Thanks & Intro

[Notayup]

Rick from Florida checking in. First of all I would like to thank the founders of this board for being here. The 10 commandments saved me right of the bat. I have been communicating with several ladies from Eastern Europe & Asia. One of them, after about 4 or 5 emails, practically begged me to send her $50 so she could continue to pay a translating service and "not loose me and be heart broken" If it were not for this site I probably would of fell for it. She or whom ever were pretty sly and new exactly what to say to reel one in. The best advice anyone could get is to never send money to a picture. I replied stating that I would never send cash to some one I just met on the net. I also attached the note in Russian with a link to the free google translator. I was not suprised when I never heard from her again. I was interested in finding a woman from overseas and figured I would give it a try so posted a profile on a site called Cherry Blossums. I had not found this site yet for other references but it seems to be working all right. I was shocked at all the replies I received and had to turn off my profile as it became just too difficult to keep up with. I plan on continuing to read & learn all I can about the process and this looks like a great place to start. Thanks again for your site!

[Admin]

Rick from Florida checking in. First of all I would like to thank the founders of this board for being here. The 10 commandments saved me right of the bat. I have been communicating with several ladies from Eastern Europe & Asia. One of them, after about 4 or 5 emails, practically begged me to send her $50 so she could continue to pay a translating service and "not loose me and be heart broken" If it were not for this site I probably would of fell for it. She or whom ever were pretty sly and new exactly what to say to reel one in. The best advice anyone could get is to never send money to a picture. I replied stating that I would never send cash to some one I just met on the net. I also attached the note in Russian with a link to the free google translator. I was not suprised when I never heard from her again. I was interested in finding a woman from overseas and figured I would give it a try so posted a profile on a site called Cherry Blossums. I had not found this site yet for other references but it seems to be working all right. I was shocked at all the replies I received and had to turn off my profile as it became just too difficult to keep up with. I plan on continuing to read & learn all I can about the process and this looks like a great place to start. Thanks again for your site!

Hi Rick,

Welcome to RWD.

Funny you should mention Cherry Blossoms - they are probably the oldest marriage agency in continuous operation. They serve mostly the Asian geographies - or at least, that was where they focused initially. I understand they may be reaching into the FSU, but we rarely hear about them. Sounds like your experience was OK. Please be sure to let us know the good, and the bad, of your experiences with these agencies.

- Dan

[I/O]

I plan on continuing to read & learn all I can about the process and this looks like a great place to start.

Rick: Welcome to RWD and I am really pleased to hear a story of someone who had some practical help right from the get go. I am sure many of the ol' boys would be delighted to hear that also.

The whole international introduction thing is a minefield and RWD without a shadow of a doubt is the absolute best resource for practical people on the net IMO. I suspect you have already, but if not, do yourself a favour and read the FAQ section a couple of times.  The ol' boys here can be a tough ol' bunch, but a more generous and genuine buch you won't find anywhere. They have certainly straightened me out on a few issues and I have no doubt they will you too if you ask the questions and listen to the answers.

All the best and again, I am delighted to read that this site helped keep a few dollars in your pocket and avoid a scam. That was a real treat to read that.

I/O

[Turboguy]

Welcome Rick,  I am sure you will learn a lot here.  Cherry Blossoms brings back some memories for me too.  
Actually the first RW I ever wrote was through Cherry Blossoms eons ago.   They were just starting to get a few gals from Russia in those days and one of the things I think back on and laugh about was they had a disclaimer in their catalog about RW.   It said something like not to be too fooled by the fact that the Russian women did not look pretty.   They added that the women did not wear make up, did not have good clothes and were taught not to smile for their photos and that they really were much prettier than they looked.   The few photos they had of Russian women were generally wearing shoes that looked like a cross between work boots and men's shoes, and coats were wool and looked like rejects from the army.  The common hair style was a bun.  Yes, no make up and a dead pan look on their face.   Times have sure changed.  

[BillyB]

Thanks again for your site!

No need to thank us Rick, just send each of us $99.95 as a token of your gratitude and we'll call it even. We accept, cash, master card and visa but please don't send monopoly money.

Seriously though, forums like this has saved men tens of thousounds of $ if not much more more from getting scammed. You'd be surprised, some men get scammed for thousands without even meeting the woman their writing to. There are many sharks out there looking to take advantage of you when you lower your guard when you're looking for love. The "she" who asked you for money could be a "he". After you find some women you like through letters, get on the phone with them often. If a scammer/insincere girl is brave enough to give you her number, she will not be able to maintain a high level of enthusiasm everytime you call thus you should move on and not waste your time.

[neo]

Welcome

As you may find out there are enough "translation and reply paid" services out there that youc an use that don't put a financial burden on any genuine woman who is interested in corresponding with you.

You did the right thing, it can't be emphasised enough times to NEVER send money to a woman you never met in person for any reason at all.

it should also be pointed out that ANY genuine decent Russian woman would never askj you for money unless she is your wife in which case she won't ask you for it she'll just help herself to whats rightfully hers just joking.

But to give you an example, my wife had racked up a huge internet bill during our first correspondance and even though we had decided on pursuing our relationship together she never told me about it. During our entire week she never asked for a single USD for anything including her taxi fares or sxpenses in getting to meet me, so on our last day together on the way to the airport i had a couple of hundred bucks worth of roubles which i hadn't used and gave to her so she could fix her computer, she wouldn't accept it so when we were embracing at the airport i carefully tucked it into her jeans pcoket before i went and got on the plane so she couldnt object.

When i got home i found a nice big thank you for the surprise i had left in her pocket and told me how grateful she was so she could pay off her telephone bill and get her computer fixed.

During our entire marriage she was fantastic with money and never asked for 1 USD more than anything cost, also during our time together she had huge rows with the agency over how much they were overcharging for everything.

So the truth is a really good RW won't ever ask you for money and will go out of her way to be good with money.

The flipside of this is the first pro-dater i met who spent 2 hours with me for lunch adn then took me to the most expensive jewellers in town and demanded a 2000 USD watch, simply turned to the assistant and said to her "what time is it", the assistant replied "2:30pm" i turned to the pro dater and said "there, you know what time it is now what the XXX do you need a 2000 dollar watch for...>" needless to say we never met again.

You seem to have your head screwed on the right way though so im guessing you are gonna do just fine, its all about the right attitude.

[Jack]

Welcome Rick, having discovered the rwd your pursuit for a Russian bride has got a whole lot more effecient.

Dan, side note about CB and Russian women.  Back in 94 Cherry Blossoms started there own version of a Russian woman catalog. They were smart enough to see a new upcoming market developing. In 95, 96, 97 this was one of the most effecient source for meeting real and good Russian women. It is through this publication I met Veronica in St. Pete. Another story for another day.