Focus groups, anyone been a part of them for extra cash?

[SL6827]

Has anyone ever done any focus groups to earn any extra money? If so, will you give me advice, pros, cons and so of doing them?

 

[Lizzie the Banker]

I fell into one by accident, using swagbucks a few years ago. It sounded too good to be true, and I thought it was a scam, but turned out to be legit. I tried a new coffee maker and ended up getting $300, which was actually around the cost of the coffee maker.

 

[SL6827]

I fell into one by accident, using swagbucks a few years ago. It sounded too good to be true, and I thought it was a scam, but turned out to be legit. I tried a new coffee maker and ended up getting $300, which was actually around the cost of the coffee maker.

Right I know they are legit. I seen a few in Chattanooga that paid $50 but numerous ones in Atlanta that was $100 and up for a few hours. The Atlanta ones might really be worth my time. I think you have to "qualify" for them so I don't know how hard or easy it is to get into one. And I don't know if you are allowed to be in so many in a certain amount of time or not.

 

[melk]

I do them for a company that is based near me. They send out an email for groups where I fit the profile. But I have to call or email pretty quickly as they usually fill up fast.

I’ve made anywhere from $25 for a quick 15 minute interview to $200 for a longer focus group. They’ve ranged from peanut butter, jeans, pizza, and frozen fish, lol. The best part is they always overbook so as long as everyone shows up, they send one or two people home, with pay. That has happened twice to me. Easy money!

The most important thing is you have to be comfortable speaking in front of the group and giving your honest opinions on the product. Also, they are always either videotaped or audio recorded or they have people observing behind a mirrored wall.

 

[tink89]

There was a company near my old job that paid people for trying out food items. I signed up to check it out and would get called frequently to try ice cream, gummies, granola bars, etc. They would have kids do focus groups too. I had my whole family sing up. I ended up changing jobs a few years back and haven't been back since, but i think ill look them up now. They would pay out anywhere from $20-$100 or more for more days and it always took under 30 minutes.

There are also online companies that i have received products to test and then a gift card.

 

[Adventurelawyer]

I just did one for diapers. Free diapers and SB

 

[wendow]

I participate in one close by me. I've only done food tastings. I've been offered other opportunities but they were things I wasn't terribly comfortable with, like technology, so I declined. For the food ones I do, it's typically about $40-50 for an hour or so.

You do have to qualify. The way to qualify for more is to being willing to taste any food or try any product. Even being open though, sometimes I just don't qualify for whatever reason. It's kind of hit or miss.

 

[barkley]

i did them when i lived in the san francisco bay area. the company had you fill out an extensive survey so you could go into a database they could pull from for clients. i got pulled for some b/c of age/gender, as a parent of young kids, owner of a specific make of car...shortest was a couple of hours, longest was an entire day (7 hours). i also did one at universal studios orlando for a tv show they were developing. never did any that asked me to taste any products-it was strictly opinions/feedback on a controlled presentation.

pros-decent money/paid cash

cons-when you figure in any commute time/cost it can be much less per hour in your pocket

interesting stuff-mock jury (HIGH profile local case that i suspect they settled out of court when they heard the settlement numbers we all leaned towards), some early on medical websites (kind of like webmd) on user ease, tv show-no one had interactions w/one another, we just sat at terminals and watched the pilot and pushed buttons to show like/dislike/boredom...but as we were exiting you could overhear EVERYONE talking about how awful the show was (it stunk)-about a year later they spent a fortune promoting it, aired the same identical pilot episode and it was cancelled within 3 or 4 weeks.

 

[jujubiee4]

How did you guys find out about these groups?

 

[melk]

How did you guys find out about these groups?

For me it was a neighbor who told me about it. Maybe try googling focus groups in your area and see if any are nearby.

 

[crazymomof4]

I just did one yesterday, in fact. $110 for 2 hrs of tasting and talking about a food product. I've done many over the years. They are always fun and well worth the time. You have to be outgoing/talkative enough to give your thoughts/feelings/opinions in a group of total strangers. You are usually being observed by people behind a one way mirror, who are taking notes. Yesterday it was several people in the room with us, each had a laptop, taking notes. I have a feeling that if you just "show up" and don't actively participate in the discussion, you won't be called back.

