1. Fernando Ardenghi on January 4, 2006 3:03 PM writes...

"Chemistry will not pose a serious threat to Eharmony unless they spend an incredible amount of marketing dollars promote the new service."
It is not a marketing challenge!!! Only need to prove (to customers/clients) the method really works == it provides quality contacts == compatible real persons.

"nobody knew about Eharmony 3 years ago, but their selling point is much better defined and the radio and tv exposure has worked very well to date."
Sure, but eHarmony, PerfectMatch, True and others, CANNOT change anything about their proprietary tests and proprietary matching algorithms (i.e. cannot add more precision nor more reliability than they actually have. Perhaps in some online dating sites you could have greater precision & reliability using the search_engine than the precision provided by the matching_algorithm)

Online Daters are ALWAYS watching_out (on the alert) for new services, using Google, Yahoo, Clusty and other search engines to find new_online_dating_sites_offering_compatibility_matching_methods!!!

The Quality Online Dating Market remains enormous == like Off Line Chains.
Surely new players will appear soon!!!

Kindest Regards,

Fernando Ardenghi.
Buenos Aires.
Argentina.
ardenghifer@gmail.com
----------------------

2. David Evans on January 4, 2006 6:24 PM writes...

People don't talk about online dating as much as they did a year or two ago and the viral nature has slowed down as well. Proving that Chemistry works is exactly a marketing challenge. How else will they promote they are "better" or more sucessful than Eharmony? Number of marriages? No, that's been used up. Visitors? Nope. Beating the drums in an effective marketing campaign is the only way it's going to take off. Relying on daters to find Chemistry on their own will never work.

3. Fernando Ardenghi on January 4, 2006 10:08 PM writes...

An online dating site could spend millions of USDollars on marketing policies with:
IMMEDIATE successful results == millions of visitors (traffic) converted to free_trial_period_subscribers, and then a promissory amount to be converted into first_time_paying_subscribers.
BUT
Unsuccessful results planning the long_term strategy == 5 years scope (database full of fake or over promising profiles, lots of visitors & free_users impossible to be converted into paying_subscribers, low precision matching algorithms, etc, etc )

Items to analyze:
- Did the online dating site recover ALL the money invested?
- Is the company profitable? or Is the portion of REVENUE composed by (paying_subscribers * fee)
sustainable? i.e. new_&_renewal_paying_subscribers increasing or stable.

Items to be measured:
- visitors (traffic).
- first_time_(new)_paying_subscribers.
- renewal_paying_subscribers.
- total_paying_subscribers == new_&_renewal_paying_subscribers.
- subscribers leaving the site because they succeed in finding someone.
- subscribers leaving the site because they NOT succeed in finding someone.

A Serious Online Personals Site delivering quality contacts always wants their customers to succeed in finding someone:
-the very satisfied customer who leaves the site because he/she succeed most probably will recommend the site to 10 or more persons!!!
-dissatisfied customers leaving the site because they not succeed in finding someone (compatible real person) surely will speak against the company to 100 or more persons!!!

Kindest Regards,

Fernando Ardenghi.
Buenos Aires.
Argentina.
ardenghifer@gmail.com

4. Bill Broadbent on January 5, 2006 6:32 PM writes...

It's not about marketing? I beg to differ there. Don't forget about their enormous database to remarket a new program to. When Udate bought kiss.com they started simply being an exit consule for each other and my understanding is the numbers were amazing. Not only will they get some new customers that never gave them money, they will also get some people that gave up on match to try something new. Some may end up paying for both once they establish mass. They have a huge database and they will do what they can to maximize its value.

5. James Houran on January 6, 2006 4:41 PM writes...

I was under the impression that bioanthropologist Dr. Helen Fisher was their "spokesperson" of sorts. After all, her "chemistry test" is the backbone of this service and thus her theories are inherently being promoted.

Thanks,

James Houran, Ph.D.
Research Psychologist

6. Nathan Welsh on January 7, 2006 9:12 AM writes...

David,

Maybe a reason, people don't talk about online dating(hype talk) as much as they use to is because it is now engraved into our culture.

What do you think?

