Online Personals Watch: News on the Dating Industry and Business

Attitudes about Dating Changing in This Dour Economy

CONTRA COSTA TIMES - July 27 - With 14.1M workers unemployed in June, men and women are adjusting their ideas on what makes a great date. For many people, unemployment would no longer be a deal-breaker. April Braswell, a dating expert, says that although singles are generally looking for financial stability, they will be more forgiving of someone who has just lost her job -- as long as she shows motivation to get a new one. When the economy crashed in 2008, Match.com had its best quarter. New couples are also more willing to accept a date paying with a coupon from a daily deal site than they were in years past. Paul Falzone of eLove, a matchmaking service since 1974, says singles don't have to impress one another by ordering the most expensive cocktail or having the best seats for the stadium concert.

by Laura Casey
See full article at Mercury News

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Matchmaking Pre-Session at iDate Los Angeles

PR ZOOM - June 8 - Julie Ferman of Cupid's Coach & eLove host a special 3+ hour pre-conference session for Matchmakers at iDate. The session is designed to assist matchmakers in improving their business models. The session will cover:
- The State of the Art of Personal Matchmaking;
- An overview of the various business models currently in operation;
- The challenges present in the matchmaking industry today as well as the opportunities for collaboration and joint-ventures.

See full article at PR Zoom

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eLove Matchmaking Comments On Background Checks & Profile Authentication

NEWSWIRE TODAY - Apr 22 - Recently, Match.com announced they are going to start screening new members against the national sex offender registry in response to a lawsuit brought by a woman who says she was attacked by a man who had been charged with sex crimes. Paul A. Falzone, CEO of eLove Matchmaking, weighs in, “Screening new members against the national sex offender registry may give a false sense of security.” He continued,“Profile authentication is a challenge for internet dating sites as there is no way to confirm that a person is who he/she claims to be and that they do not have a criminal record. The human element is necessary for member authentication.” eLove Matchmaking has been conducting mandatory criminal background checks for over a decade and, because they meet each and every member, require positive identification and get to know their members, they are better able to authenticate member profiles. Those who don't pass the checks aren't granted membership.

See full article at Newswire Today

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Elizabeth Falzone To Lead eLove's East Coast Offices

PRESS RELEASE - Feb 14 - Elizabeth Falzone, professional matchmaker, has recently been appointed as Regional Director of eLove and will oversee the Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Jersey offices. Ms. Falzone will be collaborating with her husband Paul A. Falzone, CEO of eLove, in running matchmaking operations on the East Coast. She will be responsible for hiring, training and motivating the staff as well as ensuring that sales goals are met. DBUSINESS NEWS

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Julie Ferman To Oversee eLove's LA And Westlake Village Offices

PRESS RELEASE - Nov 15 - Julie Ferman, a renowned matchmaker who has been in the matchmaking business for 20+ years and the former principal of Cupid's Coach matchmaking company, has been named Executive Director of eLove's LA and Westlake Village offices. eLove, the matchmaking firm, recently acquired Cupid’s Coach, bringing the total number of eLove matchmaking offices to 50 nationwide. FULL ARTICLE @ BIG NEWS

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Brad Megahan & Paul Falzone, President & CEO, eLove.com

OPW INTERVIEW - Nov 1 - eLove was developed by traditional matchmakers, and by the former CEO of LoveAccess.com. I caught up with eLove’s founders, Brad Megahan and Paul Falzone. (Full Disclosure: eLove is a former client of Courtland Brooks) - Mark Brooks

Listen to the interview

You’ve been rather busy over the last year or two. What matchmaking companies have you partnered with in the last year?
We have partnered with Julie Ferman’s Cupid’s Coach, who was voted the #1 matchmaker last year at the iDate Awards. Julie’s presence in the L.A. market, her expertise and coaching, as well as running a lot of symposiums on matchmaking would be advantageous to us to partner with. We have also partnered with Singles Station, Charlee Brotherton’s company, which is now eLove. And there are others that we’re still looking at.

