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Well crap Pinecone


footfree

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

You know why they are looking for this age bracket ?Apparently they spend more then us older folk.But it's us older folk who has money and or buy gifts for those youngens.I wonder how many of them in that age bracket are doing surveys? I guess I can see it if they are a college student wanting to earn extra money but most of them have a part-time job to help cover those cost.Anyways remember when Pinecone was bought out and we wonder how long the change would be?I think they may be wanting to pocket more of their profits by offering us over priced prizes.Not sure what to think of them.I mean I was with Nielsen (who owns Pinecone) and I used their scanner (homescan)and when I quit and they asked why I said the reward was to little for all the time.The guy on the other end of the phone said "I understand." and that was it. I gave back the scanner and they could seem to careless to keep me as a panelist.So don't expect them to change,if we quit they wont care,why should they?There's a sucker born every minute and they will find someone else to take our shoes.

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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.

They can't get rid of the cash option completely and totally. Why? Because then they'd go out of business; everyone would leave. :)

I could see them putting a higher minimum on cashout though. Maybe something like $9 or $12.

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.

You know what's weird? I'm not with Ipsos but I get plenty of their surveys from other panels. The Ipsos surveys I take pay fairly well and are interesting. Their surveys are one of the few I get that seem to be specifically targeted to me -- my particular demographic, interests, etc. (Maybe because they don't have many people of my demographic at Ipsos?) So I was thinking I might sign up for their panel...until I did some research. I guess I'll just stick to taking their surveys through other sites.

So don't expect them to change,if we quit they wont care,why should they?There's a sucker born every minute and they will find someone else to take our shoes.

If they get rid of the cash, they'll be no suckers.

People take surveys on a regular basis to make extra cash, influence and learn about products and services, and voice their opinion. But a strong motivator is the cash. I know some take free surveys in hopes of getting paid ones (very faulty logic), but if there is no cash involved at all, who will take their surveys? Who? I mean, people can go buy their own hair dryer or books with the money they make from taking surveys.

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I'm not with Ipsos but I get plenty of their surveys from other panels.

You should at least give them a shot. I find that the surveys coming directly from i-say pay a little better then when routed through another company. I'm not sure if they are still available or that everyone will qualify but they had 2 or 3 $4 surveys up in the last week along with other good surveys. You get a nickel (woo-hoo....) for DQ, $15 minimum with PayPal and the payment hits usually within a week. i-say is in my top 5 list.

Back on topic. Pinecone never got back to me when I pointed out that there are different users with different cash out options. I would like to do the surveys but not for inflated prices on rewards.

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They can't get rid of the cash option completely and totally. Why? Because then they'd go out of business; everyone would leave. :)

I could see them putting a higher minimum on cashout though. Maybe something like $9 or $12.

You know what's weird? I'm not with Ipsos but I get plenty of their surveys from other panels. The Ipsos surveys I take pay fairly well and are interesting. Their surveys are one of the few I get that seem to be specifically targeted to me -- my particular demographic, interests, etc. (Maybe because they don't have many people of my demographic at Ipsos?) So I was thinking I might sign up for their panel...until I did some research. I guess I'll just stick to taking their surveys through other sites.

I've seen a lot of those Ipsos i-say surveys pop up through other survey companies too! Lol. I always recognize that telltale background of their pages.

I suppose that, just like with any survey place, some folks will do much better with Ipsos i-say (as far as qualifying for surveys and earning money) than others. I think it all boils down to demographics and what is needed for the open surveys, and how quickly those demographics are filled. You might have a lot of luck with i-say if you sign up. It sounds like ksedwar has luck with them. All I know is that, for me, personally, as soon as Ipsos i-say and Synovate became one entity, I started to get fewer surveys; I encountered more technical issues with surveys; it took much longer to even earn enough to cash out; I got fewer products to test, etc. For other people it may still be worthwhile. Scraping up enough points to cash out for $15 after several months is not what I was used to from i-say in the past. I was used to the $10 AmEx gift cards every month. The last $15 payment from i-say that I got was in January. Prior to that it was September. Right now I still have to earn 800 more points before I can even cash out for another $15. Yep - it's gone downhill for me, that's for sure! It used to be much more "lucrative" for me, as far as survey sites go, and was also in my top 5 survey places at one point. Now that they took over the Synovate surveys, somehow my demographic isn't as needed for most surveys I guess.

So, back to Pinecone (sorry to go off topic, everyone! :oops: ) - even though the new points system is a hassle, as long as they still keep the guaranteed cash coming (fairly quickly) for each survey and we don't have to waste our time trying to qualify for anything and then get screened out after 20 minutes, and as long as they send out a couple of product tests each year, I still put them above most - if not all - of the other survey or rewards places I deal with...for now! They haven't completely floundered yet! Lol. They're still worthwhile.

