PineCone Research

As most market research websites will tell you, consumer input is vital to the development of new products, and to the refining of existing products. Companies use the opinions of their target market to perfect their goods and services so as to improve their experience. PineCone Research is a good example of such market research, and this website offers a variety of online surveys through which companies gather information of this nature.

This online survey and user-feedback website will compensate people willing to participate in their various programs with cash payouts, vouchers and free products that panelists will have to evaluate. Various surveys attract various compensation; however the majority of surveys on the site appear to be rewarded with vouchers. Typical questionnaires on Pinecone Research will take between 15-20 minutes to complete, and panelists can expect to be offered surveys to complete up to twice a month.

PineCone Research are happy to pay a panelist each time a survey is completed or a product is evaluated, however such details are not revealed as general information – they are only released with individual surveys. They do, however, make cash payments into PayPal accounts when applicable – which is often the best way to be compensated for your valuable opinions.

General Information

• Accepts Members From: United States, Canada, United Kingdom & Germany
  
   
• Age Requirements: Not Specified
  
   
• Type of Rewards: Cash through PayPal, vouchers and product samples.
  
   
• Sweepstakes, Prize Draws or Competitions: None Mentioned.
  
   
• What is The Minimum Payment. This is the Amount Needed to Request a Redemption or Payout: $1.00 USD is the minimum.
   

Company Information

• Physical Location of this Survey Company’s Office:

  PineCone is a business owned by a subsidiary of The Nielsen Corporation, a global market research company. The Nielsen Corporation headquarters are located at 770 Broadway, New York, New York 10003 USA.

  
  
• Type of Market Research They Conduct: Online surveys, polls, user-feedback / product sampling.

Member Ratings & Reviews

Write a review based on your experiences with this paid surveys panel to be entered into our monthly draw for $50 Cash, 2 runners up will also receive $20 Cash each (Payments are made via PayPal). Read the full Terms & Conditions for this contest. See our previous Winners.

