All,

Let's collectively boycott any Survey company that compensates you only by offering you a "chance" at winning a cash prize through a raffle.

Let me explain....

Too many people are either bored at home or enjoy taking surveys and they do not care whether they get compensated for their valuable time. Because of this, instead of companies paying people like us $3.00/$5.00 per survey, they just offer a prize such as (1) $50.00 gift card and get thousands of people to take their surveys without having to pay a dime to anyone for their time and efforts.

If we boycott these "chances to win", companies will not have enough respondants and will be forced to start compensating people for these surveys.

On one bulletin board, a recent survey posted for a "chance to win" (1) $50.00 AMEX gift card got over 5,000 views. So basically the company who posted this survey got PAID by their client to get thousands of people to take their survey, ask you personal information, etc. and all this company had to shell out was (1) 50.00 gift card to a random winner (that's assuming they even chose a winner from the pool of entries).

Clients pay on average $3.00-$5.00 PER SURVEY PARTICIPANT to the company that posts the survey. So assuming 3,000 people (maybe more?) took the survey, the company made $9,000 to $15,000 in pure profit and only had to pay $50.00 total to get respondants to answer their survey questions.

You tell me... who comes out on the short end here?


Rule of thumb... if you are not directly compensated a set amount of money for your time, "pass" on participating in the survey.

These are the surveys that most need to be boycotted:


1) Lightspeed: based on their $ rewards, a point is worth less than a penny, so their standard 75 point survey is worth less than 75¢.

2) Synovate: 1000 points = $1, and most of their surveys are less than that; don't bother unless it looks like a possible product test.

3) Mindfield: those $1 OTX surveys don't lead to product tests.

4) ZoomPanel: it takes forever to earn a decent reward... if you're not close to redeeming, why bother taking surveys for points that you can't get $ for?

5) Pinecone: They do pay very quick, however, they reduced their compensation from $5.00 down to $3.00. They also send you non-paying 'Household Questions' surveys every other week that ask the same repetitive questions over and over. Pinecone isn't the worst of the survey companies, but it is certainly not getting any better with the compensation or time you have to invest doing surveys for them.

6) Surveyspot: Although some people have had luck with PT's, most people find that this site is just a "bait and switch" scheme. They always have a variety of surveys to choose from with various dollar amount rewards, but what this site is known for is that you invest time (sometimes 30-40 minutes) answering questions, and then right at the end you get disqualified and no payment is ever offered for your time. SurveySpot receives the data they need to be paid by their clients, while you get offered more opportunities to take surveys that have little chance of paying out.



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100 percent agree with you. The more people do the more the companies take advantage. Even pine cone used to pay five and because thousands of people joined they cut it down to 3. greenfield had the nerve to offer 50 cents a survey for a holiday bonus. WOw. You are so correct. I wish people would stop even posting these chances to win.

Ok, Im IN!

u are right. If its a sweepstakes entry i dont even bother

I would think the people that agree with this....myself included, already do this. However, well said. Sadly, people do not value their time at all.

i'm in and who else is in on this with us?????
that's right, we deserve to be awarded instead of making the rich richer and the poor poorer.
they are getting rich off of us. elt's get on a roll here people. join us will you?

I do greenfield, but if it's sweepstakes only I disqualify myself. :) I wait for the ones that pay (more than $0.50).

I'm in. I used to do entry ones and never got anything so I stopped. Let's boycot them!!!

I also say we boycott surveys that take damn near an hour and only pay a couple dollars. :mad: I know that times are hard but I am starting to see the compensation for surveys getting less and less.

Even for PT's!! We are risking our health on some of these and they only want to pay a dollar, and then want us to send the product back!!!

:ranting:
I'm in!!!

I never do the ones without a guaranteed payment.

Count me in! I hate the surveys that are 30 minutes for $1 :mad: I don't even try it's not worth my time.

I'M IN, and totally agree. hopefully everybody else will do the same

I agree.

/me boycotts. :D

Here's what I'm going to do:


1) If a survey pays nothing (sweepstakes entries count as nothing), and it doesn't look like a possible product test, I won't do it.

2) If an unpaid survey looked like a product test but it becomes clear it's not, I'll close that window and not finish the survey.

3) With the exception of the university surveys that help with research, I won't do a survey for less than $3, and if it's a long survey make that $5.

4) With sites where the surveys are for points that get redeemed for cash or Amazon cards, I'll do the math to see how points translate to dollars and stick to my price requirements.

5) If a survey "pays" with points that will eventually, supposedly, lead to a non-$ prize redemption, I won't do it unless it's a reasonable # of points for the length of the survey.

6) When a low-paying survey looks like it'll be far longer than they claimed, I won't finish it.


:D

I'm in too! I am tired of these companies making money off of us and never even telling us who the winner of the contest is so we don't even know if there is a winner.

there's alot of assumptions here.
run a net business that takes credit cards
and the fraud expense/losses may amaze you.
these companies are not getting money for nothing


I do colleges and paying surveys that would average
about ten dollars an hour. rarily less.

I completely agree, but hope that the Yale studies are an exception. They are for Amazon sweepstakes, but they only take 1 - 2 minutes and they are fun. Plus, they help students.

I'm SOOO in!!!
I have made a LOT with Greenfield though...over $300 in the past 2 months...but I know when it's a crappy sweepstakes survey....same with Survey Spot..

Now, Pinecone just plain TICKS ME OFF!! How DARE them lower a survey to $3 and then enter you into a sweepstakes of which you have NO desire for???
I opted out of them when they pulled this crap.
Nobody should put up with it and if enough of us boycott it..( kinda like a UNION LOL ), they will be forced to compensate us for our time!!!!

Thanks for posting this. I've thought about it but was afraid of people jumping on me for being too negative.My thoughts are I wouldn't work at any job for a chance to get paid. Why should I do surveys for a chance to "win".

I partially agree. I will not answer a survey from a real survey company for a sweepstakes entry (unless it sounds like it might lead to a PT or invoke). I certainly won't bother with Greenfield's .50 bonus surveys.

But if an individual company or person is doing a raffle for say a $50 GC and the survey is not that long, I'll take it.

The real problem though, is as the OP stated. While most of us are picky and trying to be selective to add a few bucks a month into our incomes, there are way more recreational survey takers that will take any and all surveys offered. Unfortunately, we can boycott until we are blue in our faces but it won't change all those other participants.

So, yeah we can boycott but don't expect anything to change.

But hey, it's worth the rant!

You guys rock! Although we can't prevent the masses from taking surveys for fun just to pass time, enough people read these boards to possibly make a dent in the participation in these "sweepstakes" surveys.

Do you guys mind if I vent again?

As mentioned earlier, Pinecone reduced their compensation from $5 down to $3 and introduced a new "sweepstakes". I was disappointed but stayed a member of their panel. Now to the rant...

Pinecone sends me "non-paying" surveys once per week that take 10-20 mins of my time to complete supposedly for the purpose of pre-qualifying me for future survey opportunities (i.e. - Household Questions).

I would not have a problem with this if Pinecone did not ask the SAME QUESTIONS every single week. They usually ask me what brands of soft drinks, liquor, and beer that I have heard of or purchased, and ask me what health ailments I suffer from.

Now.. if I tell them weekly that I have heard of Coke, Sprite, Pepsi, Budweiser, Aquafina Water, etc.and that I suffer from very specific medical conditions, why on God's earth would they continue to ask me these same exact questions every single week?!

I am almost to the point of emailing them and asking them to stop sending me the same Household questions over and over. When I factor in the 20 mins I spend answering household questions along with the 30 mins I spend taking an actual survey, I am making just $3.00/hr for the 50 mins of my time.

The only reason I am staying with Pinecone (for now) is that they send you new grocery products to test and give feedback on, which I have enjoyed.

I agree with you on that nash, but I honestly hate it more when OTX asks me the same 20 screener questions before every survey and then DQ's me everytime.

I dont take PC's if they dont pay (not the HouseHold Q's, but just the unique surveys)

I basically dont take any surveys that don't pay unless I think they will lead to a PT.

I don't even bother with the take this 60 minute survey and we will give you $1 (why even bother) but I am sure there are people out there, who probably aren't members here that still waste their time.

I dont take PC's if they dont pay (not the HouseHold Q's, but just the unique surveys)

I basically dont take any surveys that don't pay unless I think they will lead to a PT.

I don't even bother with the take this 60 minute survey and we will give you $1 (why even bother) but I am sure there are people out there, who probably aren't members here that still waste their time.

Even worse is when they send you a 60 minute one and they think they're being kind with a sweepstakes entry! AS IF!

Have you guys noticed that the decent paying surveys have really slowed down over the past few months?

AS has everything! I noticed I can never get any from survey spot anymore and never get the college ones either, ever.

The real problem though, is as the OP stated. While most of us are picky and trying to be selective to add a few bucks a month into our incomes, there are way more recreational survey takers that will take any and all surveys offered. Unfortunately, we can boycott until we are blue in our faces but it won't change all those other participants.

So, yeah we can boycott but don't expect anything to change.

But hey, it's worth the rant!

