How to buy a date. Big profits?

Not a great plan too me. Plan kind of sounds similar to prostitution where the man has to pay for the girl.

This does sound like it could be pretty profitable, but would probably take quite a bit of framework to set up. Also the safety thing is somewhat of an issue, but then again thats no different then match or other dating sites, so I think your ok there.

This is done all the time. It is usually done for charity. Do a google search for bachelor auction.

If you did run it, I would make guys /gals register to even access the site with a fee that would cover the cost of a background check and some admin fees so that you get a little bit of cash up front.

Prostitution? Sleazy? I guess the Dating Game is about sleazy prostitution too, huh? Things are what you make them. If this is done right it could be huge. You'd need to involve a certified accounting firm to make sure the raffle is done properly.

As for insulating it from being "sleazy" you simply set standards that must be observed. As far as this being too technical to pull off, I don't know why it would be. Safety might be an issue but anyone going on any kind of blind date would be up against similar safety issues.

You'd need each and every participant to read and sign off on terms and conditions that would insulate you from liability in the event someone got hurt. That document would need to be written by a qualified attorney.

There would definitely be some up front expense in getting this started but it might be worth it.

Bachelor auctions are for charities and usually done within an established community or group. People don't end up with total strangers. People take part for fun and to help out a good cause.

With the raffle site. I don't really see what's in it for the guy.

Normally when a guy can't get a hot girl but is willing to spend some money to rectify the problem there is an equal (sort of) balance of power. She has the looks and he has the money. But with the raffle, he doesn't have the money but she still has the looks. So any winner will end up sitting at dinner feeling like a total loser.

LOL, Fin, I must admit... when I first saw "buy a date", I thought of thigh-high boot-wearing girls on Sunset Blvd

Now that I actually read what your idea entails, it might just work, if you take all of the necessary precautions like Travlinguy said. I agree about the registration fee. That will give you some money upfront, so that you're not doing business one ticket at a time.

I think you'll probably run into a lot of issues.

Safety for sure ... although you could perhaps get past that by having a reputation and feedback system. I can also see you having some problems with escorts using your website as a way of advertising and getting business. This website would need to be CAREFULLY controlled to avoid this ...you'd need to create and maintain a certain image of something closer to a dating/entertainment site than something where guys come to fight over and throw money at the hottest escorts.

Related to this ... how do people know what they're paying for? I mean, you could have two types of accounts, bidders and those who are to be auctioned and you could have a verification system for the latter. Basically this would really reduce the amount of people you have who attempt to upload a fake pic, take the money and run. Also, on from this ... if you allow people put in their auction that they're open to sexual things they will obviously get a higher amount. Which is fine as a reputation system (rep system also goes for bidders - for safety) could ensure they're not a BSer. But then you get close to the area of escorts which is an image you want to avoid if you want this website to stand out. So clearly you'll need to let people have some freedom over their auctions (where will the date take place, how long will the person stay, is there any chance of sex, etc etc) but it will once again need to be very carefully controlled.

If you can get the right image in place initially it will be easier to maintain it as the majority of new and active members will be attracted to the site because of the already established image and what the site represents.

This sounds like a really cool idea and a unique spin on social networking. But as I say it's not an easy business to build. The brand is everything and you need to get it right from the start.

You'd first need to do some more market research to see how viable your idea is. Do it within your local city. Surveys, polls etc. While I would advise doing some of this offline, the great thing is you could probably get it done fairly cheaply online even keeping focus in your local city ... contact local forums and ask about polls or surveys, local websites, facebook is great here too obviously.

Business plan next if you think it's viable. Incorporate survey results of course. More research will also be required. You may need to convince people to work for equity or invest soon so this is important.

Next it's website development time. A good initial design is essential. If you launch a crappy website it just won't take hold and people won't care about it's actual function. Image and brand is everything. You're gonna need to invest a bit here so make sure you've done your research and business plan correctly and not over valued anything.

