PineCone Research is one of the older, more reliable survey panels online. They consistently send 15 to 20-minute long surveys that pay $3 each and occasionally, they also send products to test. As a PineCone Research panelist, you are part of an elite group that represents consumers nationwide and, your opinion is very important to manufacturers who count on people like yourself to help predict which product ideas are winners and which are losers.

PineCone will only send about one, two or three surveys per month along with household questions (screeners) to insure that you qualify for surveys that are sent. Payment is received via PayPal three to five days after the survey is completed and will be posted to your account from panelpayment@pcrint.com. PineCone also issues checks, which are good for 120 days from the date of issue, to those that prefer them. Technical and other issues are quickly resolved by contacting Karen Scott at scott@PineConeResearch.com. The answers to most questions can be found on the FAQ page here: http://www.pineconeresearch.com/FAQ.asp .

In addition to free products and the $3 incentive offered for completion of surveys, each survey also entitles you to be entered into PineCone’s biweekly sweepstakes for $500. The winners list is posted here: http://www.pineconeresearch.com/sweepstakes/sweepstakes.htm The schedule for the sweepstakes for the remainder of 2009 is as follows:

November 3, 2009
November 17. 2009
December 1, 2009
December 15, 2009
December 29, 2009

I rank PineCone Research very high, not just because they have earned me $81 and rank 16th on my Top 25 Online Surveys list, but because they have short, relevant, well-constructed surveys that are compensated well and received in a timely fashion. They also respond very quickly and thoroughly to problems that may arise. For me, PineCone Research is the model which all other survey sites should emulate. I will end by echoing what everyone else always says about PineCone “I just wish they would send more surveys!”

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PineCone does not recruit new members through their website, however, from time to they do accept new members via registration links posted on various websites. Sorry, we can longer post a registration link from this site, as Pinecone prefers not have their panel listed on sites that review multiple survey panels.

Survey Spot is the absolute best survey site I have found since I started taking paid online surveys in January 2008. They rank 1st with $422.80 earned and $419.80 received. SurveySpot has a very straightforward cash system, where they send emails that clearly state how much you will earn and how long it will take to complete the survey. The minimum cash out threshold is $5 and I have cashed out 18 times since March 2008. It takes four to six weeks for the checks to arrive and they do not currently have PayPal, although they made an announcement in April 2009 that they would be getting PayPal soon.

As with other sites it is very important to keep your profiles up to date and to click on emails as soon as possible from SurveySpot. Surveys range in value from $1 to $10 and last from a single minute up to 30 minutes depending on the cash value. Upon the successful completion of each survey, you will also receive an entry into the $25,000 Grand Prize sweepstakes and even if you are disqualified you have a chance to play the Instant Win game, either the slot machine or scratch off ticket, and earn either five, 25 or 100 sweepstake entries into their various Instant Win sweepstakes as follows:

Thirty (30) First Prizes (10 per month): $250 Electronics Prize.
Thirty (30) Second Prizes (10 per month): $250 Video Prize.
Ninety (90) Third Prizes (30 per month): $100 Music Prize.
One hundred twenty (120) Fourth Prizes (40 per month): $100 Electronics Prize.
Ninety (90) Fifth Prizes (30 per month): $100 Video Prize.
Three hundred (300) Sixth Prizes (100 per month): $50 Electronics Prize.
One hundred fifty (150) Seventh Prizes (50 per month): $50 Music Prize.
One hundred fifty (150) Eighth Prizes (50 per month): $50 Video Prize.
Total ARV of all prizes: $100,000.

Survey Spot is known for sending many survey invitations for sweepstakes entries and my recommendation is that after you have established your credibility with SurveySpot over a few months and cashed out at least once, you no longer need to take surveys just for a sweepstakes entry; however, a few of these surveys will turn out to be product tests, invitations to lucrative Invoke Interactive panels or forums that pay monthly incentives for posting and completing various activities, so ignore these sweepstakes-only surveys at your own risk. The winner’s list is posted here: http://www.surveyspot.com/rewards.shtml .
Currently, SurveySpot is also running their immensely popular Spot the Winner football contest which has a weekly prize of $50, a monthly prize of $150 and an end-of-the-season prize of $500 to the person that picks the most winners of the weekly NFL football games. I am currently ranked 862nd in this contest.