True up to a point! see, lots of us (members and non-members) are on other forums and you would be very surprised how fast this can start showing everywhere after awhile...will take time but if people stick to what they say other places can also join.:nod:

O.K. here's my view. I don't take any survey that does not pay. When I opened the Greenfield holiday one I laughed! If you have even been to DollarSurveys they are trying something similiar. Something to the effect of: We are short on surveys at this time but we have one for .50! Please don't insult my intelligence! But I did recieve an email from out Tidy Bowl partners that said they can not afford to pay their survey takers the same as the bigger suvey companies so where do we draw the line?

Times are tough and there are so many out of work and home taking surveys don't you think? If the companies can get away with paying less or none, they will.

I've been doing surveys seriously for the past 2 months. I take most of the surveys I get in my email (paid or not) because I still haven't figured out how to tell if the company offers PT yet or if it will become a PT from the company I know that sends those types of surveys.

On average, I get between 10-20 surveys per day and I am slowly learning how to tell if it's going to be a snoozer or a quick survey - I have no idea how to tell if a survey will lead to a PT yet because I have only got about 6 of those so far. 2 never came... (seasoning salt and toilet cleaner...)

But I will join the boycott as soon as I get a better feel on how this whole survey deal works!

O.K. here's my view. I don't take any survey that does not pay. When I opened the Greenfield holiday one I laughed! If you have even been to DollarSurveys they are trying something similiar. Something to the effect of: We are short on surveys at this time but we have one for .50! Please don't insult my intelligence! But I did recieve an email from out Tidy Bowl partners that said they can not afford to pay their survey takers the same as the bigger suvey companies so where do we draw the line?

I feel that if a survey company is having financial problems, then they should let us know. Be straight up! Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining. Don't send 4 to 5 invites a day and I only qualify for one, or the ones I do qualify for I spend an hour filling out a survey that said it will only be 20 min, and then I only get a dollar. Or taking 3 to 4 months to credit a survey that was only for a couple dollars anyway.

Just let us know that they can't pay is, and shut down shop until things get better. I would respect them more if they did that.

You guys rock! Although we can't prevent the masses from taking surveys for fun just to pass time, enough people read these boards to possibly make a dent in the participation in these "sweepstakes" surveys.

Do you guys mind if I vent again?

As mentioned earlier, Pinecone reduced their compensation from $5 down to $3 and introduced a new "sweepstakes". I was disappointed but stayed a member of their panel. Now to the rant...

Pinecone sends me "non-paying" surveys once per week that take 10-20 mins of my time to complete supposedly for the purpose of pre-qualifying me for future survey opportunities (i.e. - Household Questions).

I would not have a problem with this if Pinecone did not ask the SAME QUESTIONS every single week. They usually ask me what brands of soft drinks, liquor, and beer that I have heard of or purchased, and ask me what health ailments I suffer from.

Now.. if I tell them weekly that I have heard of Coke, Sprite, Pepsi, Budweiser, Aquafina Water, etc.and that I suffer from very specific medical conditions, why on God's earth would they continue to ask me these same exact questions every single week?!

I am almost to the point of emailing them and asking them to stop sending me the same Household questions over and over. When I factor in the 20 mins I spend answering household questions along with the 30 mins I spend taking an actual survey, I am making just $3.00/hr for the 50 mins of my time.

The only reason I am staying with Pinecone (for now) is that they send you new grocery products to test and give feedback on, which I have enjoyed.

My guess is that part of the reason is that so many people lie on surveys just to qualify for the payment. Unfortunately, that is the truth and I see sooooooo many times when people are bragging on boards such as this one that they lied to get in or will post the "correct" answers to qualify. My guess is that if they ask the "qualifying" questions each time, the dishonest people will have trouble keeping their lies straight. A lot of people get their memberships canceled when they get caught that way.

I wish there were an easier way, too. The reasons that I do surveys are twofold:

1. THe Amazon GC's that I get pay for my textbooks for each semester as I have returned to school full time. This semester I was able to get ALL of my books with no money out of pocket!

2. The cash that I get is put on my credit cards in addition tot he regular payments that I make, so it helps me to get out of debt. I average about $50 a month extra.

I laugh at SurveySpot. I don't even bother with them because they always DNQ me for the paid ones or have enough responses. I'm tired of companies telling me they have enough answers from people like me after they already get my answers. I've become MUCH more selective about the surveys I take recently. My time is worth more. I'm in.

Here's what I'm going to do:


1) If a survey pays nothing (sweepstakes entries count as nothing), and it doesn't look like a possible product test, I won't do it.

2) If an unpaid survey looked like a product test but it becomes clear it's not, I'll close that window and not finish the survey.

3) With the exception of the university surveys that help with research, I won't do a survey for less than $3, and if it's a long survey make that $5.

4) With sites where the surveys are for points that get redeemed for cash or Amazon cards, I'll do the math to see how points translate to dollars and stick to my price requirements.

5) If a survey "pays" with points that will eventually, supposedly, lead to a non-$ prize redemption, I won't do it unless it's a reasonable # of points for the length of the survey.

6) When a low-paying survey looks like it'll be far longer than they claimed, I won't finish it.


:D

Amen to that. I don't bother with them unless I know there's going to be money. If I wanted to be gambling I'd buy lotto tickets.

I too always get DQ'd after spending 5 or so minutes on a survey just so they don't have to pay. By then they have most of the info they want and don't have to spend a dime.

I'm in too!

Times are tough and there are so many out of work and home taking surveys don't you think? If the companies can get away with paying less or none, they will.

I do not see how taking surveys for free would be considered "working from home" or would help people who are out of work.

I guess I really don't know enough about economics...

Cool cash is the only way anyone gets my time online...

I'm in! I'm tired of it as well!!!!

I hate to think of how much of my time and energy was put into "just sweepstakes entries" if it doesn't have a $$$$ amount to it, I don't do it....I am in also

I NEVER take surveys that are for sweeps anyway except for Pinecone household surveys ending in 3001

I'm really happy to see this movement taking affect. I agree with what everyone before has said and I won't do a survey for a sweepstakes entry or a chance of winning $50 GC. Some of the bigger, well paying survey companies are trying to pull that now and I refuse to do them.

I'm in with the rest of the group and I hope this movement takes off big time. I'll spead it everywhere I have an opportunity. Are time should be worth something we are happy with and these companies need to stop cheating us.

Thanks OP for starting this movement going!

Sooo true it's not worth it to do the sweepstakes surveys, a waste of my time. There are a few panels that mostly "reward" in that system, load of bollocks they are!

I'm not going to mention any names here, but ::cough:: Yale ::cough:: ...man what was that? Must have been a porcupine in my throat.

I'm not going to mention any names here, but ::cough:: Yale ::cough:: ...man what was that? Must have been a porcupine in my throat.Maybe we should make a wiki of all the sites NOT to join.

I will add zoom panel and hotspex to the list. little incentives

You guys rock! Although we can't prevent the masses from taking surveys for fun just to pass time, enough people read these boards to possibly make a dent in the participation in these "sweepstakes" surveys.

Do you guys mind if I vent again?

As mentioned earlier, Pinecone reduced their compensation from $5 down to $3 and introduced a new "sweepstakes". I was disappointed but stayed a member of their panel. Now to the rant...

Pinecone sends me "non-paying" surveys once per week that take 10-20 mins of my time to complete supposedly for the purpose of pre-qualifying me for future survey opportunities (i.e. - Household Questions).

I would not have a problem with this if Pinecone did not ask the SAME QUESTIONS every single week. They usually ask me what brands of soft drinks, liquor, and beer that I have heard of or purchased, and ask me what health ailments I suffer from.

Now.. if I tell them weekly that I have heard of Coke, Sprite, Pepsi, Budweiser, Aquafina Water, etc.and that I suffer from very specific medical conditions, why on God's earth would they continue to ask me these same exact questions every single week?!

I am almost to the point of emailing them and asking them to stop sending me the same Household questions over and over. When I factor in the 20 mins I spend answering household questions along with the 30 mins I spend taking an actual survey, I am making just $3.00/hr for the 50 mins of my time.

The only reason I am staying with Pinecone (for now) is that they send you new grocery products to test and give feedback on, which I have enjoyed.


I agree Pinecone cut it down to 3 since so many more people joined and opted for the sweepstakes. I do get questions every week that seem so repititiousl

Boycott forever! (or until the money goes up)

I'm in. Already am very selective and agree things need to change.

I agree, I am waiting for the once a year drawing at PC, then I stop. What is their problem, I have had the same 4 surveys in my que for over five months, they don't seem to know I've done them already.
I will only do ones that pay cash,....

This may be controversial for some, but as part of the Boycott, should we stop posting information regarding surveys where the compensation is only a "sweepstakes entry/chance to win"?

We are only making the problem worse when we share these postings/links with the masses.

Thanks again to everyone for the support and for agreeing to join this boycott. I really think we will make a difference and we will see changes for the better in the coming months. Please spread the word to other boards and with your family and friends.

Happy Holidays.

EXCELLENT post, nashvilleitalia. As indicated in the replies, many of us thought the same thing as you, but you got us ignited and together. I'm in.

I been doing surveys for years now and i NEVER do any for just sweepstakes.

