As I have written elsewhere, I never received any money for filling of online surveys. I tried several survey sites and I made a little paper money with many of them. But since it is below their payout limits, I have no hope of getting anything from them.

I have also written why most of survey companies are a farce and that one should stay away from them as much as possible. It is hard to make money even from so called reputed companies.

Is it really possible to make money from surveys? My personal opinion is that one should shun so called paid surveys. This is a sheer waste of time, energy and one's hopes.

I made a little money by joining some local survey companies and focus groups. They are not online and one has to go personally when called. I am called a few times for participation involving 1-2 hours of my time. The payment ranges from $40 - $100. I think I might have made about $300 cash during the last year.

The problem with these companies is that they have many eligibility criteria. They will ask you a series of questions only to be turned down. Just on a few occasions one may be able to qualify. Sometimes one of their conditions is that you should not have participated in any survey during the last six months.

These survey companies have funny rules and I think for 50% of time, you will not qualify.

If one wants to do off line surveys and participate in local focus groups, one may make an online search for local companies who do physical surveys and pay cash after each participation.

One can make a little pocket money in a big city by doing one or two surveys a month. One has to go there physically for one or two hours. Cash is paid immediately at the end of a survey. This is better than online surveys.

Whether off line or online, surveys are not going to generate any worthwhile money for any one. These are just for using one's spare time. Otherwise, there is nothing much to talk about them.

I would also urge everyone never to pay to these survey sites and never buy any leads. Most of them are fraudulent. Survey sites offer false promises and unnecessary hype for their own benefit. Ultimately they are disappointing.

Learn more about this author, Altaf Sahibzada.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Getting paid to take surveys?
We want to hear your view. Write now!