Planet-Love.com Searchable Archives

I'm outa here. The plane leaves the 25th and I will be grumpy no more. That is until I come back.

   What I am interested in is, how you would set up an agency.

What are the bad parts of the agencies that you would like to change. What should the services be and what should they cost?
How would you change the industry.
Is it fair to sell addresses or does the Latina expect that the men who contact her are members of a organization who are screened.
Should she be told that her address will be sold to anyone who has ten bucks.
Is there a new practice of "salting the mine" with photo models who are only there to sell the addresses for ten bucks a pop?
Is the presentation of galleries a form of soft porn simular to the bikini sites and model sites.
Which are the most successful agencies.
What separates the successful agencies from the others.
Do you think all the women on the sites are real and interested in meeting a man like you.

It is up to you if you name names.

It is getting quiet again. jimc

Good Luck,Cartegena is the place I think.You moght even consider adds to try to get women who are onlt there on vacation to sign up.
I personally would not try this without a very good Colombiana partner or employee.For some guys that has been there Colombiana wife.

Pete

Pete

If I were starting an agency, I would definately choose Cartegena. There are no agencies in the city itself, only tours and internet dating services. It is also a beautiful and romantic city with lots to do. I am surprised that nobody has opened an agency there yet.

When you start your agency, keep in mind that there are a lot attractive ladies in Colombia who would make wonderful wives but don't want to join an agency because of the stigma involved. But they very much want to meet American men. In addition to the photo catalogues, I would also have a private database of ladies who don't want to be in a catologue but want to meet American men. Margareth has been doing this with some of the ladies. This will allow you to increase your total database significantly, which will obviously attract more gringos.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Zack

Not as endorsement but there is another agency in Catagena besides AFA:

http://www.loveincartagena.com

Pablo

Zack

It would be fun though and give you something to do... You might think of it as being a gentlemen farmer, cultivating relationship between couples... Perhaps you could use that angle to provide a more personalized service to gringos...

After experiencing the services of many agencies and some solo trips, the one thing I would have appreciated was a more personal, friendly service... More of a romnatic tour guide instead of the hardcore agency mentality... You could charge by the day for personal introductions / assistance and not have to worry with the hustle & bustle of a full blown agency thnking of how many girls / gringos you have to run through the door to keep your head above water... Think quality over quantity...

I'm with Bruce with respect to LAI providing the best experience... The reason for that is their attention to detail and a genuine concern for each members experience... Integrity mean alot...

Mark

An example: In Medellin I met the woman of my dreams; however, she had no interest in seeing me again.

Possible Solution: I know this will be controversial, but...

An agency ought to have male galleries that parallel those of female members. Ideally, prior to the "cita", the woman is able to look up the guy and make a decision as to whether or not she wants to meet him. Imagine how many times a beautiful 20 year old arrives for an appointment only to think to herself, "There is no way in hell...". Would it not do everyone a favor, by preventing this in the first place? I think this scenario plays itself over and over again and has negative consequences for everyone. The women become less enthusiastic and committed to being on time and making their appointments. The guys waste their precious time meeting women that have no interest in them. The agencies lose credibility and loyalty from female members.

On the positive side, once the female member agrees to meeting a guy she has seen in pictures and has read a brief profile, I think there is a much greater chance for success. Personally, if I don't find a woman attractive after seeing her pictures and reading her profile, meeting her in person would rarely change my opinion.

Of course there are many logistical problems. For example, the female members need access to the internet. If I was setting up an agency, I would reimburse my female members for 30 minutes of internet access at the going rate for checking out a male customer and getting back to me as to wheter or not she wants to meet him. When you consider how much it costs a guy to be in Colombia per day, including airfare, etc., I think it would be worth the cost. This would be a fraction of the cost of paying for a round-trip taxi fare for a woman that has no interest in you.  

Also, I've seen most guys arrive in Colombia with maybe one or two women in mind that they want to meet. Only then do appointments begin to be scheduled. I think it would be most efficient if a guy selected potential dates a week or two in advance. The agency could then ascertain the female's interest and schedule the appointments for mutual convenience. Of course the agency would have to have accurate and updated galleries for this to work.

