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FAQs

Why would I want to work with a matchmaker?

Lots of reasons! To name some:

1. Matchmakers get a ton of information about each person so they can effectively match people based on a wide variety of dimensions, increasing your chance of a compatible match.
2. Matchmakers generally work with successful professionals. If you're meeting a client, you know they're a driven, self-sufficient, individual ready for commitment with the right partner.
3. Your profile remains private, visible only to the matchmakers. This means you can be really open and honest about what you really think and do - and so would others.
4. Matchmakers can work well with people who are open to areas outside of their own city.
5. When hiring a matchmaker, you can learn how someone really feels after a first date. There would be no misreading signals or wondering what they think.

What makes you different than dating sites?

1. Dating sites don't have an important personal touch where someone gets a human understanding of both people and uses their experience and intuition in addition to data.
2. We collect way more info about people, allowing for you to see if there's a long term fit much faster than meeting people through any other avenue.
3. The apps also want to provide you with as many matches as possible to satiate the never-ending appetite of most users. With matchmaking, it's about disrupting that mentality by focusing on lower quantity and higher quality.

What's the difference between Free, Freemium, & Premium?

The Free route allows you to match with the smallest percentage of people - the clients of partner matchmakers only. You will never pay, ever.

The Freemium route allows you to match with other DateSpot members in addition to the clients of partner matchmakers. There is no setup fee, because there is no focus on your search. But if we come across a potential match, we can present it. If there's mutual interest, you pay $49 to meet a DateSpot client (Premium member) or $199 to meet another DateSpot Freemium member.

The Premium route gives you the most options. It's allows us to proactively focus on your search, and match to anyone - they don't need to pay (some people are skeptical about paying or just feel they have too many options already to be paying now). Premium members also receive feedback from first dates, which is super interesting and can be immensely valuable. We also verify profile photos to make sure people look like how they represent themselves.

There are no contracts for any of these routes, so feel free to start with one and see how it goes. You can always upgrade or downgrade. That said, if finding love is a priority, we suggest at least the Freemium route.

How long will it generally take for a matchmaker to contact me?

For Free members, the timeframe is completely open. We don’t guarantee a specific time in which you will be contacted. It is completely determined by the need of each specific partner matchmaker and their current clients. You may never hear from us if a match is not identified.

For Freemium members, the timeframe is also completely open. However, we are more likely to contact you in the first month since we have the ability to search for a partner for you among our own DateSpot database.

For Premium members, you set up a consultation first so we can meet and decide if it's a fit to work together. After we begin the process, there is no specific timeframe or quotas to have to fill. Generally we present the first Recommended Date within one month. We like to set up a phone call around the two month mark to discuss the search and how to iterate from there.

What geography do you service?

If you work with one matchmaking company, you're limited to their specific location, but DateSpot expands that to an entire network and makes geography irrelevant. So we work effectively with clients all across the U.S., and even internationally.

While we're based in the San Francisco Bay Area and have a ton of members there, our partners are based all over and typically have clients concentrated in those areas. We also work often with clients who have dual locations or are open to relocating.

If you live internationally and want a recommendation to a dedicated matchmaking company that is local to you, email support@datespot.love.

What is required of me during the matching process?

We have simple expectations of you:

  • Treat matchmakers and their clients with respect at all times.
  • Upload accurate information and photos of yourself.
  • Follow through with integrity. If you say you will meet a matchmaker’s client, don’t change your mind unless there is a very good reason.
  • If you go out with a client and a matchmaker requested feedback, provide that feedback as an important part of the iterative matchmaking process. They can shed light on whether a second date makes sense. If it turns out to be a great connection, they will better understand why. If it’s not a lasting connection, the info can be used to better match both the client and you in the future.
  • Please keep all information about members, clients and matchmakers confidential. This is a special platform where everyone’s privacy is respected.
Do you do blind dates?

With DateSpot member-to-member matching, generally no. Physical attraction is an important part of a relationship and we believe there needs to be a baseline for a relationship to get off the ground.

We send Recommended Dates to our Premium and Freemium members that include a ton of info about the potential match as well as multiple photos.

That said, we can do blind dates if that is the process you prefer. Just recognize that the pool of candidates is smaller since many people do not opt into them.

Also, many of our partner matchmaking companies do blind dates - either always or sometimes based on the client's preference or package. If you're trying to get the most amount of match options, we suggest selecting that you're open to blind dates when asked in your account.

Each time we reach out about a particular match opportunity, we like to disclose whether it would be a blind date or not as we want to set expectations correctly. You're always able to say yes or no, or ask us if we don't mention it.

What is your success rate?

Throughout her matchmaking career, DateSpot's founder has successfully matched up dozens of couples who have gotten married. Many others were together after one year, so could still be together as far as she knows! Some people contacted her years later thanking her for her efforts and the impact she has had in their lives.