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Comments Overall Rating: Survey Frequency: Survey Incentives: Panel Legitimacy: Recommended: Comments By: Marilyn From: US Comment: I have been a member of Pinecone Research for a long time.I receive surveys once or twice a month.Payment is always within 48 hours.I have tested products and got to keep them plus receive payment.I have never been disapointed with Pinecone.I'm here to stay. Date: Jan 17, 2013 Overall Rating: Survey Frequency: Survey Incentives: Panel Legitimacy: Recommended: Comments By: Allan From: United Kingdom Comment: PineCone Research – www.pineconeresearch.co.uk Hi, This review refers to the UK site of Pinecone Research - www.pineconeresearch.co.uk, Terms and Conditions, rewards and payments may differ for Pinecone Research sites serving other countries. Visiting the www.pineconeresearch.co.uk website presents me with a very unimpressive Home page, comprising various shades of green on a white background; the most noticeable feature is that the page covers only the top left corner of the screen. I mention this in case anyone landing on this home page thinks that something weird has happened to their browser. The main focus of the Home page is a very brief description of the function of the site. Along the top of the page is a series of clickable buttons:- “Home” – this page, “Members” – Expecting to see a page with copious amounts of information, lots of buttons to click and lavish graphics would leave me a little disappointed, just a couple of boxes to accept my UserId and Password is all that adorns this page except a small image of a hand grasping a computer mouse. Once I enter my UserId and Password, I am taken to an almost equally disappointing screen inviting me to update my Personal Profile or to list my Participation History and my personal Current Surveys. Viewing my Personal Profile reminds me how remarkably simple it is - comprising name, address, ‘phone, payment method, email address, Education, Employment, Income, Marital status, and a list of other household members, “Current Surveys” – provides me with a list of all current surveys and a search box. Strangely this screen is of little use since members are sent email invitations to participate in surveys, furthermore, members are not allowed to participate in surveys to which they have not been explicitly invited – more about this later, “Newsletter” – a series of pages comprising information and articles which some people may find interesting, “FAQ” – a very comprehensive set of FAQ and answers with a useful search feature, any questions should be answered here, “Who we are” – this seems to be a bit of a misnomer since surprisingly, this page provides no actual information about Pinecone Research, who they are or where they are located, there are no ‘phone numbers, email addresses, postal addresses and not a hint of who the organisers are. The page merely excels on the merits of joining. An easily missed “Contact Us” link at the bottom of each page provides no further clues about who Pinecone Research are, but merely returns me to the FAQ page. To anyone using this web site to judge the legitimacy of Pinecone Research would be forgiven for being suspicious, the total absence of such information is, to say the least – unusual, and would put many people off considering joining the panel. Having said that, one feature clearly conspicuous by its absence on the website is a means to register or join the panel. This is not an accident but is completely intentional. Membership of the panel is strictly limited and as Pinecone Research themselves state – “As a Pinecone Research panellist, you are part of an elite group that represents consumers nationwide” and to achieve this claim, Pinecone Research limit membership to personal recommendation from existing members and from advertising banners on selected websites. So, if you haven’t been invited to join Pinecone yet, you’re either mixing with the wrong people or not visiting the right websites. Once a member, receiving my first survey invitation provided an email address to a member of the Pinecone team who handles all communications on all subjects with members. Pinecone Research maintains very high standards when conducting their surveys and select participants from their panellists based very often on responses to “Household Questions” – let me explain. Every so often I receive an invitation to a special survey (or pre-survey) called “Household Questions”, which is unpaid and takes just a few minutes to complete, but decides my eligibility for an upcoming main survey which often soon follows. This technique is used in preference to a website-based profile on me which does tend to become outdated, so only relevant and fresh information is gleaned from me. This can sometimes mean that information being sought is repetitive, but ensures that it is always up to date. Furthermore, Pinecone Research takes participation in their surveys very seriously and I am asked to contact them if I am unable to take part in surveys for any reason such as holidays, illness or computer malfunction. Many of the surveys that Pinecone Research conduct involve exposure to new product concepts that are not yet known to the general public and may even be Company confidential. Often, before a survey begins I am asked to agree not to divulge any information to any persons not involved in the survey. This concept is also supported by occasional special emails which simply ask me to confirm my sincerity to the agreement. Now, on to the important stuff – surveys and rewards. I receive invitations to take surveys in my inbox as a very simple, text-only email, each has a unique reference number but there is no mention of a reward or expected completion time. A new member would soon discover that the surveys are very consistent at about 15 to 20 minutes and the reward is always GBP3. Since security during the surveys is essential, before I commence a survey, I need to enter my UserId and password. I am far from inundated with surveys, in fact usually one or two a month – sometimes three. However, the difference between all other survey sites and Pinecone Research is that there is no minimum redemption to achieve before I am paid. After