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Analysis and Current (May 21, 2007) Rankings of 20 Top Paid Survey Companies [Please note that as of May 1, 2007 we are updating these rankings twice monthly, on the 5th and the 21st of each month.] Here are the comparisons. Please read the explanation of the different factors used, in the "Explanation of Classifying Factors" and the "Commentary", below: Current Ranking and Analysis:
Explanation of classifying factors: ** Cost to Join - Generally speaking, this is a one-time fee. ** Gravity - This is a ClickBank number which is an expression of the level of activity, number of affiliates involved, volume of business, number of transactions and so forth. Generally, the bigger the number the more business that is being done by that company. This number changes daily and summaries are reported weekly. ** Refund % - This number is calculated based on data published by Clickbank, and, while it is a very good indicator it can be deceptive. The problem is that the refund is calculated by taking the gross income figures less the refunds. The gross income figures and the refunds are actual for the last two weeks. This is mathematically correct and will be exact over time. However, the reality is that income is from current sales and refunds are for clients who began sometime over the last two months. So that means that if the company has, say, declining sales for the last six weeks or so, so that their sales today are half of what they were six weeks ago, and their "real" refund rate is 5.0%, then that amount being claimed by clients who came in six weeks ago will look like 10% against today's lower sales. Similarly, if there is an increase in sales, the refund rate of today will look smaller. It's what is called a "lagging indicator" and can give a somewhat distorted reading when the weekly sales rate trends up or down. In the long run, a moving average will be correct. We have started recording the info needed to calculate that moving average. For now you can check the old list on the "Past Rankings" page here on this site, to see what the refund rates were, mopmth by month, beginning 4 month agos, on December 5, 2006.
Commentary: Why the rankings we made? 1. Home Survey Workers. Small to medium size, has the second lowest refund rate of all the companies, under 1.0%! Good size and stability, proven performance. 2. Paid Surveys Etc. Has the lowest refund rate of all the larger companies. Has the sixth lowest refund rate of all the top 20. We picked low refund rate for quality of service, big for stability and proven performance. 3. Quick Paid Surveys. Small size, but with the lowest refund rate of all the top 20, at an amazing 0.28% (1 in 357 asked for a refund!). Small size and maybe a bit more risky, but proven performance edged out its larger competitors. 4. Work Online for Pay. Smaller company, growing recently. They must be doing something right. Has the third lowest refund rate. 5. Maximum Paid Surveys. Fourth lowest overall refund rate, medium size and growing. Not the first time they are in our top five choices.
Changes this month: Opinion Paycheck and Top Dollar Surveys dropped off our top 20 list this month. They were replaced by Home Survey Workers and Quick Paid Surveys. Home Survey Workers has been climbing the list (getting bigger than its competitors) rapidly. One company we had been following (we monitor several that are just below the requirements for the top 20) named Sir Look Survey Match-up, had a refund rate of 22.75% last month! This month it is not listed with ClickBank! This tends to confirm our earlier observations and tentative conclusion that CB's "red line" is about 20%. Over that they either get their refund rate in line fast or they get the axe!
Note that none of our picks had refund rates as high as 7.0% (1 client in 14). All things being equal we felt that the refund rate was the single most important measure of client satisfaction and determiner of quality of their service. We tended to favor larger companies over smaller ones, based on the market's choice and greater stability. This month we have printed the refund rates of the worst 20% of our top 20 in Red above, to highlite their lower quartile status and urge caution with these. Note that we have added a red "X" to the left of each of these this month, to point out that these are in the bottom quartile of the top 20and their refund rates have passed our "red line" danger mork. At this time we would NOT recommend them. Note that this month there are five companies with refund rates in the 9% range and three in the 8% range. The overall average refund rate this month is 7.96%. We looked at numbers of source companies on their lists as a qualifying factor, but generally discarded this number as the quality of the list is much more important than the shear number of names that are on it. The choices in some cases were very close. During the next few weeks we will look at the close contestants more carefully and watch them. When we have more info we will update our table and revise our picks. Paid survey companies change and market conditions change. Our selection of recommended companies is dynamic and will change as new information about current conditions warrant such changes. We now have six months of history posted on this website, with the numbers and the picks for December 5, January 5, February 5, March 5, April 5, May 5 and now May 21, 2007. We invite you to look at the past numbers in Past Rankings for comparisons. It is interesting to note that our top 4 choices this month have been in the top 20 for all 6 months! In general, you probably won't go wrong with any of the companies listed, especially those with refund rates below the average. For the 20 companies listed above the current refund average is 7.96% (means that on average, for the top 20 companies shown here, approximately 1 new member in 13 asks for a refund for one reason or another).
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Paid Surveys Etc.- Site has a personal feel. Many testimonials, less slick...perhaps more real? Historically, has a low refund rate.
Survey Scout - This very active site is very highly rated by various rating agencies.