Paid Surveys - What Should You Be Careful For?

Paid surveys are a great way to earn extra money from home, but there are some not-so-great survey companies that give the good ones a really bad name.  The truth is, there are a ton of legitimate opportunities to make extra money, but there are also many ways to get scammed.  Here are a few things to look out for if you want to make money taking surveys:

1.  Paying for a Survey Company List.  If you are new to taking paid surveys online, this is one of the biggest rip-offs around.  Most people are just trying to find survey companies to register with.  All they want is to find the survey companies so they can get the surveys sent to them and participate -- so its easy to convince people that by paying a small fee they can get it immediately.  Most of these "pay for the list" websites actually do have a large database to search for companies, but the catch is that they are charging for it in the first place.  You should be able to find a decent list of survey companies to register for without paying a single dime.  If you are looking for a list of paid survey companies, search for a free list.

2.  Product Testing.  In a true product testing situation where a survey company is hired by a business for you to evaluate a product, the survey taker will pay nothing for the product and will usually get compensation on top of that.  There are a lot of sites out there that will have you pay an "acquisition fee" with your credit card.  These can still be legitimate ways to make money, you just have to make sure you read all the terms and conditions for cancelling any potential ongoing purchases that they automatically sign you up for.  You must read the fine print, or you may find yourself purchasing items and subscriptions you don't want.

3.  Promises of Big Money.  Any site that implies you will make $150 and hour for a focus group on a regular basis will probably be lying to you about other things as well.  While there are opportunities for people to make $150 or more, for most people they are few and far between.   Paid surveys are a great way to earn extra income, but its unlikely you can feed a family or make a living doing it.   Stay realistic about what you can earn and you won't get burned out and disappointed.

Most research panels I've come across are legitimate, but not all.  Just remember, if it looks like a scam and spam site, it probably is.  Other than that, you just have to watch out for what the survey companies send you.  If you don't think the compensation is fair, don't take the survey.  If it looks good, go for it!