We often help you find more ways to make a few quick bucks on the side, but if you’re not desperate for cold hard cash, then another way to earn rewards can be through surveys and product testing. While some surveys do pay out actual money, you’re more likely to be rewarded in the form of vouchers for popular stores such as Amazon or restaurants/coffee shops. Similarly, the perk for product testers is the ability to keep the product that you’re testing, rather than money – in most cases, at least. So, the question for any avid money saver out there has to be… is the effort worth the reward?
Product Testing
To become a product tester, you need to sign up for a product testing scheme – these are either run by companies who want to test their own items (Boots and Tesco are both known for their product testing opportunities) or by sites such as Clicks Research. While it’s easier to be accepted by sites like Clicks, they can be hit or miss as to whether you receive any opportunities – you might be waiting a while. With stores running their own programme it can be difficult to join the group – you’ll need to keep your eye out for openings and pass strict criteria. Once you’re in, though, the rewards can be more bountiful.
Once you’ve signed up, you’ll need to invest a little bit of time in completing your profiles. This allows the service to ensure that they are sending you relevant products that you will be able to review. When you’re offered a product you’ll need to answer a few quick questions – then the items will be posted out to you with instructions. You’ll be asked to use the product for a set period of time, and then either submit a review or answer a few questions.
Surveys
With surveys, the sign-up process is very similar: find a site offering surveys, complete some registration questions and wait for the surveys to roll in. You’re likely to get a steady stream of surveys coming through depending on the service that you choose – these will give you an estimate of how long the survey is likely to take, plus the reward that you can expect. Rewards are usually listed in terms of ‘points’ – so you’ll also need to see what the exchange rate is.
Avoiding a scam
Don’t sign up for anything without looking for some reviews first! Search for the site on Google and see what previous users say to get a good sense of whether it’s a legitimate service. There are some big name sites out there such as Swagbucks, Toluna and Clicks Research. We recommend sticking with these tried-and-tested options. You should never be asked to pay any money to access these services: if you are, simply avoid!
The verdict
If you’ve got half an hour to spare completing your profile, then signing up to be a product tester is a harmless activity with the potential to pay out well. It’s the luck of the draw as to whether you earn lots of rewards or not, but either way you won’t lose anything. Surveys are a trickier proposition: they take a lot of time, and it can take a while to earn enough points for a decent gift card. If you can only spare five minutes here and there then it’s unlikely to prove rewarding… with lots of dead time to fill, though, you can complete enough surveys to earn real rewards.