We're happy to share that a couple who met through DateSpot (a DateSpot free member with a partner client) got engaged in 2023. We believe it is one of many, though it's tricky to know since many of our partner matchmakers don't contact us with status updates.

We've also seen success with our own Premium members. The founder was thrilled to even officiate a wedding for one of them in 2022. We hope you'll be our next success story and invite Carla to your wedding!

Who are your members?

While we're based in the U.S. and the vast majority of our members are there, our members are global. They span a wide range in demographics, including age, ethnicity, religion, and lifestyle.

Our youngest client so far has been 24 and oldest has been 92 - quite a range!

The gender ratio is about evenly split between men and women (and we do offer an option to say whether your gender identify doesn't fit into one of those options).

Inclusion is one of our core values. We allow everyone to join the database, and we think there is a “lid for every pot.”

The only exceptions for who we would never match would be people in a relationship seeking infidelity, or anyone who violates our code of conduct or disrespects people. However, if someone is looking to become a Premium member, we will review their situation to make sure we are comfortable with matching them and their search parameters.

Do you match LGBTQ+ individuals?

Yes, definitely! We have many LGBTQ+ members, across all three routes. We actually get a lot of referrals of people in the community from other matchmaking companies that do not service them.

Also, our partnerships with LGBTQ+ focused matchmaking companies allows us to match gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer, and other individuals in a unique way - without paying the large amounts needed to work with them as a client. If you end up wanting more match options than what we deliver, we can refer you to a more specialized company that we recommend.

Do you work with the poly community?

Occasionally people into ENM (ethical non-monogamy or polyamory as a variation) request matchmaking services. Some people want relationships that are "monogamish", where there is a primary partner desired but there is the mutual ability to have experiences with others.

If you're into ethnical non-monogamy or considering it, as long as you are interested in equal, honest, open, and loving relationships, we are happy to consult with you about your unique experience and goals and recommend customized solutions to bring more love into your life.

Do you meet everyone you match?

With DateSpot member-to-member matching, we generally go based on profiles with photos as well as how someone describes themselves, plus our impression based on their entire private account.

We do offer a VIP option where we will individually meet each candidate we present to you. That is for Premium members, and is $200 more per intro, so $699 per match. If you want us to do this for you, please mention it when you talk with us about joining Premium.

As for any intros with partner matchmaker clients, we do not meet them and do not necessarily vouch for those pairings. Though we may reject any particular request, they are at the discretion of the partner matchmaker.

Who sees my account and info?

We take your privacy very seriously.

Only the DateSpot team and our partner matchmakers can see your account. That should put you at ease that you don't have to craft witty responses, and you can be completely honest.

Not just anyone can access the database. Our partner matchmakers in the DateSpot network have been rigorously screened to ensure they are reputable professionals in the industry.

Members - no matter what route they choose - cannot view each other's accounts. Instead, we write individual profiles in a Google doc, merging info from your account, any emails, a consultation if applicable, and our own impressions of the person. By default, the Google doc is open to anyone who has the link, because we only share it selectively. If you choose to have it set privately to only those with specific access, we can accommodate that.

Also, if you prefer total privacy without photos of yourself shown to other members, we can arrange blind dates with other members and partner clients who are open to blind dates.

We do not share or sell your information to any marketing lists.

If you choose to purchase a partner service (photo shoot, styling, or relationship advising), we may pass along some info and/or photos to facilitate and get you the best results.

Please contact support@datespot.love if you have any questions or concerns about privacy.

How do I cancel my membership?

If you're in an exclusive relationship but not yet engaged or married, it's a better option to change your relationship status in your Account Settings to allow us to check in about your status in the future if there's an identified match.

But if you're married, engaged, or otherwise know you want to never hear from us again, you can cancel your membership at any point. To cancel, log into your account > Account Settings > Account Status > change to "Inactive". Alternatively, you can send the request to support@datespot.love.

We fully respect your privacy, we will not pass along your information to anyone else.

Know that if you cancel, we won’t be contacting any matchmaking companies that have already paid to connect with you and thus gained access to your email and account info. You would have known and approved any of these and received intros to them, so you'll know who to contact if you want them to remove you there as well.

We hope that eventually you will cancel your account because you're successfully matched up!

Can I buy matchmaking for a family member?

That is so kind of you to think about paying for your child, sibling, or parent! We absolutely do gift memberships.

We offer a package of three mutual matches for $1,999. When you buy the package, the $185 consultation fee is waived and you also get a $100 discount on the match intro fee.

If one of their first two matches works out, or we don't get the full number of mutual matches, they can convert the remaining funds towards any of our partner services - a photo shoot, image consulting, or relationship advising for their (hopefully) new relationship. Buy a package here. Thank you from both us and them!