8:20 AM
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As I start my workday by sitting down at my computer and opening my email, I know that there are three things that I count on; I know today that I will be receiving email from people in foreign lands notifying me that someone I didn't know died and left me millions of dollars, I also know that overnight my email was selected as the winning entry in several lotteries, and lastly, I'm reminded of how much money I can make by doing online surveys. While I can readily dismiss the first two knowing that the only thing strangers are willing to give you for free is a hard time, having had a good deal of experience with paid surveys, I can attest that the claims don't stand up to scrutiny. What are some of the realities of earning money with online surveys?
1) Most Surveys Pay in Points
To my chagrin, I found that the majority of the online survey companies will pay you in points instead of cash. What this means is that if you are accepted to do a survey and complete it, you'll receive points and NOT cash. Once you accumulate enough points you can then exchange the points for merchandise. The problem with this arrangement is that it could take you until 2012 to accumulate enough points to be able to redeem them for anything of value. While many survey companies will dazzle you with visions of exciting prizes that you could win, the reality for most is that it will take months of effort to gather up enough points to redeem them for merchandise.
2) Wasting Time on Pre-Qualifying Surveys
Another problem with many online surveys is that you spend most of your time doing pre-qualifying surveys only to find out 15 or so minutes into it that you don't qualify for the survey! The reason that this occurs is that most of the survey companies will ask a series of pre-screening questions to see if you fit into the category of what they're looking for in a survey candidate. While this screening process benefits the company by being able to hone in on the type of person they're looking for, it's a complete waste of time for the rejected survey applicants. While this may not seem like a big deal initially, after having this happen to you numerous times you come to realize that you're spending more time doing pre-qualifying surveys than actual surveys themselves, and you're not making a dime for your efforts.
3) Misleading Income Claims
While many of the companies promoting online surveys claim that you can make $25 or more for doing a 5 minute survey, my experiences indicated that the ads were misleading at best, and outright lies at worse. The reality is that most surveys pay between $1 to $5 and can take 20 or more minutes to complete, meaning that you'll be lucky to make $5 an hour when all is said and done. While many of the companies selling online Survey Directories boast of people making thousands of dollars a month, the fact is that the majority of the companies payed a good bit less than the figures quoted, and given that most people don't have 24 hours a day to devote to doing surveys, the claims are dubious at best.
4) Gift Certificates and Surveys
Another angle that many companies like to use with surveys is sending out emails stating that you have been awarded a Gift Certificate for a computer, big screen T.V. or some other expensive prize and all you need to do to claim it is enter your email address and complete a short survey. NOT EXACTLY! What really happens is that once you submit your information, you will be directed to a page where you are told that in order to claim your 'prize' you only need to complete a few offers AND refer a couple of other people. Even then, there are usually other stipulations that you have to complete before receiving your merchandise. Again, the reality is a bit different than what you were led to believe.
As you've heard it said many times, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". While I have no doubt that there are people making some money doing online surveys, the claims of people making thousands of dollars monthly are somewhat questionable to say the least. Before spending any money on any of the Survey Directories advertised online, sign up at some of the free survey sites and complete a few surveys to see if it's something you would really want to do. About the Author
William J. Thomas has been an online entrepreneur for several years. He also contributes articles on business and other topics. Bill's current website reveals several unique ways to earn money from home! http://ilovesurveys2014.blogspot.com/
