Perfectmatch.com Review
By Lucas Owen
GETTING TO KNOW PERFECTMATCH
Perfectmatch.com
was founded in August 2003 by Duane Dahl, Jason McVey and Cindy Henry-Dahl. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, it uses a unique matchmaking system called the Duet Total Compatibility System. This system was created in partnership with Dr Pepper Schwartz, a relationship expert, and recipient of several prestigious awards including the national award for the Public Understanding of Sociology by the American Sociological Association. Since its launch, the popularity of Perfectmatch.com has reached the mainstream media. It was featured in the 2005 Warner Bros movie “Must Love Dogs” starring Diane Lane and John Cusack. It was also featured and endorsed by Dr. Phil on a Valentine’s Day Special that was broadcasted on his show on February 11, 2005. It has over 5 million members and a 50-50 male to female ratio.
MY EXPERIENCE ON PERFECTMATCH
THE DUET TOTAL COMPATIBILITY SYSTEM QUESTIONNAIRE
I had to fill out this questionnaire before I could join the site. Much of it is inspired by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Assessment(MBTI), a questionnaire developed in the early 20th century that measured the psychological traits involved in how people perceived the world and how they ultimately made their decisions. The Perfectmatch.com questionnaire had 4 Sections, namely: Values & Ideals, Dealbreakers, Life & Lovestyle and the Duet Analysis. The Duet Analysis itself fell into 2 categories: Similarity and Complementary.
- The Similarity Category – This contained a set of True or False questions that focused on Romantic Impulsivity, Personal Energy, Outlook and Predictability. For example, “I expect the person I love to be honest and true to me. I don’t feel the need to be checking up on them, as suspicious thoughts never cross my mind.”
- The Complementary Category – This contained a set of True or False questions that focused on Flexibility, Decision Making Style, Emotionality and Self-Nurturing. For example, “If I feel loving. I’m very passionate and all over the person I want. I don’t moderate my romantic and sexual emotions.”
The scores from these two categories are used to provide the final analysis on a member’s personality type.
You will need to put aside some time to complete it. It took me about 30 minutes.
WHAT I LIKED
- Easy Navigation – I was able to navigate very easily. Perfectmatch.com has a web design that is very easy on the eyes and easy to follow.
- Matched Instantly – As soon as I was done with the Duet Test and completing my profile, I immediately received highly compatible matches that were sent both to my profile mailbox and my email. I was impressed with the speed of the service.
- Search Options – Perfectmatch.com
has some very efficient ways of performing a search. These a few of them.
- Duet Compatibility Search – I could search for other members with personality types that were compatible to my own.
- Keyword Search – I could search for other members by typing in a keyword. For example, I do enjoy cooking. All I had to do was type in “cooking” as a keyword and I received matches who used that word in their profiles as an interest.
- Dating on Demand – Perfectmatch.com allows its members to have video profiles. Through this feature, I was able to search for and watch the video profiles of other members. I found that this was great in allowing me to get a good idea of another member’s personality in a way that words on a screen simply couldn’t duplicate. These video profiles are typically done at Perfectmatch.com
and Dating on Demand events in your local area. Hence, you don’t have to have a web cam.
- Free Personality Analysis – The half hour I spent answering the questionnaire wasn’t in vain after all. I received a free personality report. This gave me some great insight into my personality which truly helped in finding more compatible members on the site.
WHAT NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
- Location Mismatches – I received a number of matches that were of members who lived very far away from me, some even in another country. Even though I specified in my match settings that I wanted only matches that lived within a 200 mile radius of where I lived, this mismatching occurred a number of times.
- Can’t Tell Active Members from Inactive Members – Unlike some other dating sites I have been on, Perfectmatch.com
does not have the feature that allows you to see how active or inactive other members are. I felt like this left me a little bit blind in the communication process. I had to trust that these perfect matches I was receiving were of active members. I didn’t like having to experience this kind of doubt because as it turned out, a few of those perfect matches were indeed of inactive members.
- No Customer Support Number on Site – Perhaps I am being a little too picky but I noticed that Perfectmatch.com has no customer support number published anywhere on their website. Thankfully, I didn’t have any reason to require this information but there may be others who may. That number is 888-578-2988.
MEMBERSHIP AND PRICING
- Initial Sign-Up – Free 3 Day Trial with Full Access
- Free Membership (Basic) – Create Profile. Upload Photo. Limited Access to member profiles. Basic Search Tools. Send Icebreakers. Bookmark a Profile. Duet Compatibility Profile. Receive Perfect Matches. Events, Sweepstakes and Special Offers. Columns, Advice and Exclusive Content.
- Premium Membership – Rank Higher in Preferred Search Results. Perfectmatch.com Guarantee*. Contact Other Singles. Unlimited Access to Profiles. Advanced Search Tools. See Who’s Bookmarked Your Profile. Access to Exclusive IN-VITE Feature. Add Up to Eight Photos. Access to “Ask Dr. Schwartz.” Duet Compatibility Profile. Receive Perfect Matches. Events, Sweepstakes and Special Offers. Columns, Advice and Exclusive Content.
- Platinum Membership – All Members Can Communicate with You. Highlighted Featured Platinum Profile. Highest Rank in Preferred Search Results. Perfectmatch.com
Guarantee*. Contact Other Singles. Unlimited Access to Profiles. Advanced Search Tools. See Who’s Bookmarked Your Profile. Access to Exclusive IN-VITE Feature. Add Up to Eight Photos. Access to “Ask Dr. Schwartz.” Duet Compatibility Profile. Receive Perfect Matches. Events, Sweepstakes and Special Offers. Columns, Advice and Exclusive Content.
3 Months – $36.95/month (Billed at $110.85)
1 Month – $59.95/month (Billed at $59.95)
6 Months – $33.33/month (Billed at $199.95)
*Perfectmatch.com Guarantee
- With a 6 Month Plan you will receive a minimum of 8 Perfect Matches. If you do not receive this many, your membership will be extended for another 2 months or more until this number has been reached, for free.
- With a 3 or 4 Month Plan you will receive a minimum of 6 Perfect Matches. If you do not receive this many, your membership will be extended for another 2 months or more until this number has been reached, for free.
- With a 2 Month Plan you will receive a minimum of 4 Perfect Matches. If you do not receive this many, your membership will be extended for another 2 months or more until this number has been reached, for free.
RECOMMENDATION
As a member of the site, I realized that Perfectmatch.com was very serious about truly finding me that “perfect” match. To that effect, they were highly efficient. I received a number of highly compatible matches. However, Perfectmatch.com is designed particularly for those seeking long term relationships and not really the casual dater.
(4.5/5)
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