Hey Jack

[thesearch]

With the stories about a decline in men going over to the FSU with the tours and agencies seeing a definite drop in business --- I found myself thinking about the fact that your October trip is coming up (if you are following your  prior pattern of trips). Has business dropped off as much for you as some of these other agencies during this time frame?

If you are doing an October trip -  just curious - what are the ages of the men and how many are going next month?  How many of these guys did personal ads prior to the trip?

[Jack]

... in response to Hey Jack, posted by thesearch on Sep 11, 2002

Greg, as I look back on the amount, and volume, of business one year ago compared to today, there is no doubt that there is a tremendous drop of American business.

The loss of business from overseas guys, guys from Germany, France, Italy, Finland, Spain for example, has not dropped off nearly as much as the percentage of American and Canadian men.

It is not inexpensive to find a Russian bride. There are few sucessful one-trip visits to find a Russian bride but a guy can certaintly improve his odds of finding a bride on one trip if he does his homework and meet's a LOT of ladies in a short time then concentrate on the one or two ladies with the greatest potential chemistry.

On my spring trip I had a full house, not so with the fall trip. The ages of the guys going on this trip start at 36 and go up to 52. Two thirds of the guys used a personal ad at some time in prepartion for the trip, either in the very beginning (meaning some 3 to 4 months ago), in the middle, and a few only in the past month. For the guys who got a late start or not enough ladies lined up to see, they are more likely the guys who will run a personal ad a month before there trip.

The stock market, the down economy, has had an impact towards the number of guys currently corresponding with Russian ladies, and it seems to have only gotten worse over the last 6-months. Maybe guys think it is going to get better in the near future as I already have 5 guys who have given me deposits of $150 to hold them a seat for the Spring 2003 (May 7 thru May 21) group tour. Let's hope for a better next year for everyone.

[thesearch]

... in response to Greg, posted by Jack on Sep 12, 2002

Jack,

I forgot, how many men do you usually shoot for as participants on any given trip.

Your site over the past few years has come along nicely. With all of the sites out there, I wondered how anyone could make any money.

With fewer guys going over, now is the better time for a guy to go actually.

[Jack]

... in response to Re: Greg, posted by thesearch on Sep 12, 2002

Search, I try for an even 12 guys. Over the past 18-months I have added two additional guys on a "stand-by" basis as often one or two of the dapper dozen may have something come up that effects there ability to go. Last fall with only three weeks before the group tour, two of the guys, one a pilot for Delta who was on reserves, another a supervisor for Federal Express, had to cancel due to events of September 11th and as such we ended up with an even dozen guys. This past spring one of the debonair dozen was hurt in an accident so we ended up with 13 guys going.

"With all of the sites out there, I wondered how anyone could make any money." Greg, has discussed briefly not so long ago, most new companies are not going to make any money for the first couple of years. Most scam agencies are not going to last more than a year before getting caught. Once caught, they simply change names. Educated consumers are looking for agencies that have been around for awhile and that have a good name. With most established, honest  agencies, the sale of addresses just about cover's there overhead (in my opinion only). Most of our money is made in the services we provide. There are not many agencies that can assist men in as many cities as we can (now at 20) and we are now adding Sochi and Volgograd to our network of cities which we service men and can provide them with an honest and ethical marriage agency to deal with.

Sure, now is a good time to go to the FSU. Of course going to the FSU from 1993 thru 1998 was probably the best of times to go. There were not so many men going then and these ladies were excited at the thoughts of foreign men and the possiability of being able to leave the FSU. There are fewer men going today as compared to two years ago, but it is due to economics. That will probably change in the next year or two. But men need to realize the mindset of most of these women today, especially the beautiful ones. Most of the fine looking ladies today, which most of us are seeking, can correspond with several men and as such these ladies are being more selective. As a result, today's men have to write more ladies (than say 5 years ago) in trying to find several ladies whom have interest to meet them. Today it takes more work and effort to do it right.