich/happy customer.
I think it's almost impossible to have it both ways. Just know what you are getting into before you do it.
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