Match.com Why I don't recommend Match.com

I have been on Match for about two months (I purchased a premium membership). There are many reasons why I don’t recommend Match for those considering a dating site. I am looking for a woman that is 48+ years. Some of my observations may not apply to those searching for younger members. Here are my comments: · I believe that Match is significantly exaggerating the # of female members that fit in my preferred age group. I say this because the same members keep showing up in my searches and in Match’s daily recommendations, even though such members don’t meet my ‘must-have’ preferences (distance, ethnicity, smoking, kids, etc.) and other filters.

It seems that Match wants to show that it has a larger number of matching members than it has, so Match disregards my filter preferences, and repeatedly includes the same unacceptable members in multiple searches. As a result, my searches are inefficient, time-consuming, and frustrating. · Match has a ‘Discovery’ search feature that casts a ‘wider net’ and ignores all of my filter preferences. Match includes some members in this Discovery search because they ‘liked’ me, not because I would likely find them to be a match. It is not unusual for 80%+ of those members to be outside of my must-have preferences (e.g., ethnicity or distance).

I have to click through dozens and dozens of members before I find a member that fits my preference criteria (even if I otherwise find them unacceptable)—again, this issue results in my discovery searches and Match’s daily recommendations being time-consuming and frustrating. Match does not explain that this is how they set-up ‘discovery’ searches and daily recommendations. I had to find this out via multiple email exchanges with Match support. As a result, these two features are useless. · As part of completing my profile, Match prompts me to list my ‘must-have’ and other preferences, that supposedly are including in my search filters. As it turns out, this is not how these preference filters work.

Match support finally explained that I have to complete a separate set of identical search filters for my ‘must-haves’ and other preferences. Match does not indicate that there are two separate locations on the site where I have to list my preferences. It was not until I realized that Match was not filtering out non-desirable members, that I stumbled across the second set of filters. Again this resulted inefficient, time-consuming, and frustrating searches. · Match support told me that its algorithm used for determining the members included in my searches (e.g., mutual matches) takes into account my ‘must-have’ filters (e.g., ethnicity). I don’t believe that to be true. There are too many members in my searches who do not fit my preferences.

· Here is a good one. When I establish my preferences, Match shows a ‘side-bar’ of members that likely fit one particular preference (but not necessarily all of my preferences). Match support told me that I have to actively reject those suggested members while I am creating my preferences—otherwise they are automatically included in my searches. I did not know of this stupid feature until I contacted support. So, because I did not initially reject these unacceptable and unmatched members they will keep showing up in my searches. · Match has a ‘like’ feature, I can ‘like’ a member and they can 'like' me. I noticed that many members are listed on the ‘I liked’ page that even though I did not check off that I liked them. Match does not explain this, but these members are listed as “I like”, because I did not reject them back when I was setting up my preferences.

There is no way to remove any of these members from the ‘I like’ list, other than by individually selecting each one of them and ‘blocking’ them from my searches (which case, I have to select a reason for blocking them, and none of the options Match offers are applicable). I am probably forgetting other issues with Match, but the bottom line is that my experience has been time-consuming, inefficient, and frustrating. Match does not explain many of these issues until I contact customer support. I don’t want to spend more than an average of 10-15 minutes every few days on Match—however, Match features are so inefficient that there is no way to conduct meaningful searches unless I spend much more time on the site.