|
Want to find a meaningful relationship, or just a good date? No doubt you've heard ads for online dating services. Meeting people online is big business--so far we've spent more than $550 million this year on dating sites.
Consumer Reports just checked out 5 of the best-known sites: eHarmony, Match.com, AmericanSingles, True, and Yahoo! Personals. Consumer Reports set up a profile at each site for one month and paid anywhere from $24.95 at Yahoo! Personals to $59.95 at eHarmony. If you subscribe for more than a month, the fees are less.
Most of these sites let you set up a profile free of charge, but you can only fully communicate with the members once you subscribe. And the sites use different approaches to finding that special someone. Four of the sites allow you to view profiles of anyone you'd like to find. But eHarmony restricts you to only those people they think are a match for you.
If you're worried about whom you might meet online, True promises "safer dating." The site says it checks everyone's information against a criminal database and marriage records.
Consumer Reports says before you commit to any online dating site make sure you:
*Take advantage of the freebies being offered first
*Read terms of service and privacy policies
*And clarify all charges before paying
All the match sites have automatic renewal, which means you have to make sure you cancel your subscription when you're done with it. For two--Match.com and True--you need to call customer service to do this. One last thought: If you're considering using one of these sites, Consumer Reports says set up a separate e-mail account--for both privacy sake and to keep your regular In box from getting too cluttered.
Consumer Reports has no commercial relationship with any advertiser or sponsor appearing on this Web site.
| 
