Over on Women’s Health Magazine, there was an article about how Match.com is a scam.
You know what?
Throw eHarmony into the mix, too!
Whenever someone mentions to me — usually, this is at work — that they’re going to start online dating, they always pooh pooh the notion of using a free site in favor of the fee-based ones because they think that paying will get you a better quality match.
Not so.
This article reiterates some of my biggest beefs with fee-based sites:
Match.com: A 15-Million Member Scam, Says Class Action
I’m miffed with Match.
I just learned more than 90 percent of Match members are actually canceled subscribers, people who signed up for a free test account but never subscribed (so they can send and receive messages), duplicates, and even profiles the company created. Why? To boost its numbers and get online dating hopefuls (like me!) to pay the $40-a-month subscription fee, according to a class actionnow in Federal Court.
That means that less than 10 percent of the 15 million members Match.com boasts (like in all of these ads!) actually exist and are meet-able.
And, to get my thong in an even tighter twist, the suit charges that the “Online Now” and “Active Within One Hour” signals on Match are often flat-out lies.
The good news is that I feel a whole lot better about all those messages I’ve sent that never got a response.
xo,
Click-n-Tell
As a guy I’ve wondered how many non-responses are non-active accounts.
My response rate, including closing with no contact, was about 3%. And that includes the gentle soul that “this would NEVER work.”. As a aide note I was grateful for the capitalization…you know…in case the closure of the match wasn’t hint enough. But I digress.
If you can get over the response rate, online dating is a nice supplemental option. But I need more than a 3% rate to warrant my time.
By: stm on August 11, 2011
at 4:18 am
Wow, certainly makes you wonder…thanks for sharing.
By: neverhadaboyfriend on August 13, 2011
at 9:16 pm
I am currently on Match.com. I am there only because I found one profile particularly interesting. I emailed him, and he “winked” at me. So I emailed him again. Obviously, this guy isn’t a paying member (you can wink if you aren’t paying, which is STUPID!), or he is a profile created by match to hook gals like me. Yay for getting my $35! Asshats!
By: saneandsingle on August 14, 2011
at 8:32 pm