you experienced guys can probably answer this questions

[Sparky75]

is the legit marriage agencies better or worse than the legit dating sites and you doing it on your own.  I guess I look from the standpoint of who do the better women choose, do get on a site and meet someone or go to a marriage agency (again, legit ones).  is the pool of women better at one than the other or is it all about the same.

[BillyB]

is the legit marriage agencies better or worse than the legit dating sites and you doing it on your own.

If both are legit, then success depends only on you. Use a marriage agency if you need help with getting around town or setting up dates. If you don't need help, use a dating site.

[Trenchcoat]

is the legit marriage agencies better or worse than the legit dating sites and you doing it on your own.  I guess I look from the standpoint of who do the better women choose, do get on a site and meet someone or go to a marriage agency (again, legit ones).  is the pool of women better at one than the other or is it all about the same.

Problem with marriage agencies is that your introducing the middle man into the relationship. Same with PPL sites, back in the day (about a decade or so ago) when most sites were PPL or marriage agencies the first piece of advice was to work on getting them out if the equation as soon as possible. Now it's more don't introduce them in the first place.

That said there are some marriage agencies out there that seem to want to be upfront and genuine. It's still a case though that you may not always be sure if they are.

I would say the quality of girls with a legit marriage agency has no reason to be greater or lesser on the quality of girls than a free or decent pay monthly dating sitems and vice versa. For newbies a goid legit marriage agency might be able to sound the girls for you so alleviating the learning of doing this yourself somewhat. They might also be able to give advice to the girl and yourself in terms of your goals and expectations - might even be worthwhile to ask their thoughts. They might also be able to give feedback and sort out problems, etc.

Of course that is a good legit agency. A lot aren't which is why they became unpopular. A lot are insincere and a lot are money making machines that will charge extortionate prices for the basics - apartmens,  interpretor, meeting the ladies, etc. Even the more sincere ones may charge high prices (thousands of pounds) and there are no guarantees that you will have a match against the end of it. So I would say if you are going down the marriage agency route chose very carefully as there can be big profit motive invloved by the owners.

[DaveNY]

is the legit marriage agencies better or worse than the legit dating sites and you doing it on your own.  I guess I look from the standpoint of who do the better women choose, do get on a site and meet someone or go to a marriage agency (again, legit ones).  is the pool of women better at one than the other or is it all about the same.

Sparky75 best advice I can give is to take a trip to Russia or wherever you plan on looking for your wife to be. Try to make it as long as possible. Get a feel for the country.

Visit all over Moscow. Go to St. Petersburg. Travel around Russia. If possible take the train to Vladivostok. It's a great ride. My wife and I did it after we got married. Take lots of photos.

When you return you'll have a fair idea of what Russia is like. If you like it learn some Russian or learn Russian before going. If you have the time learn Russian in Russia. Moscow State University offers courses for foreigners. So do many other universities. They have students from all over the world. If you take classes there you might find your wife is German or Swedish or Italian.

My point is some Americans love their wife but absolutely hate Russia. They don't like the Russian language and can't learn it. They don't want to visit Russia on vacation and don't want to be bothered with applying for a visa. They don't like Russian food. Don't like the pollution in Moscow, which can be bad. Don't like Russian politics, which to many Americans is nothing short of a dictatorship. Don't like the living conditions or working conditions. Don't like the Russian school system. In short there are many things to dislike about Russia.

[Nightwish]

is the legit marriage agencies better or worse than the legit dating sites and you doing it on your own.  I guess I look from the standpoint of who do the better women choose, do get on a site and meet someone or go to a marriage agency (again, legit ones).  is the pool of women better at one than the other or is it all about the same.

 

With a marriage agency you involve a third party, their business is to make money first and foremost,
secondly it's to help people come together, this is something you must always have in the back of your head.

I am sure there is legit agency's out there, I never used one myself so I have no experience really, I did however come across a couple of ladies that had been using those and after a while left them, because of being unsuccessful.
With the amount of free sites, and monthly subscription sites, I would recommend them any day of the week..  if your not socially inept this is not really a difficult thing to do. It might take some time to find the gem, but the journey to finding her can be really pleasurable.

It took me, ~4 years with countless dates and trips to FSU and I loved every moment - given I am fortunate to live close by - I met so many wonderful people, seen so many amazing places, experienced a whole new culture that was completely new to me (even if we here do share a lot with FSU I came to notice over the years)

For me the journey that took me to this moment, when I have found my jewel, was worth everything. Sure, it has not been cheap, I had my share of heartache, I have probably missed out on many wonderful women along the way because of how I chose to do this, but I do not regret one step.

[fathertime]

is the legit marriage agencies better or worse than the legit dating sites and you doing it on your own.  I guess I look from the standpoint of who do the better women choose, do get on a site and meet someone or go to a marriage agency (again, legit ones).  is the pool of women better at one than the other or is it all about the same.

With a marriage agency many or most of the ladies are presumably interested in marriage with a foreigner.  In that respect a western marriage seeker is being put in front of prospects that he must still sort through and determine motives, compatibility etc etc.  I liked and used that route (In Ukraine and South America) as it eliminates some of the extraneous, and time consuming aspects and flakiness that trip people up with dating through dating sites. 

Fathertime!   

[msmob]

IMHO avoid both PPL sites and marriage agencies

Even ladies on the latter may not REALLY want to upsticks when push comes to shove

WHY line someone else's pockets ?

IF you want a 'wingman' - use a person finding for YOUR corner - such as Ed.

[BillyB]

It took me, ~4 years with countless dates and trips to FSU and I loved every moment

That's a good attitude to have. Newbies should enjoy the experience even if it doesn't work out with the first woman they meet.