Getting Paid for Your Opinion: The Very Best Online Survey Sites

What makes Pinecone the best? As a veteran survey-taker with quite a few years under my belt, the decision to declare Pinecone the champion of all virtual opinion sites is an easy one. First and foremost, I qualify for each and every survey sent my way. As many can attest, one can waste a lot of time answering up to twenty minutes of questions on other sites and then get the all-too-familiar, horribly maddening disclaimer of disqualification....and an entry into their quarterly drawing for $50.00!

While Pinecone does send the occasional questionnaire about items you may or may not purchase, they keep it short and painless. As for the actual surveys, they generally run 10-15 minutes in length, always pay at least $3.00, and sometimes allow for an in-home product test. Free food or shampoo in this economy? Yes, please!

The only downside is the infrequency of surveys...around one per week if you are lucky. Payment is through Paypal and is at the speed of lightning, as in "how can it already be in my account" kind of fast. Intrigued and ready to sign up? Unfortunately, one can join through invitation only or by finding their banner online when they are seeking new members. Just keep hunting for it-that is how I got in after a few weeks of surfing around.

I have earned $393 dollars in the last few years with this company, with most surveys paying $1.00-$2.00 for 10-15 minutes of my time. If you look at that figure as laughable, a pittance even, well then, good...you are probably not a stay-at-home Mom looking for some fun-money that can be made from the couch at two in the morning with one eye on the T.V. and one ear on your husband's daily rant about socialism and one hand in a bowl of chocolate Cheerio's all while clicking away at semi-interesting questions about what you've bought at convenience stores in the last 3 months. Quite the run-on sentence, sure, but necessary to paint the picture of why surveys can be worth the low payout depending on your circumstances. I suspect too that some office workers may double-down and participate in these sites when they are not playing Bejeweled Deluxe.

Back to Opinion Outpost, they take second place due to their frequency of decent paying surveys, fast payment with plenty of options, and time expected for completion given upfront. I generally get around 5 surveys per day emailed to me, and only complete them if they are 20 minutes or less. If you bore too easily, you may want to avoid the 45 minute plus opportunities because they will feel like an ETERNITY. Payment used to be by check, which I would receive within 4 days on average, however they have recently changed the options to Paypal, Citi, Amazon, and a handful of other choices that I am not interested in.

Recently, it seems that they are slipping in some surveys that do not pay, but give you an entry into a sweepstakes that may or may not exist (boo!) so I would recommend hitting the delete button on these. They do not contract work for free, and neither should you.

Surveyhead came out with a bang a year or two ago. Just for signing up, one would receive an instant $5.00 in their account, so of course many did. The payout threshold was $25.00, ho-hum, however easily reachable with the number of surveys popping up by the hour...some only 5 minutes long and paying $1.00. Then, everyone started to discover their verification process took forever and a year before they would officially credit the money to their Surveyhead account. Waiting for their checks took not weeks (average), but months. Ugh, went my fellow survey-enthusiasts who were seeking more of an instant gratification.Worst of all, they got rid of the $25.00 payout in cash for a while there, and offered magazine subscriptions in its place. And I don't mean People or Popular Science, either!

I left Surveyhead for quite some time. Recently, I decided to return out of desperation after a drastic reduction in hours at work. Well, it certainly appears they have been reading their hatemail and they are back better than ever. The $25.00 cash out option has reappeared, and now with Paypal. The surveys are in abundance, including my favorite kind: 5 minutes, $1.00. If you log in frequently, you can really benefit and snatch up these gems while they last.

These are just several of many legitimate, honest survey companies that give you real money for your valuable time. Remember to always check out review boards or ratings such as at surveypolice.com prior to signing up with an unfamiliar outfit.

Have your own personal favorite survey site? Please share your experience below!