Oct 31 2008
GPT - Get Paid To or Going To Pay?
GPT stands for Get Paid To, or at least that is what the scams tell us. A more appropriate acronym would be Going To Pay.
GPT offers include fillng out surveys and providing market research. Companies look for information about the consumer sector that they serve. This is really nothing new. Companies have been doing this kind of survey research for years. I even once had a job for a company that did telephone surveys for various markets. Often you can find these types of surveys at busy malls and shopping centers. Companies will re-imburse you for your time with free product or a few dollars.
The hype about GPT online is that you can provide the same market information from the comfort of your home computer. It sounds simple enough. Unfortunately it does get a little more complicated than most GPT sites are willing to explain.
First, a couple of notes about the legitimate surveys.
- They don’t pay much. Perhaps one or two dollars, if anything. Often the payment is in the form of coupons or free product.
- Companies are looking for legitimate participants. If you haven’t had experience with their market sector they will screen you out and you will get nothing.
- The surveys take time. Often the hourly work rate calculates out to around $3.00 to $5.00 per hour, less than minimum wage.
Those are the legitimate paying surveys. Now, for the true scams. These are the sites that ask you to pay for the privilege of taking surveys through their system. Of course, if somebody is asking for your money up front they are scamming you. Don’t give them your money. Odds are good you will never see it again. One of the great dangers of the online world is that scammers can remain completely anonymous. Never give away money, and never give away your credit card information without knowing exactly what you are getting in return and who you are doing business with.
A quick search about the company you are thinking about doing business with should reveal more of the truth about how legitimate their business really is.
