valuedopinions.co.uk

For those of you who have been following my reviews, you will be aware that over the last couple of weeks I have reviewed a couple of online survey sites where my experience has been considerably positive. As both of my previous reviews stated, I am a member of a few survey sites having previously joined as many as I could possibly find. However, I was soon to discover that many of them were absolutely useless and I weeded them down to just five. The site I am discussing today was the very first one I joined in October 2009 and according to my record book where I have religiously recorded my payouts, it has proven to be one of the better sites. I am probably reducing my chances of completing surveys by telling you about my experience, particularly as the majority of surveys are based on a first come first served basis. However, I’ve always been one to share and I would like to share with you my positive experience with Valued Opinions.

WHO ARE VALUED OPINIONS?

I first learned of Valued Opinions through my weekly Wednesday email from Martin Lewis, the financial expert and for those of you who are not aware of him I would advise that whilst I find him extremely annoying he most certainly knows his stuff. Although the intention of this review is not to discuss Martin Lewis I would advise that his weekly emails provide excellent information on how to save and earn a little extra money. He highly recommended Valued Opinions and as a result I used the link to join up to the site. Valued Opinions are commissioned by thousands of reputable companies to obtain the opinions from their members relating to various products and services. Members’ opinions are valued and as a result, can improve our future purchases. At present the site has over 400,000 members worldwide who are all given the opportunity to express their views.

JOINING THE SITE

Whilst the site has undergone a considerable modernisation since I first became a member I would advise that Valued Opinions is extremely easy to join and unlike some of the other survey sites you do not need a referral link. In order to maximise the amount of surveys sent to me I had to complete details within my personal profile, which can be located on the upper right hand section of the home page. The profile is indicated by a percentage sign, which increases each time you complete a relevant section. I have included some examples below of the information that I needed to input:-

· “More about me” where you are asked a number of questions such as your income, cars, pets and items in your household
· “Healthcare and Medical” provides you with a list of ailments and conditions and you are asked to select those you experience or have been diagnosed.
· “Sports and Leisure” activities where you are asked to indicate what you do to keep active
· “Automotive” asks about the vehicles owned by your household

Whilst you’re not obliged to complete any of this information it helps Valued Opinions in selecting the most suitable surveys for you and will subsequently, maximise your invitations. One thing I have noticed over recent months is that whilst my Personal Profile was previously showing as 100% complete, the figure was constantly dropping and on investigation I discovered that additional questions had been added to some of the sections. Once I click on my Personal Profile I am able to see a breakdown of each of the four sections where there is a percentage sign, so I know to click on the relevant section that shows less than 100%. The only downfall with this is that it is often very difficult to locate the new questions and unfortunately, it’s a case of scrolling through the information to find what new information you are required to input. Before I discuss the surveys themselves and their rewards I would firstly like to discuss the payouts, which I will cover in the next section of my review.

PAYOUTS

For some strange reason when first joining the site you are asked to input your preferred method of payment, which is made by way of a voucher, as there are no cash payouts. The payment threshold is £10 and I initially opted for a Tesco gift card. However, each time you reach the £10 threshold you are given a choice and for the past year or so I have been opting for an Amazon e-voucher with the code being instantly sent to me by email. Whilst I have not requested a Tesco gift card for a considerable amount of time, I would advise that I would receive it in the post within 10 days of my initial request. The variety of rewards is quite extensive and you can choose from M & S vouchers, Boots, Argos, John Lewis, HMV, Marriott, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Outfit, Top Shop, Top Man, Miss Selfridge, Burton, Wallis or various charities such as World Wildlife Fund, British Red Cross and World Vision. However, I am unable to give any indication on whether these are by gift card or e-voucher, as my experience is limited to just Tesco and Amazon.

ABOUT THE SURVEYS

The website always runs extremely fast and it offers a good layout and design and I love the fact that the updated site enables easy navigation. The surveys are always easy to read and of an interesting content, as I can bear nothing worse than poor grammar an spelling mistakes, which is often the case with Toluna! As far as I can recall I received my first survey within a day or so of completing my profile. Surveys tend to pay between 50p - £5.00 each depending on the length and whilst 50p may seem extremely low, this is often for just 5 minutes work. I would advise the majority of my surveys tend to pay between £1 and £2.00 and can take between 10 minutes and half an hour. As with all online survey companies there are a few initial screening questions where you are asked to indicate if you are male or female, together with your age and the region in which you live. Valued Opinions used to be extremely good when advising if you are unsuitable or if they have reached the required number of participants, as they would advise at the very start. However, during the last few months I have had many occasions where after 5 minutes of carefully answering a number of questions and having actually started the survey itself, I am screened out. If this occurs, you are not given any reward, unlike Ipsos, where you will notice an immediate consolation credit being applied to your account. If I am screened out I often receive a message advising that their site is searching for another survey for me.

However, during my early days on the site I was offered an alternative survey, but these days, I tend to receive the message that nothing is available during that particular time. Every so often after completing a survey I receive a message that they want to ask me a few additional questions with the most recent asking about electrical items within my home. It is very rare that I complete this information, as more often that not I am fed up by that stage. Valued Opinions advise that completing the information will widen my chances in receiving further surveys. However, I cannot state that I have noticed any difference with my survey invites, particularly when I would regularly complete the information for the first few months of joining of the site. As with most survey sites Valued Opinions have quarterly prize draws and each time you are unable to continue with a survey you receive one entry, but as of yet, I’ve not been declared a winner!

