TIME – Aug 2 – In this economy, it seems unthinkable that people would pay up to six figures just to find a mate. And yet expensive matchmakers are reporting that business is up these days. Janis Spindel, who charges clients between $50,000 and $500,000 a year to find the "woman of their dreams," says membership jumped 41% in 2009 from the year before and is up 46% so far this year. Premier Match, a New York City–based agency where annual membership costs a min of $5,500, logged $1.5M in sales last year, a 30% increase from the previous year. Matchmaking agencies advertise different strengths to attract high-end clients. Barbie Adler, CEO of Selective Search, worked in executive recruitment before she started her agency in Chicago 10 years ago. "My experience has been crucial to looking beyond a résumé to make a good match," she says. Indeed, clients are willing to part with a minimum of $15,000 for Adler to work with them. Other firms take a scientific approach. The British firm Seventy Thirty, which charges its clients a min of $15,000, has a team made up exclusively of psychologists.
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TELEGRAPH.CO.UK – Aug 16 – Seventy Thirty Ltd, a premium dating agency, has been ordered to refund a client ~£13K after it failed to find the woman the "man of my dreams". Tereza Burki, 47, paid Seventy Thirty Ltd £12,600 after she was assured they only dealt in "creme de la creme" matches, the High Court heard. But Judge Richard Parkes QC today ordered the agency to repay her fee, ruling that she had been "deceived" by Seventy Thirty's then managing director. It was found that whilst the agency boasted of ~7k members, only ~100 of them were men actively looking for love.
