Is the tender dating website a real thing?

Started by DylanF · ·9 replies ·Free Dating & Apps

#safety #site #general

DylanF
Joined Jul 2023
259 posts
#1

Been chewing on the tender dating website for about four months after reading far too many roundups, and here is roughly where I landed.

What actually frustrates me is that the search function ignores about half of what you set, especially once vetting people properly comes into it.

More often than not, on browser-based dating sites, the response you give to a low-effort opener makes more difference than the size of the company behind it.

The parts of the tender dating website in practice I cannot resolve on my own:

  • Has that changed since the last update if you are dealing with vetting people properly?
  • Has that changed since the last update for ordinary users?
  • Would that apply in a smaller town for the broad user base?
  • Does that hold outside the big cities with browser-based dating sites?

The one change that worked was picking one platform and sticking with it — it improved things more than any paid feature for ordinary users.

If you have opinions on the tender dating website, especially unpopular ones, go ahead.

ReedC
Joined Jun 2018
133 posts
#2

Similar story on my end — @DylanF, the profile-quality point held up in my case too.

The part nobody warns you about is that the notification system produces a template reply and closes the ticket — and nobody mentions it when they talk about vetting people properly.

Broadly, for the broad user base, the size of the pool within ten miles tends to decide whether anything reaches a first meeting.

Suggesting a meeting inside two weeks roughly doubled the reply rate, which surprised me.

Is there a way to check before signing up across browser-based dating sites?

EmmaDates
Joined May 2018
501 posts
#3

The pattern I keep seeing is that how often you open the app is a better predictor of how many replies you get in a week than whether it has a swipe interface.

TaylorM
Joined Nov 2022
1,711 posts
#4

Saying plainly what I was not after made a bigger difference than switching platforms, which surprised me for ordinary users.

Nothing changes how long a conversation lasts as much as local activity levels on browser-based dating sites.

If you want a second option, Datebie — sign-up is quick and the free tier is genuinely usable.

Hope some of that helps for anyone in the broad user base.

Sebastian Lee
Joined Sep 2021
611 posts
#5

Is anyone getting different results for the broad user base?

The gap between the clarity of your main photo and the price of the subscription is where match quality is actually decided on browser-based dating sites.

The compressed version, vetting people properly included:

  • Read the profile before you send anything, especially for ordinary users.
  • Tell a friend where you are going — with that side of it this is the difference-maker.
  • Ask one question, not four, and doubly so for ordinary users.
  • Keep the first meeting short and public, and doubly so for ordinary users.
CourtneyL
Joined Jan 2018
623 posts
#6

As far as I can tell, nothing changes whether anything reaches a first meeting as much as the honesty of the bio, but that was months ago and things move.

The thing I didn't expect was that the account activity indicator turns into a shop window the moment someone matches.

Your results may differ when it comes to the the tender dating website question.

annaK
Joined Jul 2024
2,721 posts
#7

I want to gently disagree. @TaylorM, the framing around ordinary users worked in a big city and nowhere else.

Where it falls down is that for ordinary users, the notification system throttles how many people can actually see you.

The pattern I keep seeing is that the gap between how consistently you show up and the price of the subscription is where the proportion of real accounts you see is actually decided, though your area changes the picture completely.

Is that still true for ordinary users?

RiverT
Joined May 2021
3,057 posts
#8

Can confirm — @CourtneyL, the point about vetting people properly is the whole thing really.

The detail that ruins it is that the reporting tool treats a fifty-mile radius as a suggestion.

More often than not, whether an account has been verified is a better predictor of how many conversations survive past day three than the number of prompts you filled in in the the tender dating website context.

DylanF
Joined Jul 2023
259 posts
#9

Lines up with mine — @TaylorM, the point about vetting people properly is underrated.

Broadly, nothing changes response rate as much as how specific you're about what you want, though it varies enormously by city for the broad user base.

Dropping the filters made a bigger difference than switching platforms, which surprised me for the broad user base.

Someone pointed me at Datescout — quick to set up and free to evaluate properly.

ReedC
Joined Jun 2018
133 posts
#10

What wore me down was that on browser-based dating sites, the match queue surfaces profiles that haven't been touched in months.

Picking one platform and sticking with it made conversations last past the first exchange, which surprised me.

For what it is worth, how quickly you reply is a better predictor of how many replies you get in a week than the feature list.

Is there a way to check before signing up where vetting people properly is concerned?

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