SurveySpot, like most other legitimate survey sites, has a very strict privacy policy and will not sell, distribute or make available in any form personally identifiable information of any member of the site without their expressed permission as outlined in their privacy policy. In the event of technical or other problems you can contact SurveySpot via their Contact Us page on the main website at http://www.surveyspot.com/svy/survey/ContactMemberServices.jsp . The SurveySpot FAQs can be found here: http://www.surveyspot.com/FAQ.shtml and their Member News is located here: http://www.surveyspot.com/new.shtml .

If you like to join SurveySpot, please visit the SurveySpot Signup Page.

GlobalTestMarket is the second best survey site I have found since I started taking paid online surveys in January 2008. They rank 2nd with $356 earned and $305 received. GTM has a very straightforward points system where 1000 MarketPoints equals $50 (5 cents per point) and it doesn’t take long to cash out either. The minimum cash out threshold is 1000 points ($50) and I have cashed out seven times in the past 20 months. It takes about four to six weeks for the checks to arrive and they do not have PayPal.

As with other legitimate sites it is very important to keep your profiles up to date and to click on emails as soon as possible from GTM. Surveys range in value from 5 to 100 points and last about 15 to 30 minutes depending on the point value. You receive 5 points just for attempting a survey, even if you are disqualified. Upon your successful completion of the survey, you also receive three sweepstakes entries and if you are disqualified, you receive one sweepstakes entry. Three monthly prize winners receive a check for $5000 and daily prize winners (one prize winner per day) receive a check for $300. GTM also occasionally sends survey invitations for sweepstakes entries that are so brief and painless that I usually do them all since GTM has been so good for me over the past 20 months. The winner’s list is posted here: http://www.globaltestmarket.com/sweepstakeswinners.php .

Global Test Market, like most other legitimate survey sites, has a very strict privacy policy and will not sell, distribute or make available in any form personally identifiable information of any member of the site without their expressed permission as outlined in their privacy policy. In the event of technical or other problems you can contact Global Test Market via their Contact Us page on the main website at http://www.globaltestmarket.com/contact.php . The Global Test Market FAQs can be found here: http://www.globaltestmarket.com/help.php and their blog is located here: http://blog.globaltestmarket.com/.

If you like to join GlobalTestMarket, please visit the GlobalTestMarket Signup Page.

ELITE Opinion, the business survey division of Lightspeed research, is strictly for those who make purchasing decisions or have influence over purchasing decisions of products and services at their place of work. Since I own a small business, The Lapis Connection, I have complete control over all of these types of decisions, but since my company is so small, the amount of surveys I have qualified for from Elite Opinions is very few and they only rank #23 out of my top 25 survey sites. The good news is every survey is worth at least $8.70 or more and usually only last between 30 and 45 minutes. I have earned $30 since March 11, 2009 from three surveys and have 1050 points pending:

ELITEOpinion Survey #23272 1000 2009-08-24
ELITEOpinion Survey #22009 1500 2009-04-24
ELITEOpinion Survey #21826 2000 2009-03-11

During registration, you’ll be asked about your level of personal involvement in purchasing decisions for products and services at work. The options are: Entire Organization, Entire Work Site or Division, Work Group, Department or Business Unit, Yourself or No Influence. If you do have some influence over purchases at your company or workplace, you will earn from 1000 to 2000 Opinion Points per survey (575 points = $5 PayPal) with special projects paying up to 20,000 points. Points can be redeemed for a wide variety of cash, merchandise or gift certificates. ELITE Opinion Points expire after two years. When you register to become a Member of the ELITE Opinion panel, you are automatically entered into a $1500 quarterly drawing. Members are provided with opportunities to express their expert opinion in surveys to shape business decisions, earn ELITE Opinion Points and additional entries into the $1500 quarterly drawing for completed surveys and access to White Papers on topical business issues. Mini Polls consist of one question surveys and Quick Matches are short surveys that help Elite Opinion better match you up with paid surveys.

Elite Opinions, like most other legitimate survey sites, has a very strict privacy policy and will not sell, distribute or make available in any form personally identifiable information of any member of the site without their expressed permission as outlined in their privacy policy. In the event of technical or other problems you can contact Elite Opinion via their Contact Us page on the main website or directly via email: support@eliteopinion.com . The Elite Opinions Help Center and FAQs can be found here: http://www.eliteopinion.com/help/member_help.html .

If you are involved in your company’s business purchasing decisions and you want to earn some extra money for your sharing your opinions, be sure to sign up for this paid survey panel by visiting the
Elite Opinions Registration Page.

