While browsing Reddit, I stumbled upon the following promoted ad, which included this meme:
Upon seeing this, I decided that a Prime Opinion review was in order.
Since I hate online surveys with the passion of a 1,000 Negans beating the holy hell outta Glenn (Walking Dead reference), my interest was piqued. So I signed up. And here’s what happened.
My First Survey
The first survey I took was 7 questions long and took 2 minutes. For my efforts, I received 18 points:
Each Point is Worth a Penny
The two minute survey was easy enough, but I wanted to confirm the compensation, so I messaged Prime Opinion Support. Please note that I crossed out the agent’s name:
I did in fact receive 18 points for my two minute time investment. If I were somehow able to 30 of these two minute surveys in an hour, I would earn 540 points, or $5.40. OUCH.
Now, I really want to give Prime Opinion a chance. As I write this, I am actively looking for surveys to take.
Okay, found one that pays 176 points at an estimated 5 minutes. If these numbers are converted to an hourly wage, this equals 21.12 per hour. At this point, I am excited, as this is legit side hustle cash that could help people put some gas in their tanks.
Aaaaand after a few minutes of answering questions, I did not qualify. Fast forward, I attempted to take a 15 minute survey that pays over 200 points, and after answering questions for about 8 minutes, I did not qualify. Same with a small, 76 point survey that was supposed to take an estimated 5 minutes.
Highest Point Surveys
After trying several “high point” surveys and being rejected, I decided to take a screenshot of the surveys offering the “most points” at this time (June 2023). I did the math to calculate the hourly rate for each survey if you were to take 60 minutes of surveys at the said rate.
Please excuse my bad electronic writing:
When compared to other survey sites, some of the payouts are respectable. But there is a CATCH: getting screened out is very time consuming.
Survey Qualifying and Getting Screened Out
As of right now, I’ve been screened out of four consecutive surveys. ALL of them included multiple rounds of “qualification”, which is very frustrating. I spent roughly 4-5 minutes of qualification for each survey, so that’s 20 minutes of unpaid time. Given the data, you can likely cut the pay rates above by 50-75%. OUCH.
I generally hate when people recommend online surveys as a side hustle, because they simply are not worth it. I was cautiously optimistic when I saw the ad for Prime Opinion on Reddit, and wanted to give them a fair chance.
While I’d love to earn referral cash from Prime and Survey Junkie, I cannot recommend survey sites in good conscience.
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