During the course of her single life, Pamela Patton has spent more than $2,000 on matchmakers, Internet dating services and personal ads in her quest to find "the one." And what has it netted her? Matches with an amateur magician, a friend's live-in boyfriend and an ex-boss, who she knows is a cross-dresser. "We won't even toss in the [cost of] gym memberships that you get in hopes of getting fit to get somebody," says Patton, 46, of Grand Rapids, Mich. "That's a whole other can of worms." When Jennifer Lopez crooned that her "Love Don't Cost a Thing," she obviously had never enlisted professional help to find that special someone. Lopez may be one of the few. With matchmaking Web sites and dating services claiming thousands to millions of members, it seems all kinds of singles are willing to buy love, if that's what it takes. Internet dating is by far the most common -- and least expensive -- matchmaking method. There's something for everyone, from such mainstream sites as AmericanSingles.com, Match.com and Yahoo! Personals to the more specialized, such as JDate.com for Jewish singles, PositiveSingles.com for those with sexually transmitted diseases and Tall Singles for people with "altitude." Walter Warren, 39, of Pontiac, Mich., has had an on-and-off relationship with Internet dating since 2002. For only $150 in subscription fees, he's met about 12 "interesting people," he says. "You can't really respond to anyone unless you sign up," says Warren. "That's their hook." As far as Stephanie Puertas is concerned, paying to find love is nothing new. "It always costs money to meet people," says Puertas, who owns multiple dating services in metropolitan Detroit. "Traditionally, dates cost money. You buy a new outfit, you get dressed up and you go out on a one-on-one date. Somebody pays for it. There's always money involved." For $225, singles get a three-dinner, three-month sampler package through Table for Eight in Detroit, for which Puertas facilitates dinner parties at local restaurants. Puertas claims the Detroit office has had more than 3,000 memberships in the past three-and-a-half years, resulting in 36 engagements. Dinners last up to four hours, notes Puertas, and often reveal more about a person than an online profile. "You get to meet the person, see their personality, see how they treat the server, see the quality of the conversation they have," she says. At the end of dinner, everyone receives individual checks, so they only pay for their own meal. Members complete a survey following the evening requesting their contact information be sent to fellow diners they were interested in, adds Puertas. "There's no pressure or competition the night of the event," she says. "You're just putting your best foot forward." Angelica Penalver, 32, of Brooklyn, N.Y., has relied on the Internet and other dating services for meeting men since she was 23. "I've never really gone out to meet people," she says. "I work and I go to school and I travel extensively. So I just don't have the time." Penalver recently sank nearly $6,000 into a three-year contract for a national dating service -- an expensive mistake that she's now stuck with, she says. "They paint the pretty picture before you pay and after you pay you realize how you've been robbed," says Penalver. "I cried afterward when I realized what I got." The
Web-based service makes matches between members and also allows
members to search for a partner on an online database.
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