I think that some of the newbies also mistakenly believe that if they answer the free ones, they'll get the pay ones. I learned the opposite rather quickly! LOL

There are way too many people too desperate for a freaking $1 that they will still do these low paying ones or no pay for a sweeps chance. And nothing is going to stop it. I don't do them either. I frankly don't believe most of them ever actually do a drawing or pay ANYTHING out. What hacks me off is these people so desperate for money could easily save $20 or more a month by dumping their freaking internet. I mean seriously... if you are so hard up that you are willing to waste an hour of your time for a lousy freaking $1 or even NOTHING because you think you *might* win a $50 gift card why are you spending money on an internet connection??

And don't even get me started on Pinecone. I told them to shove it. I don't know how ANY of these companies that pay little to nothing really think any of their information gathered is viable in any way at all.

tls

Maybe we should make a wiki of all the sites NOT to join.

I will add zoom panel and hotspex to the list. little incentives

That would be so helpful to us new survey people.

On a separate note, but still related...I really want to know:

HAS ANYONE WON AN INSTANT WIN or SWEEPS? EVER?

I did once with Opinion Outpost. The $50.bonus.

Anyone else?

Maybe a thread where people can post a screenie or something if they have won would be nice too?

There are way too many people too desperate for a freaking $1 that they will still do these low paying ones or no pay for a sweeps chance. And nothing is going to stop it. I don't do them either. I frankly don't believe most of them ever actually do a drawing or pay ANYTHING out. What hacks me off is these people so desperate for money could easily save $20 or more a month by dumping their freaking internet. I mean seriously... if you are so hard up that you are willing to waste an hour of your time for a lousy freaking $1 or even NOTHING because you think you *might* win a $50 gift card why are you spending money on an internet connection??

And don't even get me started on Pinecone. I told them to shove it. I don't know how ANY of these companies that pay little to nothing really think any of their information gathered is viable in any way at all.

tls

I am really close to dumping Pinecone. This morning they sent me a 'reminder' to answer their weekly "Household Questions", and when I clicked the link, they again asked me what soft drinks I have ever heard of. I have told them which 'brands' of sodas that I am familiar with at least 20 times prior to this.

Since they lowered the compensation from $5.00 to $3.00, my tolerance level for taking their non-paid weekly "prequalify" surveys for Pinecone has reached it's peak.

You guys have me fired up now with these companies taking advantage of us. I am going to refuse to take the non-paid 'Household Questions' surveys and if Pinecone wants to remove me from their panel, so be it!

I havent joined any survey companies yet and I'm enjoying the benifits. I'll only do YALE sweepstakes and Stanford GSB - cuz they help researchers but not for some money minded company.
For a Yale Survey - they never seem to pay upfront- only sweepstakes
oh well or
we could all use mturk

I agree with this as well, but I do not believe it is possible to accomplish such a thing as this on a public forum. In fact, I think there is a chance that these types of survey's may get a higher percentage of filled surveys as a result. Lurkers, & even those agreeing to boycott will feel better about their chances. I would like to see the study on this, would be interesting.

I won a Yale $10 Amazon GC but I am not sure which survey it was for. At least with Yale I know what my odds are before I take the survey.

My pet peeves are Opinion Outpost & Survey Spot where I have gotten ZILCH despite taking a LOT of time doing their surveys.

I think Survey Spot is a total racket but then I see where people say they're getting paid. Are they lying on the demographics or something?

Survey Spot is the worst for offering surveys without payment. I only do the ones that offer pay, and I've still managed to make a lot of money with them this year....around $450. But like 95% of their surveys they want you to do for no pay.

Signed - I almost exclusively try surveys that say they pay already, still tired when they get a ton of info from me and then "disqualify me" or the "study is full".

I can understand why a lot of people would boycott - but is anyone notifying the survey companies of the boycott? Survey companies have probably probably thousands of respondents, and just one thread on SD isn't going to do anything to them.

I am IN.
I Stopped doing most of them already.:-)
Surveyspot is the topmost in the list.Who does not pay for your efforts.

I can understand why a lot of people would boycott - but is anyone notifying the survey companies of the boycott? Survey companies have probably probably thousands of respondents, and just one thread on SD isn't going to do anything to them.

I disagree, I thing the SD boycott will have a major effect. Ever since the Survey sub-forum began, things have really changed. Count me in and FANTASTIC idea OP.

Surveyspot does pay, but they really get the better end. I was just offered a $3 survey on birth control, but when I started it, the survey was one I had already taken from a direct source that paid $20.

I started the wiki; be sure and add your least favorite surveys!! :D

You are right. I think it's all BS.. even the UCLA, stanford studies do this too.

I quit doing any type of surveys. Used to be good with Pinecone when they were $5, but ever since they changed to $3 I just let their emails go to my spam folder.

I quit doing any type of surveys. Used to be good with Pinecone when they were $5, but ever since they changed to $3 I just let their emails go to my spam folder.

I just emailed Karen at Pinecone (see below)

Karen,

I can't bring myself to answer the same Household Questions again related to what soft drinks and beer I am familiar with. It seems like every 2 to 3 weeks I get the identical Household questions and it is like living through Groundhogs Day. Can't Pinecone use some technology that saves common responses in your user profile so that if something changes, instead of having to answer the questions all over again, you can just check or uncheck the box reflecting the new information? In addition, these non-paying Household surveys take longer than 5 minutes to complete and with the compensation dropping to $3.00, taking these non-paying, repetitive surveys is becoming very uninteresting to me.

Thank you.

Steve


--- On Tue, 12/23/08, Karen Scott <scott@pineconeresearch.com> wrote:

From: Karen Scott <scott@pineconeresearch.com>
Subject: Project #39483-3002 Reminder - Household Questions
To:
Date: Tuesday, December 23, 2008, 8:54 AM

STEVE, During your participation with PineCone Research, we anticipate you will be asked about many different types of products. In order to be sure we send you interviews appropriate for your household, we would like to ask you to answer a few brief questions about the types of products used in your household. This will take less than 5 minutes of your time. Please click on the link below to be taken directly to these questions.

http://int03.pcrint.net/start/US/394833002.htm

I have included your id number and password below for your convenience.ID:
PW: We appreciate your time in answering our request. Please respond at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,
Karen Scott
Email: scott@pineconeresearch.com

3 years ago I was thrilled when I got my first check from Lightspeed for $10 I felt like I had won a million bucks since I am so broke. And as I started learning which sites were most lucrative, I stopped doing the nonpaying surveys altogether over a year ago. But last year I knew that so many people were doing surveys now that there would probably never be as much coming in as 3 years ago. Hopefully a boycott will help.

I've been doing surveys for a few years, I never do the sweepstakes entries except for a few exceptions. On occasion I will do them on SurveySpot but only if I can tell it's going to lead to a PT, if it doesn't I wont even bother finishing the survey. The only other time I did them was for the Universities but now I've quit because in the end it's disqualified me for doing future paying ones (I did win a $100 Amazon GC from GSB once).

Pinecone ...don't even get me started on their nonsense. I have no idea how this company picks who they send surveys too. I got my best friend to sign up who lives in a town of maybe 50 people, not married & no kids she gets more survey invites & PT's than I do living in a large area, married & 3 kids. The same repetitive questions over & over gets my goat as well.

My list of survey sites I liked used to be quite long in my favorites folder, now I have maybe 4 ...if that. :lol:

3 years ago I was thrilled when I got my first check from Lightspeed for $10 I felt like I had won a million bucks since I am so broke. And as I started learning which sites were most lucrative, I stopped doing the nonpaying surveys altogether over a year ago. But last year I knew that so many people were doing surveys now that there would probably never be as much coming in as 3 years ago. Hopefully a boycott will help.

To earn $10 thru lightspeed, you needed to complete about 25,000 hours of surveys. I will gladly quadruple your salary to .0016 cents an hour and you can come and paint my house. Does this work for you?

Am I the only one that's been doing this for years?

This will be my only New Year Resolution.:wave:

For any that would join me in this New Year Resolution to NOT TAKE Surveys that DO NOT PAY $, please sign below.:nod:

I do wish someone would make a wiki page of survey sites to avoid.

I disagree, I thing the SD boycott will have a major effect. Ever since the Survey sub-forum began, things have really changed. Count me in and FANTASTIC idea OP.I


I totally agree. SD would have a major impact. Plus I feel it is absolutely a waste of time.

... I do wish someone would make a wiki page of survey sites to avoid.

I started it; hopefully, others will add their picks. :)

I quit doing any type of surveys. Used to be good with Pinecone when they were $5, but ever since they changed to $3 I just let their emails go to my spam folder.I'm gettting tired of them too since after changing from $5 to $3 I get probably one paying survey/study a month now. The latest one I was picked for was get this, a women's deodorant which might not sound bad to some of you....but I'm a guy. :lol:
:confused:

Buzzback sends me surveys that normally pay about $5 or so. Yesterday I received an invite and all they offered was an entry to win something. Into the trash folder it went.

So true they are defintely not worth our precious time!

I quit:

1. Any surveyspot survey: They send me long surveys that pay $3 or $5 but at the end, I always get "quota has been met" message even if I respond to the survey invite asap.

2. You2cents: Their surveys take 30-45 minutes and payment is only $1-3, not worth my time. And I notice, if I finish the survey lesser than their suggested time, I get DQ message.

