It used to be that if you joined a dating agency then you were considered to be desperate. In fact it was actually considered quite sad to have to join a dating agency because people thought you weren't good enough to find your own dates. But in how fast paced our society currently is it is becoming more common for people to join dating agencies so that they can find a date. This date can lead to the possibility of other things or it can be a just for fun date. But people even use these dating agencies as a quick and easy way to find friends. The hardest part about these dating agencies is that there are thousands of these dating agencies available online and more are added each week. So when looking for a dating agency you can easily get overwhelmed and not know where to start looking.

Here are reviews of some of the better dating agencies that are available for you to join on the internet.

Match.com

Website claims

They are confident in their ability to bring people together because they have been doing it for over 10 years.

If you don't find a match or someone special during your six month subscription then they will give you another six months at no cost to you so you can continue your search for that special someone

Sign up process

Even for the free membership the entire sign up process is very comprehensive. You need to include a lot of information about yourself and the perfect person that you are looking for.

This process can take at least 20 minutes if not longer because of everything that you have to do. Here is a brief overview of what you need to do:

• First page - contains everything you need to start your subscription including gender, user name, email address, and password
• Second page - more basic information including current relationship status. Age range of your perfect match, how tall you are, where you want to look, your body type, etc
• Third page - this is where you are going to include your interests. This section is optional but if you want to fill it out the website has plenty of help pages to get you started on filling it in
• Fourth page - talks about your lifestyle, your background and you values and morals
• Fifth page - what you are looking for in terms of characteristics in the other person

Must write an introduction and a dating headline

Once you have completed everything you need to submit your profile for review. The website states it can take up to 48 hours for your profile to be reviewed, but many users find it happens in a lot less time than that.

 Photo's/Audio/Video 

• Can upload a maximum of 26 digital photos or you can email the photos to the site and they will upload them for you. The website even contains tips on how you can pick your best photos. 
• If you only have photos on film you can send them to Snapfish to have them develop the film and then upload them to their electronic storage 

Unique features 

• Match Communities - allows you to talk to members who are a part of the communities. These are formed based on common interests. The current communities that they offer are gay.Match.com, lesbian.Match.com, and senior.Match.com 
• Happen - this is a weekly online magazine that the website puts out. The magazine contains dating and relationship advice, various opinions on a variety of subjects and support.

Dating Direct

Website claims 

• Your next date is actually just a click away  
• It is the UK's largest dating service and it has over 3 million members 

Signup process 

• A very easy sign up process because all you need to do is fill out a simple form. After you have filed out and submitted the form you have to wait for your profile to be approved before it can start appearing in other member's searches. 
• The website has a goal of trying to approve all profiles within a 24 hour time period 

Photo's/Audio/Video 

•  All photos must be approved before you can post them. This can take about 48 hours 
• If you up load the photos yourself you can have up to 5 photos on your profile. If you send them in to be scanned you can only submit 2 photos 
• One picture must be made public but the rest can be set to private 
• This website has no audio or video features because management feels it is an unsafe way to communicate 

Unique features 

• Can hide your profile so that it is removed from other people's search results 
• Has an ignore list which is nice if you no longer wish to receive messages from a certain member 
• Offers text alerts. This is an additional charge but SMS text allows you to know when you have a new message 
• Cupid mail - this is a weekly email update of any new members from your area 
• Events - this is in association with Chemistry, but they are offered all around the main towns in the country

Love and Friends   

Website claims 

• Even though most of the members of this website are single professionals looking for romance and a long term relationship you can join even if you are just looking for friendship. This is why they are called Love and Friends. 
• Profiles go beyond what other internet dating agencies and dating services offer 
• Membership is open to people from the ages of 18 to 88 or even above that. Most members are actually well-educated, successful professionals  

Sign up process 

• Because of how detailed the profiles are with this website they actually require more input so it takes longer to sign up 
• Offers a Quick Save with just one click of the mouse. This checks what you have written so far and if you used the checkboxes it converts what you have checked into real words and also gives you a character count. This is all done while keeping you on the same page that you are on. 
• Can either input information in your own words or use the check boxes that are provided. 
• Provides you with very interesting options that are designed to tell other people more about yourself. An example of this would be asking what you want to be in your next life or what type of vacation you would enjoy.

 Photo's/Audio/Video 

• Private photos can be attached to messages to other members 
• If you have a full membership you can upload additional photos. But you can also have a private photo on the website that is only available for specific members to see 
• No approval process needed to have your pictures posted 
• You can also email or mail photos to the website to have the website scan and upload your photos. 

Unique features 

• Offers advice on online dating 
• Has a huge frequently asked questions section that covers everything that you can think of. The best part is that the answers are written in plain English, meaning it is written in terms that anybody could understand. 
• Has special offers on membership prices 
• Allows you to participate in the 10 different forums that they offer 
• There are currently 6 clubs that you can visit on the website. This allows you to meet other people who share your likes and dislikes. Inside the clubs you can search for specific members, but you can also post messages for other members to see.  

Members profiles are `badged' according to 

• If they have had their ID checked 
• If they are a full member 
• If their email has been checked 
• Cupids Arrow - this feature is only available for Personal Members who have had their ID checked, but they also have to be a member of either Drawing Down The Moon or Only Lunch 
• Can send e-cards to other members, which in this case is considered a picture with your current message 
• Psychometric/lifestyle questionnaire - this lets you see how compatible you are with other members. But you can also get matching feedback which allows you to see how you compare to what other people are looking for

Just keep in mind that these are only a few of the dating agencies that you are going to run across online. Before you decide on signing up for a dating agency you are going to want to ensure that you check the website out and see how well other members like it. The reason for this is because of how popular they are it is very easy to take advantage of people who are looking for love.