Make Money by Filling Out Surveys

The month of February I'll be offering a money-making tip every weekday. Here's the one for today:

Make money by filling out surveys.

This tip comes from The Bargainist who says:

Some people say this is a great way to earn some extra income or even gift cards to places you probably shop. A couple to check out are Your2Cents.com or MySurvey.com. If you find yourself wasting time on the Internet, why not get paid for it?

It sounds almost too good to be true -- making money for simply giving your opinion (then again, I guess it's similar to the focus group suggestion we had the other day -- it's just that this one is online.)

Seems like you could make a bit of spare change doing this, but could you really earn a decent supplemental income? According to ABC News, you can:

You can't expect to earn a full salary from taking online surveys, but it is possible to earn $50 to $100 a month in cash and free products if you take several short surveys, according to experienced online survey site members. The key is to sign up with several survey sites (which are all free to join) to increase your chances of being selected for the surveys.

Anyone done this with any sort of success?

Comments

[Terrence]

I started this last fall (mid October). I made about $125 from 4 sites over the course of the last part of the year. So far this year, I have made only about $30.

[Shaun]

You certainly can make some extra money -- but only if you are extremely organized. Basically, you sign up for "free" trials and subscriptions and services. They are gambling that you'll forget to unsubscribe to whatever it is that they're giving you.

Statistically, they're right. I would never do it. There are way easier/better ways to make money online.

Then again, perhaps there are some legit ones out there. I can't really make a blanket statement. ::shrug::

[tzurin]

I do this, but it seems to be seasonal just like everything else. Right now there's a huge slump, so it's not quite the best time to be getting into it. I made a little bit of money (like $30) during the presidential race on one site alone, but it's nothing to quit your day job over.
Slickdeals' survey forum is a good starting point:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/forumdisplay.php?sduid=0&f=39

[Christina @ Northern Cheapskate]

I've done quite a few survey sites... and I've NEVER signed up for a free trial or any subscriptions or services.... if you are using a LEGITIMATE survey site, it's free to use, and they will pay you.

Doing surveys and product testing definitely won't make you rich, but over the past year, I've earned a couple of hundred dollars that I used for Christmas shopping. The big thing to watch out for is the payouts... how often, and how difficult are they to get... and to avoid doing anything that may cost you money.

You also have to determine what your time is worth. I would say that it averages out to about $2 an hour. Not great, but hey, it's work I can do in my pajamas!

I find the work interesting and I like having input into product development.

I've had good experiences with MyPoints, Ebates, MySurvey.com, Zoom Panel, She Speaks, Global Opinion Panel.

[DW]

If someone is asking you to get subscriptions or trial offers, RUN! It's not a legit site.
I've done surveys for a few years and I tell people it is VERY casual income .. based on my experience, that ABC figure is way high.
A lot depends on what demographic you're in (race, income, kids/no kids, age, etc.)
Also, many surveys don't pay right away. Most of them offer points, which can be cashed in for $$ when you hit a certain amount.

[K]

That monthly estimate is a bit high. I've been averaging about $350 a year, but have recently cut back on some that were just taking up way too much time. $100 each month would involve more sites and a Lot of time to take the surveys. But $10 here and there is very doable.

[Jason]

I started doing surveys by Pinecone Research at the beginning of this year. They pay $3/survey. Each one takes about 5-10 minutes. So far, I've made about $27 this year.

[Scotty]

So what about SurveyBank??? It's a link on this website (so it's gotta be good, right?) Anybody have experience with them? They want to charge me $59.99 to sign up and promise a weekend getaway as a bonus and unlimited survey opportunities. The posts on here seem to tell a different story. It sounds like you can't just sign up for as many as you want...you have to be selected. Is that right? Should I do this or not? Any and all feedback would be appreciated.

[Morp]

I've had descent success with online surveys. Last year I made over $400 dollars in just six months. It was a nice boost to our savings. I'm looking forward to what I can make this year.

[Chris Meirose]

I did MySurvey.com (and whatever it was when it was in print back in the dark ages). It was a hassle, and in no way worth my time. If I was bed ridden or had no other way of making money, it would be worth my time. I did it because of the chance to be in on the product development level, but that eventually lost its draw for me. But you can certainly earn extra money this way. It's just not an efficient way for most people, especially not for the small sums of money that can be gained.

[Courtney]

I used MySurvey for 4 years and had saved up a solid showing of points. One day I tried to log-in and wasn't able to. I KNOW that I did not forget my password or log-in (it was saved, plus I tried multiple others) and after contacting customer service they simply said that there was no record of me ever being a member. I honestly think that they thought I had racked up too many points and just wiped my account clean to avoid having to pass out any worthwhile prizes.

[thomas]

I've signed up for a few of these. I mainly do it to get airline miles so that my accounts don't go inactive and I lose them.

I have also been doing this. I have made about $125 since august from lightspeedpanel.com but they are not accepting anymore people right now from what i understand. I have also used opinionoutpost with good success for now. Not great money, but if you are staring at the computer for hours, might as well make a little more money on the side.

[tzurin]

@Jason:

Never ever pay money to make money. Anyone that wants a fee to join is trying to scam you.

[mbhunter]

Oh my goodness, don't do the surveys yourself. Work to sign people up under you and let them do the surveys! It might only be one in ten that really goes to town, but that's the way it works.

[Param Iyer]

There is an online shopping site that sends a survey after every shipment completion. Responding to the survey results in getting a gift voucher (something like $2 off) for the next purchase. Not a bad deal if you intend to use the site regularly...