successful completion of a survey, my PayPal account is credited with the GBP3 usually within two days. Surveys usually seek my opinion about a new product or product concept; including my opinion about the product packaging, the wording and graphics on the package etc. So once the “Pre-Survey” has determined my eligibility to evaluate the product, it is highly unlikely that I would be screened out for any reason, thus making Pinecone Research very reliable surveys – indeed I have NEVER been screened out of a Pinecone Research survey. Occasionally, if I have satisfied the requirements of the survey, I may be asked during the survey if I would like to try/test a sample of the product. This does not always happen, and being asked during the survey does not always guarantee that I would eventually be sent the product to try/test. However, if I agree to participate in a potential product test then I must be available to take delivery of the item in the post or by courier. I have had several opportunities to receive and evaluate product samples, and having received the sample I am allowed a period of time to evaluate the product. Then I receive an email inviting me to complete a follow-up survey for which I receive a further GBP3. Each time I have been allowed to retain the sample. My review of Pinecone Research began by painting a rather sceptical impression by not excelling the virtues of their website, but once I consider that Pinecone’s emphasis is directed towards conducting serious, meaningful and rewarding surveys and rewarding their panellists completely, reliably and promptly, then I understand that Pinecone are concentrating on providing a reliable and consistent service to their clients and panellists rather than providing a “bells and whistles” website that would be more in keeping with entertainment rather than serious and rewarding surveys. Since joining Pinecone Research in October 2009 I have completed 38 surveys including 4 follow-up surveys after a product test and earned GBP114 – not a fantastic amount but the surveys are always interesting, of consistent length and always GBP3 reward which is guaranteed – no emailing support about missing rewards. Furthermore, over the almost three years of being a member of Pinecone Research, although survey frequency could be better, their performance has been consistently excellent, no reduction in survey quality and no reduction in rewards. If you are ever given the opportunity to join Pinecone Research – then do so – you will not be disappointed. I hope my review has helped you decide whether to join Pinecone Research UK. Thanks… Allan Date: Mar 31, 2012 Overall Rating: Survey Frequency: Survey Incentives: Panel Legitimacy: Recommended: Comments By: Connie From: US Comment: It's an invitation only site, and each survey for me is worth $3. I have been with them since October 2011, and since then I have made $74, but two of the surveys were $10 each. They are only 15-20 minutes long at most, and sometimes they are really fun to do, with a shopping game where you choose items off a shelf over and over again. The only down side is that you don't know when you'll get a survey. I went a whole month without an offer, and this month I've done four already. This is one of the better survey sites, and exclusive. Date: Mar 04, 2012 Overall Rating: Survey Frequency: Survey Incentives: Panel Legitimacy: Recommended: Comments By: Jesse From: Canada Comment: I have to say, although it was difficult to join Pinecone-Research as you have to be invited, it is well worth the wait. Each survey is worth $5, which is paid within 48hrs via paypal, most times within 24hrs. I have never experienced a survey site that pays so quickly and I must say, it just lends itself to the legitimacy of the entire company. The only issue I have is that the survey frequency is not that great, maybe 4 a month. However, this could be based on my profile. I have only not been compensated for one survey that I completed and within 1 hour of sending an inquiry email asking about my compensation I had a response indicating that it was their mistake due to new software and that they will have my payment within 48 hours, which they did! If you ever receive an invitation to join Pinecone-Research, it would be wise to join and reap the benefits. Date: Mar 10, 2011 Overall Rating: Survey Frequency: Survey Incentives: Panel Legitimacy: Recommended: Comments By: Jason From: US Comment: Pinecone Research is probably the best/most ligit survey site online. They are extrememly difficult to join however if you are lucky enough to become a member you won't regret it. Although their survey frequency needs to improve drastically, when you do get to take a survey you are paid the very next day via pay pal. No other survey website that I have come across pays out as quickly as Pinecone, which really makes you wonder why every other site can take weeks/months to pay up. As I mentioned the survey frequency isn't that great, about once a month for me, however each survey you do receive is worth $5. As well, another perk, I have completed 4 or 5 product testing surveys as well in which I got to keep the product I was testing and received the $5 for the survey. All and all, one of the best survey sites available if your lucky enough to join. If they had better survey frequency, no body would be better. Date: Nov 09, 2010 Overall Rating: Survey Frequency: Survey Incentives: Panel Legitimacy: Recommended: Comments By: Donna From: US Comment: I did a survey for Pinecone Research and was very surprised when I received a check within a week after doing the survey . This is a great company and they pay more than other companies. Date: Oct 13, 2010 Overall Rating: Survey Frequency: Survey Incentives: Panel Legitimacy: Recommended: Comments By: Anne From: US Comment: Excellent survey company. They pay very promptly. I am pretty sure they have a set payment because every survey I have ever taken has had a 3 dollar incentive. and is deposited in my paypal with in a couple of days, and before paypal was received in the mail with in a matter of weeks. I have only had four surveys and have received $12 which is quite a bit more than any other survey company I have been involved with. Date: Nov 23, 2009