PerfectMatch.com - Dating Site Review

PerfectMatch.com

Showcased in a handful of popular movies starring popular actors, PerfectMatch has Hollywood pedigree; it's the sleek and polished celebrity in the world of online dating. You've seen it on Lifetime Television and you've no doubt heard about it on Dr. Phil. PerfectMatch has reported that more than 200,000 women joined the site after it was featured on Dr. Phil's Valentine special - that's a lot of charisma right there.

So with all that star power, the big question then becomes: Is it worth my while to sign-up?

Registration

This is a pretty standard affair. You provide the details you normally would if you were registering at any dating website. First impressions: Sleek. The lay-out is very intuitive and user-friendly, and everything is neat and tidy yet still very cool.

Values, Deal breakers, and Lifestyle Questions

Once you're done with registration, you start creating your profile by answering a few questions. You've got questions regarding your values, whether you lean left or right on the political spectrum, your stance on the environment issue, as well as your own personal beliefs and views on religion.

If you're a fan of Tina Fey in 30 Rock, you already know what deal breakers are: these are the things that can make or break a relationship for you. For example, if you're a non-smoking person and simply can't stand dating a smoker, you have the option of listing that down as one of your deal breakers.

Then you'll have to answer several questions about your lifestyle - do you drink or smoke, your hobbies and favorite music genres, your approach to money, and even your sense of humor (geeky intellectual or locker room juvenile?)

You'll probably need about 10 minutes to complete this section before moving on to the compatibility test.

The Duet Total Compatibility System

PerfectMatch's unique patented Duet Total Compatibility System is the brainchild of Dr. Pepper Schwartz, and is said to match potential couples, not just by similar character traits, but by their personality types, as well. Dr. Schwartz's 30-plus years of research helped fashion the Duet System into what it is today.

The Duet System questionnaire is part of Profile creation, which is composed of eight different steps or categories, each with its own set of questions. The categories range from your personal energy (are you energetic or laidback) to your decision-making style (are you the dominant type or the collaborator type). The questions are only True or False questions, but you'll have to give some thought when answering as the Duet System plays a significant role in presenting a fair and accurate reflection of your personality to potential partners.

15-20 minutes should be more than enough to complete the questionnaire. You can take this test for free - signing up will get you a more detailed personality review, but you'll find that the free results are quite revealing, as well. For example, based on the questions you answered in the Duet System questionnaire, your results might show that you're more compatible with someone who is as optimistic about life as you are, or someone who can play the extrovert to your introvert.

Matching

Unlike eHarmony, Perfect Match allows you to browse through the various members' profiles. The system will still match you with members who it deems a ‘Perfect Match,' based on your profile and Duet Results, but you have the freedom of looking for a wider range of potential partners, if you were so inclined. This is especially so if the “Duet system” has matched you with someone who's living miles away (or even somewhere on the other side of the world) and you prefer to find someone who's closer to home.

You can browse profiles for free. You can do a basic search, stating your choice of country and city, or you can do a full-on customized search, choosing from over 20 different parameters. These parameters are based on the questions asked during your profile-building session. Therefore, you can fine-tune your search, right down to the other person's sense of humor or approach to food. Of course, the more criteria or preferences you slap onto the search, the fewer profiles you get, so go easy on parameters unless it's definitely something you feel strongly about.

Whether the profile is a ‘Perfect Match' that Duet has matched you with or one that you thought looked interesting while browsing the site, you can do a convenient side-by-side comparison, scoping out the other party's Profile answers and Duet results and see how they compare to your own.

Speed of Matching

After you've completed the profile-building steps, depending on your Profile and Duet results, you could be matched with potential partners numbering in the double digits or just a mere handful of profiles (maybe even half a handful). If you get the latter, you might feel underwhelmed, but in their guidance they suggest waiting for a few days before seeing more ‘perfect matches' come in. Of course, you can take your romantic destiny into your own hands and start browsing members' profiles - PerfectMatch boasts of over 3 million registered users. While this is likely true, the number of people active on the site is probably only around 100,000. So there's still a good chance you'll find a number of potential partners on the site that pique your interest.