E-Poll is another very good points site that has earned me $50 since February 19, 2008 and which currently ranks 18th out of my top 25 survey sites. I have completed 54 surveys over the past 18 months primarily on television, movies and current affairs with incentives ranging from 100 points ($0.14) to 1000 ($1.40). Most surveys are between 10 and 30 minutes and pay 500 points ($0.70). The surveys are usually quite easy to complete, but somewhat lengthy and repetitive. They are about your knowledge and impressions of brands and celebrities from television, movies and sports. E-Poll allows only one member per household to sign up with them because it is required that each member live at a unique residence.

The minimum cash out threshold is 3500 points ($5), which is easily obtainable in spite of E-Poll only sending one or two surveys per month. I have cashed out six times for $50 over the past 18 months, which makes them an average earner for me. As of February 2009, they pay incentives via PayPal, but you may also choose gift certificates from Amazon.com, Best Buy, Blockbuster, Dunkin Donuts, Home Depot, iTunes, McDonalds, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Starbucks, Target and several other sites. You can also choose to donate your rewards to various charities such as American Red Cross, Humane Society, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, National Wildlife Federation or St. Jude Children’s Hospital. All rewards, including those delivered electronically, are typically sent within 6-8 weeks. E-Poll points never expire as long as you complete at least one survey every 12 months and your account is in good standing.

E-Poll, like most other legitimate survey sites, has a very strict privacy policy and will not sell, distribute or make available in any form personally identifiable information (i.e. name, address, phone, or email) of any member or guest of the site without their expressed permission (opt-in) as outlined in their privacy policy. In the event of technical or other problems you can contact E-Poll via their Contact Us page on the main website or directly via email: feedback-epoll@epoll.com . The Epoll Help Center and FAQs can be found here: http://www.epollsurveys.com/epoll/clients/faq/faq.htm.

Or if you are just interested in joining, you can register by visiting the E-Poll Registration Page.

Toluna, formerly known as Your2Cents, is an excellent points site that has earned me $79.37 since February 11, 2008 and which currently ranks 16th out of my top 25 survey sites. I have completed 48 surveys over the past 18 months on the topics of food, automobiles, cell phones, internet service, healthcare, lifestyles and the work environment with incentives ranging from 3000 points ($1) to 9000 ($3), with some special surveys paying up to 20,000 ($6.66). Most surveys are between five and 30 minutes, with longer surveys earning the higher amounts. The most exciting thing about Toluna … is that it is also a social networking site with over 2.5 million members where you can customize your profile, add a photo of yourself and earn points by taking polls, giving your opinion or simply by being popular.

You receive a one-time bonus of 2000 points when you complete all 15 Interest surveys. They pay by checks, which arrive in six to eight weeks, after you have reached the 30,000 point ($10) minimum cash out threshold. I have cashed out six times for $70 since joining. There is also a quarterly $5000 prize drawing, which you are automatically entered into each time you attempt a survey or you can trade in 1500 points for additional entries.

How can I earn points at Toluna?

• Sign Up: 500 points (Awarded for advanced registration)
• Content popularity bonuses: (15,000 points per month limitation on points earned via Social Rewards)
• Write an opinion: 100 points (must be over 80 words, limited to 5000 points per month).
• Sponsored Polls: 15 – 150 points, depending on number of questions
• Personal interest surveys: 300 points per survey. A one-time bonus of 2000 points will be awarded upon completion of all questionnaires
• Online surveys: 1000 – 20,000 points (depends on survey length)
• Invite a friend: 500 points (awarded if invited friend completes advanced registration)

Since Toluna is a member of Your Opinion Counts®, your rights as a respondent are important and they agree to only use information provided only to improve products, services, or programs. To review the respondent Bill of Rights, go to www.youropinioncounts.org and select “Your Rights”. In the rare occasion that you encounter a problem you can contact their excellent support staff here: http://us.toluna.com/contactus or call 1-866-249-4294. FAQs can be found here: http://us.toluna.com/help and Toluna’s blog is located here: http://usblog.toluna.com.

Or if you are just interested in joining, you can register by visiting the Toluna Registration Page.

I think there are many factors that make a survey site ideal. I have outlined several things that I look for in a paid survey panel and made references to online survey sites that embody these qualities. I am certain that I have left a few things out, so feel free to add your comments and your favorite survey sites that you feel belong under these 19 categories.

