Is Toluna Just Another Scam Survey Website?

If you are involved in the work from home world you are probably already well-aware of the survey taking market in which average people make easy money taking surveys about things that they were already interested in anyway.

It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?

Well, unfortunately, a lot of the time it is.

Many survey sites simply are not everything that you would hope for them to be, but that does not mean that you should altogether dismiss them as a way of making money.

For the person that knows where to look there are still survey websites out there that are available to help you make easy money.

Telling which ones are viable options may be difficult but that is exactly why we are here to help. Read on for a comprehensive look at the survey site Toluna!

How it Works

The way that Toluna works is fairly simple, and in fact, if you have any familiarity with other survey sites, it is a format that will be quite familiar to you.

To start you must first create an account.

If you have a friend that already uses the site, throw them a bone and mention that they referred you (they will be awarded a small credit to their account).

Once you have created your account you will be given access to a wide variety of surveys that are available at many different lengths.

Shorter surveys are of course much quicker to complete but they also result in a smaller reward. Conversely, longer surveys might take a little while to complete but you can expect to earn a lot more from them.

As you complete your surveys you are awarded points (ranging anywhere from 15-20,000 per survey). Thirty thousand points earns you an award valued at ten dollars. In general, you cannot redeem your rewards until you have accumulated at least that many points.

You can also earn points by engaging in product tests (mostly cosmetic products) and referring friends which will earn you five hundred points.

Naturally, this is a slow way to make money, but it is also very easy, making it an attractive opportunity for the freelancer with a little bit of time on their hands.

Pros and Cons

We’ve seen how Toluna works but of course that doesn’t necessarily explain how well it will serve your needs. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of this website to find out.

Pros:

Gift Cards: For me personally, sites like this aren’t really a means to paying the bills or even building up my savings account. I more use these opportunities to improve my game collection.

That is why I like the fact that Toluna offers the chance for freelancers to receive payment in the form of gift cards.

Gift cards are available from many major retailers including Amazon which is handy for the person that is only looking for a little bit of mad money.

Personally, I like this touch because when I receive cash I feel obligated to save it, but with a gift card I feel infinitely more justified to make a silly purchase or three.

Pay Pal Too: Naturally, some people are going to actually want to put money in their bank account which is a very natural (and perhaps much more responsible impulse). While you can get paid in gift cards, you don’t have to.

Toluna offers cash payments via several different ways including checks, and my personal favorite method of conducting online business, Paypal.

If you are saving for a college fund, or anything really, Toluna will have you covered.

App: The final pro that we will be looking at also happens to be my favorite. For the old school user (not that many “old school” people are in the survey taking business) you can still use the computer, of course, but it you want to take Toluna out with you, the option to do so is yours through their smartphone app.

Since this is a tool that many people use to make money during their idle time, it is nice that you have the ability to bust it out as you wait in line at the grocery store.

Cons:

Glitchy Website: While most users are pleased with the service itself, it is widely reported that Toluna is sometimes down for extended periods of time and that even when it is up it has been known to glitch on occasion.

Often, when a website is down it means that the administrator is performing regular maintenance which is actually a good thing. However, if you are logging into the page at the only time that you are available to do so only to find that it is not up and running, it is still a drag.

I’m very much of the mind that this defect is not a deal breaker but simply a mild inconvenience, but it is something worth considering all the same.

Conclusion

So what is the take away here? Toluna clearly is not perfect, but then nothing really is.

Are you going to get rich taking these surveys?

Certainly not.

You won’t even be able to pay your mortgage with them but that’s not really what gigs like these are for anyway.

While Toluna might not be a full-time career job, it is a really excellent way to put a little bit extra money in your pocket.

Don’t think of Toluna as a career opportunity but rather as a means of paying for date night, and suddenly it becomes a lot more enticing.

For the freelancer that is looking to have something to do during their idle time (even if they do it while they watch a silly movie) my personal opinion is that Toluna represents an excellent way to supplement your income, and put a little bit of mad money in your pocket.

I don’t know about you but I could certainly use a little bit more of that in my life.