Emma Pullen, Account Manager, Dating Services

When it comes to shopping in the 21st century we're all conditioned to demand more for less. It doesn't matter if we're looking for a sofa, buying a chicken or looking for a loan... Two-for-the price of one. Buy now, pay later, we all seem to be obsessed with finding a bargain.

So in our cost-conscious society, when it comes to looking for love or a new companion, why should we approach dating any differently?

Is there any benefit to actually PAYING to find a date when at first glance, there are so many sites willing to do it for free....? After reading this, you may well think so...

Beware the profile that starts "I the lovely girl... ..."

Free sites are largely un-moderated, simply because they don't have the staff (or money) to check the site's content. This makes it easy for unscrupulous people (known as scammers) to post up fake profiles/photos, and get to work doing what they do best - parting people from their hard-earned cash.

Scammers can take many shapes - from the "lovely girl" who would love you long time were it not for the money needed for her airfare, visa or sick mother's surgery, to the God-fearing orphan who wants to smuggle a fortune out of his war-torn country via your bank account. It's the same game under a different name - and on an un-moderated site, scammers are free to play it to their hearts content.

Spam, spam, spam...

To run a successful, interactive website you have to invest in equipment, product research and development, have staff to provide customer support and monitor quality etc. However, if part of that cost is not passed on to the user, it has to be recouped by other means. So, if you've ever signed up for a free site, and then been inundated with junk emails shortly afterwards you may get an inkling of how the site is making its money.

You cannot be serious!

If you're committed to finding a partner, it's reassuring to know that the people you're in contact with are likely to feel the same way. Charging a subscription fee (even if it's a nominal amount) is an effective means of filtering out people who are only after some fun, or have something to hide.

Time IS money!

For the most part, free dating sites tend not to be as user-friendly or as feature rich as paid for sites, so the onus of finding suitable match is placed on the user. Trawling through profiles of people (who on a free site may not even be real!) takes time and effort. However a niche paid dating site making intelligent use of technology, can match people with specific characteristics, making it quicker and easier for them to get in touch with one another.

So it seems that signing up to a free site does come at a cost after all - it's just not presented as an up-front fee - with online dating, you really do get what you pay for... ...

Peanut anyone?