Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Paid Online Surveys: Can I Really Get Paid?

By Jennifer Ho

Paid online surveys have been around the internet for quite some time, and a lot of people are getting into it in hopes of getting some extra cash, whether to pay for home expenses, everyday needs or buy life's simple luxuries. Companies that are doing marketing research with their products and services are willing to pay consumers who partake in their ongoing surveys and focus groups. There are a lot of paid for surveys in the web and one must be able to discern those legitimate survey sites from the scams.

The truth is, there are really some genuine websites that are offering paid online surveys; what they need is your opinion and what you get is some form of payment for completing it. It is no secret to many companies that consumer's opinion matters since they are the ones that are using or consuming their products and their feedback will greatly help them in the improvement of its quality. These companies will have no problem giving out money for their advertising and marketing programs which include surveys like these.

Paid for surveys can come in a wide range of topics. From your favorite restaurants, to new movies and shows, upcoming products, foods, drinks and even the latest gadgetry, every one of these can be the topic of surveys. No matter what age group, work category or hobbies people are into, there are a lot of surveys available for them that can help companies in their quest for producing better products and services.

Once you sign-up for paid online surveys, you will be asked to fill-up some basic demographic information like your age, gender, work, and income range. Once these sites determine you are qualified for a particular survey based on the information you have entered, you will be given an email containing an invitation to participate in the survey and a link which directs you the survey site.

The rewards coming from these paid online surveys may take the form of cash, discount coupons, merchandise or points that are convertible to cash and other freebies. Each survey site will have different means of giving you incentives for participating in their surveys; some will directly give you a small amount of cash, and some will require you to earn points and exchange them for a particular gift item.

With the birth of paid online surveys also comes deceitful websites determined to lure people into scams. These websites boasts the cash incentives that can be earned from them upon signing-up. They tell you that they have a collection of paid for surveys which you can access only upon being a member.

But the membership does not come free, and this is where bogus sites will take advantage of your search for extra income; membership comes at a price ranging from $25-$100 or some even more. These sites contains a lot of information on the services they offer after you sign-up, and even give you pictures of the earnings of their members just to entice you to join. Problem is, after signing-up, they will leave you with fake survey sites or those that are expired and no longer active.

These bogus websites will try to tempt you with huge monthly or daily income and tell you that you can earn enough to quit your job and get retired early. They also present you with member testimonials that are so believable and make their site more irresistible to those unaware of their gimmicks. They even tell you that they have a 24-hour customer service feature which will answer your queries and give you guides, but after joining you'll be surprised that no one is answering their chat programs and email contact options.

It is important to keep in mind that you can never get filthy rich by just participating in paid online surveys. Yes there are some legitimate sites offering great deals for completing surveys, but it can never be enough to replace your day job salary or business income. Be warned that many websites offering paid for surveys is capable of luring you into their hoax programs and take advantage of you. Just remember to stay away from those sites that require payment on your part and those that have offers that are too good to be true.

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