The Worst Senior Dating Sites

G

Goodinapinch

New Member
I don't mind a Senior Dating Site (SDS) trying to make a living in a reasonable way. Sell subscriptions after a free trial, sell shades, sell t-shirts, it's reasonable. But most of them seem to go hog wild in squeezing money out of their customers. Let's name some names here.

The worst I've had the misfortune of dealing with so far is called Silver Singles. They promise a free trial, then they put you through an interview that the Nazi SS would be proud of and take up many minutes of your time answering questions. At the end, they present you with three expensive "upgrade" choices on a page that has no escape link. Somehow I refused and twisted and got to a trial page. Okay, it exists but I can't tell you how to find it. I left it at that. Then they began to bombard me with bogus email links of all the women dying to get a piece of me.

What happens when I click on their links? I find a page where all the faces are blurred out unrecognizably, the message itself, if it actually exists is blurred out and they've got their hand out again for about a hundred dollars up front before you know if it's worth anything. I don't need my money back because I never paid them anything but boy, what an insulting run-around.
 

Next is Zoosk. I was forced to pay them twenty to thirty dollars a month to see ANYTHING. Since I had already been using them for free and had connections to maintain, I had to pay. They have some cockamamie coin business going with buying coins from them to send to your connections and they also talk about sending "gifts" which cost you money.

I have no idea how it is all supposed to squeeze money out of me because I totally ignore it and refuse to participate. I already registered monthly, why should I have to put in money for every match.? Their search function stinks to high heaven, being virtually useless. You can't put in a handle or a city or an age (though they pretend that you can). All you can do is skim through hundreds of photos to try to recognize the one you want.

They have something called Smart Picks which should be Dumb Waste of Time. You are taken through dozens or hundreds of candidates with little choice of what you want to do. In certain locations on the site, all they show you for your messaging history is the first sentence. I wouldn't mind the monthly fee if their software weren't so incompetently written and if they didn't try to squeeze you for additional payments.
 
Next is Match.com. This one wasn't bad for a long time. I had a lot of connections going. Then one day they cut off all connections with no way to send a message or look at any pictures or profiles unless you sent them in the neighborhood of thirty bucks a month for two to twelve months (at decreasing monthly charges for the longer sign ups), RIGHT NOW, THIS MINUTE, or you are out of here! There was no advance notice that this was coming. Once again, a monthly charge could be acceptable if done with dignity and some give and take. But I resent being treated like a cash machine. Their greed is over the top.

Why don't you post your own interactions with dating sites. Someone posted on this forum that Plenty of Fish worked fine for them. I used to have good use from Ourtime. Do you agree? How are things today? Is a free dating site even possible? What business models are available to them? Advertising? Selling?
 

Plenty of Fish turned out to be plenty of players far as I'm concerned. I filled out the profile of what I was looking for & got everything but. Had one coffee date that went south fast. I think the fellas just wanted a roll in the hay if ya ask me.

Personally if I were interested in dating I'd prefer to go out with someone I know. Since I'm not...I try to spoil myself every so often.
 
The problem of paying arises with ordinary chat sites too. The last one I joined, buzz50, don't actually charge, but keep sending begging e-mails, trying to make you feel guilty for not paying.
I enjoy chatting to men on the internet but haven't come across a single one I'd like to meet. I much prefer to meet people in the natural way...face to face. I would never pay to make contact with anyone.
 
Now I like Buzz50 although it's not a dating site, is past its glory days, and is not as good a site for seniors as this one, IMO. It's hard to avoid ads for "dating sites" when you go there or to almost any other site that in some way involves social networking. Such ads always jump up and hit you in the face with a picture of a sultry-looking woman at least thirty years younger than you with some accompanying text like, "Ukraine women are eager to meet you, NOW!" Such things might be amusing if they weren't annoying... 😃
 
It is a huge profit. Their goal is money, not enabling your happiness or social life.
Plenty of Fish is notorious, a bad reputation nationwide.
Theres even a porno dating site for "grannies" that is a scam.
Many years ago, it was safer and more legit.

Even when the site is legit and okay, singles of all ages (especially women) are so choosy
and particular, that the matches inevitably fail
And the photos are misleading and old.
And men have the reputation of wanting sex...not so much seniors.
"Ukrainian women are Not waiting to meet you"
 
I was on Buzz50 briefly. I didn't care for the email I received where I was basically told I would need to donate if I planned to stay. I have been banned because I refused. But I got bombarded by men messaging me on there & I clearly stated I wasn't looking for romance.
 
I actually met the Spousal Equivalent on Plenty of Fish. I had heard it was not much more than a "meat market" but as it was free, I thought I'd give it a look-see. Yep, plenty of fish alright, all just DYING to "hook-up" but they sure weren't looking for an actual relationship. Then I saw him.....he had actually "winked" at me on another site but I couldn't respond since I wasn't a paying member. I said "hi" and here we are, 11 years later. We were both on the verge of giving up on the dating game.

