Only Participate in Paid Surveys that are Free by Randi Colia

There are few rules in the paid survey trade that are completely inflexible. There is, however, one unbreakable dictum: Online participate in paid surveys that are free. This is the one rule no one should ever look past!

We should start this by noting that the paid survey business is one of the cleanest on the Internet. You do not have to look far in most moneymaking niches to find scammers and crooks. They are a dime a dozen online, hawking digital snake oil to the gullible. All things considered, there are very few of them in the paid survey field. Nonetheless, it pays to know how to recognize and avoid the barrel's few bad apples.

One occasionally seen online survey scam involves convincing people to pay to participate in a survey opportunity.

If you think about that ploy for a moment, you will realize why it makes absolutely no sense to pay to take part in a research project. Legitimate market research firms want to pay people for their opinions because they realize just how valuable the resulting data is. The opinions they solicit have a very real value to the research firm and the company commissioning the research.

The idea of paying to participate in a survey turns that clear concept on its head. It is a case of unfair double dipping on the part of the survey operator. They are walking away with data and they are paying less than market value for it by forcing respondents to fork over cash just to be involved.

A serious research firm would never resort to that kind of tactic. Thus, if you see a survey that requires even a small payment on your part, turn and run as fast as you can. You are not dealing with one of the good guys. You have probably encountered one of those rare scams.

Some people confuse the rule that you should only participate in in paid surveys that pay with the idea of refusing to purchase quality leads and information from legitimate sources. It is a mistake to paint these two different ideas with the same brush.

Anyone who has done paid surveys knows that the most time-consuming part of the whole thing is finding good opportunities in which to participate. As such, it actually makes sense to deal with a quality website that makes a point of finding the best survey leads and market research contact information. Becoming a paying member of these sites is actually one of the best ways to avoid accidentally running into the kind of bums who would try to convince you to pay to participate in a survey opportunity!

Paying for good information that can improve your bottom line is a good idea. Paying for the chance to complete a survey is not. Act accordingly.

Randi Colia cashes survey checks. How would you like a few of your own?

Make money with online surveys...

And don't forget the difference between an occasional payment and a consistent stream of real money--finding the right source of paid survey information.