When brands want to find out what consumers think about their product and services, they turn to market research companies. Market research companies are the ones actually administering the surveys on behalf of the corporations looking for data/feedback. Think of online surveys as a type of focus group, except in this case, everything is done online.
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How it works: With Survey Club, you can take part in some of the highest-paying research, clinical trials and surveys available. There are often location-based opportunities (such as focus groups), and unlike some of the other companies on this list, Survey Club often gives you the chance to test products that researchers will physically mail to you free of charge.
Some websites, like eBay will pay you as much as $6 to sign up to their sites and place bids. Another website, Stamps.com, will pay you as much as $10 for signing up for their free trial program. However, with the latter, if you do not cancel the free trial before expiration, then you will be billed monthly for their programs (in the case of Stamps, its $15.99 per month).
Signing up was a breeze. I simply went to the page that said I would get a free $5 signup bonus and entered my email to get going. I had to answer a few basic questions — things like income level, race, education, and health questions. After a few minutes of answering questions and watching a couple tutorial videos on how the site works, I had $5 added to my account.
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In recent years, taking surveys online has become a very popular way to make a quick and honest buck and for some, it has even turned into a regular source of income. With InboxDollars, you can start taking surveys for real cash instead of points. You can complete as many surveys as you want for more dollars, but note that you may not qualify for all the surveys available. However, you will have access to surveys matched for you ( based on the info you provide when you sign up).
Inbox dollars is a scam. They will pull you in by offering $5 to begin and another $7 for completing some other tasks. It all goes downhill from there. I quickly realized that filling out countless surveys. I really gave them a try, I tried and tried and tried. Finally I snapped and said “No More!” What happens is that once you start a survey and it could be 15-20 minutes of filling questions, they will reject you based on answering a question as “no”. So you could answer “yes, yes, yes” for multiple questions and after 20 minutes of tedious (and yes, boooring!) questioning you are rejected from survey by punching one lousy “No”. Then they offer “sweeps” which is a raffle ticket that will never win you anything, pathetic! So, after seeing what a sham I got myself into I just decided to get my $30 by strictly opening the “paid mail” and using “paid search”. I had opened the account with them 1.5 years ago and finally was able to collect my $30 (actually $27, they even take $3 for “processing fee” – a final slap in the face) after countless hours of filling surveys and opening stupid paid mail. They pay 2 cents per one paid e-mail so yes it will take a while. I will be closing my account with inbox dollars now that I recovered a small fraction of what my time is actually worth, and I recommend staying clear from them and finding another way of making $$$.
These methods are certainly less tiresome, monotonous and refreshing compared to just filling up random surveys all day. Some users (chiefly “premium” members) have mentioned how they received money from InboxDollars on referrals from offers. Additionally, some members have also stated how they earned a proportion of money from InboxDollars’s “qualified surveys” and other features.
Rip off. I referred a couple people to Inbox Dollars that lived close to me and they closed out all of our accounts saying we were all in the same location and the same person. We provided IP addresses and even went to as far as asking if we could provide identification to show proof and of course it was negative. Lost a total of about $31. As for my neighbors probably the same or close to the same..
Hi, I'm Zina! I'm a personal finance expert with a passion for helping millennials figure out their most pressing financial issues. My interest is personal -- I paid off my student loans in three years and have been helping others take control of their finances ever since. My work has been featured in the Washington Post, Fox Business, Time, Quicken Loans, LendingTree, Forbes, Money.com, Mint, and many more. I currently live in Indianapolis, IN with my husband and two dogs.
Interesting read, thanks for sharing. I suppose that online surveys may generate a few extra dollars on the side for some people, but it does require you to qualify for certain surveys online. In many cases you may not qualify, and will result in having to search for more surveys. This can be time consuming and in most cases not as profitable as may be expected.
MyPoints isn’t as shady as them and isn’t as difficult. I’ve been clicking emails for 5-7 years (they offer surveys too but I only click emails) and cannot even remember how many gift cards I’ve gotten from them (a lot in that many years). Not once did they stop sending emails once I got to a certain amount of points. I can quit at any time after cashing out too, unlike InboxDollars who forces you to stay active until your payment is sent.
ke c.: if you requested payment and the date has changed to process that payment it may mean that your account went to an inactive status. Members need to keep their account in active status in order to have their payments processed on the date assigned. Please contact LiveChat for assistance and they can always escalate your inquiry to Accounting for help!
The only reason Springboard didn’t rank higher on our list is because some users have reported a fairly limited supply of available surveys, making it difficult to reach the $50 minimum cashout threshold. However, the availability of surveys depends on your demographics — so my recommendation is to join, making sure your profile is 100% complete, and then see if enough opportunities come your way to make it worth your while.Inboxdollars Andrew Smith
Like many other reviews, I used the site properly but as I reached the minimum $30 payout threshold, they terminated my account with generic multiple choice possible reasons of using VPN / acting like a automated BOT / having multiple accounts - none of which was true, perhaps I accessed the account once or twice with VPN still enabled, but that didn't prevent them from earning their partner referral fees they partially share with me while I wasn't using VPN. They can block access to site while using VPN so they ensure proper tracking as you complete each offer. I earned offers while not on VPN, so accidental VPN access that doesn't impact any specific offer they earned through me becomes their dishonest way of stealing the bonus money from you. Support says they escalated to 2nd level support that will respond with an email in a few days, of course they don't.
