Editors' Review
SinglesNet.com is one of the dating sites that has been around for more than a decade, having launched in 1997. The assumption that most people would make is that after 12 years in a business of this type, a company would either have worked out all their bugs and be flourishing or would be slowly fading into the sunset. Instead, in the case of SinglesNet, it is in sort of a limbo. It has grown over the last few years, and as far as total number of visits is one of the top ranked dating sites on the internet. But the site itself has certain issues and drawbacks, and certain business practices have been called into question.
Profiles
When you sign up for SinglesNet.com the process is short and painless, with the barest minimum of questions, only 22, needing to be answered. At first glance this may seem great, no 45 minutes spent answering questions about my preferences for personal confrontation technique. But, the drawbacks are instantly noticeable the very first time you want to perform a search. You can’t. The site has its own little system for matching and the only parameter the member is permitted to select is the region. To the disappointment of all the Lolita’s and Cougars out there it won’t even let members select for age.
Communication
Once a member has selected someone to contact they can either flirt or email. SinglesNet does offer the option for free members to be able to not only respond to communications from paid members, but also to initiate a limited number of contacts per month. This is an unheard of feature for free members in the world of internet dating. The site offers the flirt and email options for communication, and for all premier members there is also an instant message program. However, no amount of premier status will allow you to access the site in certain countries, so if you must travel frequently outside of the US, be aware you will possible not be able to access your account at these times.
Demographics
The subscribers on SinglesNet are a little older on average than a lot of dating sites, with 68% being 35+, and with average educational levels being a little lower than most traditional dating sites, with a full 50% not having attended college. One statistic that could possibly partially explain a controversy the site is currently embroiled in is the 58/42 male/female ratio. The site is facing negative feedback over extremely overtly sexual advertising. This is fine if the site is being marketed as for intimate encounters, ala Lavalife or AdultFriendFinder; but is definitely off-putting for a lot of people who are looking for traditional dating.
Summary
For a website with the length of history that SinglesNet.com has the supposition that all would be well in their world is a little bit above what they have lived up to. While the site is extremely easy to use and convenient a number of issues beyond the steamy advertising send of the warning signal for “buyer beware.” They are reasonably priced but have had their review by the BBB pulled for re-review, and have a history of complaints regarding spam, misleading emails and false profiles, in addition to billing issues. A convenient place to try to meet someone, but you may just want to tread warily.