10. HCD $74.90 ($10 po) (1000 = $10 po) ($62.60 rec’d) ($12.30 req’d)

A very consistent earner with short surveys on political subjects, Superbowl commercials and other interesting and topical subjects. Most surveys pay at least 100 points and their points system is the easiest to remember.

I recommend these:

1. SurveySpot $351.80 ($5 po) (Invokes) (Joined: 2008-01-30) ($351.80 received – rec’d)

SurveySpot is my Number One favorite survey site because: 1) they have paid me the most money, 2) their surveys are frequent and arrive daily, 3) they are accurate in their estimated times of completion, 4) their payments arrive by check in four to six weeks, 5) they resolve all disputes quickly and even give you the incentive for any survey that you failed to complete for most reasons if you email them with the survey number, 6) they have a lot number of interactive panels, 7) they offer paid product trials and they do not use OTX. SurveySpot is now considering offering PayPal, which would make them perfect in every way.

2. Opinion Outpost $194.20 ($5 po) (2008-02-04) ($181.00 rec’d) ($10.20 req’d)

Opinion Outpost is my solid Number Two favorite survey site because: 1) No other survey site comes close other than SurveySpot, 2) they send paid surveys frequently, 3) their screening process is excellent so I qualify for most surveys and 4) they compensate you fairly for your time.

3. YourFreeSurveys $168.85 ($30 po) (PayPal) ($155.00 rec’d) ($35 from contests)

I am biased in favor of YourFreeSurveys because I am a moderator on their forum and compensated for that, but they do have daily surveys for $1.05 (OTX) and $0.90 (GiveUsYour2Cents), send occasional surveys that pay and hold frequent contests for $200-300, which I have won twice. They also offer PayPal, which means fast payments. They hold frequent contests for $200-300. They also have Heath, who moderates runs the YFS blog. All of these are big plus marks to consider in addition to the monetary incentives.

4. Global Test Market $154.00 (1000 = $50) ($10 po) ($154.00 rec’d)

GTM is definately one of the best points sites out there after Opinion Outpost and you can earn a lot of money with them. The 1000 point $50 pay out point is reasonable and they compensate you fairly for your time. I receive two to three surveys per week and qualify for most. I am expecting another $50 check from them that will move them up on my list.

5. Greenfield Online $98.50 (PayPal) (Invokes) (2008-02-13) ($98.50 rec’d)

In spite of all of the problems that Greenfield forum members bicker over about non-payments, not qualifying for surveys, not being compensated enough, etc. Greenfield offers the second most number of Invoke Interactive panels of any survey company and no one forces you to take any of their surveys for a sweepstakes entry. They also offer PayPal, which is a much faster method of receiving payments and they have no minimum pay out point. I only know of one other survey company (YFS) that offers an active forum where you can air your grievances and where there is a dedicated moderator to actively answer your questions on a personal basis in a timely fashion. Every other survey company uses email to address disputes. And her name is Angela at amartin@greenfield.com

Here is my most recent complaint about GFO:

I haven’t been doing enough GFO surveys to qualify for anything since August 8, when I was credited for a $25 Invoke Interactive that I had done several months prior, except for two $1 surveys in August, three $1 surveys in September and two $1 surveys in October. I think GFO’s strategy is to ensure that only people who spend two to three hours per day doing their surveys exclusively will benefit from them the most, or maybe there has just been a dry spell for the past two or three months for me. I did much better the first six months when I was getting 29-104 sweepstakes entries then the past two months when I am averaging less than 20 sweepstakes entries per two week period. I’ve clicked on every paying survey within the first 24 hours, but every time I click ‘Yes’ I am disqualified. I still like the forum though.

6. SendEarnings $94.04 ($30 po) (2008-02-15) ($82.34 rec’d) ($9 processing fee for three payments)
7. InboxDollars $88.33 ($30 po) (2008-02-15) ($58.20 rec’d) ($6 processing fees for two payments)

Both of these entries comprise my #6 and #7 best survey companies. Both InboxDollars and SendEarnings are owned by Cotter-Web and administered by Greenfield Online; however, they are basically the same so I list them together. They are essentially trial offer sites, but you can also make a fair amount of money just from taking daily $0.50 surveys. Forget about clicking on emails for $0.02 each because that only amounts to about $1-2 extra per month for each site. You can also make money playing games and from referrals, but the games take too long to earn a pay out and referrals seem like spam to me. No one likes the $3 processing fee or waiting a month for the first check to be ‘processed’, but once you are a Gold Member they process your check in one week. The $30 pay out minimum is also too high. I am seriously beginning to wonder if it is necessary to be a member of both of these sites since they both offer essentially the same surveys and offers.

8. Valued Opinions $81.35 ($20 po) (Amazon gift certificates – gc) (2008-02-18) ($60 rec’d)

If you like Amazon gift certificates then you will like Valued Opinions as you can earn them faster here than anywhere else. Nothing else even comes close.

