ALT-1 Best Survey Sites
Survey sites are a great way to make a little additional income (in these rough economic times we all know that some money is better than no money at all). These sites will not make you rich, and no you will not make enough money to quit your job and do this for a living. However, if you wouldn't mind earning a little extra cash every now and then (in the range of $10 to $50), then this might be something you want to look into. I have been a member of many survey sites over the years, and I can tell you there are many out there that are a complete waste of time and effort. Most of them screen you out of the survey after you have spent a considerable amount of time answering questions. Once you have been screened out, you receive no incentive for your time, thereby making it impossible to ever receive a pay out. Just like all businesses out there, you have reputable and honest companies and you also have your not so reputable and not so honest. Below is my list of reputable and honest survey sites that give you exactly what they have promised:
Pine Cone Research
This is my number one pick, and is one of the best survey sites I have ever joined. However, you can only join them by finding their link on another site. You can't just go to their website and sign up. You also cannot be referred, as they do not have a referral program. Once you are a member you will occasionally receive household questions to complete regarding what products your household uses, your preferences regarding size and how often these products are bought, and whether these products are even used at all. You will not be paid for the household questions, but usually within a week or two after completing the household questions you will receive a paid survey in response to those questions. These surveys do not screen you out as they are looking for your honest opinions on new products and services that are about to become available to the public. Sometimes they will send you samples of this new product, and then a follow up survey once you have tested the product. You will always be paid for each survey you complete. I must have been among the first to join this website as they only pay me $3 for each completed survey. I have read a couple of articles on this site stating they pay $5 for each survey. At any rate, it is a great site. They will pay you via PayPal or check, which ever is your preference. I must say I have made a nice little piece of change on this site.
Dollar Surveys
This is a great survey site as well. They will pay you $1 for each survey you complete, and they pay via PayPal. I found this site through a link on another site, but all you have to do is go to dollarsurveys.com and follow the instructions from there. Once you sign up they will send you a daily e-mail reminder if you like so that you can complete a survey every day. The good thing about this site is that you can take more than one survey a day, and therefore, have the opportunity to make more than $1 per day. They usually pay once a week and they will send you an e-mail message alerting you that your payment has been posted. I have always received my money like clockwork. Now you will get screened out of some surveys, depending on your answers, but for the most part you can make a nice little "allowance" with this site.
My View
This is a pretty good site. You can sign up at myview.com. I do believe they have a referral program as well. They will pay you anywhere between $1 and $5 per survey, and they allow you to cash out once your account reaches $25. They also pay via PayPal. Once you sign up they have quite a few profiles for you to fill out. The more profiles you complete, the more surveys you'll receive based on your profiles. Not only do they send you survey invitations via your e-mail address, you can also log onto their website and find that they have other surveys waiting for you once you sign in to your account. Some of their surveys are for cash and others are for prize drawings. They usually send a few surveys a week and cash out seems to roll around pretty quickly.
e-Poll
This is a good and quite interesting site. You can go to their website (epoll.com) to join and they do offer nice incentives for your referrals. They do not send frequent invitations, but when they do send one you are never screened out, as they want to know your opinion on an array of different topics and subjects. Sometimes they will invite you to watch certain television shows and once you have watched the particular show they will send you a follow up survey to answer questions about the show. So far they have invited me to do this twice by watching Meet the Press. Your points are added to your account right away, and most surveys are worth a minimum of 500 points. They do not pay cash for your points, but your points can then be redeemed for prizes or gift cards (they have a list of what you can cash out for at various point levels). I always get Amazon.com gift cards and have been able to buy some great stuff!
Your 2 Cents
This is my final site recommendation. This site does send frequent invitations and will pay you by check once your account has accumulated $10. Most of their survey invitations range from $1 to $3; however, some are only for prize drawings. I would say that 90% of their surveys are for cash. I find that I am not screened out on this site as often as I am on some of the others, and their surveys are not that long (usually 10 to 15 minutes). Once you request a check you will definitely receive it, but it normally takes about two months.
So, if you enjoy filling out surveys, the ones mentioned above are definitely worth the time and effort involved, and the pay is not too bad either. They are honest survey sites with a good reputation, and I can state firsthand that what they claim is the absolute truth.