7. Ben on January 16, 2006 3:00 PM writes...

Match sent me email, offering me a lifetime membership to Chemistry. ("As a lifetime charter member, you are invited to use Chemistry at no charge for as long as your Match.com subscription is active and in good standing.") I'm not sure how they plan to brand Chemistry, but it appears that they are seeding it from within Match right now. My guess is that once Chemistry has a critical mass of members, then they'll roll out the wider marketing campaign.

On a side note, why is Chemistry asking me whether my index finger is longer than my ring finger? What does that have to do with compatibility? Having this as the first question asked of new members does not instill confidence in the methodology. (But, the later questions were fine.)

8. Ben on January 16, 2006 4:30 PM writes...

Responding to several older ODI posts about Chemistry:

Dave, were you ever able to get your free lifetime charter membership to Chemistry? You previously wrote about having difficulties signing up. I had no such trouble, though it remains to be seen whether my subscription truly will remain free for the lifetime of my Match membership. The information on my Chemistry subscription page isn't very clear about this.

Regarding the actual signup process, information was pulled from my Match membership automatically, so this part has been improved. They also pulled all of my profile photos from Match. This was good, though they didn't tell me until after I tried to upload another photo. This should be made more clear.

I need to look up Helen Fisher's theory of personality matching, but I'll describe what I see. Personality is broken down into four types: Explorer, Builder, Negotiator, and Director. You are assigned a major and minor personality type, for example Negotiator/director. Apparently, certain personality types are more compatible with others. There are also five Universal Personality Traits, on which you are rated on a continuum. The traits are: Extravert, Agreeable, Conscientious, Open to New Experiences, and Emotional Stability.

Apparently, Chemistry sends you five matches per day. You get to rate each match (which allegedly is used to help their matching algorithm learn your preferences) and decide whether to proceed further. If you do proceed further, there is a four-stage process that sounds very much like Eharmony's.

9. dionne balgtey on January 20, 2006 5:18 AM writes...

its nice

10. Lee on January 31, 2006 4:20 PM writes...

I've been using Chemistry.com since it first launched about 4 weeks ago now. So far, I have to say that I've gotten really great matches. I also used E-harmony for 6 months. I felt my matches on there seemed to have little in common with me surprisingly, and most people didn't seem interested in going through the long process and would just close you out or I'd close them out. This service seems to really provide you with better matches based on your rating of those matches and hones in better on what you're looking for. It seems like many of the members are inactive at this early stage though. Hopefully after aggressive marketing, more people will become active members. The great thing about it is that it piggybacks off of Match.com so there is an endless supply of matches because of their large membership. The only concern I would have is that because they are also on Match.com, they might not necessarily be looking for a serious relationship. Time will tell, but so far so good!

11. Jan on February 3, 2006 7:14 PM writes...

I recently went of Chemistry.com from Match and I can not get anyone to respond to a problem Im having with my profile set up. Although they have sent matches on a regular basis no one responds which leaves me to belive there is something wrong with website or program. If they want to be successful they better get moving.

Good Luck

12. Fred on February 4, 2006 10:10 PM writes...

Chemistry.com's software is full of bugs, as has been acknowledged to me by their customer care people. Can't change account settings, problems deleting from archive, scheduling software set up an appointment for January 1900. That's right, 1900. And now I can't cancel my subscription. In essence, they are charging us to beta-test their system.

My advice at this point is to send them email objecting to being charged for a system that is clearly not functioning as advertised, cancel your subscriptions, and contact your credit card companies, letting them know that you intend to fight being charged by chemistry.com. This is the order in which my credit card company advised me to proceed.

Unless and until they fix their system on their own time and with their own money, chemistry.com should be avoided.

13. Steve on February 6, 2006 6:14 PM writes...

Fred,
I can see what you mean about technical problems. It appears that on one match we have each shown mutual interest. The system is now asking for my Relationship Essentials. Although I have followed through I keep getting an Oops message. I have e-amiled them with no reply. Do you happen to have a phone number?

Thanks in advance.

