Could mail order brides become the next version of the popular online dating services that are so prevalent today? With international dating sites offering mail order brides to all industrialized nations, but particularly to men in the United States, the industry is begin to become more popular than ever before. The mail order bride business is catering to a certain group of men as well: those want their women to be traditional instead of progressive or have opinions that favor feminism.
Statistics on the Mail Order Bridge Business
1. AnastasiaDate, a leading mail order bride website, averages about 2.6 million visits per month.
2. AnastasiaDate’s traffic grew 220% in 2012 and users logged over 360 million hours on the website.
3. From 2012-2013, the mail order bride industry saw a 29% increase in overall traffic.
4. The annual number of women available as mail-order brides is in the neighborhood of 100,000.
5. The percentage of women that are successful in landing a husband through the mail order process: 10%.
6. More than $45 million will be spent in 2014 to market mail order brides to American men.
7. 65% of the women who look for a husband through a mail order bride business are between the ages of 21-30.
8. There are about 10,000 mail order bride marriages that occur in the United States every year.
9. About 400 international brokerage agencies are based in the US with the sole goal to match up men and women through the mail order bride process.
10. Because there are 8 men for every 10 Russian women, it is common for a woman in Russia to need to look for a foreign husband.
11. For the reports that are available, the divorce rates for mail order marriages is about 20%, or about half that of the normal American divorce rate.
12. The Philippines prohibits the business of organizing or facilitating marriages between Filipinas and foreign men.
13. On average, Taiwanese men spend USD $10,000 on a mail order bride marriage, but the bride’s family will only receive 5%-10% of the total payment.
14. In 2004, a jury awarded a mail order bride over $400k because of “dishonest marketing practices” by a marriage broker.
15. Even though 90% of Russian women seeing a mail order marriage are employed and make up 52% of the national labor force, their overall status in society is low enough that almost anything is better than their current situation.
16. Some agencies will have up to 25,000 Russian women applying for their services annually.
17. The average social gathering for men to first meet women in this business may have 60 men for every 1,000 women attending.
Who Is the Average User
Who is the average user of a mail order bride website? It’s an American man, above the age of 35, but below the age of 60. He’s going to be making at least $100k per year in his job and his #1 complaint is that he’s fed up with the typical dating scene in his community. This average man’s dream is to find a spouse that will be able to take care of him.
Another reason for the increased interest in the mail order bride business is the fact that men are able to purchase more than just specific contact information. Thanks to the internet, men can see potential brides online right now and this has created a business model that is extremely profitable for marriage brokers. With costs for emails, video chats, and even emoticons all extra above a free membership, it can cost a guy about $10 just to send a greeting to a potential mail order bride. Before arranging a romantic tour that brings a bride to their home, they’ve likely spent several thousand dollars already.
There is danger on both sides of this equation. For that reason, all men must submit to background and marital checks before participation and women must be provided with the results in her native language. No background checks are required for women, however, so there are endless stories of scams and tragedies on both sides of the equation. As the statistics will show, that hasn’t dampened the desire to find love by mail order.
What is the Demand
There might not be a great demand from American men to find a foreign wife, but there is a great demand from the international community find an American husband.
Because of this, women are willing to take on some great risks in order to improve their status in life. If they have no dowry, no family standing, and no other marketing skills that can help them to find a husband in their own country, then the only solution is the mail order bride business. For a certain demographic of men, this is rather appealing because it saves them time on the dating scene, helps them secure a relationship that is mutually beneficial, and love becomes more about business than emotions.
That may be why the divorce statistics are as good as they happen to be. Both parties have something to gain and something to lose if they were to actively seek to terminate the relationship. There are, of course, horror stories about murders, thefts, and other issues happening during the meet and greet process of the mail order bride business, but that isn’t any different than modern relationships today. A quick Google search will show you how many spouses will murder their partners in an act of domestic violence.
When it comes to the online side of the business, the women tend to see the men as slightly unintelligent and egotistical. With hundreds of messages encouraging love without solicitation, it’s an understandable approach that many men have, but one that most women don’t desire. For the mail order bride business to continue being successful, more safeguards should be in place so that men and women can have a chance to find a relationship that helps both parties. In doing so, love might just be in the air… with a stamp on it.