Well crap Pinecone

[footfree]

Well, I hate this points crap.... I got a survey yesterday, and normally I would have gotten $3 in Paypal today. Instead I got a message that I had 300 points. I have been trying all afternoon to redeem them. I managed to find the "cash out" link, but can't figure out how to get it to deposit into Paypal. Finally emailed them. WHY did they have to mess up a good system?? Do they want to be like everyone else?

I went and I think I figured it out.When you first log on scroll all the way down the page till you see "redeem my points" click on that.Then on the next page click where it says "featured awards" the last item on the list is cash option.If you read what it says it says if you had Paypal set up before then the funds will be sent there.If not then email them and well this is what it states "If you wish to set up PayPal payments, please email [email protected] to do so before redeeming."So do this before selecting the cash option.Maybe it's just me but I thought it was kind of easy.Oh well I think I'll let my cash build up before cashing out .I personally like having something to look forward to "like cashing out around more then $3.00.

[ksedwar]

The cash option is not there for everyone. I emailed them and was told that I signed up through a banner ad that stated "Join the Pinecone Panel and earn points to purchase prizes for each product survey PLUS entry in Sweepstakes to win cash prizes". I don't think I did. When I signed up there were no rewards, only cash. I never got my first survey from them until months later just after they went to the points program.

The email also said "You are listed as points payments. We do not currently have any other offers".

So not everyones account is the same. Some can use PayPal and some can't.

[footfree]

The cash option is not there for everyone. I emailed them and was told that I signed up through a banner ad that stated "Join the Pinecone Panel and earn points to purchase prizes for each product survey PLUS entry in Sweepstakes to win cash prizes". I don't think I did. When I signed up there were no rewards, only cash. I never got my first survey from them until months later just after they went to the points program.

The email also said "You are listed as points payments. We do not currently have any other offers".

So not everyones account is the same. Some can use PayPal and some can't.

So what exactly is points payments?When I looked at the link "points" was a place you could go to cash them in. I just assumed their web sight was set up the same for everyone.I have 300 points in my account right now.E-rewards has different rewards for each panelists too.I don't understand what you can turn the points in for unless it's only for merchandise.How long have you been a member?Who else has this problem?I've not heard of one person here who couldn't get money.It makes me wonder what's going on.I don't like the fact not everyone is not being paid in the same way.

[ksedwar]

Yes it's merchandise from books to electronics and everything in between, except cash. I joined probably 6 months ago. Maybe a little longer but never got my first survey invite until about a month ago.

P.S. I also got a mass-email a few days ago from Pinecone urging members to adhere to the non-disclosure agreement and not talk about surveys outside of the panel and by no means ever sell any sample products or you will violate your membership terms. It sounded like they are monitoring discussion boards like this one so we need to be careful what we are saying.

[footfree]

Yes it's merchandise from books to electronics and everything in between, except cash. I joined probably 6 months ago. Maybe a little longer but never got my first survey invite until about a month ago.

P.S. I also got a mass-email a few days ago from Pinecone urging members to adhere to the non-disclosure agreement and not talk about surveys outside of the panel and by no means ever sell any sample products or you will violate your membership terms. It sounded like they are monitoring discussion boards like this one so we need to be careful what we are saying.

They've always had that policy about not telling others what kind of PT's your are getting.I have no problems telling people what I'm getting becasue I'm not getting anything from them.I bet I haven't received a pt from them in over a year.Sorry that you cant get cash.Doesn't seem fair that some of us receive certain rewards while others receive another kind.I think they should be offering the same rewards to everybody regardless of when they signed up.

[ssssurvey]

Well, one issue is that if you have over a certain amount of deposits in Paypal, you have to fill out an IRS form and give your SSN. My guess is that they actually got complaints from people about having to get paid every single time. This is why I wait on Opinion Outpost until I have $80 so it only hits as one payment. I don't want Paypal having my SSN! It also probably costs them for every transaction. I kind of can't blame them...at least they don't have a minimum cash out $25 like surveyhead.

[footfree]

Well, one issue is that if you have over a certain amount of deposits in Paypal, you have to fill out an IRS form and give your SSN. My guess is that they actually got complaints from people about having to get paid every single time. This is why I wait on Opinion Outpost until I have $80 so it only hits as one payment. I don't want Paypal having my SSN! It also probably costs them for every transaction. I kind of can't blame them...at least they don't have a minimum cash out $25 like surveyhead.

