Pinecone panelists watch out!!!

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

Pinecone recently sent out what I thought was a simple survey about what people liked or didn't like about different survey-taking incentives, but apparently it wasn't a survey, it was a change of preference form. So now instead of getting $5 per survey, I now will get $3 per survey plus an entry in some sweepstakes or something that they're doing.

ONCE YOU MAKE THE CHANGE YOU CAN'T CHANGE BACK.

Please read your choices carefully if you get a survey about incentives.

mj
disgruntled pinecone panelist

[thinkerlady[$]]

Yeah I know. I got caught. Now I am stuck.

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

I am so pissed I'm considering dropping my membership in the panel. I'm clicking away when suddenly I see "Change request received" and I'm all

[mtomm[$]]

Oh, I knew what it was when I chose to switch to $3. If you didn't switch they would have sent you fewer surveys. So it was a lose/lose situation. I decided $3 was better than $0 for no surveys.

I think it totally bites.

[thinkerlady[$]]

I will say that I am getting more surveys now. I averaged about 1 every 2 weeks when it was $5. Now I am getting about 2 or 3 a week, AND I just did a product study that was really good. So, I double dipped on that. But it bites because once you make a decision that is it.

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

I've been getting 1-2 every week all along at $5. They just tricked me into switching this week so I don't know what my rate will be like now.

[lynnzop[$]]

I've been getting $3/per survey and only 1-2 a month since I signed up.

[Prepoia[$]]

Geeze....now what do I do? I have the email but haven't responded yet. That's what killed the Harris Poll thing for me; they switched to sweepstake entries and I didn't want to do that much work with that little of a chance of return.

Woe is me.

[theworm[$]]

What Margo said.
The e-mail I got was very clear. I could stay w/ $5 per survey and get less surveys or go to $3 and get the chance to win $500. I would much prefer the $5 plan, but they were pretty clear in my letter than they would be phasing out of that and there would be less surveys available. They laid it out so that if you didn't switch, you would eventually be phased out and might not be able to switch back. So... I don't feel that I was tricked, but I wish they hadn't changed it.

[emeleel]

I finally managed to get signed up a while back, and I was only offered the $3 - and I don't get many surveys even so. I've gotten more "profiling" surveys than I have paid surveys.

[jgibson2[$]]

I've gotten mostly profiling surveys lately and maybe 1-2 paid surveys/month. The first time the 'survey' came through, I didn't bite. The second email was like Delia's -- you either settle for $3 and the sweepstakes or you'll eventually get nothing. I settled.

I don't know if it's worth it, though.

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

mjfrombuffalo said

I've been getting 1-2 every week all along at $5. They just tricked me into switching this week so I don't know what my rate will be like now.

OK, I didn't state this quite accurately

I've been getting 1-2 profiling surveys every week, one paid survey about every 2 weeks. Our household probably fits one of their favorite demographics or something.

[theworm[$]]

us too. I seem to get a lot from them

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

We're DINKs.

[drmomentum[$]]

They dropped me a couple of months ago. I guess they detected a reduction in the purchasing of certain types of consumable goods.

[frazzledspice]

I stuck with the $5, but I find I'm getting a lot fewer surveys anyway since my youngest child turned 18.

Guess no one cares what us old folk think

[magenta321]

I got dropped by them when I talked about them on EA. Just sayin.

[jgibson2[$]]

I just got paid $75 for participating in an on-line message board (2x per day for 3 days) for another company. They're recruiting. PM me if you're interested, just in case they have an aversion to being mentioned on EA.