There are many good options for online dating sites but the latest hook-up destination whatsyourprice.com is definitely a sign that the value placed on relationships continues to decline. The site invites “the generous” to place bids from $25-$200 for first dates with “the attractive” who post profiles and can either accept, decline or counter the bid. Their public relations hype suggests that this process is a matter of efficiency rather than prostitution or escorting. For those daters out there looking for a quick fix, this isn’t the path towards anything good. Of course everyone has free will and it can be argued that if this is how people want to meet then why should anyone get in their way.

Here are just three of the many reasons why no one should buy or sell first dates:

1. It’s dangerous. There are still many individuals who use online profiles to pretend to be someone and something they aren’t and you don’t find out the truth until you’re already on your first date. Women need to face the reality that if you sell a first date, you are sending the message that you’re probably willing to sell yourself sexually so there is no telling who is going to show up on that date and their ability to take “no” for an answer.

2. You get what you pay for. When someone buys a first date for $100, that’s all they’re going to get, a first date, not a chance at love or even a second date. Men are fooling themselves if they think they’re buying anything more than an escort for the night and women are fooling themselves if they think that they are selling anything other than an escort service. If you’re really looking for love then you need to face the old adage that “money can’t buy love” and look elsewhere for a reputable online dating site.

3. No one wants a “relationship” with the buyer or the seller. You’re kidding yourself if you think that this type of first date arrangement leads to a relationship. It might sound like a novel way to meet for a first date, but in the end, when you’re thinking about settling down, making a commitment or even marriage, you won’t seriously consider someone who values themselves so little that they charge for first dates or someone so desperate that they would pay for one.

If they had called this site an escort service then we probably wouldn’t even be talking about this. All I’m asking is that people keep their eyes wide open to when they’re being manipulated into thinking someone is offering them something good, valuable or necessary when in fact they’re just selling them a time-wasting and potentially dangerous fantasy.

I talked with Dylan Ratigan about this issue on MSNBC. Check out the video:

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