are these "get paid to do surveys" things legit or scams?

[Gato Moteado]

look here:
http://www.toponlinesurveys.com/?aff=aff273

is this for real? if so, that's a significant amount of extra cash when you live in a place like i do. how would i get paid since i don't live in the states?

[matcom]

1. why do you have to pay them so they can pay you?

:shrug:

[Gato Moteado]

2. good question

i guess they're just a source of information for contacting the surveyors and they want their $35 cut up front.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Yeah, That Seems Suspicious To Me, Too

Would anybody take a job with IBM, if they said, "All you have to do is give us $10k, and then we'll pay you $7k per month." Who would take that job?

So, something smells funny with those offers.
The Professor

[cwydro]

3. IMO

anything you have to send money TO, is a scam. Don't bite.

[sniffa]

4. scam

but the guy from nigeria who wants to give you money is on the up and up.

[Gato Moteado]

5. oh yeah, the latest guy is from south africa, and he's gonna give me...

30% of his $26 million. i'm gonna be rich!

[sniffa]

7. URGENT GOOD DAY TO SIR

GREETINGS,
I AM THE SCION OF A WEALTHY DIAMOND MERCHANT WHO WAS PERSECUTED FOR HIS POLITICAL BELIEFS.
YADDA YADDA YADDA SUPPLY ME WITH YOUR BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER AND SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER.

[cwydro]

8. I've got some "land"

here in Florida you might be interested in...;-)

[TimeChaser]

9. There are some online surveys that you can get paid for

Pinecone research, I believe, is the place that my dad does surveys for. Of course, you get paid like 5 bucks max. Although we've had free samples... usually cat food...

[Patiod]

16. For a while I got a TON of feminine product samples

I'm guessing a lot of women wouldn't do a survey on the topic, so those paid pretty well

[Courtesy Flush]

10. There are some legitimate ones

My wife found them online. They ask for no money at all. She answers surveys online in her spare time, and she gets a check for $20 or a gift card for Chili's. Looking at the time it takes, her, it's not worth it for the pay, but as long as she's got time to kill, she'll answer their pet food questions.

She's got two advanced degrees, and makes a pretty good living as a professional. Why stuff like this appeals to her, I'll never know. But she doesn't understand why I waste time on the stuff I do online. We both make money with our wasted online time. She'll make $20 - $40 in a month, and I'll make about $100 (from blogs). Definitely not worth the effort we put into it, but it's like a video game with a payout :)

[Gato Moteado]

11. do they send you the money in the mail.....

...or can they send it to a paypal account?

[Patiod]

14. They send checks, gifts or gift certificate

I actually have signed up with a few of them to keep an eye on the competition. You'll never get rich doing this, but it can be a pleasant distraction while you're watching TV or when there's down time at work.

If you fit an unusual niche that companies like mine are looking for (let's say, you have rheumatoid arthritis or osteoporosis) you're going to make a lot more than if you're claim to fame is that you're a potato chip consumer!

[Gormy Cuss]

12. Key: no legit company would ask a respondent for money.

Ever. In fact, most market research surverys offer incentives to participate these days especially if the survey is conducted online or by mail.

Your wife is in a sought after demographic. Highly educated or higher paid professionals are hard to recruit for market research. It sounds like a nice hobby for her.

[Patiod]

13. This is my industry

Most of the offers you see online want money just for directing you to legitimate survey websites.

Save your money. If you're interested in being paid for taking surveys, look into:

www.zoompanel.com

NOPWorld.com (I used to work for them)

www.mysurvey.com

www.greenfieldonline.com


I can vouch for all 4 of these, and none ask for money from you. There are others out there, but I can't vouch for them.

Also: most of them require you to live in the States (some allow Canadians as well)

[Gato Moteado]

15. wow....thanks for the info!

my problem is that i'm residing in costa rica, so i don't know how i would be able to collect the cash.