The one I really hated was eHarmony. It was expensive, you had to jump through a bunch of hoops and then they served up a platter of prospective dates that didn't exist. They'd have these "free weekends", lots of people would sign in, get involved for the weekend, and then never ever return. However, eHarmony would keep "matching" you with them, for a couple of years. You'd indicate interest, never hear back, and begin to wonder if there was something wrong with you that so many guys wouldn't respond.

And then there's Match.com. Hoo-boy, I could write a book..... I didn't meet Mr. Right on there, but I sure met Mr. Wrong, Mr. Bitter, Mr. Alcoholic, Mr. Looking-for-a-Nurse, Mr. Looking-for-a-Purse, Mr. Looking-for-a-Nurse-AND-a-Purse, Mr. I'm-Still-Married-But-My-Wife-Doesn't-Appreciate-Me, Mr. I-Might-Be-Gay-But-I-Need-To-Make-Sure and various numbers of their cousins. But at least you could see if they were active and ignoring you or if they hadn't signed in for three years and were probably either happily in a relationship or (most likely at the age I was looking at) dead....LOL).

I am so glad I'm out of that.
 
jujube said:
I actually met the Spousal Equivalent on Plenty of Fish. I had heard it was not much more than a "meat market" but as it was free, I thought I'd give it a look-see. Yep, plenty of fish alright, all just DYING to "hook-up" but they sure weren't looking for an actual relationship. Then I saw him.....he had actually "winked" at me on another site but I couldn't respond since I wasn't a paying member. I said "hi" and here we are, 11 years later. We were both on the verge of giving up on the dating game.

The one I really hated was eHarmony. It was expensive, you had to jump through a bunch of hoops and then they served up a platter of prospective dates that didn't exist. They'd have these "free weekends", lots of people would sign in, get involved for the weekend, and then never ever return. However, eHarmony would keep "matching" you with them, for a couple of years. You'd indicate interest, never hear back, and begin to wonder if there was something wrong with you that so many guys wouldn't respond.

And then there's Match.com. Hoo-boy, I could write a book..... I didn't meet Mr. Right on there, but I sure met Mr. Wrong, Mr. Bitter, Mr. Alcoholic, Mr. Looking-for-a-Nurse, Mr. Looking-for-a-Purse, Mr. Looking-for-a-Nurse-AND-a-Purse, Mr. I'm-Still-Married-But-My-Wife-Doesn't-Appreciate-Me, Mr. I-Might-Be-Gay-But-I-Need-To-Make-Sure and various numbers of their cousins. But at least you could see if they were active and ignoring you or if they hadn't signed in for three years and were probably either happily in a relationship or (most likely at the age I was looking at) dead....LOL).

I am so glad I'm out of that.
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My cousin got 3 crazy wives off that Match.com. I think Plenty of Fish might have been ok at one time but now I'd be leery of anything I came across on a website. Shopping online for groceries & clothes & stuff is one thing. But shopping online for men is something else entirely. I prefer to see what I'd be getting myself into rather than being left to wonder.
 
I have an acquaintance who's just the sweetest woman you could meet, but unfortunately she's not the brightest bulb in the circuit. She wanted to try a dating site. Neither I nor any of the other women she asked could help. We didn't actually know if there was such a thing as a dating site strictly for seniors. So, she decided to look around online.

She found something she thought looked promising. Something about, "...meet Silver Daddies...". So she tried to sign up.

She came back to us in shock, horror and total embarrassment. Evidently, this is a site where young gay men go to meet older men for fun and profit. I can't believe she didn't figure it out before she signed up. My friend and I went and looked at some of the profiles and Oh Boy!

I don't know about dating sites. I'm old and tired and I've outlived two husbands. And after hearing about her experience, I'm definitely going to leave it alone!
 
Just watched the movie The Good Liar on HBO, which shows the kind of predatory creeps you can run into in one of these senior dating sites. It stars Ian McClellan and Helen Mirran, and I thought it was very good.
 
Fyrefox said:
Now I like Buzz50 although it's not a dating site, is past its glory days, and is not as good a site for seniors as this one, IMO. It's hard to avoid ads for "dating sites" when you go there or to almost any other site that in some way involves social networking. Such ads always jump up and hit you in the face with a picture of a sultry-looking woman at least thirty years younger than you with some accompanying text like, "Ukraine women are eager to meet you, NOW!" Such things might be amusing if they weren't annoying... 😃
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When I was on there I got pestered a lot by the men. Didn't care for it.
 
jujube said:
I actually met the Spousal Equivalent on Plenty of Fish. I had heard it was not much more than a "meat market" but as it was free, I thought I'd give it a look-see. Yep, plenty of fish alright, all just DYING to "hook-up" but they sure weren't looking for an actual relationship. Then I saw him.....he had actually "winked" at me on another site but I couldn't respond since I wasn't a paying member. I said "hi" and here we are, 11 years later. We were both on the verge of giving up on the dating game.

