I have to admit a personal prejudice towards Match.com. After all, Match is where I met my husband Drew, way back in 1998. Match was the first computer/Internet dating site, starting up in 1995. Match has successfully built a brand and service to singles that really can’t be matched. There are other big dating sites, some expensive like eHarmony, some even free like PlentyofFish.com, but Match has held the center for a clean, stylish, appealing site for normal folks, middle of the road of all ages.
So, what's new? KBL has some accurate points but they are the same ones that she has been making about eH for a number of years, so I file this recent posting under "broken record".
I have to disagree on her glowing reviews of Match.com based on my own personal statistics. I tried just about ev …
(Republished in entirety with permission from Anthony Tracy, dated September 15, 2010. Thanks, Anthony!
First, I feel a need to explain how I got into this situation. It feels taboo to even talk about the fact that I doled out $150 for an online dating site: eHarmony. Why does it feel taboo? It is extremely popular and has become more socially acceptable as the industry has developed. This is especially true with eHarmony, which markets itself as a credible provider of the love you are looking for. The kind of love you are looking for is true love, the kind of thing you stick with for the rest of your life; a soul mate. Now, maybe I feel like it is taboo because my immediate reaction upon discovering that a friend signed up for a similar site was to judge. I mocked the idea. Another friend and I would joke about it on walks around the lake. Granted, he is happy with his new girlfriend, it is exactly what he was looking for. I figured anybody who would do that is somebody who has delusional ideas about love and some kind of social deficiency.
Meanwhile, my love life was failing, and I was mocking the idea while silently considering trying it myself. So on a whim, though whether it was on a whim is completely irrelevant, I decided to buy the best deal for my needs. They sell you longer term packages for a lower price pre month, and short-term packages for extremely high rates per month. I chose to buy three months at $50 per month.
Below is their response to me regarding a request to remove my debit card information on a suspended account.
Dear Finn:
Thank you for your inquiry regarding the removal of your personal information from eHarmony. I regret to hear of your concern regarding the storage of your credit card and personal information. Please be assured your information is completely secure and will not be shared with any outside parties. [This is false. eHarmony sends and shares our CC info to a payment processor. Guess what: Last week a payment processor was hacked.]
Please know that eHarmony follows all applicable laws and regulations involving the storage and use of personal data, including payment information. [That's for a judge to decide, not yours. I know for sure this is illegal in Canada.] Also, before an account is established, eHarmony requires that each user read and consent to our Terms and Conditions of Service, which includes granting eHarmony an irrevocable license to any information and content that you provide to eHarmony. By agreeing to our Terms and Conditions, you have authorized us to retain your information in our records. For your convenience, a link to our Terms and Conditions is provided below.
Our South American reader Fernando Ardenghi has posted an early review of the site during this pre-launch. He corrected us: they do offer 3 months to initial registrants to seed their database.
As before in Australia and the United Kingdom site versions, registrants can give a Brazil address first then migrate later to their original country. It has been two years since they opened a country site.
Registrants cannot buy subscriptions yet, so Brazil pricing is still unknown at this point.
ScottK invited us to watch this video earlier this evening:
Hahaha. That’s probably the look of the Canadians’ faces last May.
To its credit, eHarmony seems to have learned lessons from the infuriating Canada event and has made it clear on their home page what trialling visitors get during the promotional event. At least a bit. Have a look at the US home page now: Continue Reading »
(Here’s site feedback from someone who was drawn to try eHarmony during the last FCW. eHarmony, listen! Republished in entirety with permission from Lessons of Love from a Laptop Dancer, dated 5 July 2010. Thanks, Yvette!)
Dating guru that I am, I feel it’s my responsibility to check out the various alternatives available to singles. I’ve tried many of the online dating sites and, as everything, each has it’s ups and downs. I’d heard a lot about eHarmony and it’s famed “29 points of compatibility” but, before spending their relatively high monthly fee, I wanted to check out one of the “Free Communication Weekends” to see how it all worked.
I filled out the VERY LONG questionnaire and after getting accepted was sent some matches. Most of the matches lived much farther from me than I wanted and most were much older than me… one was even 15 years older than me! I couldn’t see photos and I couldn’t search on my own.
And to John:
If there is no way to give 'free' services without jeapordizing ones client database- doesn't it stand to reason that one should probably not offer something that they cannot truly give?
Is there a law that states that dating sites should give away anything free?
I doubt that. …
Around 43051 marriages (and counting) were matched through eHarmony since March 2, 2005. Around 1337 members married today. - Harris Interactive (Caveat)
Well, maybe. It depends. On a lot.
So, what's new? KBL has some accurate points but they are the same ones that she has been making about eH for a number of years, so I file this recent posting under "broken record". I have to disagree on her glowing reviews of Match.com based on my own personal statistics. I tried just about ev …
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