fonzy:
It is more difficult to identify the good agencies than it is the bad ones. You can google the agency name with the word scam and find what bad experiences guys have had.
I think that most agencies have good women in them but it may be difficult to get to them and discern which ones they are. Most of the big Internet agencies are comprised of many smaller agencies. Each tier is a potential weak link that could ruin chances of a successful relationship.
There are many ways to categorize agencies. I first put them into two categories. The ones that claim the ladies must register in person and most say they evaluate the lady to make sure she is serious and the second the agencies that take profiles over the Internet. But do remember there are hundreds of agencies under this one big agency so the come in person and evaluation can mean almost anything.
Next you have the method of communication available. Whether you get contact info or if it is a pay per letter (which is probably the weakest link out there).
So now you have the man who percentage wise is the weak link
An assistant to do things for you the agency will not.
The main agency who is there to make money and some do not care how
The local agency
The lady
So you can see you have tiers of links that could fail. In America a person is innocent until proven guilty. Do not use this philosophy on the agencies in the FSU or you will be lunch. The philosophy there is if a man is stupid enough to spend money on trust it should be taken from him. The more tiers you can eliminate the less potential for failure.
Personally I prefer the agencies that take applications in person and then establish direct communication even if the only way is postal mail. Of course you can use agency contacts or a personal assistant that you trust also but check it with private communication then there are only 2 links you and her.
If I was starting out I think the The Angelika Network would be my first choice but in house communication is very expensive there so I would get private communication immediately.
Agencies make a large percentage of their revenue from the letters they traffic.
As long as your lady is writing to you through the agency, the agency is making money.
If you supply the lady with your email address sooner you can tell if she is sincere in wanting to communicate with you if she starts writing to your email address.
Most have access to a computer and they ALL have a phone.
Some may praise the virtues of girls from the sticks who have no access to pc, no mobile phone and little or no English.
IMO, communicating with a girl like this is like pulling teeth and communication is all in this endeavour.
If she can't communicate...imagine the culture shock.