There are millions and millions of scams on the Internet. Just about all of them are looking to get your credit card information or personal information. One of the most popular scams is websites that promise to make you money, and all that you have to do is enter information to get the money.
If you're looking to make some extra money from behind your computer, you might be wary of joining any type of program, with fears of being scammed or having your personal information stolen. One option for making extra cash is to start participating in a survey site. These websites allow you to fill out simple surveys and get paid for your time.
There are dozens and dozens of survey sites on the Internet, and there are a lot of them that are legitimate ways to earn money and won't steal your information. Each of these survey programs has various advantages and disadvantages that you should consider when you're looking to make some extra money. One of the most popular options is American Consumer Opinion, and it could be the best choice for you.
Background of American Consumer Opinion
American Consumer Opinion was initially established by Decision Analyst back in 1986, and they are also a member of both the Better Business Bureau and have memberships is several marketing associations. They are one of the largest survey sites and have one of the biggest audience of members. In fact, they have over 7 million members across the world. Through the years, they have paid out of 30 million dollars in rewards, and their members have completed over 20 million surveys. Because of their popularity, it's easy to see why a lot of people choose American Consumer Opinion when they are looking to join a survey site.
Making Money with American Consumer Opinion
The idea behind American Consumer Opinion is simple, but if you aren't familiar with survey sites, it can be a confusing process. American Consumer Opinion is a survey panel, which partners with large companies to find consumers that are willing to give their opinions about different products or brands. They reward the members with points, and the companies get hundreds of opinions from their target audience.
Joining American Consumer Opinion is quick and easy. All that you have to do is enter your basic information, like your age and where you live, and then you will be able to create a member account. Once you've created your account, they are going to require that you take a general household survey that will give American Consumer Opinion an idea of which surveys that you're qualified for and that will impact how many surveys that you receive and how often that you get them.
One of the nice advantages of American Consumer Opinion is that it's available to people that are outside of the United States. A lot of the competitors are restricted to anyone in the U.S., but with American Consumer Opinion, anyone in the world can join and start taking surveys. Depending which country you're in, it might impact the number of surveys that you're eligible to receive.
After you've completed all of the initial work, then it's time for you to start making money by filling out surveys, but that's assuming that you get one. Depending on the surveys available and the demographics that you fulfill, you could wait an hour, or you could wait several days to get your first survey invitation. There are several different types of surveys that they offer to their members. It could be anything from testing products to reviewing new advertising campaigns. Each survey is going to provide a different amount of points depending on the length of the survey and how much participation is required.
With the shorter surveys that will only take you a couple of minutes, you'll earn anywhere from 5 points to 50 points. For the longer surveys that can are over 20 questions, you can get anywhere from 100 points to 5,000 (which is $50) points depending on how long it's going to take you to finish. Obviously, those larger surveys are not going to be nearly as common as the smaller ones, but it's worth being a member in hopes of getting invited to one of the larger surveys. The more surveys that you finish, the more points that you'll rack up, and those points are translated into cash.
Another way that you can earn points is by participating in their referral program. Not every survey site has one of these programs, but American Consumer Opinion encourages you to share your experience with your friends. For everyone that you get to join the program, you'll earn $.50. Sure, it's not going to break your bank, but it's easy money for just getting your friends to sign up.
Cashing Out with American Consumer Opinion Review
After you've racked enough points, you can cash out those rewards and start earning your money. It's easy to get paid with American Consumer Opinion, but you'll have to get at least 1000 points (which translates to $10) before they allow you to request payments.
There are several different options for getting your money. You can pick the traditional way of having a physical check mailed to you. Obviously, getting a check in the mail is not going to be the quickest way to get your cash, but some people prefer to have the check in their hands.
Another way that you can get your money is by having your funds transferred to your PayPal account. All you have to do is connect your account, and then you can request a PayPal. After a short request period, you'll find the money in your PayPal, which you can then transfer to a traditional bank account if you want.
The last way that you can get your money is by purchasing a Visa gift card. Having your money on a gift card is going to be one of the quickest ways that you can use your money. You can quickly purchase one of these cards for the value of your points and then it will be sent electronically to you. You can use these Visa gift cards at any store that they accept at traditional Visa credit card.
Complaints of American Consumer Opinion
Regardless of which survey site that you use, you're going to find that there are members that don't have the best experience. It's important that you understand that a person that has a bad experience is much more likely to share their views versus someone that has a good experience.
One of the common complaints of the site is that surveys don't come often enough, but that's going to vary from person to person. Some users will get more invitations than others. Not getting enough invitations is one of the most common disadvantages that you'll hear with American Consumer Opinion is the lack of invitations.
Another common complaint is that users will be kicked off the site in the middle of the survey. These users say that they did not get any rewards for their half completed surveys. This was not a common problem, but it's something to be aware of if you plan on becoming a member. There are going to be glitches with any survey site, and American Consumer Opinion did not have any more complaints about this problem than the majority of its competitors.
One unique complain that they have on their record is some users reporting that their account was deleted before they received their first payout. There was no official statements or reports from customer service to determine if those problems were resolved, but that is a dangerous pitfall that could create a lot of frustration for users.
American Consumer Opinion – Should you Join?
If you're looking for a way to make some extra cash in your free time, then a survey site is one of the best ways that you can do that. There are hundreds of different options, but American Consumer Opinion is going to be one of the best options. One of the biggest advantages of the site is that it's completely free to use, which means that if you don't like it, you can switch sites and you didn't lose anything.
If this isn't the best option for you, don't worry, I've reviewed several other programs, so you don't have to go around joining dozens of programs to find the one that works best for you. These sites won't give you enough income to quit your day job, but who's going to complain about some extra spending money at the end of the month?
