Sometimes, after trying out a new restaurant, a member of the wait staff hands us a little survey form which has all sorts of questions about the restaurant’s food quality, its interiors and cleanliness, if the meal was served punctually, and if the staff were neatly groomed and gave great service. It’s a nice way to gauge if customers find the restaurant a good place to spend their money on, or if there are issues which they need to address and improve.
These little surveys may either strike you as helpful or bothersome, but more often than not, we fill them out for free anyway. Now, with the advent of paid survey sites that actually reward members for completing surveys, it’s become an attractive money-making option for those with extra time on their hands.
Consumer Village is one of the older survey reward sites around - but does being around for more than a decade automatically make them legit, or still a potential scam?
First things first - what is it?
Consumer Village is an online rewards site brought to us by Gongos, a Michigan-based business focusing on customer-centric online market research. The site’s partnership with businesses has led them to get valuable consumer feedback on these companies’ products and services, primarily in the form of surveys. For Gongos, it seems like it truly takes a village to raise a good business.
The surveys come classified into mobile, mobile apps, and online focus groups. They cover a good range of products and groceries like food, grocery shopping, apps, devices, and more.
How long has it been around?
This paid survey website has been in existence for more than a decade now (established around 2007), and has been around long enough to have forums and focus groups where members can provide feedback and compare and discuss experiences - which, incidentally, is also a good place for the site admin and their partners to get much-needed consumer information.
Does it pay well?
Consumer Village operates with a token-based system. 100 tokens equal a dollar, which is pretty standard for an online rewards site these days. Surveys can earn you anywhere between 20 to over a hundred tokens. There also seem to be participation levels offered up as an incentive for members to be more active, with payouts that increase the higher up you go.
For members to cash out their pay, they have to have earned 500 tokens first, or the equivalent of $5. That’s a pretty good low payment threshold, but the thing is, it takes some time for payment to actually come into your bank account. The site calculates how much you’ve earned at the end of each month, then sends out payment every 15th. However, Consumer Village also offers Amazon gift cards as payment, which is available for redemption right away.
Is registration free?
It’s free. To join as a survey panel member, you have to complete a survey questionnaire yourself (consider that an initiation into the world of paid surveys!). An honest and thorough profile survey filled out will mean the site can optimize your account for more surveys that click with your “demographic”. The survey questions involve educational attainment, age, employment history, family background, etc.
The site itself is a sign up form, with a CAPTCHA page you have to complete to prove you’re not a bot. There are no readily available information on the website itself, so you really have to sign up for an account first to test the waters and get other members’ feedback.
How do I start earning extra income from Consumer Village?
In order to get a survey invitation, you must first complete your profile survey. Once a new survey opens up, make sure to complete them ASAP because they can get snatched up by other members and close down before you even have a chance to begin. You can choose to check back on the page often, or wait for email notifications about new surveys available. In case of disqualification while answering a survey, Consumer Village seems to give out “consolation” tokens for your time and effort.
You can also participate in focus group discussions with other members, which gives you points as well. When you get invited to a focus group, you will get paid in checks for participating. There is also a monthly sweepstakes with cash prizes, which you can qualify for when you take part in sponsored topics and earn enough tokens to be able to join.
The verdict?
So far, the main complaint I’ve encountered when it comes to most paid survey rewards sites is how members suddenly find themselves disqualified for a particular survey - often at the tail-end or right in the middle of answering it! Based on member testimonials and feedback, qualifying for Consumer Village surveys isn’t as troublesome and vexing as that of other sites with a similar offering. Even those who get screened out suddenly on surveys get partial points for their trouble, so it seems like the site wants to at least reward you for participating.
However, if you’re in need of quick cash, Consumer Village may not be a good fit for you. Members can only expect a cash out every 15th of the month, which is calculated at the end of the previous month. That’s a bit of waiting time in-between bills and other stuff that need financial attention, or else you might find that it’s not worth your time to wait around for the equivalent of pocket money.
You can always choose to redeem your Amazon gift cards immediately, though.
Consumer Village Screenshots
Click to Zoom
Your turn!
Have you ever tried signing up for Consumer Village, and do you have payment proof for it? How did you find the experience? Please share your experience and feedback about them below.
Link: https://village.gongos.com/Login
Last edited by a moderator:
