From the Editor Welcome to another edition of the Online Dating Newsletter. A big thank you to those of you who responded to the You Make the Call question last week about someone you're dating leaving their profile up. There were some great answers. De shared a personal story, Debbie's answer mentions the question men don't want to hear, and Rinda had an excellent idea of contacting the person through an alias profile to see if they would respond. In the end, the best answer, as selected by the Online Dating Newsletter team, was Merry's, which you can read a little further down. You can read all the answers at the original post.
Last week we published a news story on Match.com opening a new free online dating service. This week we have news of a paid online dating service going free! It seems that more companies are getting serious about taking some of the mega-successful business away from the two free online dating leaders, Plenty Of Fish and OKcupid, who both have a strong head start.
And speaking of strong starts, I hope the start to the new year has been a successful one for you and I thank you for sharing this time. If you have any suggestions in helping to improve this newsletter, please hit the reply button and let me know. Thanks!
~ Joe Tracy, editor
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Metrodate Goes Free
Last week we told you about Match.com launching a new free online dating service called DownToEarth.com. Now more companies are making changes to target the free online dating marketplace. One of those services is Metrodate.com who celebrated its 10-year anniversary by announcing that their online dating service is now 100% free. That's a big step back from the $19.95 they were charging per month.
"I want more people to have the opportunity to utilize the upgraded and redesigned Metrodate.com, and making it free was clearly the best way to accomplish this." said Bradley Pliner, founder of MetroDate. "I especially look forward to receiving even more success stories from happy couples who have met through our service."
Metrodate hopes to soften the financial blow of going free by recruiting local and national advertisers in order to reach its base of users. The online dating service hopes that going free will also grow its user base to make advertising more attractive.
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Online Dater Taken for $300,000
Sparkbliss contacted us recently to let us know that they had conducted an interview with an online dater who was scammed $300,000 in an online relationship scam. These types of scams aren't uncommon, unfortunately.
You can read the Sparkbliss story and listen to the audio interview of the person scammed here.
You should never continue communications with someone you met online that asks you for money. Scammers are getting better at developing online relationships with unsuspecting people then creating an elaborate "emergency" or situation with a request for financial asistance (i.e. "mugged - all my money and credit cards taken - can't get back to US"), etc. .
Never give money to someone you've met online and never continue communications with a person who says they live in Nigeria or that they live in the United States and are on a business trip (or doing business) in Nigeria. Read our feature storydirectly below on online dating safety for more tips.
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Five Essential Online Dating Safety Tips
Here are five essential online dating tips to help you have a more safe experience when online dating.
1) Be careful what you say in your profile. Don't give away too much personal information and never talk about your kids if you're a single parent. There are some online predators that target parents to eventually get to their kids. This is why you should wait several months when dating someone before introducing them to your kids. And you should also do a background check on them before they meet your children. Never take a child with you on a first date (unfortunately some people do this).
2) Don't communicate with people overseas. Online dating and romance scams are widespread. Most of the scams are launched in Nigeria. They create a fake profile, fake pictures, then start sending emails to online daters. They may even put up a picture of an American, say they live in the U.S. then after you've started communicating with them, say that they are doing business in Nigeria. Eventually an "emergency" will come up and they'll ask you for money. Never communicate with them again!...
Online Dating Refund (Dear Dating Advice) Dear Dating Advice,
I was using a paid online dating service and had no success. In month #2, the online dating service automatically charged my credit card for another month. I called them the same day and requested a refund, but they refused, citing their Terms of Service. I was able to cancel my account, but how do I get a refund?
We get a chuckle from online dating service that claim that their automatic billing process is "for your convenience" when in reality it is a ploy to make more money.
Before answering your question, it's first important to know how online dating services make money. Many services use affiliate programs to make money. They recruit Website owners and pay them a large sum to promote their service and get people to register. Some of our advertising is even affiliate advertising so that we can keep the newsletter free. However, in our case we also have an editorial policy that doesn't allow "hyping" or "fake promoting" in order to make money.
When a person pays for an online dating service, the person (or Website) that referred them (and is part of their affiliate program) gets anywhere from 50% - 150% of that signup fee. This makes it hard for online dating services to have a full refund program because they could end up losing money instead of making money. So services have a very strict policy against giving refunds.
But in your case, you requested a refund on your month #2 payment and requested it the same day it was charged to your card. An ethical online dating service should promptly refund your money. If they don't, here's how you should proceed to get an online dating refund... (click here to read the entire answer)
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Chemistry Lacks on Phone (What Would You Do?)
You've established great chemistry via email with someone on an online dating service. But when the first phone call takes, place it's a complete opposite experience... dead space and no chemistry. What do you do? (click here to give your answer).
The best answer every week, as selected by the Online Dating Newsletter team, will win $5, paid via PayPal!
Best Answer From Last Week
Last week's question was:
"You've been actively dating someone you met online for several weeks. You go to the online dating service you met at to remove your profile and see that they are still active ("last login: today") on the service. What do you do?""
The best answer was submitted by Merry who said:
"I would take the opportunity the next time you spoke with the person to simply ask why they are still active on the site. Explain that you felt that the connection was something special - that you were hoping to continue to explore and grow - on an exclusive basis. If they are not on the same page as you are, it is good to clarify that and adjust your expectations accordingly. I would NOT take it personally, until they tell you why. Give him the benefit of the doubt.
He may not feel sure of YOUR feelings, or where you are in this yet either.
Rather than be a negative thing, it may reflect his insecurity at this point. And do NOT ask him about it in a negative manner. A simple comment about noticing he was still on it, and asking him what that means should be good. Remember, jealousy is absolutely pointless and destroys a lot of otherwise good relationships. If he is yours, you don't need to worry, and if he is not, it will only make things worse.
Honesty is ALWAYS the best policy. It saves misunderstandings and jumping to conclusions. Plus, guys understand it. Honest and direct. To the point. They speak that language well."
Submit your best answer to this week's question and you can win $5 payable via PayPal. Merry won $5 this week and you can win it next week if your answer is chosen by Online Dating Newsletter as the "best answer".
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Featured Video of the Week
Mary Olson - Girl's Night Out
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