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The main reason I like Ipsos is that I get Pt's to test from them.Like I've said before I haven't gotten a pt from Pinecone in a year at least.Plus they aren't that bothersome like some companies who send you a boundless amount of surveys that I don't qualify for nor do I get any kind compensation from trying to do them.I do find lately that their surveys don't seem to working right.Like as soon as I click on it it'll say it appears you have already done this survey when I know good and well I haven't even tried.

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You should at least give them a shot. I find that the surveys coming directly from i-Say pay a little better then when routed through another company. I'm not sure if they are still available or that everyone will qualify but they had 2 or 3 $4 surveys up in the last week along with other good surveys. You get a nickel (woo-hoo....) for DQ, $15 minimum with PayPal and the payment hits usually within a week. i-Say is in my top 5 list.
I suppose that, just like with any survey place, some folks will do much better with Ipsos i-Say (as far as qualifying for surveys and earning money) than others. I think it all boils down to demographics and what is needed for the open surveys, and how quickly those demographics are filled. You might have a lot of luck with i-Say if you sign up.

Earlier this week I got a survey from them, it was said to be 40 minutes and $4. I didn't start it right away since I didn't have that much time. When I came back later I just clicked on my links of started surveys --I had about 3-- not knowing which was which. The survey took me 15 minutes, and I thought it was one of the $1/$1.50 surveys. I was really surprised when I got $4 in account after completing it. If they can do better than that I might have to give them a try. :)

Back on topic. Pinecone never got back to me when I pointed out that there are different users with different cash out options. I would like to do the surveys but not for inflated prices on rewards.

I wouldn't do their surveys for measly points towards merchandise either. I can't believe they actually have some people on merchandise only.

So, back to Pinecone (sorry to go off topic, everyone! :oops: ) - even though the new points system is a hassle, as long as they still keep the guaranteed cash coming (fairly quickly) for each survey and we don't have to waste our time trying to qualify for anything and then get screened out after 20 minutes, and as long as they send out a couple of product tests each year, I still put them above most - if not all - of the other survey or rewards places I deal with...for now! They haven't completely floundered yet! Lol. They're still worthwhile.

If they sent out more surveys they would definitely be on top.

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Earlier this week I got a survey from them, it was said to be 40 minutes and $4. I didn't start it right away since I didn't have that much time. When I came back later I just clicked on my links of started surveys --I had about 3-- not knowing which was which. The survey took me 15 minutes, and I thought it was one of the $1/$1.50 surveys. I was really surprised when I got $4 in account after completing it. If they can do better than that I might have to give them a try. :)

I did that one too. When it was wrapping up I thought I was being DQ'd but then saw that I was rewarded the 400 points. I kind of set back in my chair for a second making sure I was seeing it right. Seemed WAY too fast for $4. I wish that would happen more often... 8)

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the thing is , before i put down the new options Pinecone is offering with their new rewards thingy, i figured id go to the site and check it out. you know something, its not that bad, really. you still have the check/paypal option if you want and they really do have many,many nice rewards to choose from. i didnt see any really cheap stuff either. only thing that would keep me from saving my points is the chance you take on getting booted out of the panel for some reason or another and then lose whatever points you had acquired. thats the only drawback i can think of. all in all i believe its a pretty good thing they are doing.

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you still have the check/paypal option if you want and they really do have many,many nice rewards to choose from. i didnt see any really cheap stuff either.

Not everyone has the cash option. Some of us just have the merchandise option and yes it is bad when the merchandise is marked up 100 to 150 percent.

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I really think that if some people don't have a cash option at all now - no checks, no PayPal, nothing - that eventually it will be that way for even more people, or, as we've discussed here, there will suddenly be a requirement imposed to be able to cash out (minimum $15 or higher). We can already see that the cash option is practically hidden on the rewards page for those of us who want it.

I said a couple of days ago that I didn't think Pinecone has completely floundered yet, and they are still worthwhile as long as they are offering small bits of money, quickly (and hopefully a couple of product tests a year). But I do think they are sliding a little bit downhill - if, for no other reason, because they are making those of us who want cash to go through many more (annoying) steps to get that cash and it is not as seamless a process as it once was. They are moving away from one of the things that I loved about them to begin with - simply taking the surveys and then seeing the money in PayPal the next day without having to do anything.

Pinecone could have easily, easily included a link or box in their e-mails about this points system, asking us to check Yes or No if we wanted our $3.00 to continue to automatically go straight to PayPal or if we wanted the points to go to the rewards site for possible purchase of items. That way, the people who really, really wanted the quick $3.00 in cash would continue to get it in the same way to which they had become accustomed and wouldn't have to go through these extra steps, but the people who possibly wanted merchandise could explore those options. But Pinecone didn't do that. I really feel that they are trying to get away from the 'easy, quick cash' - but in a gradual way so as not to incite too much outrage at one time! Lol.

