Paid Surveys - Are they legit?

Paid surveys are not new, despite all the hoopla. Marketing research firms have been paying consumers to participate in surveys, focus groups and such for some time. But the Web has granted them a more-efficient way to collect data. So, many now conduct legit, online paid surveys and other types of paid, online marketing research.

But many questionable, "middleman" paid survey sites are poisoning the well, by hyping easy money for participating in online marketing research from home. When there's competition for selling an easy-money scheme working from home, you can bet that there's also exaggeration, if not outright scams.

Many questionable middleman sites charge "membership" fees for access to lists of marketing research firms that conduct online paid surveys. But you can find many for free, by searching the Web. It's how this writer found 60+ to review for this article. It's also likely how the membership sites found most they list. Regardless, some try to dupe you into believing their lists are special. But, according to messages on scam forums, their lists are essentially the same as others. Worse, some also list other membership sites, trying to dupe you into buying essentially the same list over and over again. They include sites that seem to be their competitors, because they earn referral fees or commissions when you click the links or buy memberships. A couple mentioned in scam forums even try to dupe you into buying the same list at other membership sites they own under different domain names. So, natch, these sites have incentive to exaggerate how much you'll earn from online paid surveys.

Other middleman paid survey sites provide free lists. But, many are effectively in cahoots with the questionable membership sites, because they too earn referral fees and commissions by hosting links and ads for membership sites. So, they too have incentive to exaggerate.

If anybody is earning a living from online paid surveys, it's considerably more probable to be middleman-site owners than participating consumers. Of the 60+ paid survey sites reviewed, most "pay" only token rewards in the form of goods, services, coupons or samples. Many pay cash only through sweepstakes. Even if you're lucky enough to win several sweepstakes, it likely won't lead to early retirement. Prizes at most reviewed sites range from $5-200 in cash or goods and drawings are only occasional. Some pay with points that are redeemable for cash or goods. Typically, you must rack up a bunch to redeem them for anything of significance. Most pay nothing or only sweepstakes entries for completing screening surveys, that determine your eligibility to receive certain paid surveys. A couple don't pay much of anything, unless you recruit others as in pyramid schemes.

A few paid survey sites reviewed do pay relatively well in cash. But questionable middleman sites hype hypothetical, best-case scenarios that can't possibly apply to each and every consumer for each and every hour he or she participates. In the real world, the likelihood that you'll often earn the higher of the hyped amounts is slim. Besides the reality that most simply don't pay much, you must be invited to complete paid surveys. To be invited, you must fit targeted demographics. That alone limits your earnings right off the bat, as you can't possibly fit every demographic.

Consequently, despite what questionable middleman sites imply in their "dream job" hype, it's unlikely that you'll earn a living from paid surveys and other marketing research. You might, however, earn or win some extra spending money, or free or discounted goods or services.

Most reviewed paid survey sites effectively promise not to share personally-identifiable information or not to share it without prior consent. It's an industry standard, by which legit marketing research firms are bound. But many membership sites reviewed don't make either promise, or do so only in a limited or wishy-washy way. Unauthorized go-betweens such as membership sites don't have to honor the marketing-research industry's privacy standards.

Consequently, by joining, you might have also rolled out the red carpet for the membership site or its unnamed "marketing partners" to solicit you. (Some who joined membership sites reported in scam forums that they were swamped by spam only minutes later.) Your personally-identifiable information is worth a small fortune to direct marketers, especially since the U.S. Federal Trade Commission pushed for legislation in 2002 to stop unsolicited telemarketing calls. Ask yourself if a few extra bucks, iffy sweepstakes and other token rewards are worth the aggravation of dealing with potentially dozens of pestering privacy invasions that offer nothing for your time.

All things considered, it's no surprise that some of the marketing research sites reviewed disclaim any connection with membership sites. Real paid survey sites pay you, not the other way around.

Market Research Ignorance

Recently, I was invited to participate in a focus group for women regarding casual restaurants. The panel consisted of eight other young women who frequented casual restaurants enough to be informed on the subject to be able to properly provide information regarding them.

