ALT-3 Paid Surveys
There are several online sites that will pay you to take surveys. We will discuss some of them shortly, but first a word of warning. There are sites that promise to pay you for taking surveys but their real aim is very different. Naming any of these would not help much, because they tend to close up and then re-open under another name. Some of these sites actually act as fronts for companies promoting “free trial” offers. These companies offer to let you sample their product for a short time for free. In order to do this, you must agree to purchase whatever it is they are selling with the option to change your mind at no cost, provided you do so before the “free” period expires. If it is something you receive in the mail or by UPS, such as a video instruction course, your trial period may expire before you receive the product. Most of these outfits will not allow you to cancel your commitment online; the only option is a phone call. The best thing to do is just stay away from “paid” survey sites like this. You will have difficulties getting your signup cancelled before you have to pay for it, and inevitably there will be a glitch somewhere that will mean you paid for something you did not want and then have to try to get your money back. Try these sites if you wish, but they will probably end up costing you money.
One other thing to stay away from is any site that wants your cell phone number for enrollment. As a matter of fact, entering your cell phone number almost anywhere on the Web is not a good idea. Those numbers are often sold to companies that provide cell phone messaging services, like a daily horoscope or weather reports. They charge about ten dollars a month and they like to sign you up without your knowledge or consent. If you find this has happened, the easiest way to stop it is to open one of the messages and reply “STOP”. This will nearly always shut it down and you will not be charged.
So are there sites that will actually pay you to take surveys? Yes, there are. Do not quit your day job just yet, but you can pick up a few extra dollars. Try all of these: Daily Survey Panel, Toluna, Opinion Outpost, ERG Surveys (also known as edu), and My Survey.
Daily Survey Panel actually has more than its title implies. There are multiple surveys available every day, and if you do not qualify for one, you can just click and try another one. They rarely have surveys that pay cash. Instead, you get points for completing a survey. When you have enough points, you can turn them in for a gift card for places like Amazon and Olive Garden. Requests for payment are usually processed right away, so your Amazon gift card, for example, will usually be available within a couple of days.
Toluna also awards points for completed surveys but when you have enough, you can trade the points for cash. They are slow about paying, but eventually you do get a check in the mail. They have lots of surveys available, so you can reach the $20 minimum for payout in a reasonable amount of time.
Opinion Outpost is a bit different. They award points for completing a survey, but those points translate directly into cash. They have fairly frequent opportunities, which pay anywhere from one dollar to eight or ten dollars. An interesting twist is that, if you do not qualify for a survey, you are offered an opportunity to either enter a sweepstakes or spin an electronic slot machine for a chance at $50. The slot really does offer an opportunity to win $50, and if you win, they do pay. I have done it twice and in both cases received a check for fifty dollars.
ERG Surveys (also known as edu) has both positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, they pay cash, not points or gift cards. They also seem to have a steady supply of surveys. If you sign up with this site, you should check it every day. There will nearly always be a new one, and sometimes as many as six new ones in a single day. The downside of this site is they are the slowest people on the Internet. They do not credit your account with a completed survey until they have completed their contractual obligation with the party that provided the survey, and that can take several weeks, sometimes months. They are also extremely slow in paying. It takes several weeks from when you request a payment for them to actually post it.
MySurvey does not have a large number of surveys available. On the other hand, when they send you an email saying they have a survey for you, you will be able to click the link, take the survey, and add the credits to your account. You will not have to spend ten minutes filling out information only to be told you do not qualify for that survey. Surveys are paid in points, which can be exchanged for cash (and they pay fairly promptly) or things like movie rental gift cards.
Taking surveys online is not going to make you rich. It is, however, pretty easy to pick up an extra 20 or 30 dollars a month and it will not take a lot of time.
