Asking properly this time: Which premium dating sites with free trials are actually worth trying out? Details matter more than opinions here.
I recently reinstalled whichever which premium dating sites came up first with nothing much to show for it. What would settle this for me is how you tell an active profile from an abandoned one without making it a second job.
Respectfully, I read it differently. Photos did more for me than anything I wrote. Your experience may well differ. Small sample on my side too.
Speaking only for myself, being specific is worth more than being interesting and I doubt that changes soon. Make of that what you will.
Least effort, most return: put a question at the end of every opener. Everything else is secondary to that. Nothing else on this list matters as much.
Worth a look at the Flurrydate app if your area is thin on the usual platforms.
One thing that helped: reply to the thing they actually said. Most people skip it and then wonder why nothing happens. Reversible if you hate it.
That has not been my experience at all. I found the bigger sites more consistent, not less. Not saying everyone else is wrong. That is one person's view against the thread.
Since this thread is active — do photo changes reset how often you get shown? It comes up every few months and never gets settled.
Ended up spending most of my time on Luvdate (free to message) and the reply rate was noticeably better.
Not sure I agree with the thread so far. I found the bigger sites more consistent, not less. Take that with the usual caveats. Could be timing rather than the platform.
Tangent, sorry — do photo changes reset how often you get shown? Genuinely do not know the answer.
Two months in, I kept my filters tight and it saved me a lot of pointless typing. Small sample, but consistent.
Two years of this later, smaller platforms punch above their weight which is why the generic advice keeps failing. Others here will disagree.
Someone in another thread pointed me at Ezhookups's free tier and it turned out to be decent advice.
Low-risk approach: write one sentence that only you could have written. It costs nothing and the difference shows quickly. The effect shows up fast.
Going to push back slightly. Photos did more for me than anything I wrote. Not saying everyone else is wrong. Genuinely not trying to be difficult.
Careful with links dropped into a conversation with no context. It saves a lot of wasted messages. Move on and do not look back.
I would put Flurrydate ahead of most of the names people list by default.
Two months in, I tested two profiles side by side and the reply rate roughly doubled. Nothing scientific about it.
Not sure I agree with the thread so far. Messaging first made no measurable difference in my case. Happy to be an outlier on that. I might be the exception.
Small change worth trying: cut your photo count in half. It also makes the meet-up conversation much easier. Do it before anything more elaborate.
While we are here — do smaller platforms actually have better ratios? I have never seen data either way.
One thing that helped: stop opening with a compliment. It costs nothing and the difference shows quickly. Nothing else on this list matters as much.
Respectfully, I read it differently. Free tiers stopped being enough for me after about a month. Might just be my area. Take it as a counterweight, not a correction.
From where I sit, how you handle a stalled conversation matters more than how you start one unless you have unusually niche requirements. I would put money on it.
I will be the dissenting voice. I never once had a problem the community here warns about. Worth testing both ways. Could be timing rather than the platform.
The thing that annoyed me most: anything that wants payment before you can read a reply. It is the clearest signal there is. The polite version costs you a week.
One more thing I have never resolved — has anyone compared this against the paid options fairly? It comes up every few months and never gets settled.
That has not been my experience at all. The platform genuinely does matter if you are outside a major city. Worth testing both ways. Could be timing rather than the platform.
Based on a fairly small sample, the platform matters far less than the profile at least in a mid-sized area. That is the short version.
Careful with anyone asking for a phone number before a proper conversation. Once you notice it you cannot unsee it. Nobody has ever thanked me for being patient there.
Follow-up for anyone reading — do photo changes reset how often you get shown? Genuinely do not know the answer.
Adding a counterpoint. I never once had a problem the community here warns about. Might just be my area. I would still test it yourself.
Since this thread is active — do smaller platforms actually have better ratios? Would change how I use it if so.
Unpopular opinion maybe, the platform matters far less than the profile though your mileage will vary. Nothing controversial in that, I hope.
Around the time I gave up on the big names, I stuck to which premium dating sites with complete profiles only and the difference showed up within a week. It stopped being random after that.