The focus group started off well enough - the panel conductor introduced herself, and asked us to do the same. She did this to simply create a better group dynamic, not for record collection purposes. She then proceeded to ask us to write down our top five casual restaurants on a piece of paper. Once done, as a group we compiled a listing of these restaurants. There was a lot of overlap, especially with the big popular chain restaurants. The more obscure restaurants were crossed off from the list, and the conductor asked us to focus in on three particularly trendy restaurants. The women in the group then freely began voicing their opinions to the conductor on these selected restaurants. When a crossed off restaurant made its way back into the discussion, the conductor gently guided the group back to the discussion of the top three restaurants. This is where things got interesting.

One of the women in the group could not understand why the discussion could not involve the restaurants crossed from the list. After becoming defensive about her favorite restaurant (which happened to be crossed off), she began questioning the panel conductor and demanded to know what the "real" purpose behind the focus group was. Another woman, who interestingly enough, knew the woman who was at this point irate, joined in. The panel conductor tactfully answered some of their questions until she realized the women had no interest in listening to what she had to say. She then stopped answering questions and asked the women to leave.

At first the women refused, but at the mention of receiving their focus group participation payment in full, started to get up and leave. Before leaving the room, the woman who started the argument asked the survey conductor if the whole point behind the focus group was to answer questions about one particular restaurant chain, because they were the ones who hired the research company to conduct the focus group. The conductor, exasperated with the time that had been already wasted and the obvious nature of the question, loudly proclaimed "But of course!"

Once the women who had been removed from the focus group completely left (although not before voicing their dissatisfaction to the receptionist), the rest of us remaining told the survey conductor she handled the situation well. Throughout the entirety of the event, the rest of us focus participants simply sat and listened...

The situation was rather a disappointing one. Out of the nine women who showed up, only seven of us were left - most of us confused about what had just transpired. The survey conductor was left frazzled and upset and I'm sure the restaurant chain that hired the market research company was also disappointed.

So, what is the point of me telling you this story?

This story is simply a classic example of how a little bit of ignorance can turn a well-intentioned assignment into a needless disagreement. Had the women who were kicked out realized the purpose behind the focus group, and appreciated that the point of a focus group is to literally "focus" on something, they likely would not have caused such a disturbance. Focus groups are not about manipulating panelists - it's about asking questions at the right time, in the correct sequence, sometimes by use of "lead ins". Market researchers companies are professionals at this, as they know when and how to ask questions to receive the type of response they are looking for. As this is their expertise, major corporations hire them to conduct exactly this type of research.

Remember that with survey taking and focus group participation, you are getting paid for your opinions; your opinions on a specified topic that is. It's great that we all have thoughts about products, services, people, places, and things, but the company who has hired the market research firm to conduct the survey is only interested in having panelists answer the questions they need answered - this is why they are willing to pay for this type of valuable information.

Focus group participation and survey taking can be fun and interesting. You quickly discover what your likes and dislikes are, and it's neat to have somebody not only listen, but also pay you for what you have to say. If there is a survey or focus group you feel you would not enjoy participating in - don't! This is why surveys and focus groups are voluntary to participate in. Keep in mind (literally) that you can always save your opinions for topics you would be more interested in answering questions about.

You may also wonder about the sequence of questions in a survey or focus group. Just consider that question sequence serves a purpose, one that may not always be obvious to you as the participant. If you answer questions truthfully and with effort, you will realize you are taking part in a larger system that directly allows you to influence the goods and services of the future.
Make a difference, and have fun while you're at it. Happy survey taking!

Article written by Veronica Dubak - SEO expert, internet entrepreneur, and the owner of the successful SurveyBounty.com free online paid surveys directory. With a comprehensive listing of market research companies classified by region, and background information on the online survey industry, SurveyBounty.com is the legitimate source for online survey information.

Make Money Taking Surveys

How exactly do you get started to get paid to take survey online? Here are the four things that you need to get you ready to earn by paid surveys.

Try to imagine how it will be like just sitting at home, facing your computer, listening to your favorite music and actually get paid to take survey online. Does it sounds too good to be true? But for many people, getting paid to take surveys online is a daily reality. On fact, online surveys are one of the best work from home jobs to get involved in.