The one I really hated was eHarmony. It was expensive, you had to jump through a bunch of hoops and then they served up a platter of prospective dates that didn't exist. They'd have these "free weekends", lots of people would sign in, get involved for the weekend, and then never ever return. However, eHarmony would keep "matching" you with them, for a couple of years. You'd indicate interest, never hear back, and begin to wonder if there was something wrong with you that so many guys wouldn't respond.

And then there's Match.com. Hoo-boy, I could write a book..... I didn't meet Mr. Right on there, but I sure met Mr. Wrong, Mr. Bitter, Mr. Alcoholic, Mr. Looking-for-a-Nurse, Mr. Looking-for-a-Purse, Mr. Looking-for-a-Nurse-AND-a-Purse, Mr. I'm-Still-Married-But-My-Wife-Doesn't-Appreciate-Me, Mr. I-Might-Be-Gay-But-I-Need-To-Make-Sure and various numbers of their cousins. But at least you could see if they were active and ignoring you or if they hadn't signed in for three years and were probably either happily in a relationship or (most likely at the age I was looking at) dead....LOL).

I am so glad I'm out of that.
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There's still decent professionals at POF, although impostors abound. It's easy to spot them with their horrible spelling and grammar. Their txt messages look like they spilt alphabet soup on their keyboards. Not worth replying to.
 
I hate Buzz50. It seems like a site for older people but then you soon realize that it’s a site for everything including a ‘pick up place.’ You’ve got to constantly make sure you’re on the right site. In my profile I write that I’m not looking to find any personal relationships yet get 18 personal emails from people trying to hit on me. A horrible site.
 
CindyLouWho said:
Thank you for posting this clip, hellomimi, it's been a long time since I've laughed at all....thanks!
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My pleasure @CindyLou. I like that there's no cussing in his spiels.

I LOLd..."Why am I going to feed you, you're a stranger! Am I meals on wheels?"

Joe's cute and really funny. I can't believe he's single. Or is he?
 
hellomimi said:
My pleasure @CindyLou. I like that there's no cussing in his spiels.

I LOLd..."Why am I going to feed you, you're a stranger! Am I meals on wheels?"

Joe's cute and really funny. I can't believe he's single. Or is he?
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I noticed that too...no cursing (not that I don't once in a while...), ..but, yeah he's very talented, his material, delivery....makes it look easy.
I'll be looking up his other clips for sure. He may have been at a comedy club here in the past and I just didn't know of him yet.
Now I do thanks to you!
 
CindyLouWho said:
I noticed that too...no cursing (not that I don't once in a while...), ..but, yeah he's very talented, his material, delivery....makes it look easy.
I'll be looking up his other clips for sure. He may have been at a comedy club here in the past and I just didn't know of him yet.
Now I do thanks to you!
Click to expand...
He must be here in our area, I'll catch him one of these days when restrictions are off...it's hard to LOL with mask on. Ha!
 
Goodinapinch said:
I don't mind a Senior Dating Site (SDS) trying to make a living in a reasonable way. Sell subscriptions after a free trial, sell shades, sell t-shirts, it's reasonable. But most of them seem to go hog wild in squeezing money out of their customers. Let's name some names here.

The worst I've had the misfortune of dealing with so far is called Silver Singles. They promise a free trial, then they put you through an interview that the Nazi SS would be proud of and take up many minutes of your time answering questions. At the end, they present you with three expensive "upgrade" choices on a page that has no escape link. Somehow I refused and twisted and got to a trial page. Okay, it exists but I can't tell you how to find it. I left it at that. Then they began to bombard me with bogus email links of all the women dying to get a piece of me.

What happens when I click on their links? I find a page where all the faces are blurred out unrecognizably, the message itself, if it actually exists is blurred out and they've got their hand out again for about a hundred dollars up front before you know if it's worth anything. I don't need my money back because I never paid them anything but boy, what an insulting run-around.
Click to expand...
welcome to the internet 98% of the stuff on it worthless untrue and scams- shame on the money grubbers for ruining it...we wont live to see likeyly but there will be a clean version- maybe in concert with the crap...soon as apple figures out how to do that without gaggler and the book
 
I saw a site years ago, and it may still be around, called "It's Just Lunch". It was for people to meet in a non threatening way for lunch.
Funny thing happened to me, I was on a grief recovery site, having lost my wife, and a lady there asked me where I lived. It turned out she had lost her husband, and lived about 40 miles from me. We agreed to meet half way just for lunch, just like the website.
And now for the rest of the story.....
Kayelle and I will be celebrating our 13th anniversary this November.:)
 

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