Survey sites take information about all sorts of things, to determine what surveys to send you.
The sites I list (and rate) are examples of companies that are listed in the paid directories. All of these are totally free to sign up.
There are no catches that I'm aware of. If you really want to give this a go, sign up for all of the ones you can (depending on what country you live in).
Some good directories that you pay for with lists of hundreds of sites are listed near the bottom of our main page.
Rating System:
*=Don't Waste Your Time **=Not Very Good ***=Good Site ****=Very Good Site *****=Excellent Site
At this time, I do not list any sites rated below ***. There is a separate page of sites I don't like, plus some scam information.
Some Of The Links Below Open In A New Window. Hold Down TheOn The Right Is A Free List Of Quality Paid Survey Sites That Pay You To Take Surveys, Join Focus Groups And Test Products
There are many ways to make money on the internet. Some are a total waste of time and / or money.
This one works pretty well for many people. I have tried a number of these professional market research companies and have listed rated the results for you.
Just to make this clear: None of the sites listed on this page charge anything for membership. You just sign up and they send you surveys and sometimes free products to test.
You won't get rich only registering with these sites, but you will make some extra money, plus - you might enjoy giving your opinion to influence products.
My favorite ones pay in cash, rather than sweepstakes entries. They're probably my favorites because I have never won a drawing. I suppose if I ever win $50,000 or so, I might change my mind. From what I know, the odds of winning these are much higher than winning the lottery. It's free - so I give it a try anyway. Why not?
Also, even on the sites that pay cash for surveys, if you don't qualify for a survey after the short screening questions, usually give you an entry into a drawing.
| Survey Site | Countries Accepted | Rating | How You Are Paid | Comments | More Info |
Greenfield Online  Notice! For the present time, they are accepting MALE applicants only! Maybe they have had mostly women sign up and want to even it out. | US+Canada | ***** | Cash + Other Incentives.
| Many Benefits, Including Free Entry Into $4000 monthly drawing This is definitely one of the best. | Lot's Of Surveys Available DAILY! Money earned is sent when you request it. Reputable company. |
| American Consumer Opinion | International | ***** | Cash | No Spam Read A Review | Money earned automatically sent |
| NFO | USA, Canada, Europe. Excludes Alaska & Hawaii | ***** | Cash, Prizes, Charitable Donations | ||
| Survey Savvy | International | ***** | Cash, plus more cash if someone you referred takes a survey. You send people you know an email. If they want to, they sign up by clicking on a link in the email. | No Spam, Extra Benefits Read A Review which also has some help in referring your friends. | Money earned is sent when you request it. |
| LightSpeed Consumer Panel | International | ***** | Points For Cash, Gifts + Sweepstakes Entry | Now includes Australia (Used to be separate) | |
| Opinion Square | USA | ***** | Sweepstakes, Rewards, Cash | No Spam | |
| ECN Research | USA + Canada | **** | Cash, Sweepstakes | ||
| Permission Research | International | **** | Sweepstakes, Gift Points | Free Software, Games | |
| Harris Poll Online | International | **** | Points, Sweepstakes | Excellent Information In FAQ'S On how to set up Your email Account to make sure you receive surveys. | |
| Esearch | International | **** | Varies, according to survey | ||
| Survey Networks | USA | **** | Sweepstakes | Big Prizes | |
| Survey Payoff | International | **** | Varies | Really A FREE directory of survey sites | |
| Opinionsite | International | **** | Cash, Sweepstakes | ||
| TheNetPanel | USA | *** | Sweepstakes Entry | Email Offers | |
| Neilson/NetRatings | USA | *** | Sweepstakes | Software Installation Required |
Survey Scam Warnings And Tips
The most common survey site scam is to promise to send you surveys and instead, you get bombarded with special offers and ads.
It's an easy way for unscrupulous people to generate a large mailing list. They may even sell your email address to others. Because of this, it's a good idea to use a free email service, such as Yahoo or Gmail (Google) for your email account for survey sites. They have excellent junk filters, plus can handle a lot of mail.
Even legitimate survey directory sites that list survey sites, sometimes list some scammers. That's one good reason to pick a survey site directory that has a good customer service . If enough users give feedback, the bad guys will be removed from the list.
I have signed up with at least one of these scams. I have never received a survey from them: Only lots of what I consider to be junk mail, because even though I signed up at the site, I didn't expect to be receiving "special offers" in my inbox every day. I was just expecting to receive surveys.
If a survey site is legitimate, you will not be required to purchase anything or give credit card information (Unless you sign up for one of the large survey directories that charge for membership).
Survey directories maintain a large database of hundreds of sites that pay for surveys. If you join one of these directories, do not sign up for individual sites that ask for credit card information or require you to apply for credit cards, etc. While the offers may be legitimate, it's best to be safe.
Most of the information listed in these paid directories is available for free on the net. It just saves you some searching time (plus trial and error) to sign up with one of these sites. Obviously, since they are getting paid to furnish information to you, (if they're smart) the information will be of high quality or you will just get a refund.
Why Some People Think A Survey Site Is A Scam, When It Isn't
Companies that take surveys use profiles to decide who to invite to take a survey. Sometimes you are invited to take a screening survey to qualify for a real survey. Generally the screening survey does not pay anything, but may enter you in a drawing.
No one (except the companies themselves) know how many active surveys the sites are taking. They do not send all the surveys to every member. They base it on what their customer, (usually a big corporation), wants to survey . For example, they may only want women, men, teenagers, people in certain professions, etc.
They may only want people in a certain income bracket, or ethnicity. Also, the survey could be focused on a particular company. The other day, I was rejected for a survey. I believe this was because the survey was about a particular company that does not do business in my area.
It's not unusual to wait days, or weeks for the first survey to arrive from a particular site. That's a good reason to sign up with many sites. It increases you odds of receiving surveys.
Sites I Don't Like.:
1. Producttestpanel.com : After signing up for this, I have received nothing but "free" offers. The latest one is for an $1100 digital camera. They state that they are not associated with the manufacturer. It makes you wonder what they're testing. Looking closer into the offer, it turns out that you have to sign up for 6 different offers, getting accepted for credit cards and buying other products. This isn't free.
2. Surveyclub.com : They promise to send surveys. I never saw one - Only encouragement to sign up for paid survey directories. This makes me doubt that they even are a professional survey analysis company.
3. Memolink.com: The site requires you to sign up for either things you have to pay for or apply for and get approved for credit cards, etc. - just to become a member.
4. Alwaysavings.com
Another site that pelts you with "special offers". I have absolutely no recollection of signing up with them. I am trying to "unsubscribe". If it works, I'll be quite happy.
5. Franklin Surveys
Today, I received an offer to join an online dating service from them. What does this have to do with surveys? I do not recall ever receiving a survey. Just legalized spam.
I will add more as information becomes available.
One Other Thing: Mystery Shopping
A guy I knew did this many years ago - before the Internet existed. He would report back to companies what kind of service there stores were giving, plus even was paid to shoplift! Of course, he didn't get to keep the products he "stole". The purpose was to test how good a store's security measures were working.
Now, there are sites promoting doing this for a living on the Internet. The disturbing thing about some of these sites is that they tell you of a job opening in your area, then want to charge you for the details. This at least smells like a scam.
No comments:
Post a Comment