We’ve targeted 10 markets to pursue over the next 6 to 12 months. They are all relatively large markets – Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Atlanta, Seattle, Pittsburg, Portland, Orlando, and Cleveland. And as more of our marketing is starting to take a national nature, we feel the need to have a larger footprint so we’re putting all the people in place to be able to support those additional locations. We have 50 physical offices in 42 cities in the US.

Tell us a bit more about eLove. eLove is really more about matchmaking. How have users benefited from your many years of genuine matchmaking experience on eLove? What is the user experience for them?
We look at eLove as a lifestyle company where our matchmaking is more of our concierge service. We’ve got 5 matchmaking centers across the US and we have a centralized matchmaking center where we are willing to work with people one on one and coach them. So we’re basically a life stage company that is going to encompass everything from coaching to long term relationships.

How is the matchmaking industry doing as distinct from the internet dating industry? How do the two industries compare and contrast in terms of the trajectory of growth?
The matchmaking and the online dating industry need to work in harmony as opposed to bid for the same traffic. We feel that working with matchmaking companies, as well as online companies, which has been a huge growth spurt for us. We do rev shares with these companies and some of these companies are making more money working with us and supplying us leads and getting percentages back from us on a rev share than they’re making doing their own venues.

Conversion rates are similar to the online companies. We’ve got the ability to grab the traffic and generate leads for ourselves. So we’re self sufficient all the way around.

How much do you charge?
We charge $3000 – $7000, depending on the level of service. Our average cash per membership is probably $3,000, but we’re dealing with a little heavier volume because we’re aggressive with our marketing. A lot of these matchmakers that are charging $20,000 to $25,000 plus are dealing with a very limited number of members so they don’t have any real volume to generate revenue. The industry gets black eyes and reputation starts being questioned if sometimes people take other people’s money for the sake of taking their money and not trying to get a good result. You have to have good intentions of what you’re going to do with the member once you bring them in. That is the beginning of your relationship, not the end of it.

Yes, it is so important to set expectations. I have to tell you if I were single I would be using a matchmaker. I would use Julie so I’m so glad she’s on board with you. Julie will go beyond her database. She will actually look beyond her fold of members. That is kind of a limitation with some matchmaking firms.
Julie Ferman is a perfect example of someone who is not in it for the money. Julie will do WIT “Whatever It Takes” to make that person have a relationship. And Julie is smart enough that she will not take business on the terms of: “Hi I got $25,000 and I’ll give it to you, find me a girl that is 17 years younger than me that wants to have babies immediately.” Don’t take that person’s money because the chances of that happening are very slim.

So let’s talk about numbers. Let’s say I’ve got half a million unique a month and I’ve got several thousand paying members and I can quite easily send you 1,000 good leads a month. What is that going to be worth to you? I ideally want to get paid on a per registrant basis within net 30. I send you a lead and I get the money within a month. On that basis what can you pay me?
We can pay you either by the lead, give you a check for $20,000 or give you a rev share at 20% of the value of the memberships that we sold off of that database. We’re converting 7 to 9% of our traffic just like online but at a much higher price point. And we’re getting them that money within 7 to 10 days after that has been executed.

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BBC Interviewed Top Matchmakers At The Matchmaking Conference

BBC.CO.UK - Oct 25 - Professional matchmaking may have gone out of fashion in many countries or has it? James Gordon, BBC New York reporter, has been to the 4th Annual Professional Matchmaking Conference to see if it’s making a comeback.

James: New York City is home to millions of singles who are never really getting together unless they have help of dating sites or matchmaking. One of the organizers of the Professional Matchmaking and Date Coaching Worldwide Conference is Lisa Clampitt. Is it very difficult to meet people these days?

Lisa: The internet utilizes a lot of someone’s time and these people are not getting coached to make better decisions. What a matchmaker does is help them make better decisions for long term compatibility rather than short term chemistry.

James: Paul Falzone, you’ve been running your business for 22 years. Are those people just lazy that hey can’t bother to go out on their own to find people so they are using a service such as yourself?

Paul: It is not a question of being lazy at all. It is a question of doing some self help.

James: Some of these services mentioned prices of $25,000. It is a huge amount of cash to part with.

