Survey Spot

Survey Spot

My Rating: ****

Payment: You can redeem your reward points for PayPal credit, Mileage Plus, Amazon, iTunes, and the Webshop. Panelists also sometimes receive entries into sweepstakes for participation.

Cash Out Requirement: The minimum amount is $5 for an Amazon gift certificate. PayPal, iTunes, and Webshop require a $10 minimum or 1000 points, and Mileage Plus has a 1050 point minimum.

Point System: generally its $1=100 points

Average Payout for Survey Completion: So far I have seen a range from 15-515 points with the average probably being about 50.

History of Company:  They are operated by Survey Sampling International, LLC. Survey Spot has apparently been around since 2000 and provides market research for companies worldwide.

My Experience/ Review: I joined Survey Spot on 25 April, 2010. Since then, I have completed 96 surveys and collected 12480 points

Join/ Refer a friend: CLICK HERE

Other Notes: I have not had any problem with this, but apparently McAfee mistakes Survey Spot as "unsafe." From my own personal experience this is untrue..

International: Membership for this online panel is only open to US residents.

Lightspeed Consumer Panel

My Rating: ***

Payment: You can redeem your reward points for all sorts of stuff including e certificates (5-7 days), gift certificates (3-4 weeks), charitable donations, merchandise (3-6 weeks), and most importantly PayPal credit. (5-7 days) There is also a $5000 sweepstakes that is held every 3 months. You are usually awarded with an entry into this each time you participate in a survey.

Cash Out Requirement: The least amount is 110 points for a $1 amazon mp3 e certificate. For PayPal its 575 points for $5, 1100 for $10, 1650 for $15, and 2200 for $20.

Point System: generally its $1=110 points

Average Payout for Survey Completion: So far I have seen a range from 50-300 points with the average probably being 150.

History of Company: Lightspeed Consumer Panel is owned by WPP. They also have ties with ELITEOpinion Surveys which has surveys directed towards business issues and My Survey.

My Experience/ Review: I joined Lightspeed on 25 April, 2010. Since then, I have acquired 300 points and 20 entries into the sweepstakes. I receive about 4 surveys a week. I have only actually completed one successfully. I'm starting to wonder how the surveys are divided up amongst Lightspeed Consumer Panel, My Survey, and ELITE Opinions, all of which I am a member. I wonder if I was only a member of one of these sites, would I still receive the same number of surveys I receive from all three?

Join/ Refer a friend: http://us.lightspeedpanel.com/US/register/registerPage.us?custom=BRRUS00203&lc=en

Other Notes: Points expire after 2 years. They also seem to be plagued with someone using their good name in a scam. You can read about it here.

International: It looks like Lightspeed has market research offices in the following countries: US, Canada, UK, Spain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Austria, China, Japan, South Korea and Australia. I am not sure if you can join in those countries though. It's kind of hard to find a link to even sign up for the US one. Well the one I posted should work nonetheless.

Valued Opinions

My Rating: ***

Payment: You can redeem your reward points for gift cards. You can choose your vouchers from VISA, Amazon.com, Macy's, Marriott, Blockbuster, Magazine.com and Fragrance.net. These have paper and digital forms. Obviously the paper ones take longer to receive. (up to 28 days for delivery)

Cash Out Requirement: You can cash out at $20

Point System: There is no point system. Everything is done in dollar amounts.

Average Payout for Survey Completion: They say that the average survey award is typically between $2-$5 and up to $50. I have only been qualified to complete 2 surveys so far which were for $.50 and $1.5. The ones I didn't qualify for were $10, $3, $1.5, $1.5, $3

History of Company: Valued Opinions is owned by Research Now which also includes e-Rewards Market Research another online survey program that can only be joined if you are offered an invitation by one of the sponsors.

My Experience/ Review: I joined My Survey on 26 April, 2010. While I was logged in on their website today I realized that I had only filled out 5 of my 9 profile categories, so I am going to complete these and see if I have more surveys sent to me, although I can't really say that I am not receiving enough at the moment. The one thing that I do not like about this company is that it can take up to 28 days for your survey earnings to post. I still have not seen anything about my $1.50, and my .50 is posted as pending. I did contact them about this and they provided a quick response. I guess I will wait and see what happens. In the meantime, I am keeping track of the survey numbers I do complete.

