If done right, paid surveys can be a great way to earn some extra pocket money. However, many of us are reluctant thanks to the abundance of scam sites out there. Nobody wants to spend five to fifteen minutes filling out a survey only to find it was all for nothing! So how do you work out if a paid survey sites is legitimate or not and save yourself valuable time – and possibly money?

The first giveaway with many scam sites is that they will ask for a fee to join. If a survey site is asking you for payment, no matter how small, run far away! Never pay to join any survey site; they should be paying you, after all. A legitimate survey site will never ask you to give them money. Some survey sites will ask for a membership fee in exchange for access to exclusive paid surveys – but this is a scam. You can find the exact same information and access elsewhere online.

Likewise, only a dishonest survey site will try to tell you that big money can be made taking paid surveys. Though it is possible to make money on these sites, don’t expect to be able to quit your day job; earnings will differ based on the amount and type of surveys you take, but generally, paid surveys should be used only to provide a little extra spending cash rather than a living wage. Look for sites that are honest with you about the reality of paid surveys, and avoid those which promise the world, because the only people making big money on those dishonest sites are the owners. Remember: if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

Protect yourself: read the fine print of any survey site you’re considering joining. Never give personal information to a site before you’ve read their privacy policy. A legitimate site will never give your personal information to a third party without your permission first!

If you’re still not sure about whether a site is legitimate, put their name into Google and check out what other people are saying about them. Eventually any unreliable site is going to rack up its fair share of disgruntled consumers on other webpages; take note of the warnings of others when it comes to a shady looking site. The Better Business Bureau logs all complaints made against a business: take a look at their website and see if you can find the site you’re suspicious about on there.

Finally, what good is a site if you can’t get hold of its maintainers when you need advice? Make sure any contact details on the site are valid; if you run into trouble later, or simply want to ask a question about something, you want a site with maintainers that will answer you promptly and clearly. Avoid any site that doesn’t reply to your emails – it can only lead to frustration for you down the line. If nothing else, building a friendly relationship with a site’s maintainer can only be good for you.

Most important of all – have fun!

Author Bio: Legitimate Paid Surveys is a free resource for the best paid surveys on the web. Also includes valuable advice and tips on how to succeed and what not to do. Check out our new free paid surveys on our Latest Surveys page.

Category: Business
Keywords: paid surveys, online surveys, surveys, working from home, making money online