One of the biggest concerns I’ve been reading about in this forum is how most of the GPT and paid survey sites can only be accessed by those in the UK or USA. This is why I took it upon myself to look for sites that are more open globally so that even more people can participate. Surprisingly, there seem to be quite a lot once I started actively looking. The challenge, however, is figuring out which ones are actually worth a shot, and which shouldn’t even be given the time of day.
I came across The Panel Station via an Indian friend who is currently a member. It is a mobile survey site available to both iOS and Android users (links below). It’s got quite a busy website with so many colors and images and graphics, but what struck me most initially was how available it is to dozens of countries worldwide. So join me as we investigate if this “survey-on-the-go” platform is a legit one, or if it’s a scam on a global scale.
First things first - what is it?
The Panel Station is all about providing consumer insights from survey participants so their business partners can use valuable insight on consumer research and feedback. In the site info, they describe “disbursing over USD $2 million worth of incentives to worldwide members every year”. Pretty impressive, right? Especially given the dozens of flags representing the countries it is available to participate in, right there in the About Us page.
How long has it been around?
Based in India, The Panel Station is part of the Borderless Access Pvt. Ltd. It was launched in 2007, so it’s been around for over a decade now, currently boasting having millions of members.
Here’s an early spoiler: the reviews about The Panel Station are a mixed bag, with some praising what they call “a reliable survey site”, and with others short of calling it an outright scam.
Is registration free?
Yes, it’s free, with no maintenance fees required for being a member. Registration is open to participants from Brazil, Russia, India, China, Mexico, Argentina, South Africa, Indonesia, Turkey, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Thailand, Nigeria, Chile, Colombia, Philippines, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and UAE, as long as they are 16 years of age, or older.
How do I start earning extra income from Panel Station?
First, sign up. You’re going to have to fill out a registration form with basic information, and then you will get your login credentials. Remember to sign up with the email address you use for your PayPal account if you wish to cash out your points. Afterwards, you can wait for surveys to come your way. The Panel Station sends what they call “profiler surveys” prior to the main one to help determine if your interests and background information match with what the research they need at that particular time.
You can also download The Panel Station app on your Android or iOS smartphones or devices so you can get notifications about new surveys to complete. Surveys do have a participant quota, so answering them right away is important for you not to get screened out or disqualified.
Does it pay well?
In their How It Works section, it says once you sign up, you will receiving surveys that have an equivalent of anywhere between a hundred to 5000 points, depending on how long it is and what the topic is about. You can start redeeming rewards once you reach 3000 points in your account. The points’ value depends on your country - for instance, in India, 500 points is equal to 50 RS.
Oh, and if you do get screened out or disqualified, you still get 20 “consolation” points credited to your account, which is quite reassuring.
The rewards for redemption are varied, so you have a nice set of options on how to redeem your points. You can get cash out via PayPal, Amazon gift cards, retail e-vouchers (with retailer availability depending on country or region), or even Sweepstakes entries if you like. With just 500 points for one ticket, you can enter the site’s monthly draw for thousands of RS. There’s a list of past winners with their names, locations (countries), and headshots as if to seemingly underline The Panel Station Sweepstakes authenticity.
The verdict?
You know how when they say it sounds too good to be true, that it probably isn’t? Unfortunately, even with all the good first impressions I’ve gotten from The Panel Station, plus its worldwide availability, on top of the consolation points they offer for getting disqualified or screened out, I can’t ignore all the negative feedback about the site. Most of the complaints have to do with users initially getting a lot of points, but when they get to just a few points’ shy of redemption, they suddenly stop getting survey notifications. Another major complaint has to do with getting “errors” on surveys that were deemed “rushed” by The Panel Station, even at the tail-end of a long survey, which is understandably frustrating.
The Panel Station Screenshots
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Your turn!
Have you tried out The Panel Station yet? Did you have a good experience completing surveys with them, or is it something you want to forget? Please tell us all about it below.
Link: http://thepanelstation.com/in/home
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/app/panel-...ite&utm_content=iTunes&utm_campaign=NewTPSApp
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/...ite&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=NewTPSApp