I Placed My First Personal Ad, Ever

[NashVegas]

On Craig's list. Three responses so far. Right now the best of the bunch said he liked the ad and asked for my pic. That's it. Of the other two, one said he makes "WAY too much money," and the other is 22 years my junior (I stated my age in the ad).

Goodness, I hope this is going to be interesting.

[Kat45]

1. Let us know how it goes. Just be sure to meet in a public place.

I recently signed up for match.com, which is basically a glorified personal ad. I've been doing more dating than I ever have (which wasn't much anyway), and I've been having a good time. But unfortunately, I haven't yet met anyone for a LTR, which is what I'd like to find.

[NashVegas]

2. Absolutely.

The 'show me the pic' guy ain't working out. I'm trying to craft a nice 'thanks but no thanks' to Mr. Moneybags, but am having a hard time. Do you bother to respond to the people you're turning down?

[Kat45]

3. It depends.

At first I did, but I don't always do it now. That's probably because almost all of the men that I contact first don't even bother to respond. If you can come up with a nice thanks but no thanks type of response, you might want to; if you sent him a picture, you wouldn't want it to show up photoshopped somewhere online. :shrug: Unfortunately, my pic is up on the match site, so I do get concerned about that on occasion. I get particularly nervous when I notice that the same guy keeps going back and looking at my photo.

[hippiechick]

17. No.

n/t

[NashVegas]

4. Update

So far, the responder I enjoy the most is .. oh my ... 12-13 years younger than I am.

[Kat45]

5. Hey, as long as he's legal.....

:D

[flamingyouth]

6. Hey - there is nothing wrong with that

My SO is 15 years younger than me. We are totally perfect together, it's almost eerie. :D

Good luck!

[NashVegas]

7. Thanks

I suggested we get together middle next week, and haven't heard back since. Methinks he chickening out :shrug:

[Kat45]

8. That "haven't heard" from is frustrating.

I had two good dates with someone, and on the second date he asked me to go out on Sun afternoon and said he'd call me then. He never called then, and hasn't called or e-mailed since. I have no idea what that's all about. :shrug:

[Darth_Kitten]

24. I'm thinking of joining a matchmaking group in the New Year.....

seriously, it will give me the boost I need.

It's hard to find somebody when you essentially work with women, socialize just with women. Plus, I hate the DATING thing. It just seems so exhausting.

Once I get that push going, I'm hopeful I'll find somebody. I'm picky though, I would like a relationship, but hopefully with somebody who's not clingy and can give me space. I'm willing to give him some, too. ;)

And he'll have to love birds. :)

(how's Grace?)

[latebloomer]

9. I met my husband thru a personal ad

in the pre-Internet 80s, when ads were actually in newspapers!

Turned out he knew my best friend, had dated another woman I know, was going to a party after our first date at another acquaintances's house--but our paths had never crossed.

Good luck!-- I found I met quite a few nice guys, but the chemistry part was elusive. But it does give you hope that there are many good men out there! And if you're persistent, I'm sure you will eventually meet someone right for you.

[Debau2005]

10. Good luck

I am on Match.com and lavalife.com. I have had some interesting dates, and some interesting emails!! You have to laugh at some...

My favorite email had the subject "I R Lonely." I ran very fast to the No Thanks button! hahaha

I still email one that I became friends with.

For me it is still better then the bar scene. And I can stay fairly anonmous if I want.

[NashVegas]

11. I Pretty Much Gave Up

I may give it another shot, but the majority of the responses were things I could delete upon opening ("let's get together" - and that's all he wrote). The most recent lively one, I traced his email address and found out he's married. Currently. (It's amazing that some people still don't realize how anonymous they aren't.)

[Debau2005]

12. I know

Men are not the smartest creatures!! haha I have changed my return email address so that it does not show my full name. I am amazed at the people that aren't doing that small thing. I don't want them to know my name until I am ready for them to know.

I am still having fun with it. When it gets boring, I'll drop off the sites.

My favorite so far has been the email with the subject, I R Lonely. haha He is still lonely because I deleted it very quickly.

[shanti]

13. oh no....

how did it go? i've not heard good things about craig's list re personal ads. if you want a good FREE ad site (and i have no financial involvement with them), try plentyoffish.com. most of the people seem pretty normal.\

that said, i say go for it. i've met lots of people thru ads, but only one longlasting relationship came of it (back in the mid 80's).

[NashVegas]

14. Nada

Out of maybe 20 replies, there was only one guy who seemed truly interesting and he was much younger than I'd have liked. The overwhelming majority had responses like, "let's get together" and that was it. Most of those who sent pics looked like pervs.

I've taken to circulating more, offline, lately. It's fun. No prince charmings but some interesting frogs, at least.

[NashVegas]

15. Shanti, Thanks for the Tip

I opened a profile on PoF two-three days ago. Interesting site. Still getting the lay of the land.

[shanti]

16. how did it go, crisco?

was it successful?

[NashVegas]

18. Overall?

Well it's been interesting.

A post where I once laid out my background in certain matters has disappeared into whatever hole all the old stuff from the Meeting Room got sucked into. I don't think that archive's available. Anyway, the summation is, I've voluntarily been "out of the game" for eons, and have had to throw out everything I ever thought I knew.

As a learning experience, it's been very successful in showing me how guys approach things as a numbers game. Even if they love your ad/profile, it's still a matter of numbers. I've started to learn that "The Rules" aren't my enemy.

[Kat45]

19. I'm curious: what do you mean by a "numbers game"?

I don't know if I've encountered that in my online dating. Do you mean that they try to hook up with as many women possible?

[NashVegas]

20. 'ere

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=women+%22dating%22+%22numbers+game%22&btnG=Search

[Kat45]

21. Thanks for the link. I hadn't seen that before.

Hmph. What's the point of this 'numbers game'? Is it an ego thing, to have lots and lots of dates? Is it to have more chances of getting laid? I don't see the point.

[Digit]

22. Has craigslist ever worked for you or anyone you know?

It seemed there were so many deviant ads that I never even considered posting there.
Maybe I made a snap judgment which was unfair.

[NashVegas]

23. It Seems to Work Well for Hookers

Alas ...

[Samurai_Writer]

25. It worked for me!

I met my boyfriend through Craigslist, after slogging through many boring, perverted, egotistical, etc. responses from other men, and going out on many ho-hum, so-so dates with some of the respondents.

He and I have been dating almost 6 months now, and I have to say it is the best relationship I've ever had in my life! (I'm 47, he's 41). We are simply meant for each other. *swoons*

[NashVegas]

26. Congrats, RD

On a whim this morning, I gave it another shot. This time, I'm only looking for a date for a specific event. Wish me luck.