Note though that as in most work at home jobs; do not expect to get paid with thousands of dollars overnight. You can actually get paid with decent amounts, but only if you work doubly hard for it. The key to getting paid to take survey online is to take as much surveys as you can through the most reliable sites in the Internet.

There are essentially four requirements that you are willing to devote if you want to get paid to take survey online:

• Time. Do you have the time it takes to get paid to take survey online? The amount you earn will depend on just how much time you are willing to devote in taking them. It is not a "get rich overnight" scheme, and it will take you a couple of hours per week to get a fairly decent amount of money.

• Dedication. Do you have the patience to answer 10 to 30 minute surveys, actually test a new product, or participate in a focus group when needed? You can get anywhere from $20 to $150 per hour for special projects. However, to get this remuneration, you must be willing to go the extra mile to provide the information that companies need. Sometimes, when you are your own boss in terms of time and work load, the dedication can falter at some point. However, if you want to get paid to take survey and to earn regularly, you have to establish your credibility as a survey taker and finish your projects within reasonable time frame.

• Honesty. Are you ready to answer as truthfully as possible and reveal some information about yourself for profiling purposes? If you want to get paid to take survey, you have to be willing to reveal information about yourself and to express your honest opinion about certain subjects. There is no space for fake identities or "no comment/not applicable" replies with online surveys.

• Good and reliable computer and internet connection. Of course, being paid to take survey will practically need you to have a good computer system and a reliable Internet connection. While this is generally self-explanatory, some people actually fail to consider how these two are the most powerful tools that can make working from home possible. If you want to make money online, you should invest in these two to make sure you reap full rewards on your effort.

Of course, starting on your journey on getting paid to take survey will involve registration in online survey sites, signing up for a separate email account and for a PayPal account, but these are fairly straightforward and easy to do within minutes.

LightSpeed Consumer Panel Review

Regions Of Participation: US, Canada, UK, and Australia
Minimum Age to Join: 18 years old
Rewards: LightSpeed Points and Sweepstakes Entries
Average Pay Per Survey: 75 to 1000 points (1150 points = $10)
Url: www.lightspeedpanel.com

LightSpeed Consumer Panel Company Background

The Lightspeed Consumer Panel website is owned by Lightspeed Research, which was founded in 1999 by its parent company, WPP. WPP is one of the world's leading communications services groups. Lightspeed Research's clients include Fortune 500 companies worldwide. From major transportation companies to global media conglomerates, their clients understand that market research plays a vital role in their business decisions.

Program Details and Our Suggestions

Getting Started. You must first complete a one-page sign up form, where you can submit your email address and password. This will serve as your login so that you can access their member's site. Lightspeed has a very good member's area which contains profile surveys and quick match surveys than can make you eligible for more surveys. You should fill out all of the profile surveys in the Surveys About You section, and take some of the Quick Match surveys to further enhance your profile. This will get you off to to a good start, and should increase your amount of survey invitations.

In addition to the profile surveys, the member's area contains your current survey invitations, Mini-polls, and Quick Match Surveys. The surveys are reward with points, and the Mini-Polls and Quick Match Surveys are rewarded with an entry into the $5000 Lightspeed Sweepstakes entry. There is also a Rewards section and a Frequently Ask Questions section that list past winners, answers to common questions, and details about all of the rewards offered. Also, and best of all, they have the Lightspeed Points Account section where you can check your current balance and redeem your points for cash via PayPal, or choose from a wide selection of gift certificates or merchandise.

What to expect? In addition to being able to view current surveys in the member's area, Lightspeed will automatically email you survey invitations that they feel may be a close match for your profile. Each invitation will include the estimated time to complete the survey, the reward for completing the survey, and sometimes may include the topic of the survey. The amount of surveys you will receive depends on your profile and the current studies being conducted, but in general you should expect several invitations a week. The surveys are rewarded with some point offering, a sweepstakes entry, and the Points-A-Day Giveaway. Most surveys average about 75 to 300 points, but some more in depth surveys and product trials have higher rewards. Currently 115 points = $1. One of the best features of LightSpeed is that they offer payment via PayPal. If you choose to redeem your points for PayPal cash, you will recieve payment by the next business day.