3. Zoompanel: It takes forever to earn points.


I still like Pinecone, I get maximum of 7 surveys a month and once in a while PTs. I'm used with the payment since I signed up under a $3 banner.

I already boycott non paying surveys. :)

I see Lightspeeds the number one to boycott lol.

To earn $10 thru lightspeed, you needed to complete about 25,000 hours of surveys. I will gladly quadruple your salary to .0016 cents an hour and you can come and paint my house. Does this work for you?

I do really well with Lightspeed also. This is a tough call for what is good for some and not good for others. As we all know it's a demographics game

i do ok with lightspeed actually. i make a few bucks from them every month. main offenders for me are Mindfield and Surveyspot. Mindfield hasn't updated status of my surveys in nearly 6 weeks. Surveyspot is basically spam. Pinecone? They pay really promptly, for me longest wait has been 3 days and I do maybe 3 surveys a week from them so I have absolutely no problems. My other issue is why does it more than a few days to reflect a credit? This is 2008 will soon be 2009 everything is online all the time. it's not like they are checking these things in a paper ledger. There isnt any justifiable reason for a survey site taking more than a week to payout.

Sorry to rant but wondering if others are having the same experiences lately. I've been noticing that more and more of my survey invites from many companies I'm with are taking me to OTX surveys which I CANNOT stand!! I usually can disqualify myself after only a couple of questions. The funny thing is some of them won't let me even when I try my hardest. They keep cycling over and over and will start repeating questions until finally my session times out. :lol:
I personally wish OTX would go out of business never to be heard from again. They are a major pain in the ass and a total waste of my time. :mad:

I quit:

1. Any surveyspot survey: They send me long surveys that pay $3 or $5 but at the end, I always get "quota has been met" message even if I respond to the survey invite asap.

2. You2cents: Their surveys take 30-45 minutes and payment is only $1-3, not worth my time. And I notice, if I finish the survey lesser than their suggested time, I get DQ message.

3. Zoompanel: It takes forever to earn points.


I still like Pinecone, I get maximum of 7 surveys a month and once in a while PTs. I'm used with the payment since I signed up under a $3 banner. Ditto. I still do SOME survey spot though

i just remembered why i don't like zoompanel. i can't even check how many points i do have, though i haven't done any surveys for them in awhile.

I'm boycotting 20/20 research. I always get qualified for their studies, but then a day before they call me and they drop me. They claim "the client changed their requirements".

i just remembered why i don't like zoompanel. i can't even check how many points i do have, though i haven't done any surveys for them in awhile.you can log into your account and see how many points you have.

So which surveys are good, any good ones out there anymore?

I have seen this happening myself lately. Opinion Outpost is using OTX on a regular basis now. OTX has shortened their surveys somewhat if you can ever qualify. But qualifying is so frustrating that when an OTX shows up I delete it immediately. Opinion Central is a strange survey site it takes forever to accumulate points and the merchandise is really cheap unless you can get like a million points. I have only seen their surveys as pop-ups.


Sorry to rant but wondering if others are having the same experiences lately. I've been noticing that more and more of my survey invites from many companies I'm with are taking me to OTX surveys which I CANNOT stand!! I usually can disqualify myself after only a couple of questions. The funny thing is some of them won't let me even when I try my hardest. They keep cycling over and over and will start repeating questions until finally my session times out. :lol:
I personally wish OTX would go out of business never to be heard from again. They are a major pain in the ass and a total waste of my time. :mad:

Definitely in! I hate it so much that I spend time and all I get is a stupid entry to something I never win, and never hear of anyone winning, or ever hear any results from. Definitely in!!!

I never ever hear of anyone winning either!

I hate when you get through 20 minutes of a survey and you don't qualify and you don't get anything for your time. I have that happen to me when I do Lightspeed surveys. They could at least give you 25 points or something.

god i hate those OTX surveys...i see them i don't do them!

I agree OTX is so bad, I won't do them either if I see its re-routed to them I immediately close it.

I hate those OTX surveys, ipsos, and zoompanel. hope these surveys companies will be boycott soon. can't stand them anymore.

I have started boycotting a while ago
I do not do surveys without compensation unless my chances of winning something are good like for instance 50 people who take this survey will get an amazon gc or something like that then i will take it otherwise nope.I also avoid otx no matter how good the compensation is as i rarely ever make it through a whole survey and they are just horrible.

I have started boycotting a while ago
I do not do surveys without compensation unless my chances of winning something are good like for instance 50 people who take this survey will get an amazon gc or something like that then i will take it otherwise nope.I also avoid otx no matter how good the compensation is as i rarely ever make it through a whole survey and they are just horrible.

\Ihave been notdoing any surveys thatdo not pay . Lightspeed is ok if you have nothing else to do. I hate that they charge you for using paypal. Gee whiz and they get it for free. They even charge for an amazon. I do not do any for raffles or prizes. Test spin is another I cannot stand and stop doing. First you go thru verification and they a process to qualify. I just do not like wasting so much time. Greenfield I will do an interactive thats about it.
Otx is the worst.

\Ihave been notdoing any surveys thatdo not pay . Lightspeed is ok if you have nothing else to do. I hate that they charge you for using paypal. Gee whiz and they get it for free. They even charge for an amazon. I do not do any for raffles or prizes. Test spin is another I cannot stand and stop doing. First you go thru verification and they a process to qualify. I just do not like wasting so much time. Greenfield I will do an interactive thats about it.
Otx is the worst.They charge you for paypal? How does that work exactly? I've never cashed out with paypal through them, usually I get GC's now. I liked the way Lighspeed had it prior to the updated rewards. I cashed out for $50 checks a few times.

\Ihave been notdoing any surveys thatdo not pay . Lightspeed is ok if you have nothing else to do. I hate that they charge you for using paypal. Gee whiz and they get it for free. They even charge for an amazon. I do not do any for raffles or prizes. Test spin is another I cannot stand and stop doing. First you go thru verification and they a process to qualify. I just do not like wasting so much time. Greenfield I will do an interactive thats about it.
Otx is the worst.

I've used PayPal as my reward before and was never charged.....

I think it is really difficult to find a good survey site. What ones are worthwhile?

agree. I Stopped doing , if I don't see any points. I do a quite bit of zoom panel and right now I have hefty 35000 points in thme I have used aroudn 12000 points so far. I Started wiht zoom panel when they used to pya aroudn 25.00 $ a survey for telecom during intertnet bubble days.

Now days there are no good compnies paying for surveys. I do it for fun and to know about new concepts and not so much for renumeration, but I totally agree should not participate in the surverys wiht a chance.

i agree i only did pinecone but stopped doing after they reduced the compensation and after they kept asking the same questions again and again as household questions...n those household questions do not pay ....

Count me in! I'm tired of going thru about 20 min of qualifying and doing a survey only when I get right down to the end about personal information such as what level of school I've completed I've been Dq'd. This is TOTAL BS.. They've gotten their pay by this time in and we get the shaft! I also agree OTX is the VERY WORST!
I'm in on the boycott!
I won't do any surveys that do NOT pay w/ a few exceptions of SurveySpot if I feel they'll lead to a PT. Right now I'm in the middle of 2 of them for Survey Spot for $50.00 EACH!
That I can deal with!
Pinecone reducing to $3.00 from $5.00 is total bogus b/c their "CLIENTS" are still paying the same amount! And I'm sure w/ the economy they've raised their rates so there was absolutely NO REASON to LOWER our compensation! I still do them from time to time to waste time while I wait for some better PTs w/ more incentives to come along. But I am getting VERY FRUSTRATED by their repetitive nature on the FREE HOUSEHOLD QUESTIONS! :*(
Like I said Count me in. .If anyone has a survey company that actually pays worth a darn I wish they'd post it here !
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION: NO SWEEPSTAKES SURVEYS FOR SUNNI! ;-)

Let's start our own survey thing

I'm so glad to see this thread still going and picking up steam. I can't even stand to do the ones for survey spot anymore that pay $3 for 30 minutes because something always happens and just about the time I'm done I get DQ'd for some reason. I've been doing surveys for years now and can really see an increase in surveys that don't pay anything and take over 30 minutes. It makes me feel very impatient and like not trying them if they don't offer good money up front or if I can tell it's leading to a good product test. Survey Spot used to be one of my favorites but it's going downhill right now.

And I agree with everyone else about OTX. If I see mention of their name I just close out the survey. SD does have a huge effect so I do think it might make a difference to let newbie's know to not do these non paying studies and surveys. And for us old timers to boycott these non paying survey sites.

I'll post to remind myself NEVER to put up with cheapskates again! From this day forth I will vow ALWAYS to make money and not to lose parts of my life with a terrible survey.

there are hardly any surveys up anywhere, hopefully some will come up soon!

there are hardly any surveys up anywhere, hopefully some will come up soon!
becouse of the holidays and now we have new years coming up- its going to be dead till next week.

I haven't even been able to do any for Survey Spot. I, like you, always get dq'd and it makes me so mad it you are right, it is a huge waste of time. Which ones do you like?

