#dbest survey sites

I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for almost 6 years now. Like many in my position, I try to contribute to our household income in any way I can. I’ve tried it all – taking care of children in my home, tutoring, selling on eBay, and most recently, writing. If you have time to spare, taking online surveys is another option. There are a ton of paid survey sites out there, so taking some time to weed through the bad ones is a must. SurveyPolice.com allows you to identify the scams and read reviews from real users.

My advice:

• Set up an email account just for surveys.
• Never pay to join a survey site! This means it’s a scam.
• Set aside time every week to dedicate to taking surveys.
• Focus on the longer ones first, because they generally pay the most.
• Your time is valuable; think about whether that 50 cent survey is really worth it!
• Avoid those sites that offer you “the chance” to win a prize for taking a survey. You have no idea how many hundreds (or even thousands) of people are participating, so the odds may not be very good.

7 reputable survey sites

American Consumer Opinion Panel www.acop.com	Available worldwide in several different languages, surveys usually take 10 minutes or less to complete. A screener, a short survey, will get you entered into a sweepstakes, while a longer survey pays cash. As little as $2 and up to $50 per survey, with occasional focus group invitations. During my time as a member of ACOP, I never qualified for one of these focus group, but I imagine they pay much more than surveys would.
CVS Advisor www.cvsadvisor.com	If you shop at CVS often, then this is the site for you! CVS values their customers’ input. They send out on-line surveys about their stores, products, and services, to get suggestions on how to improve CVS. In exchange for taking short surveys, you’re rewarded with Extra Care Bucks. Survey invitations only come a few times a year, but every little bit counts, right?
E-Poll www.epollsurveys.com	Earn points for taking surveys! You can exchange your points for cash, deposited into your PayPal account, or request a gift card instead, from a selection of popular retailers including Amazon.com, Best Buy, Home Depot, iTunes, Starbucks, Target, and more.
Opinion Outpost www.opinionoutpost.com	From my research, it looks like this is one of the top paid survey sites because members receive many, many survey opportunities each month, making it easy to accumulate points. 10 Opinion Points = $1.00, and you can also get points for inviting friends to join. You can cash out for as little as $5 and Opinion Outpost will mail you a check.
Opinion Place www.opinionplace.com	I’ve been a member of this survey site for years. Owned by AOL, Opinion Place rewards you for taking 10-30 minute surveys. You can choose between Amazon.com gift cards, PayPal credits, AAdvantage miles, an entry into a monthly sweepstakes, or have the money added to the credit card you provided AOL, if you’re a member. You’re told in advance how long the survey is and what the reward will be, which I appreciate.
PineCone Research pineconeresearch.com	This site is a little tricky because you can’t just apply at any time. PineCone occasionally posts banner ads on a variety of websites inviting new members to apply. If you’re lucky enough to find one of these links, then you’re usually in! You get paid between $3-5 for completing surveys, and will sometimes be sent a product to evaluate, and will be compensated for surveys taken regarding that product. It’s a very reputable company; I would receive a check in the mail just two or three days after I took the online survey.
Survey Savvy www.surveysavvy.com	I seldom got invitations from this survey site, but when I did, I was paid in cash and could request a check at any time. The key to Survey Savvy is its referral network. You may not qualify for many surveys, but you’ll get cash when the friends and family you have referred complete theirs.

What are your favorite survey sites? Did I miss any good ones?

About the author

Mariana Perez wrote 21 articles on this blog.

A Texas transplant living the suburbs of Washington, DC, she's a stay-at-home mom to two active little girls and understands the importance of finding #dBest parenting and tech products out there! While her kids are napping you can often find her tweeting @ohMariana and writing at Riding With No Hands, where she shares hundreds of reviews of products her family loves. When she’s not blogging or taking care of her girls, she loves to do crossword puzzles, watch TV, and dabble in photography and web design.

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