Saturday, July 18, 2009

MyPoints

I just redeemed my first MyPoints gift card - a $10.00 card from Bath & Body Works. I should receive it in the mail in 2-4 weeks. Once I've received and used it, I can vouch for MyPoints. I'll keep you updated.

I'm also 1 Swagbuck away from redeeming another $5.00 Swagbucks gift card. So far, I've bought one relative a birthday present using gift cards I earned through Swagbucks, so using the website has definitely paid off.

I set aside my ReviewStream reviews in order to work on some other stuff, but I'd better get cracking on those reviews if I want to make my loan bill next month.

Gaming Lagoon denied every single offer I completed, yet again. Don't bother with Gaming Lagoon - seriously.

I have received two samples through StartSampling, so far - one for Sun Crystals and another for Aveeno shampoo and conditioner. Samples are particularly useful for those who wish to write reviews about products but don't want to have to buy half the store. You also get 'Frequest Tryer Miles' which can be redeemed for gifts. The gifts kind of suck, though (a tote bag, a free shirt, or a restaurant.com gift card) and it seems like they're available in limited quantities. I guess it's better than nothing. Considering the fact that the 'best' gift (the restaurant.com card) is available on Swagbucks for a measly 45 SB, it may not be worth all of the effort. The StartSampling forums still make the website worth joining, though.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Swagbucks Now Offers Paypal

So I just noticed through the Twitter feed that Swagbucks now offers a $5 Paypal to the address you signed up for Swagbucks with. Since I've redeemed gift cards from them in the past, I know that they definitely come through on their prizes. So this is good news for those of you who are only interested in cash. A $5 gift certificate from Amazon still costs slightly more than half of the 80 Swagbucks that a $5 Paypal apparently costs - but sometimes, you just need cash.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

List O' Survey Sites Continues, July 1st - Plus Other Updates

NOT WORTH MY TIME:
http://consumer-opinions.com/ - looks very amateurish and the 'Contest rules' section is very out of date.
forummodalis.com - portal page
http://www.survey550.com/ - 404
http://marketprofiles.net/ - looks amateurish. Also, you can only be entered in a drawing to win prizes. Why bother when you can take surveys elsewhere and be paid every time?
allpaidsurveys.com - not an actual survey site. Worth exploring for its links to other survey sites but they are not well-organized. Also has links to very annoying I WILL SELL U MY SEACRET METHOD!!1 type websites.
survey904.com - Looks legitimate and professional but I can't see anywhere for survey-takers to sign up
webmysteryshoppers.com - parked portal page
survey552.com - 404
zoomerang.com - 404
survey087.com - useless link list
foodquiz.com - no longer offering surveys through the foodquiz.com website
consumercorner.com - site is closed
onlineval.com - link list
survey233.com - 404
surveypayday.com - link list
isay.com - parked/portal page
preres.com - in order to participate, you must go to the opinionwizard.com website
firstlook.com - does not appear to be a survey site any longer
survey446.com - 404
survey889.com - portal page
survey767.com - portal page
survey153.com - portal page
survey199.com - link list/portal page
survey327.com - portal page
surveysignup.com - parked/portal page
surveychoice.com - 404
researchhouse.ca - no longer appears to be a survey site
focusgroups.com - lists focus group locations, etc. but does not appear to be a survey site
surfbuzz.com - parked/portal page
quesionmarket.com - portal site
questionmarket.com - no longer accepting new registrants
gmrnet.com - offers "a chance to win prizes", looks amateurish


WORTH LOOKING AT FURTHER:

consumerlink.com
http://www.gmi-mr.com/
mysurvey.com - I believe this may be affiliated with Mypoints.com somehow
https://www.surveysavvy.com
http://focusline.com/ - has been around since 1996. Most of the page refers to 2008 dates, so I'm a bit worried it may be outdated.
gozing.com - Clicking on the BBB Accredited link on the bottom leads to a page indicating that its accredition has lapsed (as of this date, in any case). It's apparently run by Greenfield Online. I don't know how good/bad it is, its BBB rating looks like it's B- right now, and indicates that "This company's business is providing the sales of cellular phones, accessories and survey programs" - paid surveys aren't mentioned. It looks interesting but I would be wary.
product-testing.com
songpeople.com - looks interesting. Not surveys, but interesting.
pickthehits.com - I don't know what to make of this one, you have to contact them via email - I probably will.
userworks.com
opinionwizard.com
ithinkinc.com
executiveadvisoryboard.com
cobbey.com
buzzback.com
jurytest.com - this one looks odd, but interesting
surveysavvy.com
busreslab.com

Other Updates:
Thanks to Reviewstream, I can pay my student loan payment. Combined with money I made from Associated Content, money from doing some odd jobs for other people and some money I received as a birthday gift, I am also able to pay my phone bill. I've been worried that all of this was a huge waste of time, but if I was able to pay 2 bills, it wasn't. I will also be able to buy my cousin a birthday gift with the gift cards I earned through Swagbucks, which is nice and would otherwise be impossible (as I am essentially flat broke after paying bills).

DollarSurveys.net still hasn't deposited anything in my Paypal account. Well, guys, it's been a week and I'm close to calling that one a bust. Edit: DollarSurveys actually paid me today - $3.25. I'll post images tomorrow

At Points2Shop, I'm close to the 1000 point mark just through taking stupid easy Daily Surveys. I'd like to save up a decent number of points before ordering something and possibly being able to vouch for the site once my prize arrives. I probably could order something now (10 bucks is about where money starts getting 'useful' on Amazon) but I'd rather just wait.

A relative sent me an email with a link to this Yahoo! User Experience Panel. It's Yahoo! so I feel pretty safe assuming it's legit. I don't know if it'll help anyone - I'm guessing the odds of being selected are pretty low.

When I went into this, I expected to find a fistful of scams. I've definitely found my fair share of scams, but Internet, you surprise me.