Paul: We charge anywhere from $2,000 to  $8,000 depending on the package and programs you get.

James: Michelle Jacoby runs DCMatchmaking in Washington and there are so many dating sites out there. Why would someone want to go to a matchmaker when they can just sign up on a dating site?

Michelle: First privacy is very important. Also I have clients who are too busy to be online going through hundreds of profiles.

Listen to the interview here.

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eLove Acquires Los Angeles Matchmaker

PRESS RELEASE - Sep 30 - eLove, the matchmaking company, has acquired Cupid’s Coach. The addition of Cupid Coach’s two locations in LA and Westlake Village brings eLove’s total number of matchmaking offices to 50 nationwide. As the principal of Cupid’s Coach, Julie Ferman has been in the matchmaking business for more than 20 years. The partnership with eLove makes sense for us on many levels,” said Ferman. “We are now the first dating company to offer our clients both traditional matchmaking through eLove’s existing model and mutual selection matchmaking, using detailed personal resumes and professional photos. FULL ARTICLE @ ARTICLE BASE

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How To Protect Your Credit Card While Online Dating

CREDIT CARD - May 3 - A study about online dating and credit habits by ProtectMyID.com, Experian's identity theft protection program, found that 50% of the respondents never verify the authenticity of their chat mates, and ~10% sent them their SS numbers or bank account. According to ConsumerFraudReporting.org, as much as 30% of online personalities are bogus. More, sharing personal details is intrinsic to forming a relationship, but it also can expose you to fraud, says Paul Falzone CEO of eLove. They may ask for your home or work address to send you a gift." Such tidbits are invaluable currency for identity thieves. Of course, online dating companies strive for customer protection. For instance, eHarmony's publishes safety tips on their home page, in "5 Dating Rules You Should Never Break," including "if a potential date's actions or words set off an internal alarm system, you owe it to yourself to pay attention and act accordingly." Falzone, though, recognizes that it can take more than caution to stay safe when conversing over the Internet. Their members all go through criminal background checks, but filtering fraud is not guaranteed. eLove is making an extra effort, however, with a new product called eLove Select. Before getting the company's seal of approval, participating daters must physically go to one of their 50 locations and get checked, screened and cleared. FULL ARTICLE @ CREDIT CARD

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eLove.com Launches eLove Select Member Verification Membership Option

PRESS RELEASE - Apr 26 - eLove, a dating site that offers both online dating and matchmaking services, announced the availability of “eLove Select,” a new level of membership. elove Select membership gives members the distinction of a Platinum Certified seal attached to all their correspondences within the online community. The Platinum Certified seal is indicative of three things that are important to other online daters who are looking to find their perfect match: that a member has been verified by eLove; s/he is motivated and serious about finding a relationship and s/he has completed an identity and background check. FULL ARTICLE @ PR INSIDE

Mark Brooks: Mark Ezra with Honesty Online provides this service to eLove.

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eLove Named One Of Top 3 U.S. Matchmakers

PRESS RELEASE - Mar 23 - eLove has been named one of the top three U.S. matchmakers at the 7th annual Internet Dating & Matchmaking Conference (iDate) held in Miami, this past January. The 2010 iDate Awards were voted on by industry experts and the general public. eLove provides different levels of dating services, from internet to traditional matchmaking, based on how serious singles are about meeting their soul mate. FULL ARTICLE @ PR INSIDE

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Matchmakers Thrive Despite EHarmony, Match.com

LA TIMES - Feb 14 - "Matchmaking should have been dead by now," said Mark Brooks of Online Personals Watch, a site that's been tracking Internet dating since 2004. Instead, the opposite has happened, he said. Matchmakers not only have survived but are thriving, having been aided and legitimized by the entity that was supposed to have killed them off — the Internet. Like social networking, which had many dating industry experts inaccurately predicting the demise of paid Internet dating sites, Internet dating hasn't killed matchmaking, but fed it. In fact, the three go hand in hand, leading relationship-minded singles to ever higher levels of paid service. Though social networking sites such as Facebook may bring people together and do it for free, there's no guarantee that those brought-together people are available and looking for a relationship. Matchmakers charge $1,000 to $100,000, depending on the exclusivity of the service, the number of matches and how willing they are to go the extra mile.

