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An observation


dawn_b_adams

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I was on a survey panel, not going to mention which one, when I suddenly scored $5.00 worth of surveys in 20 minutes. This on a panel where I hadn’t gotten squat in the last couple of weeks, despite being on there for an hour every day. It then hit me that I was on there at just the right time to get and successfully complete those surveys. It also occurred to me that it was pretty random, like no real control over being able to complete surveys. And it reminded me of something that I seldom do. That would be gambling, specifically slot machines. 

The reason I seldom gamble is because it’s so random, and mostly relies on luck and timing. And I’m an admitted control freak. Control freaks usually don’t like gambling. It’s a waste of money for me, money I can blow on so many better things like wine, chocolate and costume jewelry. Think of it. You go on a slot machine and hope it hits. It takes absolutely no skill whatsoever. You’re just pushing a lever or hitting a button. And maybe if you’re real lucky, you’ll leave the casino with more than what you came in with. The odds will always be against you and for the house. It’s random luck and timing. I think it’s a good analogy for survey companies. 

With these surveys, based on what I’ve observed in the 15 years or so I’ve been doing them, loyalty doesn’t mean anything to these companies. It doesn’t matter whether you’re with a company for two weeks or 15 years. They will continue to screw you out of money, dump you, accuse you of being a liar, etc. They’re happy to take the money they should pay you and pocket it after disqualifying you. They do not care nor have any sympathy if you spend hours a day trying to complete surveys. You get close to nothing for making an effort. When you do actually successfully complete a survey, you almost feel like celebrating because it happens so rarely. It’s easy to get discouraged. Then you have a great day where it seems like taking candy from a baby, like you make $20 in a day. I did that once, and only once. I felt like I was invincible. 

And that happens so rarely, it really is just luck and/or good timing, all random. I don’t think it has anything to do with being truthful and actually working hard and completing surveys. There is a lot of chicanery going on in the background from “the house” or survey company. They keep you “hooked” because you successfully get say $0.50 from a survey you worked on for 30 minutes, and you just keep going, and get nothing after that. It really is like gambling. I felt like I hit a jackpot after getting that $5.00 worth of surveys today. Now I’m sure I’ll get nothing for weeks after that. 

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3 hours ago, dawn_b_adams said:

I was on a survey panel, not going to mention which one, when I suddenly scored $5.00 worth of surveys in 20 minutes. This on a panel where I hadn’t gotten squat in the last couple of weeks, despite being on there for an hour every day. It then hit me that I was on there at just the right time to get and successfully complete those surveys. It also occurred to me that it was pretty random, like no real control over being able to complete surveys. And it reminded me of something that I seldom do. That would be gambling, specifically slot machines. 

The reason I seldom gamble is because it’s so random, and mostly relies on luck and timing. And I’m an admitted control freak. Control freaks usually don’t like gambling. It’s a waste of money for me, money I can blow on so many better things like wine, chocolate and costume jewelry. Think of it. You go on a slot machine and hope it hits. It takes absolutely no skill whatsoever. You’re just pushing a lever or hitting a button. And maybe if you’re real lucky, you’ll leave the casino with more than what you came in with. The odds will always be against you and for the house. It’s random luck and timing. I think it’s a good analogy for survey companies. 

With these surveys, based on what I’ve observed in the 15 years or so I’ve been doing them, loyalty doesn’t mean anything to these companies. It doesn’t matter whether you’re with a company for two weeks or 15 years. They will continue to screw you out of money, dump you, accuse you of being a liar, etc. They’re happy to take the money they should pay you and pocket it after disqualifying you. They do not care nor have any sympathy if you spend hours a day trying to complete surveys. You get close to nothing for making an effort. When you do actually successfully complete a survey, you almost feel like celebrating because it happens so rarely. It’s easy to get discouraged. Then you have a great day where it seems like taking candy from a baby, like you make $20 in a day. I did that once, and only once. I felt like I was invincible. 

And that happens so rarely, it really is just luck and/or good timing, all random. I don’t think it has anything to do with being truthful and actually working hard and completing surveys. There is a lot of chicanery going on in the background from “the house” or survey company. They keep you “hooked” because you successfully get say $0.50 from a survey you worked on for 30 minutes, and you just keep going, and get nothing after that. It really is like gambling. I felt like I hit a jackpot after getting that $5.00 worth of surveys today. Now I’m sure I’ll get nothing for weeks after that. 

It's almost like an addiction there are so many times I feel like throwing in the towel and then I'm clicking the survey button again.

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Agreed, and an excellent observation. It's like gambling in that you're spending time waiting for the jackpot, instead of spending money.  I have one company for which I record comments on new websites before they're put online. They want people who use a certain software or are members of a particular health plan or are in a certain field of work. But you have to click them to see the quals. Each one is worth $10, but I might click on 100 of them before I qualify for one. 

When you have a conventional job, you're paid for all of your time. With this kind of work, you're never reimbursed for time between tasks.  And yet I do them to remain my own boss  and not have to travel to work.  I've already had a few conventional careers, and this just supplements my Social Security.

