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Has anyone gotten a focus group lately


footfree

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It's been so long that I think it was last year>LOL   Really not that funny how much my pocket book has been affected by the loss of income though.

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Hi- Last year all I got was one for $200 that I almost did not get because it was in downtown Chicago.  They warned me that if I was late I might not get in.  I took public transportation because parking in the loop is too expensive.  I had two more stops to go on the L before I was supposed to get off.  They announced that they were experiencing problems on the track, and I waited.  Finally 15 minutes later they announced there was a fire on the tracks.  I got off the train, and walked the rest of the way, and I was 15 minutes late.  Thanks god they let me in.

Since the beginning of the year I have done three market research projects, and I am doing another one this Wednesday.  The first two I did in January, where I had to do a survey on line.  The first one paid $50, and the second one paid $25, they both only took 15 minutes, but they were the exact same survey but different market research companies.  They both mailed me a check.  The third one I did over a month ago, and it was a two day online thing that paid $150.  That one was a lot more involved, and involved at least four hours on line, and they emailed me some forms that I had to fill out and sign and get back to them.  It was a pain in the butt.  It was a firm out of NYC.  I just got my $150 Visa GC yesterday for it.

I am also doing a panel on Medicare part D in downtown Chicago this Wednesday, that pays $150 for two hours.  I will also get a Visa GC for that one..  Since I live in the Chicago area, I have a lot of  market research projects available.  I've just been lucky that I ran across some that met my profile. I am signed up with tons of market research firms though.  I just got an email about studies at Plaza Research, and all of the studies except one were for people under the age of 65.  I am lucky that none of these studies asked me when was the last time I did a study. 

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For anybody that is interested in market research studies, craigslist is the best place to find them.  A lot of the studies disqualify you though if you have done another study within the last 3 months.  The majority of the companies that hire them to do the studies want fresh blood, and there are people that will lie, and tell you they have not done a study in 2 years, when they did one last week.  I am also signed up with 20/20, but I have never been eligible for a study there.

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I mean I did have the opportunity to do one this year except the mail took so long in getting me  my product to test that they had to ask me to bow out.They did pay me $100 for my effort ,they realized it wasnt my fault I didn't get the product in time. But I could have made more so that stung a little.Then I had the chance to do Grand Jury duty (about $900 for 3 months)and while  this was going on I had to turn down mulitple offers to do focus groups in the city in which  I live in.So that could have cost  me money ( hard to tell)I even had a company call about a study and when I  called them back there was no answer.I did leave a message but I assume they had enough people,because they didn't call back.Then to boot I got a call to do a study where they give you a shot -it's for Benchmark-it's suppose to help people who have breathing problems.They are suppose to send out papers for me to fill out but I haven't received them.Pay is $75 per visit for first 2 months with visits ranging from 2 to 4 per month.Then I go in once every 2 months for a year.But no papers have shown up yet,so who knows what will happen.Plus last time I got a call from them I was going to get a flu shot with the pay being like $175 to $200 but they had enough people and they didn't need me after all.I feel like the redheaded step child who keeps getting called on then nothing happens.It's hard to get your hopes up when it seems like nothing will come from it.Hopefully some good will come my way soon.Even with that I will still continue on.Plus I have tried multiple times with 20/20 and no luck there either.

 

However I haven't had the chance to do one online in a long time.Like those $25 dollar ones from Invoke.

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I used to do some clinical trials for people with high cholesterol, but those don't pay as well as most market research panels.  You get maybe $40 per visit, and they reimburse you for public transportation or parking.  I am not eligible for those now though because of another medical issue that disqualifies me for those.  In another three years I will be eligible again.  I even got called about a study a few weeks ago, and I told her up front what was going on because I knew I would not be eligible, and I was not.  I had a clinical trial once where I was supposed to take this drink to lower my cholesterol, and so I had to carry the bottles around with me, and plus I was supposed to follow a low fat diet, and the study started right before Thanksgiving, and ended in January.  I had to have my blood drawn the week following Thanksgiving, and my cholesterol had gone up because I sinned over Thanksgiving, and I was given a hard time about it.  If you are looking for clinical trials, you can go to clinicaltrials.gov and find lots.  There is a whole lot to go through though, and sometimes it gets overwhelming.