14. Fred on February 7, 2006 9:33 AM writes...

Steve,

The phone number for chemistry.com is 1-866-610-6338. I called them yesterday to resign my subscription and inform them that I expected a refund. We shall see. I've already talked to my credit card company about contesting any charges.

I have also sent email to executiveteam@match.com, which is an address that I found in the chemistry.com terms of use.

Interestingly, the chemistry.com terms of use appear to be an exact copy of the match.com terms of use; they didn't even bother to change "match.com" to "chemistry.com"! To me, this suggests the extent to which chemistry.com was/is a rush job. If I'm right about that, it begs the question: Why the rush?

15. Anita Spooner on February 13, 2006 2:16 PM writes...

Geez, doesn't anyone have anything nice to say anymore?? Being a happily married gal myself, I'm not signing up for this one or any of the other ones (which I am sure all have their good points!) but I keep trying the best place for my sister to find Mr. Right. Should I tell her to go here?

Careingly,

Anita

16. Fred on February 13, 2006 6:33 PM writes...

"Should I tell her to go here?"

No.

Their system is so full of bugs that the site simply does not function properly.

And then there's this: as of today, one week after having been led to believe that a refund to my credit card had been processed, the charge remains on the account. Just spoke to them, and once again I have been assured that a refund has been credited, effective today.

I'd address my issues to them in writing, but they will not give me a postal mail address.

These are not people with whom I would advise anybody to do business at this time.

17. Bill Broadbent on February 13, 2006 7:19 PM writes...

Anita,

If you really want to increase her odds, I would say have her try a few. Any system is better than no system and almost all of the programs have some nice people. It comes down to where is the right person for her and nobody has a crystal ball to determine that. In the end most of the programs are very similar - they just describe themselves differently. Picking the right site really depends on what she is looking for.

Good luck.

18. Maria on February 23, 2006 9:15 AM writes...

I signed up for Chemistry.com this Saturday the 19, 2006 and have been having problems since. I began receivng about (5) matches a day but after Monday, they have stopped. All my activity with my few matches have stopped. It's if as though, the entire program has become inactive, despite my profile always showing "active". I have e-mailed customer service twice a day, and have not had any responses. I have left my telephone number and no one has contacted me.

I am completely unhappy with Chemistry and plan on immediately cancelling my subscription and will contact their customer service number 1-866-610-6338 and send another email to executiveteam@match.com as adviced by Fred, another unhappy customer.

I also believe Chemistry.com has too many problems with their program. I am starting to think they really do not have enough customers to match you up with...

Very unhappy customer,

Maria (619) 685-6643

19. Maria on February 23, 2006 12:39 PM writes...

This if for Fred of Steve,

Can either of you or anyone else reading this message let me know if after cancelling their subscription with Chemistry.com after being signed up for five days or so, were told they would not be refunded their money?.

I contacted the customer service number (866) 610-6338 as indicated on your website by Fred/Steve and was told by phone operator "Lashawn" that they would not refund my money, but could cancel my subscription.

I demanded to speak with a supervisor but was told their was no one available. I left my telephone number and requested that one contact me asap.

Look forward to hearing any feedback.

Maria

20. Fred on March 5, 2006 7:03 PM writes...

I did manage to get my money refunded. Took two calls. The first on 2/6 telling them to cancel service and refund my money. No problem, I was told. A week later, I called my credit card company and found out that the refund had not been sent through. Called Chemistry back, asked them what's what, the guy told me that yes, service had been cancelled, no, no refund. I replied by telling him that I had spoken with my credit card company, and that I intended to contest the charge, atg which point he informed me that a refund would be processed forthwith. It took another week for it to be credited back to my account.

The key to it seems to be to talk to your credit card company first, then make it clear to Chemistry that you will contest the charge.

Chemistry will not give you a postal mail address, and will not give you a stand-alone email address. In other words, they want nothing traceable.

Chemistry.com needs to get some business ethics.

21. Maria on March 9, 2006 11:10 AM writes...

To Steve & Fred,

I finally received my refund today!!. It took (3)calls and a whole lot of persistence. I have learned my lesson and that is, I will need to find a well established, accredited and extremely professional dating service along with spending a little more money, to receive the quality service I am really looking for and stay away from internet dating websites such as; Match.com, Eharmony.com and Chemistry.com.