I'm guessing you don't know how much the deposit limit is?I wonder how much it is?I'm a curious person.I'm not sure how it works but like me I turn all my survey earnings over to the IRS so wouldn't it be like double dipping (on the irs part)if they made you turn over whats in your Paypal account?The only money I put in my Paypal account is my earnings from survey companies.If that's the case I don't think that's fair.But who ever said the life is fair?

[SeriousSurveyer]

I'm guessing you don't know how much the deposit limit is?I wonder how much it is?I'm a curious person.I'm not sure how it works but like me

I looked it up since I use PayPal for all my payments online when I can. A deposit limit would be a crisis:

You only have to report your SSN and fill out a form if you're over $20,000 received AND 200 separate payments in one year. You have to have exceeded both in that year. So I think most of us are safe -- maybe if you joined and regularly participated in all of the survey sites you might make over 20,000 in PayPal in one year. Maybe.

https://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/marke ... s/IRS6050W

[footfree]

I'm guessing you don't know how much the deposit limit is?I wonder how much it is?I'm a curious person.I'm not sure how it works but like me

I looked it up since I use PayPal for all my payments online when I can. A deposit limit would be a crisis:

You only have to report your SSN and fill out a form if you're over $20,000 received AND 200 separate payments in one year. You have to have exceeded both in that year. So I think most of us are safe -- maybe if you joined and regularly participated in all of the survey sites you might make over 20,000 in PayPal in one year. Maybe.

https://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/marke ... s/IRS6050W

Thanks for the info....................I seriously think I would faint if I made that kind of money doing surveys.If that was the case I wouldn't need my part time job.

[Sherry67]

I'm so glad I finally decided to join Survey Police! I had peeked in on this website a few times over the years - usually to confirm that a survey site I suspected was a waste of time was, indeed, a waste of time by reading others' posts - but had never created an account.

It is Pinecone's new points business that finally pushed me into registering! I needed to vent! They were my favorite of all the survey places I belong to - I looked forward to doing their surveys and I would do them as soon as I saw them in my inbox, without waiting a minute - and they have now basically jumped the shark.

The simple fact that Pinecone paid small amounts of money in a speedy time frame, and didn't have any of the usual requirements/limitations that so many survey places have, is what put them way ahead of the pack for me. I liked getting paid $3.00 for every survey, within one or two days. I don't want to wait until I accumulate $10 or $15 or $25 to cash out especially if I only do a couple of surveys a month. But, sadly, I suspect that Pinecone is heading in that direction and away from the quick cash outs for small bits of money (like Swagbucks did - they used to let us cash out for $5 PayPals, and now we have to get to $25 before we can cash out for actual money).

I hate the new Pinecone points system and website. The pages on the site don't even want to load. It's a hassle and it's time-consuming, and it will cause payment to take longer to arrive.

If I had not read some of the posts on this site first, I'm not sure I would have known where the cash out option was! I wish we had been given the option to automatically default all of our earnings to our existing method of payment (PayPal for me; I'm not sure I even knew about a Pinecone debit card??) without having to jump through hoops like we have to now. You know, they could have said something in an e-mail like, "Would you like us to continue to automatically deposit your earnings into PayPal upon completion of a survey? Click Yes or No."

I completed a survey yesterday and just went through the process of converting my 300 points into $3.00 a few minutes ago. Supposedly, if we were getting PayPals before the new points system we will still get PayPals if we choose to cash out - but I won't believe it until I see the $3.00 in my PayPal account (which will hopefully be tomorrow). The order confirmation page is not clear about telling you you're getting a PayPal. It's truly like Pinecone wants to minimize the cash out (for money) option as much as possible and not draw any attention to it. I wonder how long it will be before they remove the cash option entirely, or before they suddenly require something crazy like a $51 minimum for cashing out.

[footfree]

I'm so glad I finally decided to join Survey Police! I had peeked in on this website a few times over the years - usually to confirm that a survey site I suspected was a waste of time was, indeed, a waste of time by reading others' posts - but had never created an account.

It is Pinecone's new points business that finally pushed me into registering! I needed to vent! They were my favorite of all the survey places I belong to - I looked forward to doing their surveys and I would do them as soon as I saw them in my inbox, without waiting a minute - and they have now basically jumped the shark.