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I did a FG last month on cologne for $175. However, I must admit that I have seen a large decline of focus group invites this year. Living in the NYC area, I averaged about 2 focus groups per month (various companies). However, now I am lucky to even get one per month. I also do not have anything scheduled for the future except for a potential shaving cream study requiring 3 visits, for the next 4 weeks, paying only $75 total on last visit. 

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2 focus groups a month?  They did not ask you if you have done a FG recently?  The majority of the market research groups ask me when I did a FG last.  I am just lucky that they have not asked me lately about that.  You sound like you are in a more desirable age group.  I am never eligible for any of the tech ones such as for cell phones because I am too old, and it is the same with the television ones.  I am also never eligible for the financial ones because I do not make enough money, and I don't have a lot of investments.  

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I think the fg here only let you do a few a year .However I also think it depends on what the FG is about now ,they don't want you to do 2 back to back if they are on the same subject.However I think the reason I get turned down is that my demographics is loaded with women my age .

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I got my $150 visa gift card from Advanced Focus for doing an online market research project with them last month.  I was going to use it to buy gas, and then I realized that it is not activated.  I am going to have to send them an email with my phone number, and ask them to activate it, which will take up to 48 hours.  It was a two day online survey that probably took me 6 hours at least they sent me two forms in zip drive that I had to open up and print out and then fill out and send them back via fax or email.

I also did another market research study in downtown Chicago that paid me $150 for two hours.  It was an interesting panel.  Everybody on the panel has a medicare part D prescription policy through Humana.  I just got an email from Plaza Research with a list of all of the studies they have going on right now.  There is a prescription drug study they are recruiting for right now, but in order to qualify you have to be `between the ages of 18 and 64.  I don't understand why.

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Oh no, I ALWAYS fib on that question when asked if I did a FG recently.  Never say yes, unless it is for the SAME study. There is no way they would know.  They have many different schedulers and don't keep track of that.  

 

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I just got a market research thing that ended up in my spam yesterday.  They were going to pay $250, but it was a 10 day online survey.  You had to log on for 30 minutes to an hour every day for 10 days.  I was tempted to see if I was eligible, but I am going to be busy some of those days, and might not have time to log on.  I then noticed that it was for people 20-40.  I am way older than 40, but maybe somebody else here would be eligible.  I forget which survey company it was, but they had 14 offices, including one in Chicaqo and one in NYC.  The email showed up in my spam,

I am never eligible for the general ones like television or cell phone, because I am in the wrong age group.  I only am eligible for the ones that are looking for people with specific medical conditions or ones only for older people, or I did one once that was only for people who had Liberty Mutual Insurance.

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Just got one yesterday for GTM to do the drinking survey app.Was told up to $35 during the survey but later read their email they sent me and this it what is said _which is a little different

Global Test Market is looking for your opinion. If you qualify for this exciting opportunity to participate in a mobile diary, you can earn $20 or more in the form of a visa gift card! Don't miss out on being rewarded for sharing your opinions. Complete this survey today!

Still going to do it that is how hard up I am to do one.

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I got one from Focus Forward a few weeks ago on identity theft. It paid 125.00 for two hours of my time and I received  the check last week. And an interactive survey from One Opinion that gave me 22,500 points which is 22.50. I received my points today and was able to cash out for a 25.00 PayPal after cashing out for a 25.00 PayPal just a few days ago. Plus for VIP Voice I get to do a 7 day food diary once a month which pays with a $25 Prepaid Visa which I usually get a couple of weeks after completing the diary. I have one coming which I should get soon. I need these special projects because just doing regular surveys I don't earn enough. But overall I am doing very well although I do put in a lot of time and effort doing surveys. With Focus Forward I was trying to do a focus group with them for a long time and finally was able to be accepted for one. So you can't give up. Those generally pay very well.   

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On a FB group that I post on, the moderator posted a link to Hyundai where you get a $40 Amazon, Target or Visa GC for test driving a car.  I opened it up, but you have to agree to receive notices from Hyundai, and I am not in the market for a new car.  I tried to post the link here, and I could not.  Maybe if somebody here was in the market for a car anyway.

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