1. Frequent paid surveys
   • Daily Survey Panel – GlobalTestMarket – Opinion Outpost
   • Surveyhead – SurveySpot – Valued Opinions
2. Fair compensation for the amount of time spent ($1-$10 for 10 to 45 minutes)
   • American Consumer Opinion – GlobalTestMarket – HCD Research
   • Opinion Outpost – Pinecone – Socratic Forum – SurveySpot – Toluna – Valued Opinions
3. Screeners that insure that you qualify for most of the surveys received (80-90%)
   • GlobalTestMarket – HCD Research – Pinecone Research
   • Socratic Forum – Valued Opinions
4. Cash instead of points system
   • American Consumer Opinion – Greenfield – Mindfield Online – Pinecone
   • Socratic Forum – SurveySpot – Surveyhead – Survey Savvy – Valued Opinions
5. Offers Invoke Interactives for higher incentives ($10-$150 for 45-120 minutes)
   • American Consumer Opinion – Greenfield – SurveySpot
6. Offers product testing
   • American Consumer Opinion – Global Opinion Panel/Synovate – Greenfield
   • MySurvey – Pinecone Research – SurveySpot
7. Instant or quick confirmation of incentives
   • Daily Survey Panel – GlobalTestMarket – HCD Research
   • Socratic Forum – Toluna
8. Surveys that disqualify you quickly
   • GlobalTestMarket – Greenfield – Opinion Outpost- SurveySpot
9. Low Cash-out Threshold ($1 to $10)
   • Daily Survey Panel – Epoll – Greenfield – HCD Research
   • Mindfield Online – Opinion Outpost – Socratic Forum – SurveySpot
10. Pays via PayPal in a timely manner (3-4 days)
    • Daily Survey Panel – Epoll – Greenfield – Pinecone – Surveyhead
11. Good customer service by email, phone and snail mail
    • American Consumer Opinion – Daily Survey Panel – GlobalTestMarket
    • Greenfield – Opinion Outpost – SurveySpot – Valued Opinions
12. Surveys that don’t ask repetitive questions or too many specific product traits
    • HCD Research – Socratic Forum
13. Well-organized easy-to-navigate website with payment and survey history
    • GlobalTestMarket – Greenfield – HCD Research
    • Mindfield Online – Socratic Forum – Surveyhead – Valued Opinions
14. Forum to air complaints with dedicated customer service representative
    • Greenfield
15. No sweepstakes, advertisements, spam or trial offers
    • GlobalTestMarket – HCD Research – Opinion Outpost
    • Socratic Forum – Surveyhead – Survey Savvy – Valued Opinions
16. Few or no survey glitches
    • GlobalTestMarket – HCD Research – Opinion Outpost
    • Socratic Forum – Surveyhead – SurveySpot – Toluna
17. Surveys that have progress-bars (varies widely)
18. Surveys that have Next and Previous buttons so you can go back (varies widely)
19. Surveys that have answer-bars instead of small circles for your answers (varies widely)

So that is my idea of the perfect ingredients for a great survey panel! Share your thoughts below:

Online-Paid-Surveys.net has been online since the summer of 2006, and since that time the site has had many major revisions and additions. Many of you may have noticed that we have recently updated the design of several of the sections of this site. We hope you like the new look, and we hope to complete all of the sections soon.

While the focus of the site is mainly dedicated to writing reviews and leaving feedback on Online Paid Survey Panels, this post is dedicated to Your Feedback on Our Site. We want to hear from you about the things you like about our site, the things you don’t, and your suggestions/feedback in general.

For those of you that are new to the site, here is a little primer on the sections of this site:

Online-Paid-Surveys.net is a site that features user and editorial reviews for paid survey panels. The major sections of the site can be accessed by using the top navigation menu:

• Home: Takes you to our main home page where you can see the current Top Ten User Rated Paid Surveys and an introduction to what paid surveys are all about.
• Paid Surveys: Which takes you a to page where you can access a list of Free Paid Surveys for your Country of Residence.
• Teen Surveys: A Page dedicated to Paid Surveys that accept Teens.
• User Reviews: A page that contains User Reviews and has a weekly $10 contest for the two top user reviews.
• FAQs: A section where you can find answers to many of your paid survey questions
• Blog: This section – The Online Paid Surveys Blog – A place where you can find paid survey articles, tips, recent paid survey panel, events, guest blogs, and more!.

Please post your feedback about our site in the comment sections below.

Valued Opinions is an excellent gift card site that has earned me $137.15 since February 18, 2008 and which currently ranks 6th out of my top 25 survey sites. I have completed 60 surveys over the past 16 months with Valued Opinions on the topics of consumer goods, personal interests, entertainment, food, beverages, media, travel and healthcare with incentives ranging from $0.05 to $8.00 and, occasionally, as much as $50 for specialty projects. Most surveys are between five and 45 minutes, with longer surveys earning higher amounts. They pay by email gift card codes, which arrive instantly, after you have reached the $20 minimum cash out. I have cashed out almost every other month since joining.