Advice: It is a good idea to take all of the profile surveys, and several of the mini-polls to establish your profile with Lightspeed. This should ensure that you get several survey invitations per week. Since Lightspeed sends many survey invitations, I would recommend that you definitely take the higher point survey invitations, and as many of the others that you have time for; in general you should take at least one to two surveys per week to keep your account active. Also it is a good idea to keep your profile surveys up to date, and to take some of the mini-polls and quick match surveys from time to time. If you follow these steps, you should receive plenty of survey invitations from Lightspeed.

Review

Scale: 1 = Lowest, 10 = Highest

Quality of Surveys (7)

• Surveys are easy to understand
• Surveys are fairly interesting, but some are a little long.

Compensation for Surveys (7)

• Compensation for each completed survey is fair.
• Even if you do not qualify for a survey, you are still entered into a cash sweepstakes drawing.

Frequency of Surveys (9)

• LightSpeed sends many paid survey invitations.

Timely Payment / Payment Options (9)

• 1150 point ($10) minimum before you can request payment.
• They offer PayPal payment, and usually deliver payment within two business days of redemption.

Survey Panel Member's Area Site (10)

• Excellent Member's Area Site. Links to view current surveys, profile boosters, redemption area, and much more.
• Link to past LightSpeed Sweepstakes winners, and FAQ's section with answers to common questions.

Overall Panel Ranking (8.4)

The Conclusion

Compensation for surveys is fair, although they occasionally they give you much higher value surveys in the way of focus groups or in depth surveys. They have a $10 (1150 points) minimum for cash redemption, but they offer a steady stream of surveys so its not too hard to reach. Plus, they have PayPal payment option which speeds up payment time. Lightspeed gets our recommendation for definitely worth joining.

(source: http://www.online-paid-surveys.net/LightSpeed-Consumer-review.htm)

Ciao: Paid Surveys Information

Ciao pays you to write online product reviews and answer paid surveys. It is optional if you choose to write product reviews, some people just choose to answer the surveys, other decide just to write product reviews. It is completely up to you, though obviously if you write product reviews and answer paid surveys then you will earn far more money.

Paid Surveys

After applying to join Ciao the free paid survey website, you will need to login to your account online to activate the surveys. You do this by answering your 'Basic Interests Profile'. This is a list of questions related to employment, family and lifestyle. These questions are asked so that Ciao knows which kind of surveys to send you, as they will only need to survey specific markets and certain groups of people. You can complete this by logging on to the Ciao website with your new username and password, and then click the 'Surveys' link at the top right of the screen. Complete the sections of questions on screen (should take around 15 minutes) and then within a few hours or a day you will start being sent surveys to complete by e-mail.

Types Of Surveys

If you complete your profile fully you should be sent 3 or 4 surveys per week, but this will depend on the type of person that you are, and will also depend on the demand for market-research. The surveys sent can be based on anything; from household products to Internet websites. Ciao will send you an email with a clickable link that takes you to the survey, which will be opened in a new window in your Internet Browser. The e-mail will state the amount that you will be paid should you complete the survey and also an estimate for how long it should take to complete. The rewards vary from about 70p to as much as £50 in some cases, and the surveys take between 5 and 30 minutes to complete (usually).

Unanswered Surveys
When Ciao send you a survey to complete, you usually have around 3 or 4 days to complete the survey. If it isn't completed within this time limit then usually the survey will expire, as enough people will have probably already replied. If you miss a survey, or just can't be bothered to reply to the survey, then you won't miss out at all. Obviously you won't get paid for that particular survey, but you will still be sent other surveys and won't be punished for not completing the last survey. At Ciao you are under no-obligation to complete any of the surveys sent to you, but obviously if you don't then you won't make much money from the website.

Checking Your Survey Earnings
Though every survey sent to you will contain an amount that you will earn from completing that particular survey, it is always nice to be able to see an overall amount for all the surveys completed and all the earnings generated. This can be done on the Ciao website at any time. Simply log on to the Ciao website and then click on the 'My Ciao' text link at the top right corner of the screen. Then click on the 'Account' tab at the middle-left of the screen. This will bring up a view of your Ciao account, where you can see earnings made from referring members to the site, writing product reviews and from answering paid surveys.