 

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12 hours ago, ropar said:

Agreed, and an excellent observation. It's like gambling in that you're spending time waiting for the jackpot, instead of spending money.  I have one company for which I record comments on new websites before they're put online. They want people who use a certain software or are members of a particular health plan or are in a certain field of work. But you have to click them to see the quals. Each one is worth $10, but I might click on 100 of them before I qualify for one. 

When you have a conventional job, you're paid for all of your time. With this kind of work, you're never reimbursed for time between tasks.  And yet I do them to remain my own boss  and not have to travel to work.  I've already had a few conventional careers, and this just supplements my Social Security.

 

I hear what you’re saying about remaining your own boss and not having to travel to work. I’m retired with a pension, and do these surveys for beer money and travel. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I go about it a bit differently,  I set goals to reach and I am relentless in getting to that goal.  Some days it may take me 6 hours to get there.  Some days 4 hours,  some days even more than 6.  I am currently using about 12 different panels and I just work the ones that seem to be paying off on any given day.  My goals are about half on Saturday and Sunday as they are Monday though Friday. As you know the surveys just aren't there on the weekend.   The money isn't a lot but it comes in handy, pays my car payment,  buys gifts for the family and gives me some spending change.  If I worked a full-time job I wouldn't do this but I am retired and I look at my survey money as gravy.    Advice:  Set your daily goal and don't give up until you get there.  There are very, very few days I don't hit my goal and and the end of the month you'll be happy with what you have earned. 

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9 hours ago, Duck said:

I go about it a bit differently,  I set goals to reach and I am relentless in getting to that goal.  Some days it may take me 6 hours to get there.  Some days 4 hours,  some days even more than 6.  I am currently using about 12 different panels and I just work the ones that seem to be paying off on any given day.  My goals are about half on Saturday and Sunday as they are Monday though Friday. As you know the surveys just aren't there on the weekend.   The money isn't a lot but it comes in handy, pays my car payment,  buys gifts for the family and gives me some spending change.  If I worked a full-time job I wouldn't do this but I am retired and I look at my survey money as gravy.    Advice:  Set your daily goal and don't give up until you get there.  There are very, very few days I don't hit my goal and and the end of the month you'll be happy with what you have earned. 

Spot on, well said! I do the same thing. As you mentioned, some days take longer than others. And it really does add up. I usually have $150-$200 by the end of the month. And being retired, yeah we definitely have the time to do this. When I worked full time, I wasn’t able to do this. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 8/14/2020 at 1:35 PM, dawn_b_adams said:

I was on a survey panel, not going to mention which one, when I suddenly scored $5.00 worth of surveys in 20 minutes. This on a panel where I hadn’t gotten squat in the last couple of weeks, despite being on there for an hour every day. It then hit me that I was on there at just the right time to get and successfully complete those surveys. It also occurred to me that it was pretty random, like no real control over being able to complete surveys. And it reminded me of something that I seldom do. That would be gambling, specifically slot machines. 

The reason I seldom gamble is because it’s so random, and mostly relies on luck and timing. And I’m an admitted control freak. Control freaks usually don’t like gambling. It’s a waste of money for me, money I can blow on so many better things like wine, chocolate and costume jewelry. Think of it. You go on a slot machine and hope it hits. It takes absolutely no skill whatsoever. You’re just pushing a lever or hitting a button. And maybe if you’re real lucky, you’ll leave the casino with more than what you came in with. The odds will always be against you and for the house. It’s random luck and timing. I think it’s a good analogy for survey companies. 

With these surveys, based on what I’ve observed in the 15 years or so I’ve been doing them, loyalty doesn’t mean anything to these companies. It doesn’t matter whether you’re with a company for two weeks or 15 years. They will continue to screw you out of money, dump you, accuse you of being a liar, etc. They’re happy to take the money they should pay you and pocket it after disqualifying you. They do not care nor have any sympathy if you spend hours a day trying to complete surveys. You get close to nothing for making an effort. When you do actually successfully complete a survey, you almost feel like celebrating because it happens so rarely. It’s easy to get discouraged. Then you have a great day where it seems like taking candy from a baby, like you make $20 in a day. I did that once, and only once. I felt like I was invincible. 

And that happens so rarely, it really is just luck and/or good timing, all random. I don’t think it has anything to do with being truthful and actually working hard and completing surveys. There is a lot of chicanery going on in the background from “the house” or survey company. They keep you “hooked” because you successfully get say $0.50 from a survey you worked on for 30 minutes, and you just keep going, and get nothing after that. It really is like gambling. I felt like I hit a jackpot after getting that $5.00 worth of surveys today. Now I’m sure I’ll get nothing for weeks after that. 

Maybe it is my imagination but it seems like survey panels run hot and cold, some days you can get qualified on a lot of a panel's surveys and other times it is just one rejection or another.  It also seems to have something to do with the time of day too.   If I run into a panel where I am having a cold spell,  I just move on to another  one of the dozen or so panels of which I am a member.   I try to follow the point of least resistance when it comes to taking surveys. 

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