I received an invite to a survey company calling itself VGMarketsurveys  (www.vgmarketsurveys.com). A query on the Net produces little fanfare 
about this company. Could you (or someone else) PLEASE research this company to let everyone else know if it is legitimate, how panelists are
treated, what the compensation methodology is like, etc. The lack of content online is very discerning.

Robert is quite right, as there is very little information about VG Market surveys. I signed up and it was a very typical paid survey process. There are several profile surveys to fill out. It lists Amazon gift card (when you reach $10), Payoneer debit card, and a $25 Dining Dough gift card.

I did find that they have a Facebook page, which had much more information that the website did. It seems that VGMarket Surveys is predominately a survey site for gamers:

Video game developers are good at what they do, but they’re not mindreaders! They want to hear from gamers like you to make sure their games are good before spending millions developing them. Fifty bucks or a free game or two is a small price to pay to make sure a new game has everything you want!

We rent state of the art facilities where we will set up a bunch of big screen HDTVs and some video game consoles. You come in and play an unreleased video game for an hour or so and then tell us what you thought! You’ll earn some cash or free games just for coming in and playing. The coolest part is that we take your opinions back to the developers of the game, and they will implement your ideas to improve the game before it’s released to the public!

You can visit the Facebook page here to get more information and read a few reviews.

Are you already a member of VGMarket Surveys? Fill us in!

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Sign up is fairly involved, and like 20/20 Research, you’ll have to provide a valid phone number.  I rarely do that, but when it involves focus groups, I gladly comply. And I have never gotten an unsolicited phone call from either of them, so they will only call you if they are calling for a focus group or bulletin board.

The surveys that are sent out, at least for me, are very few and far between. The payout is now $20, and can take a while to cashout. The regular surveys are for $1 to $5, and since there are relatively infrequent, you may get a little frustrated. But I’m not a member for the surveys. Because I’ve been invited to an online focus group that paid $200,  qualified and was paid, I will always remain on my list of survey sites to participate in.  One of the invitations was for $500 (sadly I didn’t quality for that one) but I’ll take my chances and hope for next time.

Payment is by check, although if you participate in one of the higher paying opportunites, payment can be either Amazon gift card or check, depending on the study.  Several of our forum/blog members wrote about their experiences on the forum.

From Paddysmum:

I did recently complete a focus group with Focus Forward – for $200.00 – but it wasn’t a in a single interview. I earned my $200.00 in a 3 week blogging project. I received a check as payment about 2 weeks after the project’s conclusion.

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zoom Panel keeps getting better and better, I noticed in the last month they have upped the points for completing a survey, Instead of 50 zoom points they are not 75, 100, 150 zoom points. The best thing about zoom Panel is that they are now allowing members to trade in your points for an assortment of great Gift Cards. 1,000 points equals a $10.00 gift card.

From what I understand, the gift card option is only for a limited time with no word on how long it will last. So if you haven’t been all that thrilled with the merchandise offered, you may want to jump in to get your Amazon Gift card while you still can!

As I’ve stated in the past, points for merchandise isn’t my favorite form of payment, but zoom Panel is one of the best in that category. You’ll get plenty of surveys, and as Justin said, the point values have improved as of  late. And who knows, maybe the gift cards will be such a big hit that they will keep it around permanently! Click here  to read my previous review.

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 One of the most important additions to Mindfield Online is a Paypal Option.

mindfieldOnline has setup the ability for our members to cash out using PayPal. As everyone knows PayPal is one of the primary sources for online money transactions. The next time you cash out, consider this exciting new feature from mindfield Online.

Another improvement is in the frequency of surveys sent. I’ve read that the number one complain of mindfield in the past was too few surveys. At least for me, I’ve seen an increase in the number as of late.

Once requiring $10 in your account to request payout, mindfield lowered their payout to $5 which is certainly an effort on their part to make your experience a better one.

I’ve noticed an increase in the amount of product testing offered by mindfield. Rakhi posted a comment recently agreeing with me:

this is becoming better and better..Got at least 6 products to test..5 lotions,3 aftershave cologne,shampoo,conditioner and many others that I don’t remember..I like this site…

And Damian had this to say:

Yeah i really like mindfield as well. I just completed 2 3 month studies and should be receiving payment for those in the next couple of weeks. mindfield seems to be one of the stronger survey sites out there at the moment.