Requesting A Payment
At the moment Ciao only send payments out to members via a bank transfer. The Ciao website is completely safe and secure, and they deal with millions of members online accounts; it is a very safe and quick way to receive your account earnings. To request a payment from Ciao your account balance must be at least £5. To receive your first payment from the Ciao website you will need to login and click the 'My Ciao' text link. Click on the 'Settings' link and then select the 'Enter/Edit Bank details' text link. Enter in your UK bank account number and then sorting code. When you have submitted this information you will not need to enter it onto the Ciao website again. To request a payment you need to select the 'Account' tab and then scroll down to select 'Request Payment'.

(source: http://www.paid2review.co.uk/ciao-paid-surveys.html)

Email Cash Review - Australian paid surveys site

Email Cash is the best Australian site I've seen and been involved with, you get paid to take surveys, read emails, play games, shop with reward partners and more. Their surveys are frequent and enjoyable, and usually pay well for the time need to complete them. Earnings are a based on a points system which are exchanged for cash, 100 points =$1.00. It’s not hard to see why they are so popular, they have over 400,000 members.

Fill out online surveys and be rewarded! You'll be paid in points for each survey you do, and those points can be converted to cash. Plus you'll be influencing the evolution of products and services of the future. You will be sent an email when a survey is available for you to complete.

Email Cash is an online rewards program exclusively for Australians, where you can earn rewards and have lots of fun.

Any resident of Australia can join. You need to be 13 years or older and have a valid email address.

As a member, you can earn reward points for doing a whole range of things, including online shopping, reading email, answering surveys via the email cash postman, clicking on links, and more.

Once you have accumulated enough reward points, you can convert your reward points to reward cash then redeem your reward cash for real money or great merchandise.

There's lots of fun to be had and a sense of community at Email Cash. Meet new people and discuss all sorts of interesting topics. You can interact with real people, and yet maintain safety and anonymity. Plus there's games and competitions, the Email Cash horoscope and lots of other things going on all the time.

Rating: 5 stars
Rewards: Points, 100=$1.00 AUD
Payments: Check, minimum $30.00
Referral: Yes
Members: AU only
Location: Australia

Comments: Remember to login each day and do the daily quick survey and click for 5 free points per day, takes no more than a minute.

(source: http://www.australianfreepaidsurveys.com/email_cash.htm)

Make Money Via Paypal By Joining Free Online Survey Sites

As you may or may not know, you can easily and quickly make money via Paypal by joining free online survey websites. I tend to stress the word "free", because you should never have to pay any sort of cash to become a member of an online survey website. Every single online survey website that I have been a member of over the years has been 100% free. Also, most of them do have a Paypal payment option for you.

For what seems like years, getting paid via Paypal from free online survey websites was not an option. Online survey sites had to pull Paypal from their websites because of the amount of user fraud that was going around the internet. Well, Paypal has now implemented new, fraud proof techniques, and they are once again allowing free online survey websites to pay heir members via Paypal.

It isn't some sort of insider secret that Paypal is a great tool to receive and send money online. In the free online survey section of the internet it is "the" way to get paid. It's instant, secure, and you don't have to wait two weeks to receive a check in the mail. The cash from Paypal shows up in your account almost instantly when receiving money from free online survey websites.

Now, if you happen to be a newbie at taking surveys, or have never been a member of a free online survey webstie, you are surely missing out on a great cash making opportunity, especially now with Paypal in the mix. If you really want to make cash online, the really isn't a better, easier way to do it than by joining free online survey sites. Millions of people are taking surveys and getting paid for their opinion and there is always room for you to get your piece of the pie. Being able to make money with Paypal is just icing on the cake. Best of all, free online survey sites never charge you a dime. The only money switching pockets is from theirs to yours, instantly through Paypal.

Being able to make cash via Paypal from free online survey sites continues to be the best and easiest way to make money on the web.

