Cost

There are many sites around that provide a completely free service.


It’s free to place a profile and free to respond to a profile. The only

cost is when you want to make your profile ‘stand-out’, which is

entirely optional.

Most large personals sites will cost you money as they are run by

commercial companies specifically set up to run the site as a

business. Unfortunately, the most popular sites are usually the ones

that cost money, but they are the ones with the most people, and

the best features. So if you limit yourself to free sites then you

may be missing out on a large potential audience.

Most sites will allow you to ‘join’ the site, place your profile, and

search profiles for free. But to respond to a profile you must either

be a paid ‘member’ (monthly or yearly, etc.), or buy ‘stamps’ (they

also go by other names such as ‘tokens’, etc.) that allow you to email

people. It might cost one stamp to email one person for instance.

Stamps are typically a few dollars each, and are usually cheaper the

more you buy at once. Be wary of stamps that ‘expire’ after a certain

date; you don’t want to blow your money.

Big sites will accept secure online credit card transactions and

will process your request in a few moments. Some will even accept

a cheque posted to them by regular snail mail, or a credit card

number over the phone.

Some sites charge a lot more than others, so shop around. But

be sure to choose the right site to suit your needs, and not just the

cheapest site available. Keep a look out for sites offering a free trial

period.

As a general rule, sites that are free attract more ‘window

shoppers’ and people who are not serious about meeting anyone. It

stems from the simple fact that people will not pay to just muck

around, but if it’s free then why not?

All of this is of course is assuming that you are going to email

people. If you are content to place your profile, sit back and wait

for the emails, then you need not spend a cent. As you will glean

from the rest of this book, this is not the preferred option. Serious Internet dating will almost certainly cost you some money.


If you compare the cost/efficiency/benefit ratio of Internet

dating to other forms of meeting people, you will find that even

the most expensive Internet dating site is an absolute bargain. For

the cost of entry to a nightclub and a few drinks you can email

dozens of people, or maybe get your profile put up in lights for

months.