I am new in this hobby, have been doing some research, and plan to go through verification at one of the places like p411, Date Check or other. My question is whether there is a preference among providers - is one service better than the others? Any differences for the hobbyist?

Locally, P411 is completely dominant and I never hear anyone mention the other verification services. In other parts of the country other verification services are more dominant.

Go on all the sites you are considering.  At least look on Date-Check and P-411.  Look at the providers in the areas you care about.  That should give you the info you need.  I use both and am very satisfied with both.  R-S I do not have experience with.

The question is what are are you from? This is actually a question you can find out yourself by looking at the ads on your regional board (to see what verification service is commonly required) and then you can also post a question for input. There are some preferences based on region. In Chicago, RS2K is king.

I live in CT. I will look and see what I can find on the boards but if someone has a suggestion let me know. I also travel quite a bit...often to Chicago so thanks for the info on that.