Great Expectations

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-02-2004
Great Expectations
11
Wed, 01-19-2005 - 2:05pm

I answered an online profile for them. I was just curious and I got a call from someone today.

I was wondering if anyone ever used this service?

My cynical self thinks that even though you are paying more for it (they say they do backgroung checks etc.) that it's the same baloney.

Thoughts anyone?

Claribeth

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Avatar for northwestwanderer
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: cbmroz
Wed, 01-19-2005 - 2:10pm

Most of what I've heard has been BAD, bad, bad (really bad matches, plus they are VERY expensive).

HOWEVER, one of my co-workers met her husband through them. So, ya never know! If you have the $$ to spare, maybe...

Personally, I'd rather spend the money on a trip to Paris ;-).

Sheri

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-02-2004
In reply to: cbmroz
Wed, 01-19-2005 - 2:21pm
That's what I thought...how expensive is expensive...
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-10-2004
In reply to: cbmroz
Wed, 01-19-2005 - 2:23pm

I worked with a guy who tried them out. He had more money than he knew what to do with, I guess, because they are pricey.

He got okay matches, but nothing better/worse than he got when he tried OLD.

He wound up marrying someone he'd met in real life.

The only good thing about it being expensive is that you're spending so much money, you're bound to go out on dates- if you don't you'll feel like you're wasting too much money! LOL

Personally, unless I won the lottery or something, I wouldn't bother with Great Expectations. I'd rather join one of those services that does activities, hikes and trips to museums and stuff like that.

At least that way, if you're not having a lot of luck meeting someone good, at least you'll be doing it while active or seeing something interesting.

Avatar for northwestwanderer
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: cbmroz
Wed, 01-19-2005 - 2:25pm

I've heard a variety of quotes (which is another thing that would make me leary of them; it sounds too much like selling cars!), but most have been in the $1000-1500 range. Although that's from a while back--who knows, maybe they are charging less these days due to the competition from OLD.

Sheri

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
In reply to: cbmroz
Wed, 01-19-2005 - 3:29pm

I sat down with them about 9 years ago and they wanted to charge me $3000. They may have dropped their prices since OLD was in its infancy back then. In fact, I don't believe they are presently doing business in Austin. I did have a friend that used them at that time and he went on alot of dates but nothing materialized out of any of them. In fact, I think he's still paying off the debt on his credit card.

John

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-19-2004
In reply to: cbmroz
Wed, 01-19-2005 - 5:19pm
I've heard nothing but horror stories about them, especially the pricing. They'll never tell you over the phone how much it costs because they want you to come in for the hard sell. What I've heard is they'll charge you whatever they think you'll pay. And they try to get most people to pay $2000-3000. I'd stay clear. Another thing I've heard is in most areas they don't have a lot of people signed up (esp. with the popularity of OLD) and if you ask how many they have, they'll lie.
There's a website I found by accident where people complained to high heaven about this dating service. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the site.
Avatar for northwestwanderer
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: cbmroz
Wed, 01-19-2005 - 5:26pm

Wow, that's interesting. I knew they did the hard sell (which is why I compared it to car sales!), but didn't realize how much of a variation there was in price (of course that could be regional, too).

Sheri

P.S. I googled "great expectations complaints" and found this site:

http://consumeraffairs.com/dating_services/great_expectations.html




Edited 1/19/2005 5:28 pm ET ET by northwestwanderer
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-10-2003
In reply to: cbmroz
Wed, 01-19-2005 - 8:33pm
GE IS a scary experience. About 10 years ago I set up an appointment and "lied" in the questionare..well, I upped my income. The eyes of the lady almost fell out of her sockets when she saw it. She said that my income range would allow me to date "millionaires" ha! After finding out how much they wanted me to pay...$3.500.00 plus an amount per month I made all kinds of excuses and the lady got mad at me. I, though, didn't agree to sign anything and bailed out quickly to never return.
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-02-2004
In reply to: cbmroz
Wed, 01-19-2005 - 9:16pm

Thanks for everyone for your insights and especially to Sheri for that link....

Heck no...I'm not setting foot in that place.

Claribeth

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-16-2004
In reply to: cbmroz
Wed, 01-19-2005 - 9:59pm
How the heck can the regular dating services compete anymore??? Does anyone really think the services screen in any greater depth than an online profile does (admittedly not much)?

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