The simple fact that Pinecone paid small amounts of money in a speedy time frame, and didn't have any of the usual requirements/limitations that so many survey places have, is what put them way ahead of the pack for me. I liked getting paid $3.00 for every survey, within one or two days. I don't want to wait until I accumulate $10 or $15 or $25 to cash out especially if I only do a couple of surveys a month. But, sadly, I suspect that Pinecone is heading in that direction and away from the quick cash outs for small bits of money (like Swagbucks did - they used to let us cash out for $5 PayPals, and now we have to get to $25 before we can cash out for actual money).

I hate the new Pinecone points system and website. The pages on the site don't even want to load. It's a hassle and it's time-consuming, and it will cause payment to take longer to arrive.

If I had not read some of the posts on this site first, I'm not sure I would have known where the cash out option was! I wish we had been given the option to automatically default all of our earnings to our existing method of payment (PayPal for me; I'm not sure I even knew about a Pinecone debit card??) without having to jump through hoops like we have to now. You know, they could have said something in an e-mail like, "Would you like us to continue to automatically deposit your earnings into PayPal upon completion of a survey? Click Yes or No."

I completed a survey yesterday and just went through the process of converting my 300 points into $3.00 a few minutes ago. Supposedly, if we were getting PayPals before the new points system we will still get PayPals if we choose to cash out - but I won't believe it until I see the $3.00 in my PayPal account (which will hopefully be tomorrow). The order confirmation page is not clear about telling you you're getting a PayPal. It's truly like Pinecone wants to minimize the cash out (for money) option as much as possible and not draw any attention to it. I wonder how long it will be before they remove the cash option entirely, or before they suddenly require something crazy like a $51 minimum for cashing out.

Glad to have you join the group.We are a lively group with differing opinions but I think that's what makes us interesting .But what I think of your analogy is that you never know what their thinking but at $3 and a $51 cash out level I would have to quit.That would take a very long time. I mean 17 surveys is what I would see in what maybe 1 whole year probably longer if I was being realistic.Yeah I would have to quit.Anyways welcome and come as often as you like always nice to have newcomers.

[SeriousSurveyer]

It is Pinecone's new points business that finally pushed me into registering! I needed to vent! They were my favorite of all the survey places I belong to - I looked forward to doing their surveys and I would do them as soon as I saw them in my inbox, without waiting a minute - and they have now basically jumped the shark.

[...]

If I had not read some of the posts on this site first, I'm not sure I would have known where the cash out option was! I wish we had been given the option to automatically default all of our earnings to our existing method of payment (PayPal for me; I'm not sure I even knew about a Pinecone debit card??) without having to jump through hoops like we have to now. You know, they could have said something in an e-mail like, "Would you like us to continue to automatically deposit your earnings into PayPal upon completion of a survey? Click Yes or No."

I completed a survey yesterday and just went through the process of converting my 300 points into $3.00 a few minutes ago. Supposedly, if we were getting PayPals before the new points system we will still get PayPals if we choose to cash out - but I won't believe it until I see the $3.00 in my PayPal account (which will hopefully be tomorrow). The order confirmation page is not clear about telling you you're getting a PayPal. It's truly like Pinecone wants to minimize the cash out (for money) option as much as possible and not draw any attention to it. I wonder how long it will be before they remove the cash option entirely, or before they suddenly require something crazy like a $51 minimum for cashing out.

Welcome! I think Pinecone's conversion has everyone wondering, "Why? Why?"

Personally, I don't think the change is that much of a hassle, at the moment, especially compared to other sites. The only difference --for most people-- is that you have to wait a day to get the points, then log in and convert the points to PayPal cash. A couple of days is still a quick turnaround. I know everyone hates points but points are just cash in another language, IMO.

That said, I agree with others who think that this may be the beginning of Pinecone phasing out the cash option or switching to a minimum cashout requirement. The only thing I think goes against this idea is that Pinecone probably knows it would lose a lot of members if it did this. They lost many members when they went from $5 a survey to $3. The difference this time is that they may not get many new members to replace the old ones if they take out the $3 PayPal. The only edge Pinecone has over other sites is the quick and fair payment, so if that's gone, then what's left?

