ALT-1 Are Paid Surveys really Worth the Time – No
"Earn extra cash for taking FREE paid surveys"
"$100s from web surveys and research"
"Learn how you can earn up to $75 just for filling out one 15 minute survey"
Sound familiar?!
A Google search for surveys that reward with cash payment comes up with almost 9 million hits. Clearly, online survey sites are big business and draw people in with the promise of the earning potential on offer. In theory, a perfect way to earn a little extra money, all from the comfort of your own home. Testimonies of members proves how wonderful this opportunity is and you'd be a fool to pass it up - and after all, what have you got to loose, right? Join the website, fill out a simple survey - and then reap the rewards that are on offer.
It all sounds too good to be true.
And if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is just that!
Very soon after joining the site, supplying your details and completing your first surveys, the dream of the quick buck is quickly replaced with a frustrating reality. Rather than a steady income, what you're more likely to find is the following:
1. Your email inbox gets jam packed with offers and advertising that you just don't want.
While you may have thought you provided your email address for verification purposes and so surveys could be sent to you, in actual fact many survey sites send copious emails providing links to advertised products and services whereby they gain financially if you click on the link or purchase any of the products / services on offer. The gain to you is zero - except that you have the privilege of wading through pages of junk email which you didn't knowingly subscribe to receive.
2. You won't be suitable for any of the surveys on offer.
When you join the survey site, you will be asked to fill in various surveys (usually for a small nominal payment) which supposedly will be used to ensure that surveys will be selected for you dependent on the demographics you supplied. This isn't the case at all. Time and time again, you will start filling out a survey for which you have been selected, sometimes being asked as many as 20 questions, only to be told at the end of that that you are not eligible for that survey and so not eligible for a reward. Having taken the time to fill out the initial survey questions, you receive nothing - other than a frustrating and irritating experience!
3. You will find that you never reach the threshold amount necessary to withdraw payment.
Most survey sites have a minimum amount that is required before payment can be requested (usually $25 - $50). At first, when you believe that you're going to be receiving $0.5 - $5 per completed survey, you believe that it's actually not going to take that long to reach that minimum amount. However, the closer you get to the payout threshold, the less surveys you will be eligible for, or alternatively you will find that your account is inexplicably closed. If, by some miracle, you do reach the threshold payment level (and this will be a miracle), you will need to wait months to receive your cheque or vouchers. More frustration!
4. You will be promised improved survey opportunities for a nominal fee.
It sounds reasonable. If you pay a small fee, maybe $20, you will be promised more surveys and more earning potential. Of course, once you have paid this fee, the surveys never materialize - but you do end up with yet more spam in your inbox. Not much of a bargain!
Paid survey sites, are on the whole, completely irritating, frustrating and a scam. While there are a few sites which are slightly more reputable than others, what is clear is that you're not going to get rich by filling out online surveys and generally you will receive nothing more that a thumping headache!
