Hannah’s Top Five Survey Panels (March 2012)

In March, I paid a bit more attention to my survey panels than I had been. I also narrowed things down a bit. There are several panels that are paying me less than a dollar for half an hour’s work. That is definitely NOT worth it to me, so I’ve been getting those up to a cash-out level, cashing out, and then closing the account. That will make it so that I can spend the most time on the panels that give the best dividends.

I did make a little over $100 this month, despite not spending much time on surveys. This was partly due to two research panel opportunities, which paid $30 between them. Sadly, there were no product tests for me this month.

My top five survey panels for March were:

1. SurveyHead
   • Total Earned in March: $21.50
   • Total Earned since Joining: $105.90
   • Date Joined: November 2, 2011

   The two things that I really dislike about SurveyHead are that they take a LONG time to move surveys from “pending” to “earned” and that they change “pending” to “invalid” with no explanation. Any contact with support gives a message that their customers are allowed to throw out surveys that don’t meet their needs, but it is very frustrating to spend a lot of time on something and then not get paid when you know you did the work correctly. Of course, this only seems to happen on the long surveys worth $3 or more, which makes it very frustrating. On the other hand, this doesn’t happen often, and the number of surveys that I do qualify and get paid for definitely adds up quickly. When I actually spend time on their site, I can easily earn $25 or more in a month. One of my highest earning sites for sure.

2. Opinion Outpost
   • Total Earned in March: $15.50
   • Total Earned since Joining: $353.60
   • Date Joined: December 13, 2010

   Opinion Outpost has rapidly gone downhill in my estimation. A few months ago, I was earning $40-60 a month with them, and now I’m lucky to get $20. The majority of the problem is that they’ve reduced the points values on their surveys, so that half-hour surveys are now sometimes only worth $1 instead of the $3 I would have expected a few months ago. Besides that, I run into technical glitches, survey errors, etc., more often, which leaves me taking many screenshots and having to contact support to get each and every one resolved. Support usually does do a good job in resolving the issues and crediting me for the points, but having to do this takes up my time and leaves me not really wanting to spend time at their site.

3. Valued Opinions
   • Total Earned in March: $9.00
   • Total Earned since Joining: $27.50
   • Date Joined: November 7, 2011

   I still have not cashed out with Valued Opinions, despite having earned enough. The problem is that most of my funds are still “pending.” I’ve also experienced some issues with “pending” amounts disappearing without a trace. Support is lacking as I am having a hard time getting a response. I sent a message two weeks ago, and got an autoreply saying that they’d get back to me soon… no response yet. I’ve tried calling twice and only got a message. I left a message this time, we’ll see if I ever get a response. It’s a shame, as the amounts that Valued Opinions pays for a completed survey make them worth the time… if they don’t disappear!

4. Ipsos I-Say
   • Total Earned in March: $6.25
   • Total Earned since Joining: $74.05
   • Date Joined: January 26, 2011

   I-Say is one of my least-favorite survey sites, as their survey values vary dramatically. Some surveys are worth the effort (I once had a 1-hr survey for $11.00), but a lot are not (such as the many half-hour surveys for $0.90). I’ve been picking and choosing so that I only take the surveys that are worth my time. The nice things about I-Say are that many (not all) of the surveys you disqualify from give you 5 points ($0.05), and they also award bonus points for completing a certain number of surveys. The more you complete, the higher your bonus gets.

5. MyView
   • Total Earned in March: $4.00
   • Total Earned since Joining: $58.50
   • Date Joined: September 21, 2011

   I only took a few surveys here this month, as I was busy. That may change next month.

Over the next couple of months, I plan to cut the number of survey panels I use dramatically, and focus on the top few money makers. I think that will let me use my time more efficiently, and also help reduce the survey burnout that’s been building up.My highest moneymaking panels have been OpinionOutpost, CVSResearch, SurveyHead, GlobalTestMarket, and PineCone Research. We’ll see what happens!

Do you have favorite panels? We'd love to hear your comments, tips, and suggestions!