They send me emails with links to screening questions when a focus group is going to be held near me. Make sure you answer these truthfully bc often the same questions are given to you in the form of a paper when you arrive at the site for the group. If your answers are drastically different from what you answered in your screening, they will call you on it. I've seen it happen. Be on time or better yet, early!!! They start the group sessions on time. If you are late, they will send you home w/o the pay. They usually invite more to the group than they actually need. Like if they need 10, they will invite 12 bc of no-shows or late comers. So if ALL show up, the ones not needed get to go home WITH the promised pay!! That happened to me once and once to my daughter!

 

[crazymomof4]

How did you guys find out about these groups?

I googled "focus groups" and "market research companies". I found several in my area bc we live just outside of Philadelphia. I signed up online for all that are close to me.

 

[wendow]

How did you guys find out about these groups?

I found out from a lady at church. She & her dh do these quite a bit and earn enough to cover their groceries every month for their family of 5. I looked into it and now do them as well. I do not earn enough to cover our monthly groceries but I don't have as much time to do the groups.

I did qualify for one next week. They were looking for people who had a child between the ages of 5-8 to taste a new snack food. So, I'm taking my younger ds and it pays $65 for 30 mins. Pretty good money!

 

[jujubiee4]

I found out from a lady at church. She & her dh do these quite a bit and earn enough to cover their groceries every month for their family of 5. I looked into it and now do them as well. I do not earn enough to cover our monthly groceries but I don't have as much time to do the groups.

I did qualify for one next week. They were looking for people who had a child between the ages of 5-8 to taste a new snack food. So, I'm taking my younger ds and it pays $65 for 30 mins. Pretty good money!

I would love to do them for just extra spending money on trips!!! lol

 

[TabbyShabby]

I love focus groups! For me, craigist, under jobs, then etc. is where I've found the most. I participated in one a couple of weeks ago and made $250. I live in a big city so that really helps, but I'm scheduled for an online interview next week relating to productivity software we use at work that will pay $75 amazon GC. Also, the Beer Money subreddit is a great resource for focus groups.

 

[Anthony1971]

what you get paid depends on what you do for a living... some are very specific of who they want and those pay the most... if you want to do them on a regular basis you need to get to know a person who recruits people and you can make good money doing so.... Be aware some of these people will ask for a gift in return to call you weekly not saying it is right but have heard of it.. I have done them from time to time when the money is right but know people who did them on a regular basis hence the comment above.... There is a huge number of people who want to do them for extra cash especially in a bigger city. all of the ones I have ranged from 100-250 the 100 ones are under 1 hour the 250 ones will have requirements and in general 1-1 1/2 hours here.

 

[confettiandkale]

I can confirm they are legit! I’ve done a good number and have always had a lot of fun! I live in San Diego, and Jack in the Box is headquartered here, so they do a lot of taste-testing for new menu items. I usually luck out as they pay pretty decent ($40) for about 15 minutes or questions, you get a free lunch/snack out of it as well...and I always seemed to get called right before a trip so it usually ends up as extra Disney food money!

I’ve also done a few focus groups for a market research company, and those have ranged from a simple taste test (juices-20 minutes) to longer discussions being watched/recorded (chia seed snacks-3 hours) and various other things. A lady I was in a few focus groups with got chosen for an 8-hour, single-person car test and she was paid $500! She said it was one of the coolest things she’d ever done.

 

[jujubiee4]

what you get paid depends on what you do for a living... some are very specific of who they want and those pay the most... if you want to do them on a regular basis you need to get to know a person who recruits people and you can make good money doing so.... Be aware some of these people will ask for a gift in return to call you weekly not saying it is right but have heard of it.. I have done them from time to time when the money is right but know people who did them on a regular basis hence the comment above.... There is a huge number of people who want to do them for extra cash especially in a bigger city. all of the ones I have ranged from 100-250 the 100 ones are under 1 hour the 250 ones will have requirements and in general 1-1 1/2 hours here.

Where did you find out about them?

 

[holden]

I’ve done them too. I got $35 for a 30 minute survey on food.

 

[NJR21]

Hi all. Been lurking for a while, but made an account so I could share my experience. I used to work for a company that did focus groups/mock trials. If you enjoy doing them, let the screener know you’d like to be on the call list. We had a list of “go to” people that had good availability (some sessions would be when a lot of people are at work) and actually showed up (if whoever hired us wanted 10 people, we’d book 15). The screener should not ask you for any sort of kickback for being on that list. I would’ve been fired for doing something like that.