Join/ Refer a friend: https://www.valuedopinions.com/index.php?id=17

Other Notes: They seem to have a pretty good reputation among online surveyors.

International: US, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand (I have not posted the links to join from countries other than the US. Please do a google or contact me and I will find out for you)

i-Say by Ipsos

My Rating: ****

Payment: You can redeem your reward points for cash checks, gift cards, or charitable donations. (allow 5-8 weeks)

Cash Out Requirement: 500 points (for $5 gift cards and donations); 1000 points (cash checks)

Point System: $1= 100 points

Average Payout for Survey Completion: I am not sure what the average is. I have received from 45-90 points so far, and have seen a 2-part survey offered for 300.

History of Company: Ipsos is a global company and has offices in 44 countries.

My Experience/ Review: I joined My Survey on 26 April, 2010. Unfortunately, I did not start saving all of my emails until the 30th April so I may have lost a few days of information. But since then they have sent me about 5 surveys. I received points for completing 2 of them, as well as entry into a sweepstakes for another. My grand total is 135 points and I think I might even have some bog roll on its way for me to test. As I read through their website I became aware of some other cool bonuses. They have a loyalty program running now from April 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010, where points are given for the number of surveys a member has completed during this period. (ranging from 25 points for 5 surveys to 600 points for 200 surveys) Also, members are supposed to receive 50 points for their 6 month anniversary with the company and 150 points for 1 year. I quite like this survey company. They offer cool incentives and reward loyalty. I respect that and I hope they turn out to be everything I hope.

Join/ Refer a friend: Members who refer their friends receive entry into a sweepstakes. Also listed in FAQ's, they say that panelists earn 10 points for any referral who joins and completes the "Getting to Know You Survey." However, I am not completely sure on the 10 cents per referral as in another place on the site they mention there being only certain times when there are referral incentives other than the sweepstakes entry. If your curious I can email them to find out or we can just try it? Let me know your email address and I'll have an invite sent. Either that and you can avoid me altogether and follow the link to join on your own.
http://www.i-say.com/Join/tabid/160/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Other Notes: You need to stay an active participant (take the surveys sent to you) in order to stay a member and not lose your points. If you are going to be away you, there is a feature to report yourself on vacation for up to 180 days. This will allow you to not jeopardize your membership if you are unable to respond.

International: US, UK, Canada (English and French), Belgium (French and Dutch), Brazil, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden

My Survey

My Rating: ***

Payment: You can redeem your reward points for all sorts of gifts, baby items, electronics, gift cards, etc. I am mostly interested in actual cash, so I am going to focus on this. They do provide PayPal payments.

Cash Out Requirement: PayPal payments are given in $10 (1100points), $15 (1650points) , and $20 (2200points) increments.

Point System: $1= 110 points

Average Payout for Survey Completion: I am not sure what the average is. So far my surveys have ranged from 5-25 points. Then of course there are all sorts of sweepstakes opportunities.

History of Company: My Surveys is part of Lightspeed Research which are both owned by WPP. National Family Opinion opened business in 1946 and established My Survey in 1995. In 2003 NFO joined forces with TNS. In 2008 TNS became part of WPP.

My Experience/ Review: I joined My Survey on 26 April, 2010. I completed 6 different "profile" surveys in the first day worth 65 points which I thought was nice because often these sites want you to fill these out for free. (The incentive is usually described as "eligibility for more qualifying surveys.") Then they gave me a 15 bonus points just to thank me for my participation on the 27th. Since then I have not heard anything from them. The site provides a survey history for each member which tells the survey name, date, status, and points awarded.

Join/ Refer a friend: Members earn 150 points for each person they refer. Email me your name and address and I will have an invitation sent to you. (pretty sad what I'll do for a buck!)
Alternatively, you can visit their website at https://www.mysurvey.com/index.cfm?action=Main.join

Other Notes: The site also has a bog by Carol Adams (Director of Member Services), quick poll results, survey results, member recipes, and a monthly newsletter. For Windows users, there is also a My Survey messenger you can download and install which will let you know when you receive a survey to take from them.

