LapisLee’s Mindfield Research Online Review
Mindfield Online is my #14 earner (out of 20). I've earned a total of $230 (minimum cash out: $5) since I joined on February 2, 2008. My last cash out was 2-28-12, and the monthly average of my earnings since I joined is $4.51.
Mindfield Online has completely revamped their site and now offers checks, PayPal and Amazon gift cards and is much easier to navigate. Beginning May 1st, 2012 the threshold to cash out your account using the Standard Check option was increased to $10. The cash out threshold using the Standard Check option will be further increased to $20 on July 1st, 2012. Most survey panels are now realizing that the cost savings of using PayPal outweigh tedious and time-consuming check cashing policies. The minimum cash out threshold for Amazon gift cards or PayPal is still $5.
There are 11 Profilers that I recommend updating at least once per year. Mindfield does not remind you to do this, so you should be proactive in doing so. They have an excellent Survey History, so there is generally no confusion concerning completed surveys. Although I have challenged them in the past, they usually are correct.
Mindfield Statistics
Since February 18, 2008 I have attempted 449 surveys, about nine per month. Of those 449 attempted surveys, 347 were not credited for various reasons, leaving 102 completed and credited, about 23% completion rate, or about two per month. I was disqualified from 168, about 38% disqualification rate. The surveys had reached their quota 116 times, about 26% over quota rate, which usually means you did not start or complete the survey before your demographic was filled. 55 surveys were recorded as ‘Did Not Finish', about a 12% incompletion rate, which I find rather difficult to believe. Eight surveys were closed before I began them, less than 2%. My conclusion is that the qualification and completion rates on Mindfield are much lower than on other sites, which mostly explains why Mindfield Research Online, in spite of an excellent new website and great customer support, will never be more than average, with regards to earnings, for me personally.
Mindfield Research Online also has a Transaction History page which shows only completed and credited surveys. I have 102 recorded as having been completed and credited on the Survey History page. 50 of these were for $1, 23 were for $2, 12 were for $3, three for $4, four for $5, three for $6, four for $7 and two for $10 with one survey ‘Pending' for $1; therefore, the average amount for surveys completed is $2.26, which is not too bad considering that very few Mindfield surveys run more than 30 minutes.
On the Check History page, it notes that I have cashed out 25 times, mostly for $5 or $10 checks until PayPal was added in February 2010. The Amazon gift card option was added on July 26, 2011 and I have used that once. My recommendation is to cash out via PayPal as soon as you reach $5 because there is no real advantage, other than simplifying your bookkeeping, in waiting longer. My best monthly earnings with Mindfield are $20 in February 2009, $17 in May 2011, $12 in both June and November 2010, $16 in April 2012 and $10 in January 2012. The monthly average for my earnings over the past four years is $4.51.
Conclusion
The most frustrating aspect of Mindfield Online, aside from not qualifying for very many surveys, is waiting for the incentives to be credited to your account, which generally takes from six to eight weeks and sometimes longer. Currently, I only have one pending survey from March 26 that I am waiting to be credited, so they have improved in this respect. All in all, Mindfield Online is one of the best panels in terms of having a great website that allows you to track your surveys, earnings and checks/PayPal disbursements very easily in a number of ways, great customer service that always replies quickly with accurate helpful information and surveys that are well-designed, easy to navigate, not too long and fairly compensated. Mindfield Online is considered a ‘keeper' by virtually everyone that takes paid online surveys.
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