I hope for those of you who are going through the same problems I did with Chemistry, I wish you luck!

Maria

22. Deb on April 26, 2006 7:03 PM writes...

What is a good accredited dating service
out there?

losing hope,

Thanks

23. relaxedguy on April 28, 2006 3:13 PM writes...

Accredited is not a term I've seen used for dating sites. Some are validated, or supported, or have the seal of approval of various organizations, but that doesn't mean much. As usual, your mileage may vary, it depends what you are looking for.

24. rab on May 5, 2006 12:18 AM writes...

hey -
i recently came across the chemistry.com website - haven't signed up for it yet but a couple of the preliminary matches they sent me seemed promising, so i'm thinking about it. anyone know whether some of these bugs mentioned above have been worked out? also, any other suggestions of reliable places to look for info re various sites to learn more before picking one/some & actually laying out the $$$?

25. CJ on May 27, 2006 2:56 PM writes...

Please don't bother with Chemistry.com. It is little more than recycled Match.com profiles, which may or may not be real. As far as the marketing debate above, it seems little "marketing" is necessary if you simply open another entrance to the same store and charge the same people to enter it. Once inside, they discover the difficulty of getting their money back also described above. Its a nice little scam they've got going on.

Let me predict, also, the same match.com tactic of increased contact/email toward the end of the subscription period. No doubt the research psychologist above can enlighten consumers about the behavioral response to intermittent reinforcement. Match.com has this down.

26. Vernon on June 8, 2006 8:51 AM writes...

Chemistry.com really is a scam. I wanted be a believer, but after three weeks of this it's obvious that the people on the site are not real, not active or the system is not forwarding messages properly. I mean, I might not be People magazines top most eligible. But I'm a good looking guy with a great job and a lot to offer. I have responded to 38 (yes, 38) "matches" and have gotten NO responses. And these responses could be either yes, I want to go further, or no, go away. 2 even contacted me first! I responded positively and have received nothing back from them even. The system is seriously screwed up or the whole thing is a scam. Logic just says that one, just one, of the contacts out of 38 would have given me a yes or no. Very disappointing. I've called customer service several times with no action. My fourth call was today where they said someone in "management" would be calling. I think we have all been had.

27. Anne on June 8, 2006 10:05 AM writes...

Hi, i joined chemistry a month ago and i agree that it can be frustrating to wait and be able to communicate with a match.Some people may be inactive but i also think that it depends if its the right time/luck. I almost gave up bec match.com and other sites were disappointing but my experience here has been good.I'm glad that i have been patient and met my prince charming here.

28. Kevin on June 10, 2006 10:19 AM writes...

Shemar Stephon Misael Micah Conner Trevon

29. Kevin on June 10, 2006 10:20 AM writes...

Shemar Stephon Misael Micah Conner Trevon

30. Quentin on June 10, 2006 10:21 AM writes...

Cayden Pranav Rowan Fletcher Parker Kristofer

31. Quentin on June 10, 2006 10:21 AM writes...

Cayden Pranav Rowan Fletcher Parker Kristofer

32. Brendon on June 10, 2006 10:31 AM writes...

Travon Bernard Travon Octavio Davin Dallin

33. Brendon on June 10, 2006 10:34 AM writes...

Travon Bernard Travon Octavio Davin Dallin

34. Brendon on June 10, 2006 10:35 AM writes...

Travon Bernard Travon Octavio Davin Dallin

35. Cindi on July 15, 2006 5:24 PM writes...

I joined chemistry.com a couple weeks ago and have been VERY frustrated that NOT ONE of the 13 or 14 men they have I have said I was interesed in has responded, EVEN TO SAY 'NOT INTERESTED'. When I asked them about it, I got stupid canned responses like "It's difficult to say why your match hasn't responded...". Well, today I found out what's REALLY going on when I received a new match who was the exact same guy who has been on my "active" (or supposedly active) list for TEN DAYS -- same picture, same name, BUT A DIFFERENT LOGON ID. They are matching people with inactive members or people who are no longer members. THIS IS FRAUDULENT.