The surveys are extremely varied and are based on numerous subjects such as mobile phones, utility companies, insurance, washing powder, yoghurts etc. They are very user friendly and you are provided with a selection of responses where you have to carefully read the instructions provided and tick the appropriate boxes. I’ve had a few surveys where I’ve earned £5 for each with one requesting I keep a 7-day food diary and indicate the food/drink I ate at certain times together with the emotion/s I felt prior to eating the food. Whilst the reward was high for this, it was a long and difficult survey to complete and I probably would not participate again, as the work involved warranted a much greater payment. Another £5 survey was in respect of mobile phone companies and lasted a week. Valued Opinions provided me with a free mobile phone number that I had to text each time I saw a mobile phone shop, advert or heard someone talking about a mobile phone company. They provided me with codes for different categories; one code was for each company and another was how I felt about the company. Each time I texted Valued Opinions the information was automatically transferred into my online diary that I needed to update every other day for a week. This was a really easy survey and was extremely user friendly and in comparison with the food diary was a piece of cake (please excuse the pun!) The good thing about Valued Opinions and unlike Ipsos, is that you are not limited to one account per household, so approximately 5 months after I joined my husband decided he wanted to have a go, particularly as he could see how much I was earning.

My husband has been a member for only 15 months and he has well exceeded my earnings, as he has participated in quite a few large payout surveys. He is currently on week 36 of an online diary where he has to input details of any alcohol he has drunk in the previous week. He is given a selection of tick boxes and pull down menus where he has to indicate what he has drunk, where he has drunk it and how he felt at the time. The diary consists of 39 weeks, so will soon be finishing and his payment will be £30, which isn’t too bad. However, my husband became somewhat bored after approximately 20 weeks and cannot wait for it to be completed. You have to be committed with the online diaries as if you miss more than a couple of days you are automatically disqualified and as a result, will not receive any earnings. I have taken part in many surveys where I am asked to watch an advert in the very early stages where images are used in place of actors. I am given an indication of what actor is likely to appear in the adverts and my thoughts on whether they would be suitable for marketing the particular product. I receive many surveys where I am shown potential new packaging on a product and I am asked which area initially captured my attention, which I have to indicate my simply clicking my mouse in the relevant place. These are extremely interesting as I love being asked my opinion, which in combination with other members of the site, will be used for the future marketing of that particular product. I have been quite fortunate and would estimate that I receive approximately 10 - 12 surveys per week of which I may be screened out of 2 - 3. I have glanced through my record book and I am applying for a £10 Amazon voucher every 6 weeks, sometimes more frequently. The problem I find is that due to the fact I am in work during the day many of the surveys have received their full quota by the time I arrive home, so it's basically first come first served.

CUSTOMER SERVICES

Whilst some of the survey rewards are immediately credited to my account I find that many sit for weeks in a pending box. Valued Opinions claim that it can take up to 28 days for the money to be credited to the account, but this figure is far from realistic and my husband recently waited 3 months for £1.50 to credit. This is a big frustration and a real negative with the company who otherwise would be first class. I cannot state that I have ever experienced a problem with survey credits vanishing because as soon as the survey is completed it will automatically transfer to the pending box. Prior to the site’s recent refurbishment, surveys were listed only by their unique reference number and would not show the date of completion, so it was very difficult to keep tabs on when it was undertaken. However, the site now provide the date of completion, so I often find myself emailing them and asking why my point have not been credited. I cannot fault their customer services, as I have emailed them on dozens of occasions and each time I am answered by the same individual who is fairly prompt in responding. Another real positive is that the majority of the emails are tailored specifically to me as opposed to a standard text, which has been copied out of a training manual.

HOW MUCH HAVE I EARNED?

Since joining the site in October 2009 I have earned £150, which isn’t a get rich quick scheme, but the money most certainly adds up and enables me to buy treats from Amazon every now and again. Many of the surveys are tailored specifically to the member, eg my husband is Type 1 diabetic so often receives surveys directly connected to blood sugar monitors. Whilst these surveys are few and far between, I have often been asked to take part in product trials where last Autumn I had to use various facial cleansers for a period of 8 weeks with a new one being mailed to me each week. Each week I had to access an online diary and give my comments on my experience with using the product and as someone who adores toiletries I absolutely loved this survey. As well as being able to keep the cleansers I was paid £8, which I simply couldn’t fault. However, I was never told the names of the cleansers I used, which was such a shame, particularly as I loved one of them, but I would never knowingly be able to go out and buy it. I’ve also taken part in deodorant trails where I was not advised of the names of the products. However, I worked this one out for myself, as I was familiar with the shape of some of the cans and the tick logo on one of them kind of gave it away!

I cannot recommend Valued Opinions highly enough and it’s a site that has kept me interested, as the surveys are extremely interesting with reasonably good rewards. Unfortunately, I cannot give the site 5 stars due to their delay in crediting payments within the alleged 28 days, so they receive 4 from me.

I hope you found my review useful and would thank you for reading.