How to spot the good ones- Online Market Research companies

On line Market research- filling in surveys or testing products- won't make you rich fast. So why do it?



Because...

• It's fun. I teach research report writing and part of this is how to compose a good questionnaire. Having read literally hundreds of them and thought about how they select and reject candidates via the initial questions has enhanced my teaching. Sometimes the poorly constructed surveys crack me up.
• The legitimate companies do reward you for your time. Over a period of several years Iegitimate I have "earned" around $1000 in shopping vouchers, cash and movie tickets or other "prizes" I have found useful.
• Influence product development and advertising. If you are sick of pointless products on the shelves, or condescending ads, this is one way to let companies know

How can I tell a compnay is worth my time and effort?

Firstly good companies like Lightspeed research make it quite clear there is no point joining if you are looking to get rich quick. They want people who really do like honestly sharing their opinions. They are upfront in their emails about the predicted time and the compensation offered. They offer at least some points and a competition entry to win a fair stash of cash or another valuable prize if you are screened out. Valued Opinions is particularly good at screening you fairly quickly so you don't waste too much time if you aren't suitable. They also offer quick polls or other mini questionaires to see if they can match you to any more suitable surveys.

Secondly they will NEVER ask you to buy something or sign up for so many gold, silver and bronze offers. They do not ask for banking or Credit card details nor do they on sell your private contact details.

Thirdly they will often offer multiple opportunities to earn points like Rewardscentral
Here you can play games, read emails, do mini surveys, longer surveys, bid on unique lowest bid auctions, write articles for their e-magazine and so quite quickly earn points. I stay with them because they are fun. They also give points for e shopping via their site, which equates to a 2- 5% discount most times. Points bonuses for referring friends as well. They offer cash, vouchers and other rewards.

Finally they usually offer some decent "prizes" or cash out option for a reasonable level of points. For example AC Neilson offers movie vouchers from 125 points, which is achievable sometime in one or two surveys. 2000-2500 points is a typical level for a $20 gift voucher. Lightspeedresearch offers paypal payments of $5 from 575 points which equates to 2 -3 surveys.

My personal favorites and what I have earned:

Opinions paid. probably $60 in shopping vouchers over several years.

Rewards Central and My Opinions (linked- same company two different sites) about $300 cash /cheques over many years (more than 5 I think)

Lightspeed research -about $80 over 2 years. Cash paid via Paypal.

Valued Opinions- about $60 in shopping vouchers over 18 months

AC Nielsen- a 2 packets of pencils, movie tickets, shopping vouchers, some other items over many, many years (around 10?)



Legitimate companies but not my personal "faves"

Global test market

Ciao- perfectly legitimate but I seem to keep being screened out after actually giving a lot of time and useful info about products. Not reasonable in my book.

Market view- Haven't done any in a while. No complaints.
Zoom- used to be pretty good but I ended up signed on to so many sites I stopped reading all my surveys,


Ones I find a bit suss because they require purchases and or do not pay out till quite high amounts are earned.

Fatcat- mostly the "surveys' are for products I have no wish to buy. Eg teeth whitening systems, screens to attach to tvs, etc

Ashopfor- I have earned around $30 but can't claim it till it reaches $50. I did shop via them recently but mysteriously my points never arrived... rather disappointed.

Those receive a $500 shopping voucher if you sign up for 3 gold offers, 2 silver, 1 bronze or some such arrangement. The only good thing about this was I took up a children's book deal with Scholastic (Dora the Explorer) and was vert happy with the free books and the products in general. Most of the other products were for services I didn't want, like weight loss, gambling sites, text message services that cost an arm and a leg etc and I found I couldn't fulfill the conditions for the voucher. I'd love to know if anyone ever did.

MENTAL HEALTH WARNING
One night I realised 3 times I had growled at my young son to let me finish some lengthy group of surveys, believing I was earning needed cash. This was when he was coming in and asking me to come and play. I finally realised I was losing the plot and missing the point- wasting time doing surveys instead of interacting with him. I still reget that night but I am glad I got a life and now spend more time with him and only do surveys when he is in bed or during school hours. It ain't never going to make me rich, but I admit there were times when the extra $20 shopping voucher came in very handy.