Surveyspot isnt that bad. I generally won't do the survey if they are only paying a buck. If someone else wants to, thats their problem. However, I was just paid $25 from them for doing a survey and I got three bottles of Lipton Iced tea. Not bad. So yeah Im not going to "boycott" them.

As for sweepstakes surveys, I might take them. If the chances of winning are like 1 in 10 and the survey is a page or two. Depends how lazy im feeling.

there are hardly any surveys up anywhere, hopefully some will come up soon!

huh? I just finished like 12 surveys all offering $5 starbucks gift cards. You just need to learn how to use the internet n00b.

Pinecone reducing to $3.00 from $5.00 is total bogus b/c their "CLIENTS" are still paying the same amount! And I'm sure w/ the economy they've raised their rates so there was absolutely NO REASON to LOWER our compensation! I still do them from time to time to waste time while I wait for some better PTs w/ more incentives to come along. But I am getting VERY FRUSTRATED by their repetitive nature on the FREE HOUSEHOLD QUESTIONS! :*(
Like I said Count me in. .If anyone has a survey company that actually pays worth a darn I wish they'd post it here !
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION: NO SWEEPSTAKES SURVEYS FOR SUNNI! ;-)


HH's were never paying to start so what is the difference. They take all of 2 min to complete.

Oh well I've been making around $9 a week with PC here recently so I'll stick with them.

I'm in - I cashed out in July for $43 from opinion outpost and have only qualified for less than $15 since - OTX Sucks and Greenfield - pppssshaawwww - Ipsos, the company that keeps reminding you you have an open survey. I aborted because it took me 40 minutes to get partway thru and then all you would offer me would be a sweeps option

OTX is bad bad bad! heck, if they ask for a chunky guy with a white beard i'd put Santa clause and id still get my sorry butt DQ!!:lol:

I'm in!

HH's were never paying to start so what is the difference. They take all of 2 min to complete.

Oh well I've been making around $9 a week with PC here recently so I'll stick with them.

:iagree: I'm loving Pinecone lately. Though the amount I'm getting would have been higher at the $5 level, it keeps my fast food addiction going!

Thats so true, SurveySpot dq's you at the very last step. However, they pay nicely if you actually get in. VERY time consuming surveys.

I'm not doing any more SayNation surveys unless they are like 4000pts or more. It took me probably 6 hrs of survey time to make a $20 Amazon GC that I have to wait 2-6 weeks for... yippee... I feel so scammed right now.

I might just stick with working to pay for my online expenses, I know I shouldn't have done all those SayNation surveys that only paid under $1 a piece, (most of whom took 20mins +) but I was too far in to have just dropped everything, and just finished it tonight.

i'm the same as you guys, if they only pay in points i don't use them (except harris polls because 800 points = $5 amazon gift card and most surveys take 5-10 minutes and give 30-100 points). but other then that, if they don't pay $1+ then i don't do the survey.

also the surveys that pay the BEST can be panels specific to your industry. I am in construction so I have panels that pay for my opinion about things from tools to pacing and pricing jobs. These most always pay $10.00 to $20.00 for 15 to 1/2 hour. One of the best is

http://specpan.com/

even if I don't qualify for a survey I am paid $2.00 for a few seconds to fill out the questionnaire. BUT you must be in the industry ...and they will check it out. Great company though.

there are others also... they respect your time and effort.....Opinion Square comes to mind...some times just points but these add up fast with them and about once every month or two a $50.00 or so forum come along they match with me....LOVE IT !!!

http://www.findfocusgroups.com/
shows studies all the time ...I find stuff here every once in a while...but I am VERY honest about what I respond to and I skip over the majority of surveys offered. But they just list stuff...if I'm picked I just feel lucky

Now one last thought.... Right now the survey field is very crowded with folks that are trying to earn extra bucks ...Sticking with it is the name of the game...it is a part job and can be very frustrating ( not being paid and such...waiting for over due pay checks) but slow and steady wins the race in this area.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE ( and pay close attention to the SD survey thread )

...Opinion Square comes to mind...some times just points but these add up fast with them and about once every month or two a $50.00 or so forum come along they match with me....LOVE IT !!!

I looked into that one, but they appear to want me to install a program for them to moniter my surfing and purchasing habits. I just don't care for that at all. Did you d/l it patrossi?

I looked into that one, but they appear to want me to install a program for them to moniter my surfing and purchasing habits. I just don't care for that at all. Did you d/l it patrossi?

I have heard of this from others. I really have been with them for a long time ...BUT I don't ever think I downloaded any type of monitoring system (and yes I checked)....... that being said I would write to them say that you want to participate but your system won't allow this spywear or something like that....They are very quick to respond and will fill you in if you can skip it or if it is a necessity for the forum now... I have no idea what it is.

I looked thru my mail and here is an email of someone that has been working with these studies for a while...

Christine Hall
OpinionSquare Member Services
chall@opinionsquare.com

ask her & GOOD LUCK..... great company

I have heard of this from others. I really have been with them for a long time ...BUT I don't ever think I downloaded any type of monitoring system (and yes I checked)....... that being said I would write to them say that you want to participate but your system won't allow this spywear or something like that....They are very quick to respond and will fill you in if you can skip it or if it is a necessity for the forum now... I have no idea what it is.

I looked thru my mail and here is an email of someone that has been working with these studies for a while...

Christine Hall
OpinionSquare Member Services
chall@opinionsquare.com

ask her & GOOD LUCK..... great company

I guess it doesn't matter if I d/l it or not (which I didn't) because they sent me the first survey anyhow. I think they will still let you participate, but you might get more surveys if you d/l their internet tracker.

I love Opinion Square. I was fortunate to do two of their online forums just a couple of months ago and they sent me two pre-paid Visa cards which really came in handy for the holidays.

i just installed and uninstalled opinion square software.
one runtime error. one warning for adware and one for virus
I use avast anti virus. oh and it so nicely wanted to take over
and use my skype software. the site is not compatible with latest firefox

likewise I did the first survey. 200 points
takes something like 1400 points for a 5 dollar gc
other surveys will have to pay a whole hella lot more or this company
is already posted in the right thread. BOYCOTT :)

thought I might share ;)

Some people are STILL posting surveys that compensate only with a sweepstakes/chance at winning. I could create my own survey through surveymonkey and 'advertise' that I am raffling away 1,000 Starbucks gift cards to survey participants. How would we ever know if the survey company even picked any winners after collecting our data? For all we know, we could email the company and they could say "sorry, your name wasn't one of the ones chosen.".

Please please please, no posting of raffle/sweepstakes surveys in 2009! Within a few months of getting no responses, they will be forced to convert these "chances of winning" to actual payments to us for our time!

Some people are STILL posting surveys that compensate only with a sweepstakes/chance at winning. I could create my own survey through surveymonkey and 'advertise' that I am raffling away 1,000 Starbucks gift cards to survey participants. How would we ever know if the survey company even picked any winners after collecting our data? For all we know, we could email the company and they could say "sorry, your name wasn't one of the ones chosen.".

Please please please, no posting of raffle/sweepstakes surveys in 2009! Within 90 days, they will be forced to convert these "chances of winning" to actual payments to us for our time!
I have read you post and agree that some companies should be known as stay away....HOWEVER, people that do not feel the same way you do have every right to post or take any survey they please. If we could get everything just the way we want it I would have a maid !!!:D

best thing to do then is post in each of those threads that you stand against
and are boycotting those surveys and companies and encourage others to
do the same. or ask why and refer them to this thread.

I have read you post and agree that some companies should be known as stay away....HOWEVER, people that do not feel the same way you do have every right to post or take any survey they please. If we could get everything just the way we want it I would have a maid !!!:D

Yes, we are free to take any surveys of our choosing. But why spend your time on a "sweepstakes" chance when you can get paid real money for your time? I can't force anyone to not take these "raffle" surveys, but you are only helping yourself (and your fellow SlickDealers) by boycotting these and forcing companies to start compensating for our time and efforts.

Yes, we are free to take any surveys of our choosing. But why spend your time on a "sweepstakes" chance when you can get paid real money for your time? I can't force anyone to not take these "raffle" surveys, but you are only helping yourself (and your fellow SlickDealers) by boycotting these and forcing companies to start compensating for our time and efforts.


And I do agree with the principle of your idea ..I just very uncomfortable went I feel forced to have a thought or idea shoved at me...I certainly meant nothing personal. It's just that that's what SD is all about ... sharing our "finds" . Thanks for listening:hug: Pat

Lightspeed: - I've redeemed $20 worth of amazon GC this month. Most of my surveys are 300 points, easy watch a video and answer a couple questions.

Surveyspot: Made like $100 last year. Just ignore the sweeps surveys.

Don't get why these two companies are in the wiki. :/

And I do agree with the principle of your idea ..I just very uncomfortable went I feel forced to have a thought or idea shoved at me...I certainly meant nothing personal. It's just that that's what SD is all about ... sharing our "finds" . Thanks for listening:hug: Pat

Hugs back. I am all about sharing 'finds'. Let's just share the ones that put guaranteed money in all of our pockets! None of us can retire early by collecting 'sweepstakes entries' for Starbucks giftcards! :woot:

Lightspeed: - I've redeemed $20 worth of amazon GC this month. Most of my surveys are 300 points, easy watch a video and answer a couple questions.