Want a 100% free list of Free Online Survey Sites That Offer Paypal? Keep Reading... Online Surveys & Paypal - Adam Woodham is an expert on Paid Surveys. He has extensive experience making money online with these unique survey websites and runs the site www.SurveyQuickCash.com, which features a free list of the Top Free, Paid Survey Sites. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adam_Woodham

Paid surveys site review - American Consumer Opinion Review

Regions Of Participation: International
Minimum Age to Join: open to ages 14 and up
Rewards: Cash ($4 to $25 per survey)
Url: www.acop.com

American Consumer Opinion Information

Well despite its name, American Consumer Opinion® survey panel is international, welcoming residents of all nations. American Consumer Opinion® is owned and operated by Decision Analyst, Inc., a major international marketing research firm headquartered in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the United States. American Consumer Opinion® is made up of consumers worldwide who have agreed to participate in our paid opinion survey panel.

Program Details and Suggestions

Getting Started. Basically all you have to do is complete the initial sign up process, and then update your profile later on their site if you have any major changes in your life, new house, get married, etc. They do not really have a detailed member's area like some of the other panels.

What to expect? American Consumer Panel relies heavily on screener surveys (short profile surveys) to match you up with potential paid research studies. Completing a screener survey will enter you into a drawing for a cash reward, and based on the results of your screener survey, you may be chosen to participate in the full survey which usually can be completed in 10 to 20 minutes. Incentives for these surveys can range from $4 to $25 per survey. In addition all registered members are automatically entered in a monthly drawing for $250. American consumer offers payment in the form of a check, and payment arrives within four weeks.

Advice: Since all of American Consumer Opinion's surveys can lead to cash incentives, and since they do not send out frequent invitations I would recommend that you try to take all of their screener surveys. Plus, you will be entered into a drawing for a cash reward for just completing the short screener survey, and unlike some other panels I have actually won a couple of these sweepstakes drawings.


Review

Scale: 1 = Lowest, 10 = Highest

Quality of Surveys (9)

* Surveys are well written and easy to follow
* Surveys are interesting, and can generally be completed in less than 20 minutes

Compensation for Surveys (10)

* Compensation for cash surveys is excellent, ranging from $4 to $25 per surveys

Frequency of Surveys (6)

* Expect about two to six screeners per month.

Timely Payment / Payment Options (8)

* No minimum required to request payment. You are paid for each survey completed.
* Payment delivered via mail, and usually arrives within 4 weeks.

Survey Panel Member's Area Site / Member Support (8)

* American Consumer Panel's web site gives members the ability to update their basic profile information. No other statistics can be obtained there.
* Good support options including a toll-free number; panel supports many languages for international panelist.

Editor's Overall Panel Ranking (8.2)


The Bottom Line

American Consumer Opinion offers excellent compensation per survey, and the quality of their surveys is good. The only drawback is they do not offer as many surveys as other panels, and their member's area has limited functionality. You can expect any where from two to six screeners per month. I usually qualify for about half, so I average about two paid surveys per month. The pay per survey is excellent though and it is not uncommon to receive surveys that pay over $10. Definitely Recommend!

(source: http://www.online-paid-surveys.net/american-consumer-opinion-review.htm)

Paid survey sites

Everybody has an opinion and now you can get paid to share yours through online surveys!

That’s right. You can visit fun and exciting websites and fill out free paid surveys – for cold, hard cash and even great prizes!

It’s called market research and by providing your input through paid online surveys, you can shape and mold products to come, and help top companies worldwide better products already in the marketplace.

You see, US companies alone spend more than $250 billion a year in traditional advertising, such as television commercials and magazine ads. But by tapping into what consumer’s like you think through free surveys, and learning more about what consumers like you want, these companies can dramatically cut their advertising dollars and reach their goals of developing and maintaining a profitable product line.

Work From Home: Get Paid to Share Your Opinion on Today's Hottest Products with Online Surveys

Make $10-$150 An Hour Taking Fun, Exciting Paid Surveys
It’s an important job, and one you can do in your spare time and from the comfort of your own home. And, with eSurveysPro.com, there are no start-up costs, no obligations, and no strings attached. Just a chance to get money for surveys.

They learn this information directly from you through paid surveys and surveys online.

And, it’s a worldwide trend with free paid survey opportunities available in the US, as well as in Australia, Canada, the UK and many other countries.