Meanwhile, I'm still using Quick Rewards for super-fast small bits of money, and they are still delivering. Yesterday I made one dollar doing one of their surveys. (I only tried one survey; I didn't try any others.) That dollar was in PayPal this morning, with only a couple of steps after clicking Redeem. I just finished another survey for them this morning, and that dollar will be in PayPal tomorrow. I may try to do more surveys for them later today if I have time. There have been times when I've made $5 or $6 in one day with QR, and it was in my PayPal account the next day. Sure, I don't always qualify for surveys but there are days when it pays off much more than others. And if you earn only 20 cents, you can get that 20 cents in your PayPal account within a day or two! I love that!

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you still have the check/paypal option if you want and they really do have many,many nice rewards to choose from. i didnt see any really cheap stuff either.

Not everyone has the cash option. Some of us just have the merchandise option and yes it is bad when the merchandise is marked up 100 to 150 percent.

yeah, the not everyone has the cash option is a bit strange and it isnt fair. also i didnt mean to say the points per item was fair, i just meant the items were of good quality only. lets just hope they dont go too far with this thing though.

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I really think that if some people don't have a cash option at all now - no checks, no PayPal, nothing - that eventually it will be that way for even more people, or, as we've discussed here, there will suddenly be a requirement imposed to be able to cash out (minimum $15 or higher). We can already see that the cash option is practically hidden on the rewards page for those of us who want it.

I said a couple of days ago that I didn't think Pinecone has completely floundered yet, and they are still worthwhile as long as they are offering small bits of money, quickly (and hopefully a couple of product tests a year). But I do think they are sliding a little bit downhill - if, for no other reason, because they are making those of us who want cash to go through many more (annoying) steps to get that cash and it is not as seamless a process as it once was. They are moving away from one of the things that I loved about them to begin with - simply taking the surveys and then seeing the money in PayPal the next day without having to do anything.

Pinecone could have easily, easily included a link or box in their e-mails about this points system, asking us to check Yes or No if we wanted our $3.00 to continue to automatically go straight to PayPal or if we wanted the points to go to the rewards site for possible purchase of items. That way, the people who really, really wanted the quick $3.00 in cash would continue to get it in the same way to which they had become accustomed and wouldn't have to go through these extra steps, but the people who possibly wanted merchandise could explore those options. But Pinecone didn't do that. I really feel that they are trying to get away from the 'easy, quick cash' - but in a gradual way so as not to incite too much outrage at one time! Lol.

Meanwhile, I'm still using Quick Rewards for super-fast small bits of money, and they are still delivering. Yesterday I made one dollar doing one of their surveys. (I only tried one survey; I didn't try any others.) That dollar was in PayPal this morning, with only a couple of steps after clicking Redeem. I just finished another survey for them this morning, and that dollar will be in PayPal tomorrow. I may try to do more surveys for them later today if I have time. There have been times when I've made $5 or $6 in one day with QR, and it was in my PayPal account the next day. Sure, I don't always qualify for surveys but there are days when it pays off much more than others. And if you earn only 20 cents, you can get that 20 cents in your PayPal account within a day or two! I love that!

i agree with ya on not giving up on them just yet. im in the wait and see mode. maybe if enough members would email them and ask them to put a link in for us to automaticaly have the check/paypal option they might do it. maybe.

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it's taking forever from the time I cash out and then read like 50 emails all about how my cash will be shipping. Instead of like a few hours for paypal to receive the money, it's now like a week.

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it's taking forever from the time I cash out and then read like 50 emails all about how my cash will be shipping. Instead of like a few hours for paypal to receive the money, it's now like a week.

Yep. That's exactly the thing that is bugging me. I did my first cash-out under the new points system earlier this past week, and I will have another cash-out coming in a couple of days (once my points are confirmed).

No longer can we just finish the survey, be done with it and see the money in PayPal the next day. Now, we have to wait until the next business day (after taking the survey) for the e-mail to confirm that our points have been awarded. Then, we have to log into our Pinecone accounts and click the button to redeem. Then, we go to the Rewards site and hunt for the hidden cash option (which is not easy to find if you don't know where to look). Then we select that option, add it to the cart or whatever nonsense it is, and go through a few more pages before the order is actually processed and completed and we had a confirmation number. Somewhere in there was a page or two that did not want to load for me, and I stared at the screen as an endless circle went 'round and 'round in the middle of the page as it tried to load. I had to actually open up a new tab in my browser to kind of give the first tab a 'kick in the pants' and push it to finish loading the checkout page. And then, after all of that mess, the first e-mail comes to confirm that an order was placed. Then, the following day, another e-mail comes to confirm that the order is "being shipped." Finally, at long last, the PayPal arrives.

All of this could be avoided if Pinecone would just default our accounts to automatic PayPal or automatic points, but then they would have to do the work on their end as far as processing our payment requests. It's easier for them to have us do more work to get our $3.00.

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I am still doing Pinecone and I did get the dreaded email about the changes. I can still take the Paypal offer and I have $3 pending with them. I thought it would be easier if I could take it once in a while. It doesn't bother me to wait a bit to get my money.

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