Surveyspot: Made like $100 last year. Just ignore the sweeps surveys.

Don't get why these two companies are in the wiki. :/

Well for me I do 20min to a half hour of a SS survey that promises to pay only to DNQ after I've done given them enough info to send on to the companies that hire them.

I do LS if the points payment is good enough.

Dear xxx, urlhasbeenblocked.com invites you to share your opinions in a new study. If you qualify and complete this survey, your urlhasbeenblocked.com account will be credited $0.50 within four to six weeks. As always, we will keep your responses in the strictest confidence, and they will be used for research purposes only.

3 things wrong with that survey!

1- .50 cents
2- if i qualify for .50 cents
3- having to wait 4 to 6 weeks for .50 cents! :lol:

I hate Greenfield Online. I did a survey that said it was going to pay and after I completed it, it gave me an entry...

They charge you for paypal? How does that work exactly? I've never cashed out with paypal through them, usually I get GC's now. I liked the way Lighspeed had it prior to the updated rewards. I cashed out for $50 checks a few times.


paypal doesnt charge you anything . But lightspeed charges you when you cash out. It is totally unfair. A ten dollar amazon will cost you 11.

oh that is bad

Lightspeed has never charged me for paypal or Amazon. That is odd its charging you. I just did an Amazon giftcard from light speed a few days ago.

Usually, when I get something from survey spot or mindfield, I first go to SD and do a search on the survey number. By the time I get my emails, several people have already gone to the trouble of posting if it was for a PT or just a sweeps. So I'm grateful that people post the survey spot and mindfield numbers, it makes it easier on me and I can tell right away whether or not I want to use my time that way.

I never do the sweeps or even the less than five dollar surveys, so I've already been boycotting them for a while now LOL

I had to laugh when I got this from Mindfield...

MindField Online has a new and exciting opportunity. This study will take between 5 - 10 minutes to complete. Should you qualify for and complete this survey your account will be credited $0.00 within 10-14 days once the total quota has been met for this study...

Wow, new and exciting for $0!!

paypal doesnt charge you anything . But lightspeed charges you when you cash out. It is totally unfair. A ten dollar amazon will cost you 11.

I cashed out $20 in amazon GC's not too long ago and they didn't charge me nothing. Besides how can they charge you when they don't ask for credit card info?

Usually, when I get something from survey spot or mindfield, I first go to SD and do a search on the survey number. By the time I get my emails, several people have already gone to the trouble of posting if it was for a PT or just a sweeps. So I'm grateful that people post the survey spot and mindfield numbers, it makes it easier on me and I can tell right away whether or not I want to use my time that way.

I never do the sweeps or even the less than five dollar surveys, so I've already been boycotting them for a while now LOL

I had to laugh when I got this from Mindfield...



Wow, new and exciting for $0!!
LOL, I threw that email out fast, god these survey sites are getting pretty cheap!

paypal doesnt charge you anything . But lightspeed charges you when you cash out. It is totally unfair. A ten dollar amazon will cost you 11.
Lightspeed has never once charged me? I even just redeemed $10 PayPal with them last night. 1150 points for $10 PP as listed in their catalog = what I redeemed = they send me said $10.

Clear Voice, however, 'charged' for PP - you'd redeem for $10, they'd send you $9.50 - but now they took PP away so guess it doesn't matter much.

Lightspeed charges more points than it should.

1000 pts = $10 (or it use to back in the day)
now they charge you 1150 points for $10 when 1150 should equal $11.50

thats what he means. you dont realize it becuase it's just points but if you were with them a long time ago, you know they went up on prices

Lightspeed charges more points than it should.

1000 pts = $10 (or it use to back in the day)
now they charge you 1150 points for $10 when 1150 should equal $11.50

thats what he means. you dont realize it becuase it's just points but if you were with them a long time ago, you know they went up on prices

I'm thinking you are right...they just didn't make a big announcement about the changes

Im in!

-I only do the pinecone ones that actually pay.
-Survey spot, i refuse to do any that dont pay. And even if they do pay, if they offer $2 for 30 minutes, theres no way im willing to get paid $4 an hour!
- Stanford behavioral is also bad because they offer some lottery ones and then you are disqualified from the paying ones because you took a specific lottery one. I stopped doing any lottery ones months ago.

Im in!

-I only do the pinecone ones that actually pay.
I cannot believe how long those stupid nonpaying PC are! I took one once because I was scared that I would get booted if I didn't take it. NEVER again! It almost took me an hour

i have never been charged anything by lightspeed or paypal either.

I'm go with you guys

I agree with the whole premise of this. Survey companies don't need to take the money that they get and not distribute it out.

I have gotten more points with Opinion Square by getting tokens for the instant win game than for actually completing their 200 point surveys. Its great when I dont qualify because that takes like a minute of my time and I get 1 token. One day I won over 2000 points playing the instant win game.The minimum amount of points you get for 1 token is 50 and you never get 0. I didnt even realize I was getting the tokens til last year.

When survey invites come I always start them and since I rarely qualify I end up playing their game for instant points. I have traded in my points several times for some really useful items which always got here fast. So be sure you dont forget to check your account to see if you have tokens for the instant win game. Last night I got 500 points on 1 spin and 250 on another. It all adds up and takes less time than doing a survey.

I have never been charged either....that is strange :omg:

Alot of folks on here are adding [CHANCE] to the title of the post if actual compensation is not being offered. This will make it much easier to spot and skip over.

Thanks to everyone for your efforts.

I Feel To Each Their Own On Survey Site---what You Want To Boycott May Be The Best Site For Me. I Agree That The "chance" Surveys Are A Pain And Waste Of Time Most Times I Don't Take Them Unless They Take Less Then 5 Mins-i've Noticed If I Do Take Them I Get More Paying Or Pt Surveys Later---its All Up To Each Person And How Much Time They Have.

Alot of folks on here are adding [CHANCE] to the title of the post if actual compensation is not being offered. This will make it much easier to spot and skip over.

Thanks to everyone for your efforts.
:thumbup:GOOD IDEAL:applause:

Interesting how 5000 people here said they never do surveys that don't pay.......except a few. Gee, if 7 billion people do "just a few" non-paying surveys, what good is a boycott?

I'm thinking you are right...they just didn't make a big announcement about the changes


Didn't the same thing happen with CreationRewards? Not that I'm a big fan of theirs but I could swear after I signed up in mid September one needed 500 pts for $10 then upped the cash out to 1000 points for $5.

I thought I was losing my marbles! :crazy: Can anyone elaborate on this? TIA

paypal doesnt charge you anything . But lightspeed charges you when you cash out. It is totally unfair. A ten dollar amazon will cost you 11.

Without looking through hundreds of posts, this same topic came up with regards to PayPal charges. I had the same issue when I changed to a "premier" account with PayPal. Selected survey companies (such as Lightspeed apparently) that don't do a mass disbursement of payments will charge you for your receipt of payment.

Ah yes! :eek: October 26 I received $5 from Creation Rewards and was charged $.45! Not a big hairy A** deal to some of you but it does add up. I immediately switched back to the basic account; thus, no more charges.

Anyone having any info on Testspin? Never get surveys anymore and have had $7 sitting there for 3 months (takes $10 to cash out). tia

Anyone having any info on Testspin? Never get surveys anymore and have had $7 sitting there for 3 months (takes $10 to cash out). tia

I get at least three surveys a day from them and have NEVER qualified for a one! :mad: My balance is a big fat ZERO! I have been signed up with them since 8/19/08 and NOTHING!!! :vomit:

I was getting three or four in a day as well but haven't seen anything from them since cashing $110 in May 2008. My last survey taken with them was from March 2008. I sent them an email asking if they were still in business LOL.

My total with them since Oct. 6, 2006 was $240 out of a possible $600.

Without looking through hundreds of posts, this same topic came up with regards to PayPal charges. I had the same issue when I changed to a "premier" account with PayPal. Selected survey companies (such as Lightspeed apparently) that don't do a mass disbursement of payments will charge you for your receipt of payment.
Nope, Lightspeed does mass payments - I have a premier account on PayPal as well and they don't take any fees out of my payments from them.
Anyone having any info on Testspin? Never get surveys anymore and have had $7 sitting there for 3 months (takes $10 to cash out). tia
I've had $8 sitting in TS since April '08 and those were from surveys I had taken months prior and asked them to credit. I haven't gotten any new surveys since sometime around the end of '07 which is bizarre because before that I used to qualify for multiple ones a week [I cashed out $450 from '06-'08]. I didn't hit the $600 mark so I don't know why they stopped - maybe they were just tired of paying me, ha.

Maybe one of us should shoot off an email and see if they are still in business. Thoughts??

I cashed out for Amazon GC from Testspin and got it immediately. Took me a long time to get to $10.00 because I dq almost everytime.

I Feel To Each Their Own On Survey Site---what You Want To Boycott May Be The Best Site For Me. I Agree That The "chance" Surveys Are A Pain And Waste Of Time Most Times I Don't Take Them Unless They Take Less Then 5 Mins-i've Noticed If I Do Take Them I Get More Paying Or Pt Surveys Later---its All Up To Each Person And How Much Time They Have.