"You're the therapist, the mother, the best friend, the sister, the nonsexual girlfriend. You have to be everything," said Patti Stanger, star of the TV series "The Millionaire Matchmaker" and proprietor of the L.A.-based Millionaire's Club matchmaking service. Stanger charges men $25k+ a year and female "millionairesses" $55k for 28 months of unlimited introductions. (She finds her female clients take longer to match.)' "

Increasingly, Internet dating is bringing in a matchmaking component. Match's Daily 5 delivers "five matches based on our prediction of which two people would most want to engage in a conversation together," said Match CEO Greg Blatt. Another matchmaking feature called Singled Out, is for "when we have a match with a stronger likelihood of connecting and want to highlight that to our users," Blatt said. "A lot of people put their relationships on the wrong course because they select the wrong people," said Gian Gonzaga, senior director of R&Dfor eHarmony. "A lot of the things that are powerful forces for initial attraction are different from what makes a relationship successful."

"Women are very attracted to the [matchmaking] concept because it's private. They can't be browsed," said Julie Ferman, founder of Cupid's Coach in Westlake Village, a matchmaking service that charges $2,500 to $25,000 annually for an average of 2.2 introductions per month and takes both women and men as paying clients. Matchmaking is strongest among thirty-, forty- and fiftysomethings, according to Ferman. Her average client splits the difference at a median age of 46 and makes at least $50,000. There's thousands of singles using hundreds of matchmakers — eLove, It's Just Lunch, the Millionaire's Club.

It's worth dropping $5k to $10k on a matchmaker if you've got the cash and are looking for a serious relationship, but online sites that charge or have extensive questionnaires can also be a good option, Brooks said. Nonetheless, matchmakers may not have many prospective dates for men in their 20s or women in their 60s, he added.

"The Internet dating services are flawed because they lack service — they have great price, great choice, but not a lot of service," Brooks said. "The matchmaker services are severely flawed because they lack choice."
FULL ARTICLE @ LA TIMES

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Finding The Right Online Dating Service

LA TIMES - Feb 14 - Piper Jaffray Investment Research predicted U.S. spending on online dating would reach $1.7 billion annually by 2013, and $1.2 billion was spent in 2008. The Internet is essentially the world's largest bar, explains Mark Brooks, editor of OnlinePersonalsWatch. The first step is figuring out which nightspot is for you: There are those with no cover charges, PlentyofFish and OKCupid, and hookup spots Fling.com and OnlineBootyCall.com. There are "theme nights" geared toward particular interests, such as BikerPlanet.com, and "neighborhood watering holes" based on religion or culture, such as JDate or AsiaFriendFinder. There's comfort in name recognition from eHarmony and Match. Or get a yenta through eLove.com.

"One of our more popular sites as of late is DateaCougar.com," says Stephen Ventura, VP of First Beat Media, which owns GothScene.com, BikerPlanet.com, FitnessDates.com and others.  Want a dash of romance with your social networking? Brooks says to look to Zoosk. It syncs with a users' Facebook's profile page. Spark's Kizmeet is attempting something similar. Still, Brooks says it's unlikely that social networking sites will kill the online dating market. "If people are anonymous, people tend to be more aggressive and more outspoken," he says. "On an Internet dating site, if you want to cut somebody off, you can easily. When you're on a social network, you have to be [polite] because their friends are watching."

