Earning Money By Doing Surveys

1. Surveys are a legitimate business requirement. A company needs to know actual consumer reaction before spending the money it takes to put a product on the market. This a marketing research survey.

2. There is another kind of survey abundant on the internet. I'll bet you have seen it already. The ad says "we have a FREE (fill in one: laptop, refigerator, $500 gift certificate, snowblower) for you! Just answer a few easy questions on our survey. Click here to get started". When you click thru, you are asked about your interest on a number of subjects. That's the survey, right? Then you are asked for your name, address, and other personnal information. They need that to ship with, don't they? Then you get a message you are almost done, don't quit yet. Next you get a page of ads. A message says "chose two of these". You click on a few. All include agreeing to recieve promo from a specific company. Most include paying money, usually under the guise of shipping cost or processing fee. Many are a free trial for some service. You pay a small processing fee for one month, if you don't like it, you can cancel. You must give your credit card to sign up, and your card will be debited for a monthly fee starting on a certian date. The greater the value of the prize you are after, the more services you must accept. After looking at a number of such ads, I have concluded that the approximate cost of your prize comes to about $24 per $50 in prize value. If you fail to follow up and cancel your subscription, there is a potential cost of $60 per MONTH per $50 of prize value. In my opinion, this kind of service is a scam. But if you know what you are dealing with, and can keep one step ahead of the advertiser, you can collect for yourself a few nmice prizes. Oh, yeah. Delivery time is 6 weeks. So, if thant comapny "disappears", you are left holding the bag of $24 in services per $50 dollars in product value. Or more, if you forgot to cancel the service!

The spam for this second kind of survey is all over the net. If you think this kind of game could be fun, you do not need to purchase a subscription with a survey company that is advertising for you to make money fast. Companies offering enticing gifts are already working very hard to find YOU.

As for the first kind, those can be really fun. However, most seem to be offering lotteries, not cash. The only good part is the chance to win is high. For example, one company I signed up with was looking for 200 hundred people to participate in a survey, and one of those participants would win $200.

These kinds of surveys are invitation only. This is because the client who needs your opinion, is looking for a certian demographic, and will consult their database to find who fits. (Not to scare you too much - I have heard of some of these paying quite well!) To get this kind of work, you can expect to apply at many web sites for these, fill out LOTS of information, and then you may only hear from them a few times a year. (I'm sorry, I don't see this as a good way to earn a living!)

Now, let me tell you, if you purchase one of those programs that helps you find survey work, what will you get

The surveys on their list are the same ones available in your spam box.

You get a few names of legitimate marketing researchers. Not very many.

When the ad says "we have a database of 400 survey links", I have gotten inside and counted as many as 140 links, of which 10% will get you "page not found".

When the ad says "we have lots of tools to help you manage your survey work better, I have gotten in and have found nothing that could be call a "tool".

When you are at a "consumer advocate" site that says "We have personally bought in to most survey packages to report to you which was the best", I have gotten in and discovered that all the RECOMMENDED sites are owned by the same person that owns the "consumer advocacy" site, and that the sites being promoted are brand new and not yet even working!

Not too long ago, I thought it would be a good game for me to research the "get rich schemes" and report on them (and perhaps earn a little bit by selling the better ones). But I have discovered that plan has already been done and been dirtied by people pretending to provide a service so you will send them money.

Therefore, I am doing the next best thing by telling you the below links are all survey sites. This is the information you would get if you sent others $40. (Yes, that IS the going rate for the info on this page!) I have checked out some, not all, so you are on your own. Just be careful, and don't pay out any money to buy the right to do surveys. You don't have to.

As I have time, I will be researching each of these, and will report back here what I find.

If you have also spent money you couldn't afford for opportunities that didn't exist, you might also want to help. Please write me, ok?

If you have heard enough, continue below. If you'd like details of specific scams I encountered, click here.