What do you think? Do you think Mindfield Online has improved?

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I recently stumbled upon a fun survey site, but apparently forgot to write the URL down, so I can’t findit now.  Can anyone help me find this site: easy surveys; pays bunches of points (I earned almost 100,000 my first session); uses points for opting in to sweepstakes, like pet supply package, grocery store $, help with cable and internet service, etc.  Or you can bankroll the points to bid on certain items.  Granted, the bids were already in the 1 million plus points, but it was fun none-the-less.
Sound familiar to anyone?

It sounds like NPD Online Research or RewardTV to me, although because of the amount of points she accrued it was probably RewardTV. I’m sure that there are many other online survey sites that are similar but these are the only 2 with which I’m familiar. And to be perfectly honest, I don’t know why anyone would want to join any online survey site that only offered entry into sweepstakes. But some folksfind the bidding and contests fun, so who am I to say? Andthere have been a few readers who have actually won something as you’ll see from my previous reviews. Reward TV offers these chances to win:

Pay for My Stuff Sweepstakes – Use your Points to enter for a chance to win prizes. Note you can use your Points for up to 3 entries per day.

Auctions – Use your Points to bid on prizes.

Shopping Sprees – Twice a week, redeem your Points for gift certificates to selected merchants.

$10,000 Sweepstakes – Each day you play a Trivia game, you’ll receive an entry into our $10,000 Sweepstakes.

$1,000 “Second Game” Sweeps- Each day you play a 2nd Trivia game, youllbe entered into our $1,000 “Second Game” Sweepstakes.

Bonus surveys – By taking certain Bonus surveys, you will receive an entry for a chance to win prizes.

 You can find my review of RewardTV here and NPDOR here. Are you a member of these survey sites? Do you know of any others? Let us know what you think!

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SurveyClub.  Didn’t see this one anywhere in your Research. Do you know them? Any good?
Thanks (by the by what’s their “added value”?) 

To get right to the point, Ronald, I don’t see any added value in surveyClub at all. And I’m not even sure it could be classified as a survey site, at least by my definition. To give you an idea, this is on the member page explaining what to expect from taking surveys online:

Would you believe there are people who make thousands of dollars a month just for giving their opinions? It’s quite possible, but …

… there is a “secret” you need to know.

The secret is their list of online surveys sites or their Top 25. On a positive note, at least they don’t charge you for the list, but it is a list of survey sites that you can get anywhere. They also highly recommend Project Payday “ where they earn a few hundred to a few thousand dollars each month.” Hmm…we all must be doing something wrong here. Thousands of dollars a month? I think we all know by now that that’s not going to happen.

SurveyClub does list some good survey sites in their top 25, but also includes some really bad ones as well. And many  legitimate survey sites have lists of the best online paid survey sites to join but they also have reviews of each of them with member comments about their experience. That’s the added value to which Ronald was referring.

You’ll find a tab for “surveys” but none of them are really surveys. They are all offers of some kind or another. They don’t provide daily surveys at all. But they do provide a link for a “free $250 Wal-Mart Gift Card”. What does that tell you?

I could go on and on but I won’t waste your time. If you are looking for actual surveys or real information about the survey sites that you should join, SurveyClub is not for you.

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Just to let you know, since you haven’t reviewed it in a while – I might not be making much from Socratic Forum surveys, but I just won a $100 Amazon code from a survey.

Congratulations, Ben! It’s always great to hear that people really do win sweepstakes. I try to remember that when I get the memo that a survey that I’m taking is for sweepstakes not cash. It tends to soften my annoyance.

The biggest complaint with Socratic Forum remains the low frequency of surveys that are sent out. I receive very few (one every couple of weeks). But the amount paid for those surveys is generally around $3 and easy to complete, so the quantity of surveys doesn’t bother me much. The payout is a very low $5 as well, which makes fewer surveys even less of an issue.