So whether you’re a busy mom, on-the-go student or just looking to supplement your income, everything you need is right here, in a single place – with the Net’s TOP 500+ survey companies all here and looking for you and needing you to take free paid surveys.

Because of eSurveysPro.com strong reputation and long-running success on the Net, we have partnered with the best paid survey businesses online and off, providing you with opportunities, resources, and ongoing support you just won’t find anywhere else.

Not only do you receive payment from our survey partners, but you will be provided with everything you need to work from home and to achieve whatever level of financial freedom you desire!

The bottom-line is this: You become the market research expert. Your opinion - your voice, if you will, speaks directly to the company, and, in doing so, helps to ensure consumer’s needs like your own are met.

Best of all, you get paid to do it.

And, before you know it, you too can cash-in on the online market research trend, getting paid to let your valuable opinions be known to some of the most recognizable businesses worldwide.

Are Online Paid Surveys Legit?
Paid surveys are not new, despite all the hoopla. Marketing research firms have been paying consumers to participate in surveys, focus groups and such for some time. But the Web has granted them a more-efficient way to collect data. So, many now conduct legit, online paid surveys and other types of paid, online marketing research.

But many questionable, "middleman" paid survey sites are poisoning the well, by hyping easy money for participating in online marketing research from home. When there's competition for selling an easy-money scheme working from home, you can bet that there's also exaggeration, if not outright scams.


Many questionable middleman sites charge "membership" fees for access to lists of marketing research firms that conduct online paid surveys.

But you can find many for free, by searching the Web. It's how this writer found 60+ to review for this article. It's also likely how the membership sites found most they list. Regardless, some try to dupe you into believing their lists are special. But, according to messages on scam forums, their lists are essentially the same as others. Worse, some also list other membership sites, trying to dupe you into buying essentially the same list over and over again. They include sites that seem to be their competitors, because they earn referral fees or commissions when you click the links or buy memberships. A couple mentioned in scam forums even try to dupe you into buying the same list at other membership sites they own under different domain names. So, natch, these sites have incentive to exaggerate how much you'll earn from online paid surveys.

Other middleman paid survey sites provide free lists. But, many are effectively in cahoots with the questionable membership sites, because they too earn referral fees and commissions by hosting links and ads for membership sites. So, they too have incentive to exaggerate.

If anybody is earning a living from online paid surveys, it's considerably more probable to be middleman-site owners than participating consumers. Of the 60+ paid survey sites reviewed, most "pay" only token rewards in the form of goods, services, coupons or samples. Many pay cash only through sweepstakes. Even if you're lucky enough to win several sweepstakes, it likely won't lead to early retirement. Prizes at most reviewed sites range from $5-200 in cash or goods and drawings are only occasional. Some pay with points that are redeemable for cash or goods. Typically, you must rack up a bunch to redeem them for anything of significance. Most pay nothing or only sweepstakes entries for completing screening surveys, that determine your eligibility to receive certain paid surveys. A couple don't pay much of anything, unless you recruit others as in pyramid schemes.

A few paid survey sites reviewed do pay relatively well in cash. But questionable middleman sites hype hypothetical, best-case scenarios that can't possibly apply to each and every consumer for each and every hour he or she participates. In the real world, the likelihood that you'll often earn the higher of the hyped amounts is slim. Besides the reality that most simply don't pay much, you must be invited to complete paid surveys. To be invited, you must fit targeted demographics. That alone limits your earnings right off the bat, as you can't possibly fit every demographic.

Consequently, despite what questionable middleman sites imply in their "dream job" hype, it's unlikely that you'll earn a living from paid surveys and other marketing research. You might, however, earn or win some extra spending money, or free or discounted goods or services.

Most reviewed paid survey sites effectively promise not to share personally-identifiable information or not to share it without prior consent. It's an industry standard, by which legit marketing research firms are bound. But many membership sites reviewed don't make either promise, or do so only in a limited or wishy-washy way. Unauthorized go-betweens such as membership sites don't have to honor the marketing-research industry's privacy standards.