Get a good website designed, then launch into beta. Promote fiercely in your city ... online and offline. I image you will have found by this stage that your target audience should be people who are "young, free and single". You could advertise alongside clubs, or student bars. Online, use facebook obviously, forums, local websites, student resources. Endless options ... just get it out there.

Alongside ferocious marketing comes great management and brand building. You need to manage this website's image very well as I've mentioned above and build it as a brand that's appealing to people in your target market rather than a website which will attract the wrong type of people and ruin it's image entirely.

If you get this far you'll have forgotten all about this post by me and be well on your way. If the website becomes popular within your city, there's no reason it won't work in other cities if carefully integrated. Once again ... there's loads of ways to do this.

I really like your idea. It's a lot of work but anything worthwhile is. It may not work ... you may get knocked down but the important thing is to not get prematurely overly attached to this idea. There's a very high chance you'll fail before you succeed. You may fail at this, but it may lead you to a new idea which will succeed. For this to work I think you need more motivation than just money. You need to believe and have a genuine interest in your idea. Luckily monetization would be easy for you as it's not based on advertising so you don't need to worry about pissing off your members. The important thing is to keep logical, motivated and to fail fast if it's going to fail so you can start over with a new idea until you hit it big time.

Nice idea. Good luck!

I don't know how it is in your jurisdiction but where I live raffle is a very-very regulated operation: so that would be your first big trouble to get the permission to do it.

Other than that... I am not sure I would want to date a woman who puts herself up "for sale"

I'm not doing it. I'm too busy. Just thought it would be cool and a new viral site, first of it's kind.

I think this type of thing should be left at local charity levels. It's just too dangerous otherwise.

Ian - these types of auctions go on fairly regularly in small communities across the US. There's nothing sleezy about them - most are not buy a "date" though - most are buying a "slave" for a day. The people sign up to be auctioned to do odd jobs for the buyers. These auctions benefit local charities, with ALL proceeds going to the charity. These are seen as fun little events in small towns. The person auctioned isn't auctioned for intimate purposes.

However - the idea of a % going to a web owner kind of convolutes the auction as a community spirited charity function. It's the community that makes these things fun, after all. If the people didn't all know each other it would take a lot of the fun and spirit out of the event, as well as most of the safety. You would have to have escorts to go along for security and for publicity pics and stories. You may have to pay for the escorts. You might even have to provide escorts who had security licensing. You might also have to hire someone with a little notoriety for people to be generally interested. Not many well-known figures are going to be willing to just volunteer for auction from some website somewhere unless it is a well-known site with a well known owner or owning organization and well-known cause.

I think what you are getting into would become nothing but a new form of porn match site no matter how good your intentions.

I think you are trying to "globalize" an event that was never meant to be anything but small town fun.

Lolol. Yeah, maybe do some more research and consult with lawyers.

If its a raffle site, then you may have issues with various local laws on gambling

Oh, my! Let's call it a contest or a game and not a raffle.

It is a great idea, but please see:
Belling the cat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There is a reason why this is not more common.
Mostly, you already have the answer.

My daughter is a high profile celeb and she has helped out with this type of charity thing where the date is on the same night in the same room as everyone else but she would not consider this idea as it is very risky and what sort of girls would sell themselves in this way.
regards
vivi62

Okay, most seem to agree this type of thing is okay if it's done for charity. Apparently the authorities are more willing to go along with it too. So why not create a little operation where you facilitate this type of blind date? In other words, you contract your services out to schools, churches, and other groups that consistently need to raise money.

You promote yourself to organizations as the organizer of these little dating thingys and take a healthy percentage off the top. That way you're not out there blazing the trail all alone. You have the support of the group you're contracting to. You might also get a lot of publicity for each one you sponsor, depending on the group you're working with. Hey, hey hey. There's always a way.

Potential for profit? Absolutely!

Potential for lawsuits, legal trouble and a gigantic can or related worms? Absolutely!

You're obviously an outside-the-box thinker. Could you could use that brainstorming power to come up with a different out-side-the-box idea, minus the can of worms?

Alot also depends on the state you are doing this in. You have to check your states raffle regulations. It normally has to be non profit status to do this.