Breaking the Ice

There's no point writing a very long message about your life story and your charming qualities unless you know that the other person is interested in establishing communication, as well.

That's where PerfectMatch's IceBreakers come in.

The ice-breakers are a bit more sophisticated than the virtual-flirts and winks you may have seen elsewhere. There are over 30 to choose from. These are questions you can ask the other party to get to know them better. The question range from “what sort of movies do you enjoy?” to “where's your dream location?” And the great thing about these questions is that you don't even need to type out the answers - the questions come with multiple-choice answers, making it that much easier for the other party to reply. This is a useful option for those who don't have a way with words or those who are simply time-starved.

Further Communication

If you're happy with the IceBreaker answers you've received, and you're ready to begin exchanging messages, you'll have to sign up for a paid membership. You can't do a lot with PerfectMatch's free membership.

Same-sex Matching

Unlike some matching sites, PerfectMatch allows for same-sex searches.

Fees

PerfectMatch does have rather high fees - this reflects the research that's gone into their product and the fact that it is for people seeking a serious committed relationship. Upon finishing your profile, the site automatically takes you to a screen where you can sign up for a 1-month membership for $59.99. Note: When this happens to you, you don't need to sign up for the paid membership - by clicking ‘Home' on the bottom, you can go back to your free membership screen.

Signing up for the 6-month Platinum membership offers some additional perks and benefits, such as allowing all other members (paying or otherwise) to contact you and enjoying a higher priority in search results.
Free member access is severely restricted, and is really only an option for those who just want to take a peek. While you can create a profile and view your Duet matches, you won't be able to contact anyone (either with email or flirts) unless you upgrade.

Renewal Issues

There have been a few complaints about PerfectMatch over the years, with one consistent complaint being against the company's automatic-renewal policy. What happens is that, unless you cancel your membership before the end of the membership period you signed up for, it will automatically renew your membership plan at the end of that period. This policy - which is widespread among dating services - is stated in their terms and on the payment page.

So if you've decided to sign up for a paid membership plan, always take note of when your membership period ends, then set up reminders a few days or even weeks before that date. When you get hit with the reminder, you can make a decision at that point in time, whether you want to renew your membership or not. If you don't, then it would be wise to cancel your membership before the end of the membership period - doing so means that you can save yourself a lot of hassle. If you fail to cancel a recurring subscription that you've signed into it's unlikely you'll be refunded - however loud you cry.

Summary

PerfectMatch is geared towards a slightly more mature market (30+), one that is interested in serious dating and forming marriage-material relationships. If you're over 30 and looking for a relationship that could possibly lead to the altar, then this is one site to try out. With all its slick charm and star power, PerfectMatch can't promise you a Hollywood-style happy ending - but it can certainly pave the golden road of opportunity right in front of your feet.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Browse Profiles - Unlike eHarmony, PerfectMatch lets you browse other members' profiles.
  
• Innovative features such as “Dating on Demand” - an online TV channel dedicated to showing singles videos.
  
• Comprehensive Compatibility test - Even if you don't end up signing up for a paid membership plan, the Duet Total Compatibility questionnaire is worth taking.
  
• Personality factors are displayed on each person's profile - this gives you an instant “heads-up” as to whether they're "your type" or not.
  
• IceBreakers -Their comprehensive list of IceBreakers means you can get to know the other person a little before investing your time and energy.
  
• User-friendly website - The mark of a user-friendly site is when you can go through the website and never have to wonder where a particular page or button is.
  

Cons:

• Message Exchange for Paid Memberships Only - Access for free members is very restrictive.
  
• Deal-breakers - Unlike eHarmony, these don't allow you to specify a height-range for your matches (though you can use custom search for this). It also isn't possible to restrict matches to a city or town or set a maximum distance.
  
• Auto-Renewal Policy - Their auto-renewal policy has gained a bit of notoriety amongst online daters.
  
• Dormant profiles - a “last logged on” indicator would help to weed out those who're no longer active on the site.