Registering with Valued Opinions takes only a few minutes and by filling in your account details you are automatically entered into their sweepstakes to win a new iPod Touch. When you have successfully completed a survey, the reward is held in pending status until the entire study has drawn to a close and the data has been processed. Studies can take up to a month to finish, depending on the size and complexity of the study, but are usually credited immediately under ’Pending Credits’ and transferred to ’Current award balance’ within a month or so. Amazon.com gift cards are my preferred reward option, however members can choose from any of these reward options below:

Reward Options

• $20 Amazon Gift Card
• Blockbuster gift card
• $20 Fragrance.net gift card
• $20 Macy’s gift card
• $20 Magazines.com gift card
• $25 Marriott gift card
• $20 VISA pre-paid debit gift card

Valued Opinions, which is owned by Research Now (www.researchnow-usa.com), has a strict privacy policy and is a member of of various trade associations in the U.S. and Europe, including the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO) Code of Standards and Ethics for Survey Research, the European Society of Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR) Codes and Guidelines for Survey Research, Marketing Research Association, American Marketing Association and the UK-based Market Research Society. Research Now strives to conform to the European Commission Directive on Data Protection, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Fair Information Practice Principles, the CAN-SPAM Act, and other privacy regulations and guidelines in the U.S. and abroad.

If you like Amazon gift certificates then you will like Valued Opinions as you can earn them faster here than anywhere else. In the rare occasion that you encounter a problem you can contact their excellent support staff here: inquiries@valuedopinions.com or at isabel@valuedopinions.com.

US residents can join by going to the: Valued Opinions US Site.

Those not located in the US can join Valued Opinions in these other locations:

If you live in the UK, please join: www.valuedopinions.co.uk
if you live in Ireland, please join: www.irishopinions.com
if you live in Australia, please join: www.valuedopinions.com.au
and if you live in New Zealand, please join: www.valuedopinions.co.nz

The Socratic Forum is an excellent cash-based site that has earned me $71 since March 28, 2008 and which currently ranks 17th out of my top 25 survey sites. Although the Socratic Forum does not send out many survey invitations, they are very legitimate, interesting and well compensated. I have completed 17 surveys over the past 15 months for incentives of $2 to $5 on the topics of spending, music, entertainment, eating habits, webcams and other computer peripherals. Most surveys are between five and 25 minutes, with longer surveys earning higher amounts. They pay by check in increments of $5 with a minimum $5 cash out, which usually arrives in about six to eight weeks. If you invite your friends to join, using a special code tied to your member ID, you and your friend have the chance to win $5,000 each. They also have a monthly sweepstakes which you are entered into automatically each time you complete a survey. Here is a list of the amounts earned by winners:

July 2009 Socratic Forum panelists received $4,350 for participating in 12 different surveys.
June 2009 Socratic Forum panelists received $12,538 for participating in 23 different surveys.
May 2009 Socratic Forum panelists received $16,976 for participating in 19 different surveys.
April 2009 Socratic Forum panelists received $13,893 for participating in 16 different surveys.
March 2009 Socratic Forum panelists received $20,930 for participating in 18 different surveys.
February 2009 Socratic Forum panelists received $18,578 for participating in 14 different surveys.

Although surveys are available for three to five days after the email invitation is sent, it’s best to complete them as soon as possible because they often reach their quota of respondents quickly. If you are unable to complete a survey for some reason, you are usually able to rejoin the survey at the point you left off. To resume the survey, either click on or copy and paste into your browser the original URL you used to start. Be sure to use the same email address to enter the survey that you previously used. Customer service is readily available through their website or by calling 1-800-5-SOCRATIC (1-800-576-2728).

As one of the founding members of the Interactive Marketing Research Organization (IMRO), Socratic Technologies has taken the lead in promoting high ethical standards in marketing research. Socratic Forum is managed by Socratic Technologies (http://www.sotech.com), an independent marketing research agency specializing in Web-based research for the high-technology industry. All surveys are being conducted for market research purposes only. No one will ever try to sell you anything as a result of your membership in the panel or as a result of your participation in one of their surveys. The Socratic Forum guarantees that:

• None of your personal information will ever be released to anyone without your explicit permission.
• Your answers will be kept strictly confidential.
• Your answers will be combined with hundreds of other participants’ answers and only reported in aggregate.