10. Daily Survey Panel $75.50 (1000 = $10) (PayPal) (2008-06-08) ($75.50 rec’d)

This company is really growing on me. You get daily email invitations and depending on how many other sites you are a member of that also use OTX (Greenfield Online, GlobalTestMarket, Mindfield, OpinionOutpost and YourFreeSurveys) and GiveUsYour2Cents (Quick Rewards [the owner of the DSP site] and YourFreeSurveys) you will be able to earn up to $1.85 per day or more. They now give you 5 points just for attempting their OTX surveys.

Post #3, febuary 8, 2009

I started keeping records of my paid online surveys January 31, 2008. It has been 12 months since I started. I spend an average of two to three hours per day taking surveys. Here are the amounts that I have earned from 30 paid online survey sites.

I have earned $2150.17 in 12 months from 30 survey sites, which is $179.18 per month. My actual receipts are $1997.64, which is $166.47 per month. The average survey site earned $5.97, but that does not take into account how recently I joined some sites, so I predict that this number will go up dramatically.

I have added the dates that I joined each site. About 15% of my earnings are from product trials and Invoke Interactives. Keep in mind that many of these survey sites were not joined in the first month. I just joined Viewpoint last month. I also removed five under-producing survey sites that earned me $150 last year year. I did not unsubscribe, but will no longer track them. $100.06 of that was from Tik Tik Cash, a trial offer site, which I did unsubscribe from.

Cash

1. SurveySpot $351.80 ($5 po) (Invokes) (Joined: 2008-01-30) ($351.80 received – rec’d)
3. YourFreeSurveys $168.85 ($30 po) (PayPal) ($155.00 rec’d) ($35 from contests)
5. Greenfield Online $98.50 (PayPal) (Invokes) ($98.50 rec’d)
6. SendEarnings $94.04 ($30 po) (2008-02-15) ($82.34 rec’d) ($9 processing fee for three payments)
7. InboxDollars $88.33 ($30 po) (2008-02-15) ($58.20 rec’d) ($6 processing fees for two payments)
12. ACOP $67.00 (PayPal) ($67 rec’d)
13. Survey Savvy $65.00 ($58.00 rec’d)
14. Netverdix $59.00 (2008-04-04) ($56 rec’d) ($50 from contest)
15. Pinecone Research $57.00 (PayPal) (2008-04-03) ($57 rec’d)
16. Socratic Forum $50.00 ($10 po) (2008-03-28) ($45 rec’d) ($5 req’d)
20. Mindfield $44.00 ($10 po) (2008-02-01) ($37 rec’d)
25. U30/GARB $25.00 ($25 rec’d) (approx. 2008-04)
28. Buzzback $19.00 ($13 rec’d) ($6 req’d)

Earned: $1187.52
Received: $1103.84

Points For Cash

2. Opinion Outpost $194.20 ($5 po) (2008-02-04) ($181.00 rec’d) ($10.20 req’d)
4. Global Test Market $154.00 (1000 = $50) ($10 po) ($154.00 rec’d)
10. Daily Survey Panel $75.50 (1000 = $10) (PayPal) (2008-06-08) ($75.50 rec’d)
11. HCD $74.90 ($10 po) (1000 = $10 po) ($62.60 rec’d) (2008-02-27) ($12.30 req’d)
16. MySurvey.com $50.00 (1000 = $10 po) (2008-02-02) ($40 rec’d) ($10 req’d)
18. Your2Cents $47.00 (2008-03-01) ($40 rec’d)
19. Epoll $45.00 (3500 = $5) (PayPal) (02/19/2008) ($45 rec’d)
21. LightSpeed $35.00 (575 = $5 po) (PayPal) (2008-04-02) ($35.00 rec’d)
24. Global Opinion Panel $30.00 (5000 = $5 po) (2008-05/02) ($25.00 rec’d) ($5 req’d)
26. Viewpoint $23.20 (375 = $10 po) (2009-01-21) ($23.20 rec’d)

Earned: $728.80
Received: $681.30

Gift Certificates

8. Valued Opinions $81.35 ($20 po) (Amazon gift certificates – gc) (2008-02-18) ($60 rec’d)
9. Capital One forum (by invitation only) $80.00 (Amazon gc) (2008-04-15) ($80 rec’d) (Apple 8gb Touch iPod & Apple MacBook won in contest – $1500)
23. ClearVoice $30.00 (Payoneer/diningdough.com/Amazon gc) (2008-02-28) ($30 rec’d)
27. Keynote $20 (Amazon gc) ($20 rec’d)
29. Baker Street Solutions $12.50 (Amazon gc) ($12.50 rec’d)
30. BuzzSponge $10.00 (4000 = $10) (Amazon or Target gc) ($10 rec’d)

Earned: $233.85
Received: $212.50

TOTALS

Earned: $2150.17
Received: $1997.64
Last updated: February 7, 2009

Post #2, February 8, 2009

Years have gone by and I have discovered this particular place — wow. It takes the hard work out of finding the sort of companies that aren’t tacky and ready to rip YOU (me too!) off. This site is very useful, and I do truly appreciate the effort that’s obviously gone into the R&D. Thank you! Julie B.