Paid Surveys

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There are over 500 online companies offering money for people who want to work from home doing surveys and earn a full-time income.  Beware of such sites that promise you riches for nothing; they’re a scam.

While there are some legitimate sites that pay a few dollars to take a ten minute survey, there are others that are not legitimate.  Many of these sites simply exist to gather your personal information and sell it to telemarketing companies.  A few of them are downright scams that require a “sign-up” fee in exchange for the privilege of working from home.

One of the sites I’ve run across is workfromhome4dollars.com.  This site not only offers you “up to $75 an hour” for completing surveys in the privacy of your own home, it also advertises just about every “work from home” scam there is.  Most of these schemes are aimed at women who are trying to make a few extra dollars while staying home with the kids.

I’ve written many articles about paid surveys and was happy to find that there are some legitimate companies out there on the internet.  But I’m halfway intelligent and can usually smell a scam from a mile away (two miles on a clear day).  And as soon as I clicked on workfromhome4dollars.com, the stench overwhelmed me.

P.T. Barnum said there is a sucker born every minute.  Unfortunately, he was spot on in his assessment of human nature.  Sadly, there are many predators out there who are only too glad to take someone’s hard-earned money with the promise of a “get rich quick” scheme.

Workfromhome4dollars is only too glad to hook you up with surveys that promise to pay $5-$75 an hour.  For $34.95, the site will direct you to a survey site where you can participate in surveys.  What workfromhome4dollars.com doesn’t tell you is that these sites can be accessed by any individual with internet experience without paying a dime.

In addition to offering “opportunity” for paid surveys, workfromhome4dollars.com offers other “opportunities” such as “typing from home,” “medical transcription from home,” “data entry from home” and other schemes aimed mostly at uneducated women.  All of these “golden opportunities” cost the participant anywhere from $35 to $75 to enroll.

The site is merely a money making portal.  Of all the sites on the internet I’ve investigated while researching this topic, this is the worst.  I implore anyone who is interested in participating in paid surveys to beware of the following:

- Do not give out your credit card number, social security number or bank information to any online site.

- Beware of any site that promises “thousands of dollars a month” for working from home.  I’ve done a lot of research into paid surveys; if it were that easy, no one would work outside the home.

- Do not pay “upfront” for the privilege of doing a survey.  Legitimate companies will not ask for a fee.

- Paid surveys are a way to make supplemental income; not a living.  You can expect to make maybe $200 a month doing this.

- Before signing up for any online survey site, do a little bit of research.  The honest ones will tell you that you won’t make a lot of money and will have stringent privacy policies.

- Do not, under any circumstances, ever participate in any survey about health insurance.  I made this mistake once and now get about five calls a day from people trying to sell me health insurance.

- If you are participating in a survey and are directed to another website, do not feel you have to answer any questions on that site.  Many times there will be “fine print” that charges your telephone number for trying a product.  In addition to this, keep close tabs on your telephone bill.

- Each time you log on to your computer, clear your cookies.

Participating in paid surveys can be a fun way to earn a few extra dollars, gift cards or discount certificates.  Do not expect to “get rich” doing this.  And under no circumstances ever pay for the “privilege” of doing a survey.

Popularity: 43% [?]

Technorati Tags: Paid Surveys, work from home, working from home

An online survey company that offers participants a chance to win a cash drawing for completing quick, fun surveys and actual cash (between $4 to $50) for completing more extensive, in depth surveys that they refer to as “focus groups.”  The site contends that focus group participants generally do not make less than $50.

To join American Consumer Opinion, you need to click on to www.acop.com.  This will bring you to the site’s home page where you can sign up for the site.  After you complete the questions, a confirmation link will be sent to your e-mail address under the name of “Ann Parks.”  The site warns that many of these e-mails end up in your bulk or spam folder, so if you are interested in receiving e-mails from the site, you should add the name “Ann Parks” to your e-mail address book.

American Consumer Opinion has been around for about 10 years.  It’s a legitimate site, but, unfortunately, does not offer a lot of money.  There are several pros and cons to joining American Consumer Opinions:

Pros:

- The site is open to international residents.  You don’t have to live in the United States to participate and there is no age limit, although since many of the surveys pertain to work and other adult-oriented activities, teenagers will find the questions boring;

- There is a steady flow of both short surveys and longer questionnaires available to participants;

- Your information is private; they will never try to sell you anything, spam your mailbox with ads or telephone you.;

- The site has been around a long time and is respected in the marketing community.

Cons:

- There is no guarantee of earning anything for completing the short surveys, only an opportunity to win cash in a monthly drawing.  To date, I haven’t won anything.  Only one person wins each month and the winner receives $250;

- The cash received for participating in a lengthy survey is not paid to you by the site, but by the company requesting the information.  You may end up waiting four to six weeks for a $4 check;

- You don’t get to pick which surveys you want to complete, you’ll receive them by e-mail;

- There are times when the site goes “down” in the middle of your survey, which means you have to take the entire thing over again.  The reason the American Consumers give for this is that the site is experiencing “too much traffic.”  But it is extremely frustrating.

American Consumer Opinion is a subsidiary company for Decision Analysis Inc., a Dallas based marketing research company.  The company performs research for a variety of corporations around the world, including fast food chains, railroad corporations and airlines.

One creative way to make money with this site, instead of merely participating in the surveys, is to become an affiliate of the company.  This can be done by filling out a form via e-mail and asking to have a banner, or link posted to your website.  The company pays 50 cents for every person who joins the site when clicking on to your ad.

If you have an independent website or blog, this is an easy way to make a few extra dollars as the amount paid to affiliates is considerable as compared to other companies that offer the same incentive.  But the person has to sign up to join the site, not simply click on the ad.  Once you have accumulated $5 in affiliate fees, the company will send you a check.  Monies paid to affiliates are made on a monthly basis.

On a scale of one to ten, I’d have to rate this site a five.  It’s not a big money maker, but is totally legitimate, private and, using the affiliate program, is a painless way to make a few extra dollars online.

Popularity: 78% [?]

Technorati Tags: The Opinion Of An American Consumer.paid surveys