Why Online Paid Surveys are not a Long Term Solution
Long-term solution to financial security? No, I am afraid not. That is not to say money and/or gift cards cannot be earned from the legitimate survey Panels, but only enough to pay a few bills. There are number of reasons why this is the case. They are:
(1) Online survey taking was never designed to be an occupation. The Panel asks its members to give up some of their time to express an opinion. As an incentive to do so, and as a “thank you”, some form of reward is offered. If the reward is cash, even at the most generous Panels, this generally averages out at an hourly rate of about 5 to 6 dollars.
(2) However, it is not always cash (or a gift card/online voucher - nearly as good); on some Panels, it is only sweepstakes/prize draw entries. You cannot factor in winning a lottery when budgeting to find a solution to paying all your bills!
(3) Survey opportunities via email invitation from a Panel are random. There is no guarantee on the number you will receive. By the leading Panels own admission, you may receive six invitations in a week, then none for six weeks.
(4) The email invitations you do receive only invite you to “attempt” the survey. You still have to qualify by successfully negotiating the initial screening questions. These are designed to ascertain if your demographic matches the profile group the survey topic is targeting. On most Panels, the qualifying rate is about 60%.
(5) There is not an endless, unlimited supply of surveys available in the market place. Multiple Panel membership does not always overcome this. Often, more than one of the major Panels will be running the same survey, and they have mechanisms in place (such as recording your IP address) to ensure you cannot complete it more than once.
(6) Despite diligent selection of legitimate, reputable Panels, there is still the possibility of not being rewarded. The classic case is a Panel that has a relatively high pay out threshold. Let us say this is $50 and you regularly complete surveys until your account balance is in the forties, only to find the survey invitations then dry up.
It should be obvious that these inconsistencies, randomness and other variables over which you have no control, make it impossible to rely on survey taking as a reliable source of income. For students, they can cover cell phone bills and the like, for stay at home moms, a magazine subscription and the odd indulgence. For me, they are an opportunity to express my opinion, with any rewards I earn spent on my beautiful first granddaughter.
