CALIVIP is for sale; What this ultimately could mean?

[josh]

Hi,

I was just trying to browse Calivip and noticed it's for sale! I am not sure what this ultimately means? Is this an indication of the agancies in Cali ( and possibly in Colombia) not doing so well? Or does it just mean that the current owner of Calivip want to get out of that business for whatever reasons? I had recently read that Papi and few others had recommended Calivip in their earlier posts for their effectiveness. I will be curious to know others feedback as I was planning to use few of these agancies in coming months/year.

[mudd]

 I know the owner, basically, it is too hard to run an agency from the US, unless your there about every other month, and the rent in the house is too much. He got into it too early, and was trying to sell his house in the USA, to move to Cali but the market went down and couldn’t sell it.

[SocialDreg]

of All Colombian Girls.  He will have the only agency of any consequence in Cali.  Latin Encounters has closed or is about to close.    It is not a viable business like it was a few years ago.  Especially if it is owned by a foreigner.
The agency scene is totally different than it was around the turn of the century.

Back then more men were coming to get married in a hurry .  For good or bad.  I have lived here for 3 years.  Before that I was a regular visitor here.  Before 9/11 you could come down here and get married in a week or less, go to Bogota to get your wife's visa in about 10 days or so.  That is not a typo! I went to many a wedding in my vacations here.  I asked Ricardo a couple of weeks ago when was the last wedding he had.  He said in November.

I used to have a small B&B here.  I have met a lot of gringos that came here.  Guys are coming here now to get laid or just go out with younger, good looking girls.  Oh sure, there are some that want to get married.  But no where near the same ratio as before.  The girls in the agencys play gringos and  the gringos play the girls. Cali is  a small town, gringo wise. The word gets around Cali that a lot of gringos weren't really that serious in getting married as before.  There used to be a lot more beautiful women in the agencys.  You get less "hotties" joining.  That may be good. 

I have met a few dozen gringos that stayed with me, or Pete.  I can only think of  about four or five that got married.  I know personally guys that were married in the US come down here and get engaged.  Basically to get in their pants.  They return to the US and break off the engagement. As I said, the word gets around Cali.

It is totally different here in Cali now.  I can't speak for other cities in Colombia.

[pontiac]

SocialDreg - Currently visiting Cali.

I also had a B and B in late 90´s.

Send me email to raymundo0505 at hotmail.com
Maybe we can have a beer and chat.

Pontaic

[daytrader]

All Colombian Girls.  He will have the only agency of any consequence in Cali.

I think Walter at www.calicharm.com  might disagree with you SocialDreg.  Although small, his agency, b & b and professional manner is first class IMO.  Your other observations are spot on... if you know a fair amount of spanish your chances are good in finding a above-average relationship in Cali...I think it is still worth the effort! 

DayTrader 

[garythfla]

this thread got me to thinking.....now that gas prices have spiked again and the exchange rate has dipped below 2000 for the peso.....i wonder what effect this will have on guys flying down to colombia. we will probably never be able to tell for sure unless an agency owner volunteers the information.

a lot of the guys i have seen doing this are older and have more disposable income so it may not have that much of an effect.

[latinsurfer]

As a previous owner of one of the largest and  well established agencies in Colombia, I can say without question that in most cases the only reason for no longer wanting to be involved in this business is a simple one. NO MONEY.
The perks of being an owner in this business are so desirable, most men would be happy to make enough money to pay your expenses and have a bit left over to take out the never ending stream of beautiful ladies. I cant speak for the European companies, but I would be hard pressed to say that more then 1or 2 Colombia based agencies are making any money at the end of the day. Most are satisfied to hold the title of El Jefe and cover expenses.

[Patrick]

The whole market's certainly gone down hill, despite what some "go-go" current agency owners may want you to believe.   I started a pen-pal type agency with my wife in 1996 and she took it over when she arrived here.  I also started this site and goodwife.com a bit later.    I think the first part of the downturn was probably due to the market crash of 2000-2002, plus 9/11.  Now IMBRA has made things worse.

I think an agency might still be an attractive business for a Colombian to start.  The paltry sums of money to be made wouldn't interest many Americans outside of trailer parks in the South.

[pan de bono]

its shutting down just like all the others did. one by one agency doors closing. to sad.