I'm not complaining but I find it kinda hard to read the above Title Case. :confused: Is this a default you have set up somewhere? I've never seen anything like this before. :eek:

I'm not complaining but I find it kinda hard to read the above Title Case. :confused: Is this a default you have set up somewhere? I've never seen anything like this before. :eek:

Not being compensated for doing a survey has been a pet peeve of mine for several years. When I complained I was told that "I owe it to them" to do surveys without compensation because of all the good paying surveys I was allowed to do in the past. You guys think not being paid is bad? I know for a fact that one survey company doesn't pay the full amount the client gives them for incentive pay ! They take a certain amount off of what the respondent is supposed to receive and keep for themselves. Incentive money is tax free and they are making a fortune by cheating respondents.

Not being compensated for doing a survey has been a pet peeve of mine for several years. When I complained I was told that "I owe it to them" to do surveys without compensation because of all the good paying surveys I was allowed to do in the past. You guys think not being paid is bad? I know for a fact that one survey company doesn't pay the full amount the client gives them for incentive pay ! They take a certain amount off of what the respondent is supposed to receive and keep for themselves. Incentive money is tax free and they are making a fortune by cheating respondents.

Oh no no no Dear!!! :nod: I agree with you 250% on your philosphy of getting "ripped" off for the 'chancey' surveys. You are absolutely correct! :nod: And nothing chaps my :censord2: more than not getting paid to do a survey when offered an incentive up front. And the worst is getting to the end of a paying survey lingering for a half hour and get DQ or they've met their quota! :blowup:

What I was originally referring to was the style of your last post. I've never seen a message where the first letter of practically every word in a paragraph is capitalized. I just found it rather odd. :huh:

But yes, they got us all by the you-know-whats and what are we gonna do about it? Quit taking surveys? There's millions of people out there doing this so there is definately not a lack of inventory for them to prey on. :(

Face it, doing surveys is a chance all the way around no matter which way you look at it. I can't think of one survey site that will guarantee me a weekly paycheck and W-2 at the end of the year. So, it is a gambling game that we are all involved with.

I just do paid surveys. No Money, No Play!!.

GOD knows whether they even "draw" winners!

I wonder too whats going on with Testspin I just tried cashing out for a $10 GC and couldnt, I got a message stating the site is undergoing maintenance which could take 48 hours. So I cant get the GC yet. 48 hours seems like a very long time to be inoperable.

Maybe one of us should shoot off an email and see if they are still in business. Thoughts??

Has anyone won pinecones sweeps since their payment crap changed?

Has anyone won pinecones sweeps since their payment crap changed?

Has anyone ever won a sweepstakes? I get hundreds of surveyspot entries and have never heard of anyone winning anything.

yep I have been boycotting for a long while!

Maybe one of us should shoot off an email and see if they are still in business. Thoughts??

I emailed testspin to see if they were still in business and this is the reply I received:

Dear Member:

Your account was deactivated because one or more of our AOL user members clicked on spam for one or more of our survey email invitations. When this occurs, all of our AOL members will not get their email invitations and the system will deacivate your account because the emails bounce back to us. Please contact AOL to make sure they are aware you want to recieve @TestSpin.com emails.

Again, you must make sure your ISP is aware that you want auto-generated bulk email from TestSpin.com or you may not receive our invites (or payouts). WE DO NOT SPAM. Your ISP must accept our opt-in bulk email from all our email addresses @testspin.com, such as membership@testspin.com, payout@testspin.com and support@testspin.com. Most importantly, please make sure your ISP and your email program is not set-up to filter SurveyAlert@testspin.com as spam or junk, as this is the address from which you will receive all survey invitations.

We have reactivated your account, but it will be closed again if you do not resolve the matter with AOL.

Thank you,
Customer Service

I emailed testspin to see if they were still in business and this is the reply I received:

Thanks for the update, really appreciate it. :) repped

Thanks for the update, really appreciate it. :) repped


WTF?! :eek: I don't have AOL and haven't seen a thing from TestSpin in days. Their explanation below is the most rediculous thing I've ever heard. :vomit: Am I getting this right?

Your account was deactivated because one or more of our AOL user members clicked on spam for one or more of our survey email invitations. When this occurs, all of our AOL members will not get their email invitations and the system will deacivate your account because the emails bounce back to us.

Since someone out there with AOL doesn't want TestSpin emails and spam them, everyone is booted out? :mad:

WTF?! :eek: I don't have AOL and haven't seen a thing from TestSpin in days. Their explanation below is the most rediculous thing I've ever heard. :vomit: Am I getting this right?

Your account was deactivated because one or more of our AOL user members clicked on spam for one or more of our survey email invitations. When this occurs, all of our AOL members will not get their email invitations and the system will deacivate your account because the emails bounce back to us.

Since someone out there with AOL doesn't want TestSpin emails and spam them, everyone is booted out? :mad:

Only for AOL members miss! But it does slow down the invites for the rest of us. Now we sit around and wait!:shake:

Only for AOL members miss! But it does slow down the invites for the rest of us. Now we sit around and wait!:shake:

Well.....isn't it rather coincidental that I would get bombarded with surveys everyday which I've never qualified for a one. And all of a sudden Zipo! Nada! None!

Perhaps I should shoot them an email to see if I am actually active or if they felt I'm a lost cause since I've never qualified for a survey going back to August 18th !!! :banned1:

Has anyone won pinecones sweeps since their payment crap changed?I never have.

I just updated my profile at Testspin and changed my email, so will see what happens. As I mentioned here previously, I have that $7 sitting there and I want to cash out, so I can move on. I wasn't receiving survey invites from ACOP, and when I emailed, I got the same response about AOL spam. I switched to Verizon and now everything is fine.

Just logged into my Testspin account and .............................. POOF, I am gone.

I won a $42 Amazon.com GF from Study Response Project. They are one of the few I will take time to do for a chance at a prize. Survey Spot? Forget it. If they are not paying I am not doing it. Greenfield either or Myview. I only take the paying ones.

I won a $42 Amazon.com GF from Study Response Project. They are one of the few I will take time to do for a chance at a prize. Survey Spot? Forget it. If they are not paying I am not doing it. Greenfield either or Myview. I only take the paying ones.

Congrats, I do those too since I won once. :)

I am feeling motivated after hearing too many sucess stories.

Plus I don't think the study response project is getting paid from some big company that wants to hear about how much you love their product and DQ's you if you don't like it. I believe but could be wrong that is more university type research.

To my experience there was big decline in surveys and payment for surveys in
this year. It is probably because of declining economy. Fewer survey invites
come, most are non-payed, sweepstakes only surveys, even if survey is completed
it takes very long time to get it approved and survey companies started to
decline payments on completed payed surveys. Say you complete survey,
wait couple of months and nothing comes.

What is your experince, Fellows?

I have noticed a significant decline as well.

I have noticed a significant decline as well.


I have also seen a tremendous decline in surveys as well as offers. When people do surveys for raffles or chance to win more and more companies are doing the same thing. For example pinecone used to pay five dollars now 3 and a chance of winning something. I iused to open up my emails and get alot from companies but more and more people are joining and the companies I believe figure they can cut the payment as well.

I have also seen a tremendous decline in surveys as well as offers. When people do surveys for raffles or chance to win more and more companies are doing the same thing. For example pinecone used to pay five dollars now 3 and a chance of winning something. I iused to open up my emails and get alot from companies but more and more people are joining and the companies I believe figure they can cut the payment as well.


Try joining more companies? :dontknow:

I belong to somewhere around 30 companies. I average about 15 surveys per day 3/4 paid, the rest points.

We should also boycott survey companies that claim a survey takes 10 minutes when it really takes much longer or one that claims a survey is fun but in the end is very repetitive.

While this boycott sounds like a great idea, even if we all participated would they even notice? I am very new to this but with the number of people taking surveys are we a noticeable percentage? Maybe what we need is an e-mail campaign to get the companys to notice. I am sure many of you are much more knowledgable than I am here, any ideas?

I was actually thinking about that email thing yesterday. "There's strength in numbers"

While this boycott sounds like a great idea, even if we all participated would they even notice? I am very new to this but with the number of people taking surveys are we a noticeable percentage? Maybe what we need is an e-mail campaign to get the companys to notice. I am sure many of you are much more knowledgable than I am here, any ideas?

I was actually thinking about that email thing yesterday. "There's strength in numbers"


I think if a wiki letter is started for each company and members add their names and/or an email address after a week or two the letter can be pasted in an email and sent off to the offending companies and/or their representatives. One thought...

Try joining more companies? :dontknow:

I belong to somewhere around 30 companies. I average about 15 surveys per day 3/4 paid, the rest points.



well good for you but most of the companies are now making it chance of and with so many people joining it has to decrease. Plus the minute the company hears it was slick deals you get eliminated. I got so many emails that you are not being paid because somone posted on slickdeals.

i finally got my $100 sweepstakes check i won a couple of days ago.
tell harlequin panel sweepstakes
only took over a month for me to get it

I have gotten more points with Opinion Square by getting tokens for the instant win game than for actually completing their 200 point surveys. Its great when I dont qualify because that takes like a minute of my time and I get 1 token. One day I won over 2000 points playing the instant win game.The minimum amount of points you get for 1 token is 50 and you never get 0. I didnt even realize I was getting the tokens til last year.