Consequently, by joining, you might have also rolled out the red carpet for the membership site or its unnamed "marketing partners" to solicit you. (Some who joined membership sites reported in scam forums that they were swamped by spam only minutes later.) Your personally-identifiable information is worth a small fortune to direct marketers, especially since the U.S. Federal Trade Commission pushed for legislation in 2002 to stop unsolicited telemarketing calls. Ask yourself if a few extra bucks, iffy sweepstakes and other token rewards are worth the aggravation of dealing with potentially dozens of pestering privacy invasions that offer nothing for your time.

All things considered, it's no surprise that some of the marketing research sites reviewed disclaim any connection with membership sites. Real paid survey sites pay you, not the other way around.

Avoiding Online Paid Surveys Scams
The bottom line is, if the hype for online paid surveys sounds too good to be true, it likely is. That's the safest way to screen out "offers" that hype big rewards for small investments of time or money. Don't be fooled by:

Testimonials - Ropers and shills typically write these for scams, not satisfied customers.
Documented Proof - Some questionable paid survey sites provide checks and other documental replications as "proof." But just because someone made money at least once, doesn't mean that you will. Besides, with today's computer technology, paid survey scams can counterfeit just about any document and make it look authentic.
Guarantees - Don't believe guarantees that promise the Moon. Paid survey sites can't possibly guarantee you much of anything, except that they'll refund your fees if you're not satisfied. But good luck collecting your refund if it's a paid surveys scam.
The "fine print" at questionable paid survey sites often contradicts much of what their hype implies. (That's how they try to cover themselves legally.) Don't let the hype alone sell you. Read all of the fine print too and ask questions if it's vague or you don't understand it. Think twice about submitting your personal information to any paid surveys site that does not provide a clear privacy policy or arouses your suspicion in any other way. Also read disclaimers, terms, conditions and any other fine print. Avoid sites that don't answer your questions in a satisfactory and timely manner. Be wary of conducting business with sites that list only email or PO box addresses for questions and other matters, as they might be fly-by-night, paid survey scams.

Perform whois lookups to reveal if paid survey sites were registered by proxy. If so, be wary of doing business with them too. Site owners might be hiding their contact information behind proxy services, because they're running paid survey scams. Whois lookups will also tell you if different sites were launched by the same owners (unless they were registered by proxy). If so, be wary about that too. Owners might have launched multiple sites to make their "industry" appear to be more legit, dupe you into buying the same list of paid surveys more than once, or both.

Check with the BBB for complaints against specific online paid survey sites and their owners. But, be aware that, just because there are no complaints, it doesn't mean that all who have conducted business with the sites are 100-percent satisfied. It just means that no one has yet complained to the BBB about those specific sites. More about that is below.

Browse scam forums, such as Scam.com and RipOffReport.com, for messages from consumers who think they've been duped by online paid survey scams. But, proceed with caution. Some messages are posted by ropers and shills pretending to "rescue" those who've been duped by paid survey scams or who are looking to avoid it. For example, the "rescuers" might say that all online paid surveys are scams, except for the "wonderful opportunities" they've found. But, what they don't tell you, is they profit from recommending the "wonderful opportunities". Scam-forum moderators typically remove such messages. But, natch, they'll remain posted until the moderators screen them.

The same goes for sites that claim to screen out paid survey scams, or that rate or rank paid survey sites. Be wary if they link to fee-based middleman sites or display ads for same, as they're probably trying to earn commissions and referral fees by duping you. Natch, sites that pay them the most receive the highest ratings or top-most rankings. Some even go so far as to display phony award logos, hokey rating stars and such.

For more information about avoiding scams, see the consumer advice from the FTC and BBB. But, although both have issued general warnings about easy-money schemes (such as work-at-home and Internet business-opportunity scams), at this writing neither has specifically warned about online paid surveys. That's likely because online paid surveys are a fairly new easy-money scheme at this writing.

Regardless, this writer is willing to bet that it won't be long before the FTC or BBB collect enough complaints to issue specific warnings. According to reputable sources on the Web, local BBB offices have been flooded by complaints against paid surveys sites.

If you've been ripped-off by online paid surveys scams, as indicated you may file complaints with the FTC and BBB. You may also file complaints with the U.S. government's Internet Fraud Complaint Center.