Making cash from online survey sites - new MSE guide

Most rubbish incentive?
I just got an invitation from Waitrose to complete a survey to be entered in a £500 prize draw. My committment would be a 45 minute initial survey then complete a daily diary for a week at up to 10 minutes each day (though I could be lazy and only complete it on 3 of those days). Not just that but, although the info would be confidential, it would be used to better target me with Waitrose offers and vouchers.
Oh yes the £500 in the remote chance of winning the draw, wouldn't be cash but waitrose vouchers (which will cost them half as much as if they gave cash).

So the cost of entry is at least one and a quarter hour's of your time - on statutory minimum wage that equates to around £8. That's a lot for such a small chance of a small prize.
I think the socio-economic background of the average waitrose shopper would imply their hourly income range to be an order of magnitude greater than statutory minimum. So a more realistic "cost of your time to participate" calculation might be £80. A better option would be to spend £80 on national lottery tickets - a good chance of getting a small prize and a tiny chance of getting something worthwhile. But of that nearly £8 would go to the government, a further over £3 to admin and only £40 into the prize fund so my advice is spend it all on chocolate.

Xmas coming up this is just the thing I need!!

Just an update after my message above. Seems a few of us weren't getting the rewards we had ordered on Swagbucks

Out of the 2 rewards I ordered 5 minutes apart, after much chasing the second one was finally paid many many weeks late.

I completed just enough surveys to make existing points into another reward and have now dumped Swagbucks. Surveys take too much effort to be messed around like this.

I'm also dumping Toluna. Too many Toluna surveys screen out after many many screens of hugely detailed data being collected that is far beyond anything needed for screenout. Nothing inconsistent was entered. Lots of surveys Toluna directs you to don't seem to credit at all. About 25% of those credited recently, but they sit there for many weeks till they credit. When surveys they refer to you fail - I'm looking at you, mysurvey! or failed to credit Toluna says they can't do anything about that. When you report surveys have crashed after nearly all the data being entered - you can tell because the survey is just hoovering up a little demographic info at the end - Toluna fails to take responsibility. The most you might get is that sometimes they've even sent the same survey out again a few days later saying it's now available and ask you to do the whole thing again. No mention of credit for work done on the same survey earlier and not even an apology for wasting people's time.

Rewards take 8 weeks to pay out after ordering after all this mess?Toluna is just too much trouble. The feeling I have developed is that they are not dealing ethically. I've rounded up to my final reward and dumping them.

Just what I felt from my experience with Toluna and Swagbucks. Now spending the scarce time I have each week for surveys, on much more honest-feeling and productive companies kindly mentioned by other posters here. Thank you! YMMV.

Hello, I've been on my survey UK and opinion outpost UK for the past week and got some points but worried about using paypal to withdraw, Am I right to be concerned?


Also heard it takes weeks to get something paid in or sometimes they don't even pay you?


Am I wasting my time?, Thanks.

SavingKirky wrote: »

Hello, I've been on my survey UK and opinion outpost UK for the past week and got some points but worried about using paypal to withdraw, Am I right to be concerned?


Also heard it takes weeks to get something paid in or sometimes they don't even pay you?


Am I wasting my time?, Thanks.

I use both those survey sites and have never had any problems with being paid. MySurvey takes about 2 weeks to be paid into your Paypal account and Opinion Outpost pay immediately.