Thursday, November 6, 2008

Paid Online Surveys: Can I Really Get Paid?

By Steven Tsang

Paid online surveys have been lurking around the internet for a long time now, and many consumers are participating in them hoping to get some extra cash for payment of monthly bills, everyday expenses or get a new cell phone or iPod. Companies are basically spending some time and money for researching the capabilities and potential of their products and services through these surveys which also includes focus groups. A number of paid for surveys are available in the internet and one must be able to pinpoint which site is genuine and which is fake.

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.

The moment you register in genuine paid online surveys, you will be required to relay some important data that will basically include your age, gender, profession and income or salary range. Once the survey site has gathered all the necessary information, you will then be waiting for their email whenever there is a survey that you qualify for based on the data you have given. An invitation will be sent to you containing the direct link to the survey form itself.

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.

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.

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 fake websites will do everything just to get you to become a member by presenting you with pictures of their fictitious members and the huge income they claim to have earned in just a few days. Sounds good to be true isn't it? And after joining you will discover that what they have are just fake collection of survey sites and links sending you to more fake surveys. You will never hear from them ever again after joining.

One must remember paid online surveys cannot give you amount of money big enough to make you quit your job and live on it. Although a few may give some considerable sum of money, they will always be just supplemental to your main source of income. Remember that a lot of websites in the internet are offering you thousands of dollars using their list of paid for surveys and tell you that you'll get rich in a few days; well if something is too good to be true, it usually really is, so try to stay away from these sites specially if they are asking you to pay for membership fees.

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