the only thing I got was my account terminated during the “payment process” and while waiting for my money I was reading there terms of service and they clearly state they do not promise any payments, In fact they also claim to the advertisers that there members are true and honest while taking the surveys, This is in fact is most not likely true, I would like to see the supreme court subpoena there time recorded surveys
How it works: LifePoints is the survey platform of a company called Lightspeed, which is owned by Kantar (one of the world’s largest market research and consumer data analytics firms). The platform was formed as a merger of two of the company’s other products, MySurvey and Global Test Market, and gives users a variety of ways to earn points that can be redeemed for cash:
They claim to also offer paid product testing opportunities. But it’s not really paid product testing, but more of getting cash back. Basically, besides surveys, you can purchase products and services through their portal and earn a certain amount of cash back for every dollar you spend. If you were going to buy something already, it’s a great way to get some of the cash back. But don’t just buy something because of the cashback.Inboxdollars Bbb Rating
InboxDollars is one of the worst programs. Unlike others, they have a very short “6-months of inactivity and we’ll close your account and keep your money” term. Plus, you earn next to nothing. I too stopped getting paid emails and tried to unsuccessfully qualify for surveys. As such, I mostly did the big-ticket things, like signing up for money back on donations to charities. I accrued $98 and log in monthly to avoid the “inactivity” thing. But, guess what? They just closed my account for not completing anything in six months. They don’t even hold up their own definition of “activity”. So, user beware–withdraw when you can, even though UNLIKE the other programs, they charge a 3% fee on what you’ve earned. Sketchy, sketchy, sketchy.
I have to agree with Rebecca. Took a couple months to get up to the $30 payment amount after being disqualified from multiple surveys. Some surveys said I were disqualified when I was 95% complete. The day before the payment is to be issued my account was cancelled. I tried speaking to their online support but all they tell you is that it was cancelled for bot like activity or for violating their terms of service. Funny how my activity wasn’t a problem until I requested a payment. Stay clear of them.
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I’ve been a member for 6 months.. Read emails , did the cash offers for places like sophora and the body shop, videos the radio thing just be told because my account only makes money off the emails I am no longer allowed to receive paid emails. Neither am I allowed to watch the videos and the radio app doesn’t work anymore.. And the offers I do make money on they have removed.
This is a service owned and operated by a Kenyan company known as Simba Survey. The company works with local and international businesses, government agencies, research institutions, NGOs and universities to create and deploy flexible and scalable mobile surveys. The survey rates can move from a minimum of Ksh. 50 upwards. There are two types of surveys one can take; the cash reward surveys and the draw entry surveys. Members can withdraw their money directly via MPESA.
Not a “scam” in the sense of the word, but really not a way to earn any type of money. If you can find the companies that do the surveys and do them on your own with out sites like this you will make a substantially bigger amount of money. The “scam” is they take 90% (if not more, to be honest probably 99%) of the survey payout for themselves. Its the same for the “offers”, they will take the majority of the offer from the company, and give you a small percentage, And if that was not enough, they also take a percentage of your payout. This should be illegal as it is criminal to do this to people.
I have been using InBox Dollars for months. I earned my first $30 and cashed out. I referred my Wife and she signed up and started doing surveys. Once I reached $75 and she reached her first $30 we cashed out. The next day both of our accounts was suspended. How convenient. We spoke with a Live chat agent to explain that the accounts are separate but they didn’t care. They just hurried us off and ended the chat. Months of work all gone. INBOX DOLLARS IS A SCAM!!!!!!!!! Do not waste your time. They will use you for your services then find some reason to not pay you.
How it works: Vindale is one of the oldest, most well-known, and most highly-rated survey companies around (boasting an “A” rating from the BBB and a great Trustpilot score of 8.1). The only thing that keeps this site from ranking higher on my list is the minimum cashout amount, which is $50. It can take a good amount of time and dedication to hit that mark. Still, the company provides high-quality surveys with good payouts, which makes Vindale a great choice for users who plan on filling out surveys regularly but less attractive for those who are thinking about just dabbling.
I’ve been a member of InboxDollars for at least a year which is what it took to me to just get to $30. I didn’t mind clicking the emails but once I hit $25 or so, I stopped getting “paid emails”. So I forced myself to do surveys. Once I reached $28 it was 3-4 days before I even saw another survey offered (besides the 4 that are always there “peanut labs” etc). I finally hit $30 and cashed out but if course there was another hoop to jump through, they tell you that your account must “remain active” until a certain date (March 2nd) for me. Who knows what counts as active to them, so I continue trying to qualify for surveys hoping that counts, otherwise in officially done with them like so many. I was just shocked at how difficult they make it.
I have to agree with Rebecca. Took a couple months to get up to the $30 payment amount after being disqualified from multiple surveys. Some surveys said I were disqualified when I was 95% complete. The day before the payment is to be issued my account was cancelled. I tried speaking to their online support but all they tell you is that it was cancelled for bot like activity or for violating their terms of service. Funny how my activity wasn’t a problem until I requested a payment. Stay clear of them.
It’s a very well-known scam. You cash the check, then they ask you to either wire some of that money back to them as some sort of fee or buy something for them and send the item to them. So, you deposit the check, then wire some cash to them thinking that the check you just deposited will cover that. A few days later, after you already send them the money, the check will bounce and the money you send to them will come out of your own account.
Second, there is nobody that’s making $3500 a month filling out online surveys. Sure, there are people who may earn $1000 or even $2000 a month, but they are in the minority. For most of us, it would be impossible unless you join every survey site that there is and spend every single waking hours filling out surveys. And that’s assuming if you are lucky enough to have that many surveys available, to begin with.