Lastly, do everyone a favor by immediately honoring a member's request to be removed from the agency.

And,I don't really want to give a women the opportunity to turn me down before they have ever met me in person. I'm the one who is paying and I want the opportunity to meet what ever woman I want. I'm almost always satisfied after an interview whether or not we hit it off or not. My curiousity is satisfied and I had the chance to sell myself. All I really want from a marriage agency is the opportunity to meet very attractive women in a short period of time and they do a pretty good job of that already.

I understand that you don't want to give women the opportunity to turn you down before they meet you in person. Who does? Perhaps you have greater confidence in your charm and personal appeareance that a woman who would initially not be interested in you at all after only seeing your photo and reading a brief biography, will eventually want to initiate a relationship, possibly leading to marriage. Maybe I'm too cynical to believe this. I want to meet attractive women too. Again, who doesn't? However, I'd prefer to only meet attractive women who think I'm at least "average" looking, as some of them state on their profile.

You know what it is Calipro, I've gone to Colombia three times in the last 9 months and although it has been fun, I still haven't met the woman of my dreams. It is taking longer than I thought and I'm wondering how many more trips and how many more $1,000's of dollars will I spend before I meet the right person. In other words, I'm beginning to question if this whole thing is worth the effort and expense.

Listen everybody's different, there's no exact prescription for how long it will take but hang in there and don't give up.  Don't be discouraged either, any idiot can get hooked up in Colombia fast but how many of these relationships will stand the test of time.  Sure find someone you find attractive but put more emphasis on her strength of character and on her care for you.

And now the truth comes out. You really are meeting beautiful women that like you but they just don't meet your standards.

You need to open your heart and your mind. Any women that sincerely loved you would bring something to your life.

What made the woman in Medellin so special? The fact that she didn't want you? I see people that really are the cause of their own grief by setting the bar so high that nobody can ever reach it.    

To answer your question: How many trips and how many 1,000's of dollars will it take to find the right one?

It looks like it is going to be very expensive for you.

Seeker

Don't worry! Just start by telling us what happened on your first date and we will try and help you figure out what went wrong.

Your profile says you are 34 years old so there isn't an age range of women that is out of your reach. If you are simply looking for a wife that is a notch or two above what you can get here in the states, you should have hooked up already.

If you are telling me that you have been to Colombia three times and you haven't found any women that have taken a serious interest in you, then you are doing something wrong. I just don't know what.

When you go out with the women what to they say and do? I mean you should have some idea what's going on in their head. After three trips if you haven't even gotten into some kind of intimate relationship with even one of the ladies, I would not just chalk it up to just bad luck.

If you are really over weight or real short, you might consider going to the philipines instead of Colombia. If you are in a reasonable height weight range, it is probably something you can fix like attitute. As much as women at agencies say that they don't want a macho man, they still want a guy with some balls.

When you meet a woman in Cali, do you consider what kind of mother she would be if you had children? I do. Do you look 30 years down the road and ask if you think her values and morals, her intelligence and personality
have the capacity to flourish with time and overcome apparently insurmountable obstacles in your journey through life together? I do.

I think Cali James is right. It is a matter of persistence and determination. I do have faith that I will find an ideal partner in Colombia, but sometimes the task seems daunting.

There is no perfect women.

I think you need to be more forgiving of the faults of others.

According to a socialogist who's name I Can remember. Love is made up of three things, intimacy(which isn't just sex but a sharing of your inner most feelings), passion (which is pretty much just lust) and commitment (Your a ability to stick it out when things get rough).

I can tell you that I do a pretty good job of finding women that are intimate and passionate but they lack the commitment necessary for a life long relationship. Hell I have to admitt I think I'm lacking in the commitment department as well, so I really need to find a super commited woman.

The bottom line is if you can find a beautiful woman that really loves you, I mean that is itimate, passionate and committed to you, I would be painfully forgiving in the values, morals, personality and intellegence department. Almost all those things will change over time anyway. Also never try to see 30 years into the future. You can't see that far and You'll go blind trying.