International: US, I believe there opportunities through their sister companies in Canada, Europe, Asia-Pacific...You just need to click on your appropriate country category at the link provided.

Pinecone Research

My Rating: *****

Payment: Choose between a Mailed check (the payment is processed the next business day) or PayPal credit (credits to your account within 3-5 days after survey completion)

Cash Out Requirement: None, they mail check or credit your PayPal account after each completed survey.

Point System: None. All transactions are handled in dollar amounts.

Average Payout for Survey Completion: The compensation for each completed survey is $3.00. The average survey is 20 minutes.

History of Company: Pinecone Research Panel is owned by the Nielsen Company.

My Experience/ Review: I joined Pinecone Research on 25 April, 2010. From the beginning, I had the impression that this company was very different (in a good way) than the others I had signed up for. When you sign up you are not given instantaneous entry. I had to wait one day, at which point I was given a username and password used to access an interview survey. When I completed this, I was then asked to wait for a welcome email to start accessing the site. There is really not much need to access the site unless you have a question, want to read their newsletter, check on your survey history, or change your personal details. They send you invitations via email. (1-2 surveys per month) So far I have received and competed one survey which was processed on May 3. I expect to receive my compensation in the mail any day now. I have also read that they send out product samples as well. They are a well respected and honest online survey company. Many people consider them to be the #1 online survey company. I would definitely recommend joining. My only complaint would be that they don't send out enough surveys. But if your getting paid, and at a pretty good rate, there is really no reason to complain! : )

Join/ Refer a friend: Apparently they are a pretty exclusive research company to get into. They only allow new recruits at certain times and the only way you can sign up is to find and click on one of their banners. (So I am not completely sure if the link below will work.) Please let me know if you are having any difficulty and I will try and direct you.
https://www.pineconeresearch.com/Signup/Signup_Form.asp

Other Notes: They seem to be very serious in what they do and when you sign up to receive these surveys I think they expect you to complete them. If you are going away and will not have time to check your email, you can notify them of your absence and they will put your account on temporary hiatus so that you will not miss out on any surveys. The key is to participate. However, I don't know why you wouldn't.

International: US, Canada, UK, Germany

Global Opinion Panels (synovate)

My Rating: *****

Payment: Mailed check (after your request allow 6-8 weeks until you get your check)

Cash Out Requirement: at least 5000 points or $5

Point System: 1000 points = $1

Average Payout for Survey Completion: I have seen surveys from $.25 (250 points) - $.75 (750 points) per study so far; for every survey you complete, you are also entered into a monthly sweepstakes that is held monthly on or around the 15th (winnings range from 1 prize of $1,000 to 150 prizes of $10; a total of $5,000 in prizes are awarded each month)

History of Company: Synovate was founded in 2003 and is one of the largest global marketing firms. They have offices in 62 countries and around 6,000 employees.

My Experience/ Review: I joined Global Opinion Panels on the 26 April, 2010. Since then I have completed 5 surveys successfully and am at 1500 points. The surveys were not too long, (5-10 minutes) and I did not find them to be boring. The site includes a list of your completed surveys with name and ID, date, method, and points. Unfortunately, I don't think it keeps track of survey's that you did not receive credit for. I have it noted, that I may be owed another 100 points, but on the site it says that sometimes the points are not credited for 3 days. All of the company's contact information is readily available should you need to contact them. Global Opinion Panels also has some cool unique features, like you can stop in the middle of a survey and return at another time to finish without loosing your answers or chance at taking the survey. I have never tried this, but I think it's great and I haven't run across another online survey site that actually allows you to do this. Besides online paid surveys they also conduct product testing and telephone surveys. You can choose whether you want to be invited to participate in any or all of these activities when you fill out your profile. I feel comfortable with this company, they seem very professional, and I like the fact that I don't receive tons of mail from them all the time. When they do send me something, it is worth opening and I pretty much always seem to be rewarded for my efforts.

Join/ Refer a friend: If you would like to join please click or copy and paste the address below into your browser.
https://www.globalopinionpanels.com/landing2?sourceid=1000&lang=en_US

Other Notes: You will receive all your email contact, including survey invitations from Marie Brighton.

International: Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, UK, US (All these countries are listed for the language choice...also there are many other countries listed on registration tab which asks "In what country do you reside?")