Survival Guide to Online Surveys

I’ve reviewed ClearVoice a couple of times and although I haven’t had many problems with them personally, the overwhelming opinion, as of late, is that there needs to be some changes in several areas. If you read any forum (Yourfreesurveys Forum, SurveyPolice, etc.) or read the emails I have received, you’ll find numerous complaints.

The most alarming trend that I have heard about is termination of members, many of whom are frequent posters, and Lee, who is a moderator on our Forum. These are dedicated survey participants who know the rules and abide by them. This turn of events is troublesome. From Lee:

Your account is currently suspended on suspicion of fraud.
This could be due to a number of reasons, including:

* We were unable to resolve your IP address
* Your IP address is from a known spam or hacking site
* We have detected that you are taking surveys or accessing this site from a restricted country
* Your profile answers are mutually exclusive
* You have a large number of accounts registered from the same computer

Thanks for contacting us, Lee. I can tell you that your account was flagged Fraud because you have more than 5 Health Ailments selected, and our security software marked your account. I have taken this flag off, but I suggest reviewing that profile for accuracy so that your account is not flagged again. We do appreciate your membership.

Lee’s case is under review so it will be interesting to see what happens.

Maria (a moderator on the forum as well) had her membership terminated a while back.

Other complaints have been lack of surveys, difficulty in qualifying and credits not crediting or disappearing. I know it is their policy to delete earnings if you haven’t reach the $10 payout in a year’s time. Paddysmum reported that Annika’s list had put it on their black list recently for these reasons.

I hate to hear that a once very good survey site is experiencing difficulties. And as I said, with the exception of not receiving many higher paying surveys, I haven’t had the problems listed. I would be very interested to get your experience with ClearVoice. If you will leave a comment about the problems that you are having, I will forward the complaints to ClearVoice and maybe get some resolution. Let us know what you think?

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Do you have questions about online paid surveys? Need an answer about an paid survey site? Would you like to know how much money can be made at a particular online survey site? Then Yourfreesurveys Forum is the place to go. Here are the categories that you will find:

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I wrote a review of Hotspex back in 2008 and had this to say:

Hmmm…..it all comes down to perspective. Either you take online paid surveys to have fun, or you take them to make a little extra money. Apparently, Hotspex has the most fun surveys out there with cool graphics, pie charts, cartoons and brain teasers.  Across the board, members of the survey site say that is a fun, fun, fun website. And hey, I’m all about having good time, but I like a little cash to go along with it.

I said this at the time because the rewards left much to be desired. Hotspex offered Bux points through points.com, which was a hassle. Beyond that the prizes offered weren’t anything I had any interest in.

The good news is things have changed. Hotspex is now offering Amazon gift cards. From the website:

Q. What is the Amazon XChange?
The Amazon XChange is our newest addition to our BUX exchange programs. With the Amazon Change, VIP Members (Innovators who have completed 5+ surveys since signing up with Hotspex) can now directly exchange their BUX for Amazon Gift Cards! It’s simple! Through our Hotspex Mall, click on Amazon – and there you will see options of different Amazon Gift Card amounts. Simply click on the item, enter the number of cards you wish to exchange your BUX for, and that’s it! But keep in mind; this is a perk only available to our VIP Members!

The minimum dollar amount available for an Amazon Gift Card is $10.00. There are three (3) different increment amounts available:
$10.00
$15.00
$20.00

So if you lost interest in Hotspex, you may want to take another look. The Amazon gift cards are mailed to you within 3 to 6 weeks.

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While browsing the Bravo TV website, I stumbled upon a link to a research panel affiliated with NBC, Bravo and several other TV networks. Curiosity got the best of me, so I clicked and landed on The Consumer Advisory Board. I signed up because there was very little information about it without actually joining and I enjoy surveys about TV shows as well. The main question I wanted answered was whether or not they offered incentives for the surveys.

