Thursday, October 30, 2008

Paid Online Surveys: Separating The Genuine And The Fake

By Steven Tsang

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 tackle about a wide array of topics which can include your favorite restaurants, movies, music, events, food, grocery items and even the latest technology in computers and telecommunication. These surveys are aimed at different age groups, income range, work and field of interests. Whatever category theses surveys are in, they all give companies invaluable data to improve their 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.

Participating in paid online surveys has its benefits, and these benefits can come usually in cash rewards, but can also come in the form of gift certificates and discount coupons. The reward system will vary from one survey site to another; some will immediately credit you with a particular amount of cash upon completion, and some will require you to gather enough points by completing more surveys and exchange these points for cash or freebies.

While the number of paid online surveys increases in the web, so do the number of fake websites wanting to take advantage of people looking for extra source of income. These websites are endorsing themselves as one that is capable of providing a huge list of paid for surveys in exchange for a membership fee.

Membership of course, comes at a price, varying from $25-$100 or even more. Their websites are filled with a lot of data about their members and how much they have earned after signing-up, even putting up screenshots of the daily or monthly earnings of their so-called members, which we can't even determine if they really exist at all. You will also see many testimonials from their fictitious members saying how thankful they are that they found that particular website.

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. - 15336

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