When survey invites come I always start them and since I rarely qualify I end up playing their game for instant points. I have traded in my points several times for some really useful items which always got here fast. So be sure you dont forget to check your account to see if you have tokens for the instant win game. Last night I got 500 points on 1 spin and 250 on another. It all adds up and takes less time than doing a survey.

thanks for this info, i had spins waiting. I tried to rep you, but it said the post was too old.

I agree with you about OS. Lately, I have been getting the tokens since by the time I get home from work, most of the quotas have been filled but at least you get something for doing a quick spin which sometimes I have earned more points than doing an actual survey.

I had 2 spins for a fast 100 points. thanks

I'm in........AND agree........OTX TOTALLY SUCKS!!!! I can answer their "qualifying" questions with my eyes closed

I saw a few of you talking about Opinion Square here and thought "Oooh I am not with them yet I will check it out" However, when I did there were bright red words saying "dangerous download, a triangle with an exclaimation point, and a flashing red warning note that dropped down from my toolbar. Needless to say this made me nervous. Does anyone know what this is about?

I've been fighting w/ Survey Spot for a $50.00 Payment since December! It was for a Special Medical Survey. First they responded it would take time til the "Research is completed and then they'd pay" then they sent me a link for the 3rd part of the survey that I ALREADY COMPLETED! Then when I cut and posted that to them they AGAIN sent the same thing that it would take a while til the research is complete! In my opinion this is TOTAL BS b/c as all of us know they've most likely already been paid for us doing the survey. Any ideas?
Like most of you, I stopped doing anything that doesn't pay or takes to long. But i figured $50.00 is $50.00 and did ALL of their requirements and finished end of Dec and am still waiting! How long is this supposed to take? I know that previous ones have been paid really fast!

Has anyone ever won a sweepstakes? I get hundreds of surveyspot entries and have never heard of anyone winning anything.

I've won a $100 Nike giftcard with Survey Spot, and $5 on the spin wheel with HotSpex. BUT...I've been with Survey Spot for years, and only won once. I get paid for everything with them, haven't ever had a problem, they are my favorite.

As far as the demographics goes...I'm caucasian, 31, female, mom of one, married, in Florida. I put in my info each time, no lying on it.

thank for the info. i am disabled and need extra income nowdays like all. i will boycott the cheap skates and look for good ones if i find one i will be glad to share web site can anyone tell how to start looking for them??

thank you God Bless ljb

thank for the info. i am disabled and need extra income nowdays like all. i will boycott the cheap skates and look for good ones if i find one i will be glad to share web site can anyone tell how to start looking for them??

thank you God Bless ljb

OMG here we go again. My advice-read, read, read and read some more. And then go to www.surveypolice.com

I've won a $100 Nike giftcard with Survey Spot, and $5 on the spin wheel with HotSpex. BUT...I've been with Survey Spot for years, and only won once. I get paid for everything with them, haven't ever had a problem, they are my favorite.

As far as the demographics goes...I'm caucasian, 31, female, mom of one, married, in Florida. I put in my info each time, no lying on it.
wow you are the first person I have heard of winning, congrats!

I've been fighting w/ Survey Spot for a $50.00 Payment since December! It was for a Special Medical Survey. First they responded it would take time til the "Research is completed and then they'd pay" then they sent me a link for the 3rd part of the survey that I ALREADY COMPLETED! Then when I cut and posted that to them they AGAIN sent the same thing that it would take a while til the research is complete! In my opinion this is TOTAL BS b/c as all of us know they've most likely already been paid for us doing the survey. Any ideas?
Like most of you, I stopped doing anything that doesn't pay or takes to long. But i figured $50.00 is $50.00 and did ALL of their requirements and finished end of Dec and am still waiting! How long is this supposed to take? I know that previous ones have been paid really fast!

Paste your entire correspondence into an email and send it to Kailen:

Kailen_Pirro@surveysampling.com

She'll fix it for you.




thank for the info. i am disabled and need extra income nowdays like all. i will boycott the cheap skates and look for good ones if i find one i will be glad to share web site can anyone tell how to start looking for them??

thank you God Bless ljb

Sign up here

https://www.opinionoutpost.com/

Anyone having any info on Testspin? Never get surveys anymore and have had $7 sitting there for 3 months (takes $10 to cash out). tia


I haven't got anything in a long time.

I just tried logging in to my Testspin account and got a "Bad login/password" error message.

I then entered my email address address to have my password emailed to me and got a "We did not find that email address in our database" error message.

So I tried to register for the site and got a "The email address you entered is already in our system" error message.

So am I in the system or not? Seems they stopped sending surveys after I cashed out a decent amount.

For people having trouble with testspin, i had gone 3 weeks without an email (which was surprising since I use to get 3-4 a day) so I checked my spam folder...and bam there they were. Not sure why they were getting sent there but now I'm back to 3-4 emails a day from them.

There was a discussion somewhere recently that one of the SD member emailed the and rec'd a reply about not registering with AOL because it fouls up their surveys or something(having a hard time remembering the full explanation), so since I had $7 sitting there for 3 months, I changed my email to Verizon and still no invites. Logged in the other day and I am gone. I think it is them though. Maybe sold or out of business. They were a waste of time imo anyway. hth a little :)

With the economy as bad as it is, I have noticed a sharp decrease in PAID surveys. I use to apply for a few each day. Now it seems like I get 1 or 2 "prequalification" surveys at most (for the ones that pay more than a couple of dollars).

I refuse to do any "chance to win" surveys (even though these are easy to find and are a dime a dozen). Although a handful of people have reported winning a prize from doing these, the chances are typically very slim and completely random. In addition, some of these "chance to win" surveys can take 20 to 40 minutes of your time. If ANY survey takes longer than 5-10 minutes, I feel like you should get compensation. Maybe I should start a UNION for survey takers. LOL!

But please folks, don't take these freebie surveys. I know it passes the time and can be addictive, but if too many of us participate in these without expecting any payment, the companies have no incentive to ever OFFER payment. On the other hand, if the companies have trouble finding people to participate due to the Boycott, they will have no choice but to begin offering Cash incentives for all of us. (The only exceptions would be non-profits or educational institutions where your responses contribute towards valuable research).

I saw a few of you talking about Opinion Square here and thought "Oooh I am not with them yet I will check it out" However, when I did there were bright red words saying "dangerous download, a triangle with an exclaimation point, and a flashing red warning note that dropped down from my toolbar. Needless to say this made me nervous. Does anyone know what this is about?

Yes I know about this. OS offers a software download to be able to send you surveys instantly instead of you having to check for email invites. You do not need this download in order to join the site. I never installed it and I have cashed in around 50000 points for stuff in the last few years. I think somewhere in this thread someone else mentioned this. I could be wrong about what the download is actually for but I know for a fact you can join and do surveys without installing it.

I'm a part of Opinion Square and I do surveys for them without downloading their software

Thanks!! I love this place.

Sign up here

https://www.opinionoutpost.com/

I'm glad I found this... I realized I hadn't gotten emails from them in quite a while, logged in, and it turns out I had turned off survey notifications! Don't remember doing that... but I had enough points built up to request a $14 check. :bounce:

I'm relatively new to doing surveys and I was under the impression that if I did the sweepstakes surveys I would be rewarded by getting the paid ones or pts or whatever later on. After reading this thread, I feel so discouraged.
I'm just trying to do my part, earn a little extra income to help pay the bills. It's kinda pathetic, I know. I know that's everyone's case, but anyways..
I WILL NOT do those surveys anymore. It's going to take forever to actually be able to cash out at any of these survey companies, but hopefully it will pick up and I'll actually get some more paid surveys.

btw, shouldn't this be a STICKY?

btw, shouldn't this be a STICKY?

Good point, why not PM a moderator?

btw, shouldn't this be a STICKY?


you can make it sticky on your own, with out a mod.

I noticed in this economy there are alot more "chances to win" that paid surveys. And the one's that do pay, often pay less now (i.e. Pinecone's $5 down to $3 per survey)

I noticed in this economy there are alot more "chances to win" that paid surveys. And the one's that do pay, often pay less now (i.e. Pinecone's $5 down to $3 per survey)

yes, i agree.....some people seem to like the raffles but im not sure they understanding the odds....today i get yet another from the cheapskate universities on sonasystems and i think it was 1 in 50 chance for a $50 gc and the survey supposedly take 15 minutes....so they offering to pay you $4.00 an hour.....no thanks, i have most of these sent to spam now.....if they tried to pay their janitors on campus $4.00 an hour i think all the students and faculty would walk out on strike - they just trying to get around it with the sweepstakes b.s.

if you add up all your time on this survey stuff it doesnt really pay off anyway...

Yes, I completely skip the sweepstakes surveys. You have a VERY slim chance of winning. Additionally, I seem to spend more and more time trying to qualify for surveys with no luck, not to mention the time it takes to check for e mail invitations, log in etc. Often you think about how much you make taking a survey, but there is still alot of time spent on surveys outside of actually taking surveys. I guess it can be worth it, you just have to pick and choose carefully.

I agree. I have been doing that.