Match.com's mobile members alone grew 250% from 2008 to 2009, says Whitney Casey, Match's relationship expert. Industry experts Brooks and CyberDatingExpert.com's, Julie Spira also praise GPS-based mobile applications like Skout and Foursquare. "I'm looking forward to people using Internet dating on the iPad," Brooks adds. "You can look up a profile very easily on that format. The iPhone is still a phone." Spira says to look to webcam dating sites, Speeddate.com or WooMe.com. Hitwise reports that visits to free dating sites like PlentyofFish rose 19% over the previous year.
FULL ARTICLE @ LA TIMES

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Local Matchmaker Warns Of Internet Dating Scams

MERCURY NEWS - Feb 12 - For every online nightmare there's a story of a couple who met and married. Between 21M and 24M people visit dating sites each month in the U.S., said Mark Brooks, an industry consultant who runs OnlinePersonalsWatch.com. With the advent of dating sites that cater to married people looking for affairs, such as AshleyMadison.com, the number of hitched users trolling those services intended for singles has diminished from ~30% to 10% or less, Brooks estimated. "And some sites are now using fraud reduction companies such as iovation to keep online scammers away", he said. "The Internet dating services are flawed because they lack service," Brooks said. "The matchmaker services are severely flawed because they lack choice." Paul Falzone, a Boston-based matchmaker, is trying to bridge the divide. Falzone's company, which owns The Right One and Together Dating Service, bought an online dating site a couple of years ago. In October, Falzone renamed the entire enterprise eLove, and he plans to launch a select service for the Web site after Valentine's Day that lets clients visit a local matchmaker for background checks and photographs — and then head online. Kate Bilenki, director of love for the free dating site Plentyoffish.com, said most people she knows in their 20s or 30s wouldn't consider going to a traditional matchmaker. FULL ARTICLE @ MERCURY NEWS

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Internet Dating Industry Weekly News Jan 11th, 2010

This is the news for January 1st through January 11th, 2010. Please follow this link to enjoy the high-resolution version. Here is the news we covered:

• BeautifulPeople.com dumps 5,000 members
• Niche dating is fueling growth, Australian market thrives
• Cold weather heats up membership for AshleyMadison.com
• CityDate launches SensualityDating.com for women

eLove Accepts Fat Rejects From BeautifulPeople.com

 MIAMI NEW TIMES - Jan 8 - After posting their holiday pictures on BeautifulPeople.com, 5,000 so-called fatties were shuffled once more into the ratings system for re-approval. Only a few hundred were allowed back. Mark Brooks, an analyst and consultant for the online dating industry, says it's normal for online networks to exclude people, but only as a matter of certain obvious preferences, like sexual orientation. "I think the BeautifulPeople tactic is rather amusing," he remarked. "We've been accustomed to magazine cover culture for over 50 years now," he said. "We need to break away from that. People have been aspiring to unnatural extremes of physical beauty." Paul A. Falzone, CEO of International Dating Ventures, which owns eLove, also believes that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but clearly he shines a different light. "We think everyone is beautiful, and frankly, were disturbed to hear about the way that these people were treated," said Falzone in a statement. eLove is coming to the rescue, opening its doors to all the rejects from BeautifulPeople. FULL ARTICLE @ MIAMI NEW TIMES

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Terry Fitzpatrick, COO Of International Dating Ventures

OPW INTERVIEW - Dec 21 - International Dating Ventures’ holdings include eLove, the first dating service to fuse both traditional matchmaking and online dating. COO Terry Fitzpatrick details the differences between eLove’s two programs and how the company has been able to grow despite the difficult economic climate. – Jenn Rubin

Listen to the interview

What is the story behind eLove?
We’ve been in the traditional matchmaking business for the last 25 years. In the last five or ten years 85% of our membership base had tried online dating and it just has not worked for them.

eLove brings together the online dating community and the offline traditional matchmaking service. We have an online dating service and if the users don’t find success, they don’t have to leave eLove to look for a traditional matchmaker. Ideally, we want everybody to stay within the eLove community. This is really so we can efficiently monetize all our online registration and all our leads.

We consider eLove a life stage company. We want eLove to be that one stop service for anybody who is serious about meeting people. If they choose to do the online portion, great. If they need a little bit more help, the traditional matchmaking will also be provided there. We want to be that one-stop solution.

How does eLove differ from other organizations in International Dating Ventures?
A couple of those websites would be TogetherChristian.com and LoveAccess.com, but those are purely online dating platforms. eLove is that unique site where you can choose which path is right for you. Is it going to be traditional matchmaking or is it going to be online dating? So that’s how it differs.

