Paid Surveys FAQ

1. Who the heck are you?
I'm sorry, where are my manners. Hi! I'm Chris, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've been involved with paid surveys for over a year now, and you'll find everything I've learned in that time right here on this site.

2. So what's with the site?
A while ago I started looking for a way to make some money out of all the time I spend sitting in front of a computer screen. Web design is obviously out of the question, so I started looking into online surveys. When I first started getting into the whole survey thing, it was a pain trying to find legit sites. Information on what each site has to offer was nonexistant (or hard to find, at the very least). There were a few sites out there that had lists of survey sites that you could sign up for, but they didn't tell you anything about them and most of the time you actually had to sign up for the list sites too! I thought I'd present an alternative.

3. Do I have to register with your site?
Absolutely not. All of the information on this site regarding paid surveys is and always will be free and without any registration requirement. However, registration has its benefits. Registered users can save their demographic profile for quick access on multiple computers, post comments regarding survey sites, and, in the case of users from qualified countries, get paid to take our own surveys.

4. Why do some of the links point back to this site?
I use redirects to improve site functionality. The links still take you exactly where they say they do, but because they are rerouted through my own site I can find out things like which survey sites are the most popular, which countries my visitors come from, and which pages are the most useful for my visitors in finding sites to sign up for. This in turn allows me to improve the site for you, such as by adding lists of the most popular sites.

You may also notice that the email links also use PHP redirects. This is to keep spambots from harvesting email addresses from this site, nothing more.

5. Aren't you worried that I'll be taking surveys away from you if I sign up for these sites?
No, for a couple of reasons. First, survey invitations are sent out based on demographic information. The odds of any given person signing up for surveys through this site sharing my demographic is pretty small. Second, surveys are designed to be taken by hundreds or thousands of people, so those few who do share my demographic aren't going to have a noticeable effect on my participation. If, by some twist of fate, I do miss out on a survey due to the participation of people who signed up through my site, it will probably just mean a few bucks less for me. I can live with that.

6. So what do I owe you?
Nothing. Well, almost nothing. I will never require you to provide personal information or pay me to access any of the content on my site (except for our own paid surveys which require registration... I have to know where to send the money, you know). All I ask in return is that you mention this site you people you feel might be interested. Feel free to send your own referral emails to your friends and family for individual sites, but if they need more information or if they want to sign up for sites that don't offer referrals, send them this way. At the very least it will save you the trouble of typing them all out in an email.

7. Do people actually ask you these questions?
Sometimes. For the most part these are simply questions that I expected people to have because for a while they were questions I wanted answered, too. However, a few tend to slip by me, so if you have a question that isn't answered here, feel free to email me. I try to answer every email personally, and if I get asked a question often enough I'll add it to the FAQ.

8. Why should I spend my free time filling out surveys?
Why not? You get cash, free stuff, and insider information on things you are interested in all for sitting on your butt at home and answering some questions. Besides, each survey only takes an average of 10-15 minutes to complete, so it's not like it's going to seriously cut into your social life. Ha! Social life.

9. So what's the catch?
No catch. See, as a consumer your opinions are a valuable commodity. Corporations are willing to shell out cash for knowing what you think about this movie trailer, or what shows you like to watch, or what they can do to make their product beter. They take your ideas and implement them, resulting in better products for consumers and more money for the companies. Everyone wins.

10. What if I don't like it?
Nearly every email you recieve from a survey site will have an unsubscribe link that will remove you from the panel. If you haven't recieved any emails or deleted the ones you had you can just go to the site itself and look around and find unsubcribe details relatively easily. If all else fails, just don't take any surveys or log into the site for 6 months or so and they'll automatically remove you. I highly suggest you try every site out for at least a couple weeks before you decide it isn't right for you. First impressions aren't always the most accurate. If you've given it some time and still want to quit, at least make sure you've cashed out all your rewards first. No sense in letting your hard work go unrewarded.

11. Will I get flooded with spam if I sign up for these survey sites?
Absolutely not. The survey sites here will never send you unsolicited email and will never sell your information to any third party. Don't worry, it's all legit.

12. Why are my surveys getting sent to the junk folder?
The methods used to send you surveys and registration emails are often indistiguishable to spam filters from those used to send junk mail, so they get tossed along with the rest. That's why it's important to add the email addresses or domains of the sites you register with to your address book or safe list, sometimes referred to as a white list. It makes sure your invites get sent to your inbox. This is a good reason to create a new email account just for your surveys.

13. How long does a typical survey take?
Most surveys take about 10-20 minutes to finish, but some may be significantly longer or shorter. The longer you've been doing surveys, the faster you can get them done. Focus groups are usually an hour or an hour and a half, but you get paid much more.

14. How many sites should I sign up for?
The short answer is as many as you can handle. The more you sign up for, the more opportunities you have to make money. In ideal conditions you would be able to sign up for every site you are eligible for, but realistically you are only going to have so much time in a day to devote to surveys. Sign up with with about 10-15 sites to begin with (the Top 10 is a good starting point) and try them out for a week or two. If you take all those surveys and still have free time that you want to devote to more, sign up for another 5-10 sites and try them out for a week. Keep doing this until you find a point where you can get all your surveys done without having to devote more time to them than you are comfortable with.