Sign-up was very easy, asking the standard questions and also getting information about the networks you watch regularly. From the website:

The Contemporary Consumer Panel was created to give members a place to share their opinions and insights on a wide variety of topics related to media, retail, and advertising. Although Contemporary Consumers is affiliated with NBC Universal media outlets, surveys sent to members cover more than TV and your opinions will influence retailers, advertisers, and product developers across many industries.  Contemporary Consumer members also have access to a members-only website, where they can participate in surveys and connect with other panel members.  There are opportunities to win prizes when surveys are completed.

Each time you complete a survey, you will have the opportunity to enter your name into a monthly drawing for two $500 Incentive Logic, Inc. gift cards that entitle the winner to select from a variety of prizes, including cash.  At the end of the survey, you will be asked to provide your contact information (name, telephone number and email address) so that we may contact you if you are the winner.  If you complete multiple surveys in a month, your name will be entered for each survey completed!  Click here to view the complete Sweepstakes Rules.

So there is my answer about incentives. I’m going to stick with it for a while  just to see what happens. If I get surveys that lead to real rewards or cash, I’ll let you know!

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Last year when I reviewed Testspin (see the review here) I stated that I wasn’t ready to kick it to the curb just yet. I’ve changed my mind and am getting ready to start kicking. I’ve given Testspin several years worth of effort, and I just don’t see how it will benefit me to continue.

My Reasons for unsubscribing:

1) surveys are infrequent

2) Most surveys are for IT or business

3) It takes too long for surveys completed to credit to your account

4) The addition of Paypal as a form of payment seemed like a good idea, but when they charge you a fee on the transaction which irritates me.

5) I qualify for very few surveys.

This is my personal experience over the last year, but maybe some of you disagree. Tell us what you think about Testspin. Can anyone give me a reason not to kick it to the curb?

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Had a request to take a look at Inspired Opinions and I must say that it looks quite interesting. I signed up with them and although I haven’t received a survey, the reviews online seem extremely positive. Apparently you had to be invited to participate in the past but that has changed recently. From the website:

WHO IS INSPIRED OPINIONS?

Inspired Opinions is a Schlesinger Associates online community. It is comprised of people who are interested in sharing their opinions and views on a variety of topics to help influence the development of things such as technology, food and healthcare.

Members of Inspired Opinions participate in research studies:
→ In person at one of our 14 offices across the US
→ On the telephone
→ Online from a computer anywhere in the world

The offices are located in:

US: Atlanta • Boston • Chicago/Downtown • Chicago/O’Hare • Dallas • Houston • Los Angeles • New Jersey • New York • Orlando
Philadelphia/Bala Cynwyd • Philadelphia/Center City• Phoenix • San Francisco
UK : Central London • Wimbledon

I’m assuming that the closer you are to any of the offices the better chance that you will get an in-person focus group which pays from $75 to $200.

Payment is in the forum of Amazon Gift cards with the Opinion points that you earn. $5 for 500 points, $25 for 2500 points, etc.

They have a Facebook page with over 7000 members who seemed pleased with their experience. You can see that here.

I’m hoping that Inspired Opinions will live up to the reviews! Let us know if you or someone you know is already a member!

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Robert asked that I take a look at VGMarket Surveys:

I received an invite to a survey company calling itself VGMarketsurveys  (www.vgmarketsurveys.com). A query on the Net produces little fanfare 
about this company. Could you (or someone else) PLEASE research this company to let everyone else know if it is legitimate, how panelists are
treated, what the compensation methodology is like, etc. The lack of content online is very discerning.

Robert is quite right, as there is very little information about VG Market surveys. I signed up and it was a very typical paid survey process. There are several profile surveys to fill out. It lists Amazon gift card (when you reach $10), Payoneer debit card, and a $25 Dining Dough gift card.

I did find that they have a Facebook page, which had much more information that the website did. It seems that VGMarket Surveys is predominately a survey site for gamers:

Video game developers are good at what they do, but they’re not mindreaders! They want to hear from gamers like you to make sure their games are good before spending millions developing them. Fifty bucks or a free game or two is a small price to pay to make sure a new game has everything you want!