How many members does eLove online dating have?
eLove has over 2 million members online and offline it would probably be in the tens of thousands. In offline, we currently are in 22 States. We have 43 physical locations.

What are some of the unique features on the online dating site?
You’ll find the same services on eLove that you would find on Match.com.

If I went to eLove.com and clicked on the matchmaking section, what would happen?
First, we need to make sure that they live in a zip code that we have a physical location. We also need to make sure they’re of the right age. Traditional matchmaking works best for people in their late 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. We’re not looking for people in their teens or early 20s.

If they qualify, they will receive a phone call. We ask them about their criminal background history, because if you do become a member, you will have to go through a background check. From there, they would set up an appointment and meet with the local matchmaker. At that stage, it takes about an hour to two hours with a matchmaker to put together a profile on what they are looking for in a significant other. From there, dating begins. Most people will go on their first date within seven to 14 days.

How is eLove online dating different from the matchmaking program?
You don’t have the personal attention online. Offline, you’re dealing one on one with a matchmaker who will be able to help you with dating coaching and tips. What is very unique with the offline is after you go on a date, you will call your matchmaker back and discuss the date. We need feedback on what you liked and didn’t like about the person.

Can you tell me a little bit about some of the matchmaking membership rates?
Traditional matchmaking usually starts around $2,000, and you will be able to meet 8 or 10 people. Prices do increase if you need more help with relationships coaching.

What is the eLove online dating memberships?
The basic one is $29.95 a month.

What are some of the biggest challenges in the next 12 months for eLove?
It’s probably keeping up with our growth plan. To do that we need to find talented people to work with us. It’s very difficult to find the right matchmaker.

Have these difficult times hurt your business at all?
The economy has touched all companies, but we’ve been very lucky. In 2009, we opened up more stores then we have ever opened up.

How do you predict eLove will look in the next few years?
Hopefully, if you look at eLove two years from now, we’ll be in 50 States with over 100 physical locations in the United States. We’re halfway there now, so we’re getting there.

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Online Dating Giants Learn From Pick-up Artists

THE ECONOMIST – Nov 5 – Love Systems is an American firm that charges up to £3,000 ($5,000) for courses on how to pick-up women. Online dating firms such as eHarmony and eLove have also picked up on the need for dating coach services, though not on the same scale. Mark Brooks, an online-dating consultant, says, “You can meet the best people in the world and still screw it up because you don't know how to date. People need help, guidance, style counselling... feedback when a date goes wrong.” The National Dating Advice Line was launched last month and offers instant guidance from dating “experts” at £1.50 a minute. The British dating market is valued at nearly £100m, with 8% of Britons using online dating sites, compared to an average of 4% in the rest of Europe. However, the roughly 5 million visitors to British dating sites in September are a hard target. Visitor numbers in Britain fall well short of those in America. Mark Brooks believes this is because Britons are more sceptical than their transatlantic cousins. He regularly warns that overblown promises of true love are likely to repel rather than attract. FULL ARTICLE @ THE ECONOMIST

 

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Internet Dating Industry Weekly News Oct 23rd, 2009 - 3.5 mins

This is the news for October 18th through October 23rd, 2009. Please follow this link to enjoy the high-resolution version. Here are some of the topics we covered for this week:

• People Media ranked on Deloitte’s prestigious Technology Fast 500 list
• Zoosk’s member base surpasses 40 million users
• Newly-launched eLove.com fuses online dating and traditional matchmaking
• AARP partners with Perfectmach relationship expert Dr. Pepper Schwartz
• Australia’s Cupid Media rejecting 3,000 profiles a day due to fraud suspicions

 

eLove Combines Online And Traditional Matchmaking

PRESS RELEASE - Oct 15 - eLove is a new dating site, different from other dating services. It combines online and traditional matchmaking services. Singles have the option to do everything - from browsing the vast online database in search of a date to eliciting the assistance of a professional matchmaker to help them meet their soul mate. eLove also provides the latest tools in video/audio/text chat IM; video profiles, voicemail, email and more. All matchmaking service members are pre-screened and undergo a mandatory criminal background check. 

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