Free Online Surveys and Scams: The REAL Story

If there's one thing that I'm downright sick of, it's the growing army of blowhards who argue that free online surveys and scams go hand in hand.

Oh, I'm sure that some surveys never get around to paying survey takers. I can also imagine that some of the lead depository sites that one can pay to get his or her hands on survey opportunities are weak.

Big deal. A handful of rotten apples in a very big barrel.

The most annoying part of the silly anti-survey rants is this idea that it's a rip-off to pay someone for good survey leads. "You're just paying them for something you can do yourself", they argue.

Well, that's true. It's also true that you could skip hiring a lawyer and represent yourself in court pro bono. It's also true that you could learn how to put new siding on your own house instead of calling a contractor. You can cook, right? So why ever go to a restaurant?

See what I'm saying here? Those "middlemen" make life easier. You toss them a little cash and they give you a ton of leads. You COULD generate those leads yourself, but it would take COUNTLESS hours and TONS of effort.

Most of the good paid survey sites cost less than $40 to join. They call that a rip-off? If you value your time at all, it's a cheap investment. You won't need to search for opportunities. You could use that extra time to earn more money or to do whatever else your heart might desire.

Bottom line: Surveys pay.
Second bottom line: Paying someone for a lot of research, legwork and expertise is the opposite of a scam--it's just good business.