[ksedwar]

I know everyone hates points but points are just cash in another language, IMO.

It should be but I looked at some of the merchandise I would be interested in. One item that costs around $50 costs around $150 in points. You have to earn way more points then what most of the items are worth.

The only thing I think goes against this idea is that Pinecone probably knows it would lose a lot of members if it did this. They lost many members when they went from $5 a survey to $3. The difference this time is that they may not get many new members to replace the old ones if they take out the $3 PayPal.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Pinecone has just opened up sign-ups for new members in certain demographics. What's very upsetting is they are apparently promoting it as $3 a survey.

Pinecone Research Signup Open

April 16, 2013

Right now they are looking for panelists between the age of 18 -24.

[SeriousSurveyer]

I know everyone hates points but points are just cash in another language, IMO.

It should be but I looked at some of the merchandise I would be interested in. One item that costs around $50 costs around $150 in points. You have to earn way more points then what most of the items are worth.

Oh, I meant the points --> cash. I didn't even bother calculating points --> merchandise. I don't imagine many people who have the choice will be opting for merchandise.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Pinecone has just opened up sign-ups for new members in certain demographics. What's very upsetting is they are apparently promoting it as $3 a survey.

Maybe they're having some new members on cash and some on points, and it depends on your demographic and the banner you signed up with? From what I've seen they don't do things the same for everyone. I've heard from others who are still getting $3 the next day instead of having to convert points to PayPal.

[Sherry67]

Thank you for the welcome!

Today I got my first $3.00 PayPal under the new system and even though it just took one day longer to get paid than it normally takes, I still don't like the whole system. As I mentioned yesterday, the thing that really put Pinecone ahead of the pack for me was the fact that they paid small amounts of money, quickly, and I didn't have to reach a certain dollar level before I could cash out. I also liked the fact that any survey I did would automatically earn money and that I wouldn't have to waste time on trying to qualify for something. The household questions were short so I didn't mind doing those for free.

I should have also stated that the thing that I liked about Pinecone more than other places was the mere fact that all I had to do was finish the survey and that was it. I didn't have to go through any extra steps to get paid or cash out. From the second they received my survey and processed it, payment was on the way (first in check form - and my ATM would not read those checks so I was always forced to go into my bank to deposit them with a teller!) and finally in PayPal form. Now I see Pinecone heading more in the direction of the "other" survey places - not only will they probably eventually discontinue the cash option entirely (as has been said here by a few people on Survey Police) or will put a restriction of some kind on the cash-outs, but we all have to go through more steps to claim the $3.00. No longer is the money automatically sent out. There is page after page to get through on the Rewards site, and then there are a couple of different e-mails sent with the "order status." It's not as quick or seamless of a process anymore.

In other words, Pinecone is losing some of the features that made it great in the first place for me. I used to love knowing that I could, for example, finish a survey before I went on a trip and that the $3.00 would be in my PayPal account the next day. Now, if I finish a survey right before a trip I won't be able to claim the points and get that money until I get home, unless I access the Internet while I'm away (which I usually do not). It's just more of a hassle now.

Sigh. Well, I suppose that all good things must come to an end at some point. I've experienced it before. I should know to expect it! I used to belong to My Survey and Lightspeed separately. Both of them were great for me as individual sites (I even won a $100 AmEx money order from My Survey back when it was NFO and I did all the surveys on paper), and I earned a lot of points and small bits of cash regularly from Lightspeed. As soon as the two places merged or one bought out the other, everything went downhill for me. Fewer points awarded overall. Fewer cash outs. Fewer surveys that I qualified for. More technical issues with surveys that prevented me from completing them.

Same thing with the Ipsos i-Say/Synovate merger or buyout from last year. I used to belong to each one separately, and they each worked for me in different ways. I recommended both sites highly. I cashed out for $10 AmEx gift cards every single month with i-say, and I received many, many $5 checks from Synovate, as well as multiple product tests from each place. As soon as they became one unit, my point value seemed to decrease, I qualified for fewer surveys, I received fewer product samples, and was able to cash out much less often. I am lucky if I can even get a $15 PayPal from i-say every 4 months now, and they discontinued their $10 AmEx cards and $10 cash options entirely. Also,the surveys are constantly riddled with technical issues now.

None of the really good survey places seem to stay good forever. Eventually they all start to go downhill, sadly.