I've tried 4 speed dating companies: Pre-dating, 8MinuteDating, Hurrydate, and RapidDating.

Of these, Hurrydate was the worst... the info that the women put in their profiles just doesn't seem right. One of them says she makes $100K a year salary, but she won't discuss what her job is... and besides, if she really makes that kind of money, she could easily drop a couple thousand on a professional matchmaker. She must be incredibly cheap if she's going to $35 speed dating parties.

8MinuteDating and RapidDating are just plain disorganized, all the women and all the men at their parties don't get to talk to each other during the event. You barely get to talk to half of them.

Pre-dating was about the best of the 4, but after having gone to TEN events and not getting a "yes" from one woman, I suspect that the event hostesses hire their female friends as "fillers" when not enough women are signing up for the events.

So... if you're thinking of trying speed dating, there you have my account of it. Just because you get to see the men and women in person, that doesn't mean speed dating is any more honest than online dating.

Never tried speed dating myself. Never thought of the fact that they may hire fillers, that may get expensive. How much does an average speed dating event cost?

They tend to average about $35, though I've seen them range from $27 to $45. With some of the companies, the cost is offset when they offer gimmicks like "attend one event for free---we're giving you this consolation prize, because we think you're a sad sack" (gee, thanks, I'm so flattered). Having caught on to their scheme, I would not go to another speed dating event, free invitations or not.

Also, most of them have their parties during very inconvenient times, such as Tuesday or Wednesday evenings... it doesn't matter to them that some of us are real people with real jobs which require us to get up at 5 in the morning if we want to pay our bills. It would make much more sense for them to hold their events on Saturday nights.