We rent state of the art facilities where we will set up a bunch of big screen HDTVs and some video game consoles. You come in and play an unreleased video game for an hour or so and then tell us what you thought! You’ll earn some cash or free games just for coming in and playing. The coolest part is that we take your opinions back to the developers of the game, and they will implement your ideas to improve the game before it’s released to the public!

You can visit the Facebook page here to get more information and read a few reviews.

Are you already a member of VGMarket Surveys? Fill us in!

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I’ve been a member of Focus Forward Online for several years and have mentioned it in various forms on the blog without ever having written a real review. And although they send surveys out, as most online paid survey sites do, this one is certainly a keeper because of their focus group and online bulletin board opportunities.

Sign up is fairly involved, and like 20/20 Research, you’ll have to provide a valid phone number.  I rarely do that, but when it involves focus groups, I gladly comply. And I have never gotten an unsolicited phone call from either of them, so they will only call you if they are calling for a focus group or bulletin board.

The surveys that are sent out, at least for me, are very few and far between. The payout is now $20, and can take a while to cashout. The regular surveys are for $1 to $5, and since there are relatively infrequent, you may get a little frustrated. But I’m not a member for the surveys. Because I’ve been invited to an online focus group that paid $200,  qualified and was paid, I will always remain on my list of survey sites to participate in.  One of the invitations was for $500 (sadly I didn’t quality for that one) but I’ll take my chances and hope for next time.

Payment is by check, although if you participate in one of the higher paying opportunites, payment can be either Amazon gift card or check, depending on the study.  Several of our forum/blog members wrote about their experiences on the forum.

From Paddysmum:

I did recently complete a focus group with Focus Forward – for $200.00 – but it wasn’t a in a single interview. I earned my $200.00 in a 3 week blogging project. I received a check as payment about 2 weeks after the project’s conclusion.

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A comment from Justin over the week-end reminded me that it’s about time to reassess zoom Panel and write an updated review.  Here’s the comment:

zoom Panel keeps getting better and better, I noticed in the last month they have upped the points for completing a survey, Instead of 50 zoom points they are not 75, 100, 150 zoom points. The best thing about zoom Panel is that they are now allowing members to trade in your points for an assortment of great Gift Cards. 1,000 points equals a $10.00 gift card.

From what I understand, the gift card option is only for a limited time with no word on how long it will last. So if you haven’t been all that thrilled with the merchandise offered, you may want to jump in to get your Amazon Gift card while you still can!

As I’ve stated in the past, points for merchandise isn’t my favorite form of payment, but zoom Panel is one of the best in that category. You’ll get plenty of surveys, and as Justin said, the point values have improved as of  late. And who knows, maybe the gift cards will be such a big hit that they will keep it around permanently! Click here  to read my previous review.

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It’s been well over a year since I reviewed Mindfield Onlline, which in the past has received a relatively neutral recommendation . I’ve noticed quite a few changes since then, and I’m changing my opinion to a definite upgrade . While most paid survey sites tend to slip in the ratings, mindfield, at least for me has improved in the last year.

 One of the most important additions to Mindfield Online is a Paypal Option.

mindfieldOnline has setup the ability for our members to cash out using PayPal. As everyone knows PayPal is one of the primary sources for online money transactions. The next time you cash out, consider this exciting new feature from mindfield Online.

Another improvement is in the frequency of surveys sent. I’ve read that the number one complain of mindfield in the past was too few surveys. At least for me, I’ve seen an increase in the number as of late.

Once requiring $10 in your account to request payout, mindfield lowered their payout to $5 which is certainly an effort on their part to make your experience a better one.

I’ve noticed an increase in the amount of product testing offered by mindfield. Rakhi posted a comment recently agreeing with me:

this is becoming better and better..Got at least 6 products to test..5 lotions,3 aftershave cologne,shampoo,conditioner and many others that I don’t remember..I like this site…

And Damian had this to say:

Yeah i really like mindfield as well. I just completed 2 3 month studies and should be receiving payment for those in the next couple of weeks. mindfield seems to be one of the stronger survey sites out there at the moment.

What do you think? Do you think Mindfield Online has improved?

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