15. What's a demographic?
A demographic is a specific portion of the population, typically identified by age, race, sex, occupation, education, location, income, and a variety of other factors. Companies typically send surveys to their target demographic, which may be 14-year-old girls in New York or 70-year-old men with prostate problems. When survey sites consider you for survey opportunities, the first thing they look at is what demographic you fall into. Often you will be asked demographic information simply for classification purposes For example, if a survey is targeted to non-smokers between the ages of 18 and 35, they may ask for education and gender to further distinguish your demographic from that of the others taking that survey.

16. What are focus groups?
Focus groups are like long interactive surveys that pay big bucks for participation. While you may be getting $1-5 for a typical 10-20 minute survey, focus groups are about an hour to 90 minutes in length and pay you about $20/hour. You do the math.

17. What are referrals?
A referral is someone who joins a site that you are a member of through a specific link that allows you to recieve credit for their registration. Many sites require that you send them an email through their site, but some simply give you a link to use. If the person signs up through your link, you usually get some kind of reward as a result. The actual referral bonus can vary wildly, but if you know someone who's interested, it's always going to be worth it. Unfortunately, not all sites offer referrals, but if you think they might be interested you should shoot them a link anyway (or send them here!).

18. There's a survey site that says I can make $150 dollars per hour, $75 per survey, etc if I pay them a fee. Are they telling the truth?
Yes and no. While they aren't technically lying, they are being deceptive. Surveys that pay out that much on completion are very rare and typically reserved for very, very small demographics. For example, if you happen to have a specific disease, are taking a specific medicine for it, and meet the age/gender/height/weight/location requirements, you might qualify for a high paying survey of that type. Most people will never see a survey like that. Also, it doesn't really mean anything to say you can make $150/hour if it isn't consistent. Sometimes I get disqualified from surveys that pay me $0.25 (or more) just for trying. They take me about 15 seconds from start to finish, which translates into about $60/hour. That doesn't mean I can just sit down in front of my computer for 8 hours everyday and make $480.

Also, keep in mind that these places don't actually send you surveys, they just give you a list of sites like you can find here for free. Save your money.

19. How much will I get per survey?
Well, that depends. Some sites average $2 per survey, some $4 or $5. Generally speaking, the longer and more involved the survey, the more you get paid. I've taken a 90 second survey that paid $.10 and done an 80 minute long focus group that paid $30. The compensation rate is typically $10-25 per hour, but there is often additional compensation in the form of freebies.

20. Wait... freebies?
Yeah. Sometimes after completing a survey (usually the really short ones) you will be asked if you are willing to evaluate a product in your home. If you agree, they send you the product a few days later for evaluation with a message saying something along the lines of "try this and we'll get back to you in a week/month". Depending on what the product is, you may only have to try it once or you may be asked to use it regularly over a period of time. They'll send you a followup email later asking for your opinions, and then you're done. You get to keep the product and usually get paid on top of that. Not too shabby.

21. How much can I expect to earn?
Again, it depends. Your demographic, the number of surveys you qualify for, the number of sites you sign up for, and any drawings you win and referrals you make can all affect how much you make. Based off of personal experiences I'd say that a conservative estimate is around $100-$150 per month, although according to testimonials from others the average seems to be closer to $300/month. The more sites you sign up for, the more you get, although it's typically the top 10-15 that make up the majority of your earnings. The most I've made in a single day was about $42 for 2 hours of "work". That's the equivalent of an 8 hour shift at $7.50/hour once you account for taxes.

22. Do I have to pay taxes on the money I earn?
Nope! Well, maybe. As long as you make less than $600 per year from any single survey site, you don't have to pay taxes on your earnings as far as I know. Odds are that you won't be making this much from a single site unless you get a lot of referrals or win some drawings. Note that this only applies to US resisdents. I have no idea how other countries handle taxable income.

23. How can I keep track of the money I've made so far?
I keep a txt file for each survey site detailing the date, number, and payout of each survey I take for reference and to help if there is a problem recieving payment. In addition, I use a spreadsheet to track my total payouts and average per day, month and year. You can download a copy of this spreadsheet for yourself on the Downloads page. None of this is really necessary, but it does help keep track of how much you have coming to you.

24. How do your surveys work?
Registered members that live in eligible countries are given a link in their profile area that takes them to a page that matches them with a survey based on their demographic information. Each member is able to take up to one survey per day, and each survey pays at least $1, although sometimes more may be paid depending on the circumstances. Take a survey every day for a month and get $30.

25. What if I don't qualify for a survey right away?
Just keep trying until you do qualify or we run out of surveys for you. There's no limit on how many surveys you can attempt or even complete, but you will only recieve credit for one survey completion per day.

26. Who is eligible to take your surveys?
Anyone who is at least 13 years old and lives in the Unites States, Canada, or the UK is eligible to take our surveys. We will be expanding to include other countries in the near future. Register now to be notified when your country becomes eligible.

27. Can there be more than one account per household?
Yes, with a few conditions. First, there is a limit of one account per person, meaning you can have one and your sister can have one, but your brother can't have two. Second, you must use a unique email address for each account. Third, the limit of one paid survey completion per day applies across all accounts in the household, so if someone in your house has already completed a survey today, they will recieve credit but you will will not, even if you complete a survey. If people start taking advantage of my leniency I will delete all duplicate accounts and limit future ones to one per household.

28. Can I make money on this site any other way?
Nope, just surveys. There are no plans to change this at the moment.

29. How do I get paid?
All payments are sent in US dollars (USD) via Paypal. Once you have reached the minimum amount required for payment ($5) you may request your earnings. You should recieve payment within 24-48 hours, however additional time may be required under certain circumstances. Even then, it should never take more than a few days to recieve payment.