The modern version of mail order is online dating sites. I don't know how the odds of getting a good one compare. There are some real losers on any of those sites. After my 1st wife died, I got on a Christian site. Being a Christian site certainly doesn't guarantee anything but the odds of meeting a good one are probably slightly better. I met my current wife on there and we've been married 11 years now.
I knew a minister who'd lost his wife. He did the same thing. I read his profile. Sheesh! You needed a PhD in theology to figure out what he was talking about. He probably scared off some very fine women.