I agree with Phil. For the very large majority of women, good looks is a priority for them. If you're average looking or less - then most women aren't going to give you a chance.

Going off on a slight tangent here, but using it to support my point: I am getting fuck all on POF - my profile is as good as it can be, and the messages I send are good. But I'm an average looking guy at best. I'm athletic and dress smart, but my facial features are average.

So out of interest, I've set up a fake profile, with a fairly average bio, and one photo of a good looking guy (not model esque) which I took off google.

I set the profile up late last night, and it's received 5 messages and 18 'want to meet's. That's more than what my profile's had in 18 months of sporadic use. Don't worry - I won't be sending a single message from the fake profile. I'm just observing how much attention it receives over the next week. But I think it proves my point - certainly for on line dating. But I also think the argument extends to face-to-face 'approaches' (for want of a better word).

Interestingly, the majority of interest received for the fake profile is from fairly unattractive women. Maybe they think that, on POF, they are in a position to be very ambitious….