I think I would always take a 6 or a 6 1/2  who has a great, happy, thoughtful personality over a 8 or 9 who is self-centred, immature etc.

Fortunately, I believe that we south-bound pioneers on this board do not have to accept that kind of trade-off.

Now my more worthless 2 cents is that there are some very overlooked "lesser" cities in Colombia that have yet to be tapped.  I had always thought that perhaps a shop that truly "owned" operations in a couple of cites - say Cali, Medellin, Manizales might be a good sale offering a 2 week or some-such package at each of the individual shops - with emphasis on excursions to the local attractions at each pitstop.  In essence, a dating/travel outfit.  Now reality is there are not many guys that would consider such a "dating trip" in "Colombia" - "it's unsafe" - the same old tune of the bad rap.

I would also consider running it like a real agency - in other words Colombian men would be potential members - it wouldn't be just a gringo outfit.  One agency that comes to mind is in Bogota (vogulys.com).

I think another thing to be considered would be the overall presentation from the onset - you've probably seen that draft master list I prepared and placed over at CaliGringo.com - there really doesn't seem to me to be any one agency that truly stands out - it's the same song and dance.  What does stand out are the agencies charging ridiculous fees - with that kind of dough I'd be expecting detailed background checks and such, not just shelling out a couple of grand to stay in a B&B with a shared bathroom!  I would think a study of that list would be in order to understand exactly what not to do - IOW what they're all doing.

suerte!

The one thing that makes an agency standout is service.

Happened to a friend of mine from West Palm Beach a few years ago. Had to sell to a shell SA but it cost hm big $$$$

A la orden,

Gator

What agency are you referring too?

I am curious about the agency business as well. I always have my nose in ten diffrent business ventures.

I never really used the agency much in Peru (matchingsys.com)

I only spent like $75 with them on-line. Once I started writing the girl I am with now, I was done.

Do most agencies do most of their business with the guys showing up wanting to meet 20 hot chicks?
It seems like I Love Latins really promotes the tours and looks more like a party tour agency. That Sam guys really is a promotions guru.

I would think that most agencies make the bulk of their money selling e-mails. (????)

I would think that an agency ran by a couple (that met the same way) would be a good idea. I think you would have to live in the country where the girls are though.
How else would you really screen the girls?
As far as making a ton of money I dont really see that. But making 10-12 grand a year down there is not too bad.

Have a good trip

TE AMO PERU!!!!!

Jim

This whole adventure ain't cheap.  Anyone who's been at this a few years or has married a Colombian can testify to this.  You need at least a 50 to 75 grand salary to even to begin thinking about going down this road.  There are expenses at every turn and most of the guys who end up married put up 30 to 50k getting there.  With all the costs involved, you'd think the agency would be the biggest winner.  Well no, the agency isn't and in my case only got about 2 or 3 percent of my little adventure's costs. (I remember paying Bud $700 the first week I ever spent in Cali and then for the next three years I probably spent about that again.  I met my wife after paying Latin Best only $80 for a weeks worth of appointments at the agency.)

I don't know if my experience is unique but once you've made a trip or two, the agency turns out to be the least expensive cost you have.  This makes the agency a tough business.  To survive you need to either run a no frills very tight business or cater to first timers and tours.  

I think a useful service might be someone who acts as a sort of personal assistant/broker through the adventure.  Perhaps an American with a Colombian wife, someone living there in Colombia who knows the adventure inside and out, the agencies, understands both cultures and can kind of hand hold the newbie through all the hoops.  The agencies don't really provide this level of service.  This service probably wouldn't be for everyone and I'm not sure it would even sell.

I'll tell you the agencies that show me pictures of beautiful women get my money and if the women show up to the appointments they get my money again and again. Nobody can guarantee that the women are going to fall in love with you but if the agency can't show me something I'm really interested in, they won't get past square one.

I would rather be turned down by a few very attractive women than meet a 100 average women that were dying to meet me.

If you want the calipros to join your agency you have to have the hot ones. I really don't care how insincere somebody thinks they maybe. If they are hot and not in a commited relationship, I say bring them on. Just give me 30 minutes of their undivided attention and if they can walk away so be it.