What you need to know right now is when you join a membership fee site you are basically buying a Paid Survey List. What this means is that when you pay your membership fee you will be given access to a list of links to market research companies that you will need to sign up with, fill out profile details for and typically wait to be approached by email about surveys you may qualify for.

I have not come across a market research company that charges a few to keep you in their database as a possible survey participant. When you pay a fee it is a fee for the list and possibly the upkeep of that list (new companies added, links tested etc) whether or not this occurs is dependent on the individual site.

What makes these membership sites questionable is the income claims.

You simply will not qualify for all the highest paying surveys everyday. The overwhelming majority (95%) of survey companies do not pay anywhere near the fees claimed by some of the Survey Review Sites. There are literally hundreds and possibly thousands of very dissatisfied people out there who have signed up and paid for membership to survey sites only to find that they are not even close to making an income like the portrayed likely incomes.

This is the single most important thing you need to know before you buy a membership for a survey list. The highest paying surveys are few and far between and incredibly competitive. If you live outside the US - expect to be excluded from the vast majority of listed sites - no matter what the claims. One membership site I joined had a list of hundreds; A total of 35 of which were international. Focus groups and movie trailers are rarer than hens teeth and I personally have NEVER been invited to participate in either.

Having said all of that, there are a few very high quality market research companies that I have joined that I had never heard of or seen links to before I joined the membership site and some of these remain my best survey companies. After a bit of investigation I'm of the opinion these sites are generally not listed on any free lists you'll come across because they do not offer rewards for referrals.

Having even a rudimentary understanding of what makes this industry profitable for so many will save you a lot of time and hopefully money and in the thick of it are Survey Review Sites