1. Match New Zealand review: in brief

You might think Match is a bit long in the tooth. After all it was one of the first dating sites ever. However, it is still a great place for flirting and fun and still successfully brings people together all over the world.

Does it work in New Zealand? We set about testing the service and conducting a thorough review to answer this question for you here.

2. Functions and profiles on Match New Zealand

The registration procedure is speedier than you might think. It actually only requires a few minutes to get through the process, though you do have to submit a photo, so make sure that you have a good one ready(Note: You are obliged to upload a pic at the end of the reg process). The vast majority of data in your profile is obtained following the reg process and when you are constantly encouraged to enter more information and say a little more about yourself.

Having finished this simple registration, you are free to look through the profiles and use of all the features. These include:

Search

There are many different elements in the search offer. In addition to the usual selections on location, education, income etc there are a few interesting search buttons such as 'reverse Match' and 'It's their birthday' button.

Picture: Search Functions - Match.com

Daily 6

One of the ways in which Match tries to get you beyond your search criteria is with the 'Daily 6'. These are 6 Matches recommended to you daily that you can like or dislike.

Picture: Daily 6 - Match.com

Match Affinity

Match Affinity is an upgrade available to you if you are interested in getting as more scientific approach with personality profiling. You can take the profiling questions free, but to make use of your results there will be fees for this extra service.

Picture: Match Affinity Service - Match.com

Getting in touch

How do you get in touch with other people on the site? Well there are almost too many options to choose from! Straight messaging of course, for those who like to take their time and compose thoughtful messages. Instant Messaging for those who go in for the more cheery banter style of interaction. Finally, for those who are a bit shy or tongue tied there is always the 'wink' of the 'like'.

3. User Friendliness Match New Zealand

Customer friendliness is a very critical issue with online dating sites. The degree to which dating sites deal effectively with the concerns and problems their customers have fluctuates largely from one site to another. How easy is it to make contact with customer support? How promptly do they respond to customer enquiries. Does the company operate auto rebilling?

Reaching the Customer Care service at Match New Zealand

There is a good and useful FAQ section on Match that can walk you through nearly all the processes on the site and questions you might have. However, it is hard to find an email address to write to and there is no sign of a phone number. Not brilliant.

Look and feel of Match New Zealand

The design is straightforward and clear with an emphasis on usability as opposed to showiness. The most impressive work is the profile sections which are nicely laid out and shows off your Matches in an engaging manner.

Match New Zealand Mobile functionality

Match is equipped with both good mobile browser compatibility and good apps for iPhone and Android. The apps are well designed and feature a more up to date layout than the desktop site.

Picture: Mobile app - Match.com

4. Match New Zealand Practical Test

The Match New Zealand experience test rigorously checks all aspects of Match. To produce an overall overview of the product we set up a profile on the platform and browsed through it as a regular user (man seeks woman). Next we browsed all features and started first conversations.

On top of this, we tested Match New Zealand’s reputation online, reading through customer comment boards and forums to understand how users have experienced the product.

First impressions of Match New Zealand

Match looks precisely like the traditional kind of dating site it is. The layout is clear and easy to understand and the structure is very familiar. Soon you are presented with a list of appropriate Matches and then you can express your interest by winking or chatting to the ones you like.

Match has survived longer then nearly any of the services on the market. It is in this sense a trusted company and one that has been the starting point for a lot of successful partnerships around the world.

A new offering from Match is their Events service that is being rolled out. This should bring an offline addition to the service and make the offer is more unique.

Picture: Landing Page - Match.com

Number of members in your area Test

To acquire an opinion of the number of members online, we conducted a contact count check. Dating websites come in loads of diverse formats, but always the most meaningful problem for the customer is how many connections he or she gets involved with. How many folk get in communication and how many people answer to communications. Our ‘reach’ count produces a score against this crucial measure for every site we appraise. Match New Zealand did very well in this test. There were plenty of members online and it looked like a reputable spread of users over the nation.

Profile quality of Match New Zealand

The quality of profiles appear good on Match. They are well laid out, every member has to upload at least one image of themselves, and there is usually a reasonable amount of personal data visible. The type of person on Match varies substantially, but you can see that the majority are searching for something serious.

Are there any fake users or Scammers on Match?

Fake profiles is a problem for all dating services and the test is not whether they have a problem, but how bad it is. Our impression of Match New Zealand was very positive in this regard. Match runs a pretty decent system of profile checking and mostly the profiles looked genuine to us. 

5. Is Match New Zealand value for money?

The large majority of dating websites hand out a free introduction to their product, but to get full use of the site and communicate with your Matches you nearly always have to pay for Premium Membership. Match New Zealand is not an exception and to talk with your Matches, you are going to have to pay a fee. We are not going to quibble with the need for this. Customers will always have to pay up if they want to use a quality service. Rather, we focus on how Match New Zealand performs on a ‘value for money’ equation. Is it worth spending the money and getting involved?

*these prices were current at the time of writing, but may change

We advise you go for the six month package. It’s a significant initial cost, but you’ll be able to settle down and take your time to use the service well.

Final Tip: When you meet someone you like on Match and set off on your first date, make sure that you tell someone where you are going. Dating is a great way to meet new people and discover new places and the vast majority of people you will meet on Match will likely be every bit as fantastic as you are. However, it never hurts to take some basic precautions. Make sure you meet your dates somewhere public and freindly. Somewhere where you can be at your ease and totally safe from any unwanted advances.