Now, don’t get me wrong. There are people who do make a few thousand dollars or more a year with paid surveys. But that’s not the norm. If you do want to increase your earnings substantially, your best bet is to also join focus groups (we have a big list of ’em. Just do a quick search on Google for “moneypantry.com focus groups”). They pay much more between $50 to $400 or more per focus group secession.
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.
How large? First, Survey Spot uses the points system, where you are awarded points for any survey and offers you complete. Typically, any completed survey will earn you about 50 – 100 points. With 100 points equalling $1.00, it means that each completed survey nets you about $0.50 – $1.00. A typical survey will take between 10 – 15 minutes to complete.
How it works: Opinion Outpost sends survey opportunities to your email address at a fairly significant pace, but you won’t qualify for all of them — as with most other survey sites, you’ll have to answer a few pre-screening questions to make sure you fit the demographic profile the company is interested in learning about. You can also log on to the website and view available surveys without having to sift through emails.
Unfortunately, a lot of people think that because they didn’t qualify for a survey, the company conducting it is somehow scamming them. Remember, companies want to gather data and feedback from their target customers. Remember the Starbucks example above? Well, if you are not a coffee drinker, it makes sense that Starbucks doesn’t want to spend money on giving you a survey on something that doesn’t apply to you!
I have to respectfully disagree. InboxDollars won’t make you rich, but there are a handful of great cash offer sign-ups on the site. I made $40 over the course of an hour right after I signed up. I will say that I’m now to the point where my options are mostly to make pennies, but hey that $40 covered my internet bill for the month. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading your review and I definitely do agree that there are better ways to make money online. Thanks for the post!
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.
In a few cases, InboxDollars directed me to “exclusive offers” instead of straightforward surveys. One required me to give my name, address, phone number and birthdate to earn money and enter a sweepstakes for a Target gift card. Another time, I was prompted to give my email address and choose between Coke and Pepsi in exchange for $1 and a sweepstakes entry. I didn’t want to give my contact information to what appeared to be third-party sites, so I clicked out of these promotions.