Payment is by check or Amazon gift card and is received within a few weeks. Add to that Ben’s big win, and I still recommend Socratic Forum to be on your list of online paid survey sites. From the website:

The rewards are offered in the form of credits called ‘units,’ which are held in an account maintained by Socratic Forum and which you may use to redeem in Amazon.com gift certificates, cash, or donate to charity.

And just a reminder, it’s also important to remember that if you haven’t either logged into your account in a year or requested payment, you will be sent an email notifying you that if you don’t do so within 30 days, your “units” will be forfeited.

Let us know what you think! Do you think it’s worth staying a member of Socratic Forum even if they don’t send many surveys?

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You’ll receive 1 survey (sometimes more) a week, most paying between $1 (100 points) and $5 (500 points). Minimum payout is $10 (1000 points) which is payable by check, taking 4 to 6 weeks to process. I’ve found that it is easier to qualify with HCD than many other online paid survey sites and you’ll be compensated 10 points even if you don’t. From the website:

Do I really get cash for participating in the HCD surveys?
HCD pays cash for surveys you participate in. Our system keeps track of the cash using points. The point system is easy to understand because 100 points is equal to $1. If you had 150 points in your account it would be equal to $1.50. Each time you earn points for participating in a survey, those points will always be equal to cash. You will never have to redeem your points for prizes.

The subject matter for many of their surveys are politics, current events and pop culture. I love watching the video clips and then answering questions about what I have seen. And the best news of all is that they are relatively short. I take my fair share of long and tedious surveys, and HCD Research surveys are a very welcome change from those.

Surveys fill up quickly, so check often and participate as soon as possible for the best chance of qualifying.

What do you think about HCD Research?  How much have you earned?

Additional annoucement: Becasue of the July 4th holiday, Yourfreesurveys accounts will not be credited today, but on Thursday.

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A new addition in the last year is Amazon Gift Card payment option to go along with their standard check option. I’m usually not a fan of checks by mail because it tends to take forever (up to 2 months with some survey sites) but OpinionOutpost sends checks quickly and efficiently. I vary the method of Amazon and check depending on my mood. 10 OpinionPoints equals $1 and you will need to earn 50 points ($5) to request payout.

An added bonus is an entry into sweepstakes or instant win if you don’t qualify for a survey. Several of our members here on the blog and forum have won so it can happen! Here is a post from Joann who won recently:

I Just WON $50 Instantly from O. outpost this morning around 8:30am! OMG!!! It was instantly deposited into my account and I just redeemed it for a check! My very first Win everrr from a Survey Panel Sweeps/IWG! Totally Unexpected!!! And I usually never win! I’m actually still in shock! Just cashed out 100 bucks yesterday and now this 50 dollar win today. OO has given me even more reason to have them as my #1 Fav! Best panel EVER!!!!

To improve your experience with OpinionOutpost, be sure to complete all of the profile surveys. I assure you that taking action in this way will greatly increase the amount of surveys they send. This also increases your chances of being invited to online focus groups and chat sessions which pay the highest rewards.

What do you think about OpinionOutpost? Do you have any tips or hints to share?

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One thing that seems to be a recurring complaint is the length of time it takes for the surveys to credit and payment made to Paypal. I’m not certain why there is such a lag time between requests and payout (8 weeks or more), but it can be very frustrating. The plus side is that they eventually do pay, at least in my experience. A few people are experiencing a decrease in the amount of surveys available.  Here is one of the comments posted on the blog over the week-end:

Iv’e been with SurveyHead for 16 months now and have made $685 with them. They are my Top panel. Opinion outpost is 2nd at $454 in 1 year. My total income for all my panel is around $1600 for 1 year. Pays my phone and internet and cell phone bills every month. I have noticed in the past month I have hardly seen any surveys on SurveyHead. I used to always have $120 + pending from them, but this past month I only have $64 pending. There aren’t many surveys at all lately with them. Anyone else notice this?

I have experienced a drop in the amount of surveys with many online paid survey sites this month. What I have learned, however, is that availability can be cyclical (certain months have less surveys available than others) and also reflect the economic climate facing everyone, including market research firms. So I’m willing to bet that the slow down is only temporary. But we shall see.

Have you noticed a slow down with SurveyHead. Tell us what your experience with SurveyHead has been in the last few months!

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