36. Anonymous on July 25, 2006 6:05 PM writes...

Chemistry.com fraud alert!!

If you are a match.com member you will be offered to participate in a "free" chemistry.com personality test. Based on this test they automatically make up a profile that then gets distributed to other innocent paying users such as myself. As a result paying users get "matched" with non-suscribers that never checked their accounts because THEY DONT HAVE ONE. You will get matched 95% of the time with individuals such as New Member. See description below.

Chemistry has selected New Member as a match for you based on the profile information we have received at this point. You can see how you match at this stage in the chart below. When New Member completes his entire Chemistry Profile, you’ll be able to learn more about him.

But so far, it’s looking good.
Yeah, right! Chemisrtry.com should be sued!!

37. John on July 27, 2006 4:27 PM writes...

The software is still totaly buggy. For example, their personality test shows me as an extreme extrovert. They couldn't be more wrong. Thinking maybe I had answered some of their questions incorrectly, I created another signon and tried again--this time VERY carefully. Guess what? Same result! I contacted customer service about this, but they had no comment. BTW, once they rate you, there's no going back. You can't answer any of their questions again. So if they say you're a party animal, then you're a party animal. That's all there is to it!

38. P.C. on August 1, 2006 7:57 PM writes...

Three months ago I cancelled my subscription, took my Match profile offline and changed the sign-on name. Four days ago, I received a notice that "Deb" was interested in my profile and that I should complete my Chemistry profile in order to respond to her.When my curiosity got the better of me and I clicked on to the site it started into questions about which is the long finger etc and I exited, but not before it gave me my sign-on name and password -- the same ones that I had cancelled on Match three months ago.

Whaddya know! She is probably wondering why this guy (and maybe a lot of others) is ignoring her.

BTW, they want a big pile of money for a month's subscription to a rather unproven website. eHarmony offers 3 months for the price of 1 every month during the last week or so. eHarmony's is a tedious process but their psych testing seems better validated and their summary seemed to have me pretty well characterized.

39. Linda on September 16, 2006 12:47 PM writes...

Can anyone suggest a good, or the best site for online dating? I'm just going to sign up. San Francisco area. I was rejected by eharmony, don't know why...my profile was good. Maybe my age, 58? Or I didn't specify a large enough area (thought I'd try close to home first).
Thanks.

40. Aleece on September 26, 2006 10:58 AM writes...

So glad to find I'm not the only one who hated my experience with Chemistry. I am making it my personal mission to make sure everyone out there is educated about their site problems as well as their lack of service. I couldn't agree with these user comments more - stay away from Chemistry! I only escaped after they got $150 out of my bank account.

41. Fred on September 26, 2006 10:52 PM writes...

I found that the way to get a refund from chemistry.com is to call your credit card company first. Find out what you have to do in order to contest the charge. One of the things you will probably have to do is to first give chemistry.com the opportunity to resolve the issue.

Now it's time to call chemistry.com. Cancel your subscription. Demand a refund. Inform them of your conversation with the credit card company, and tell them that you are prepared to contest the charge. That last statement seems to be the one that gets their attention. Document your call.

Follow up with your credit card company. It took a week for my refund to be credited back.

Of course, if you've already paid your credit card bill, you're out of luck.

42. Ben on September 28, 2006 4:40 AM writes...

UGGGHHH!!! These problems have been going on this long!!! It's been five days since I subscribed and they still have not posted my pictures. There are some women whom I'd like to contact, but I'm stuck in this limbo. They are obviously waiting for the complete profile, so they've probably stuck me in archives. I could be there a very long time until I'm somehow noticed again or am deleted. I also have mailed several times with no response.

I was suspicious enough to sign up for only one month. My sympathies to those who are trying to keep from being bilked out of more. I thank you all and the owner of this page for the information on phone number and other items.

I summarize the problems this way: This is an interface where ALL the potential matches come at or near the start. If you're profile is not totally up with photos, and fine tuned, then you may also be lost as soon as you began. I have met one woman. We have immediately gone offline.

I am cc'ing this to executiveteam@match.com.