I've had very good luck with Independents from BP despite many comments to the contrary. I'll admit it's a challenge to sort through the bogus ads, my strategy seems to be "if it looks to good to be true, it probably is"... however, am I prejudging what may be an awesome experience because I've convinced myself it's not a real ad due solely on my opinion of how beautiful the pictures are? I've never used an agency but am considering it, if the quality and accuracy of the providers there are "guaranteed" so to speak. My only issue with the agencies would be the screening process information becoming either public somehow, or used against me in some way. Please share your opinions / experiences.

your information being "available" if an agency is busted.  You just don't know who has access to the data base.  

Also, as a newbie, you are rolling the dice with Backpage.  Yes, there are diamonds in the rough.  But, how many stones do you need to examine to find a diamond?