Pinecone Research Review – Is It a Legit Survey Site?

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Pinecone Research Review

Welcome to the Pinecone Research review.

Pinecone Research is a website that offers an opportunity to earn money from home by answering surveys.

If you are interested in knowing:

  • Is Pinecone Research legit
  • How it helps you earn
  • The real cost to start
  • Are users getting results
  • And much more!

You’ve landed on the right website!

I’ve dedicated a few days to analyzing this online program, taking a whole lot of notes, uncovering all sorts of hidden info, and thoroughly going over the program so that I can provide you with the most helpful Pinecone Research review.

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I Want To Know…

About the Reviewer

Hey, I’m Ivan Brozincevic!

Since 2018, I’ve been making a full-time income online, which allowed me to quit my old job (about me).

Initially, I struggled to identify legit courses and avoid ones that were just out for my money.

That’s why I created this website – my main goal is to help you steer clear of pitfalls and discover the top online business courses.

Every week, I invest hours reviewing online courses and writing reviews based on my fact-driven review guidelines to assist you in making an informed choice.

Related: Check out my FREE training program for making money online.

What Is Pinecone Research?

Pinecone Research is a site that pays you to take surveys. It has been around since the late 90s, which makes it one of the oldest online paid survey sites.

Pinecone is quite an exception compared to other sites that pay their users to take surveys. Firstly, it offers one of the highest payments for online survey participation.

In theory, you can make the same hourly income on this site as you might make on an average American job.

Secondly, it is highly exclusive. Unlike other paid survey sites, Pinecone doesn’t try to grab generic users. Instead, they are incredibly selective about their surveyor pool.

Because Pinecone isn’t a multilayered sales funnel like most of the paid survey sites on the internet. It is looking for people who can provide valuable opinions and insight for product improvements.

Exclusive Club for Elite Surveyors

You wouldn’t be able to join Pinecone Research by simply going to their website and clicking ‘sign-up’. Moreover, the website is hard to load and intentionally complex to navigate.

This is so because Pinecone Research takes a different approach to adding members to its platform. It distributes invitation links among its acquaintances across the web.

Someone with a link has to invite you to join this exclusive circle of surveyors. And those invitations always have a very short window to respond. They appear randomly on the internet.

You will usually find them on well-known paid-to-review and paid-to-survey sites. You know, the kind of place professional product reviewers and survey takers would visit.

Rewarding Survey Experience

Once you are in the pool, the site notifies you whenever there is a new survey. You get paid in cash, gift cards, and other methods. There is no subscription or monthly membership fees.

However, you must be a habitat of the United States. The service is also available variably available for Canada, London, France, and a few other countries.

If you are a good fit at Pinecone, they can sometimes send you products awaiting release. You will use them for a few days and provide an honest review.

In return, you will get a handsome payment. Plus, you will get to keep the product.

Pinecone Research Review - Is It a Scam?

Is Pinecone Research a Scam?

No, Pinecone Research is not a scam. It is a legit paid-to-survey site that pays you decently for your efforts. In fact, in my experience, Pinecone is one of the most legit paid survey sites I have ever come across.

The majority of the survey sites advertise themselves in clever ways to trick the average internet user. They make it look like you will earn a lot of money while taking a few easy surveys.

Meanwhile, they actually push products, show ads for their client products, and barely make a dollar at the end of the month. Due to these intentions, they have designed flashy easy-to-reach joining pages.

Plus, they also run marketing campaigns.

In contrast, you will rarely see a Pinecone ad. They are pretty clear from the beginning about what you are getting into. That is, you are a smart intellectual consumer who is taking part in product research.

And the platform is willing to honour you with a decent payment for your efforts. They never come across as a quick money-making site.

That’s the main reason why their joining page is out of reach for the average internet user. And once you join, they don’t push you to buy anything. Your honest opinion is all they are looking for.

However, as mentioned earlier, various scam runners take advantage of this exclusivity. Since most people don’t know how the original joining page looks, they are easily tricked into fake Pinecone pages the scammers designed.

Also, Pinecone clearly states on its website that it doesn’t maintain social media pages. This gives scammers another chance to confuse social media users by posing as Pinecone.

You will find a large number of scam reports about Pinecone Research on various review sites. Almost all these people have been tricked by scammers into visiting fake pinecone pages.

The problem is, that Nielson didn’t bother to take the time to answer these reports and clear their name. As a result, a large number of complainers still don’t know that it wasn’t Pinecone who scammed them.

Let’s investigate that even further in this Pinecone Research Review.

Who Created Pinecone Research?

Pinecone Research was created by the Nielsen company. Yes, it’s more or less that same famous company that has been providing authentic TV ratings to media companies for close to a hundred years.

If you have been following my blog for a while, you must know how seriously I take the creator’s backstory when judging a program. This Pinecone Research Review would go through the same process too.

Let’s see how Nielsen’s background reveals the true nature of the Pinecone platform.

History of the Nielsen Company

Arthur C Nielsen founded this company in 1923. He was a genius at market research and developed several tools for the authentic collection and evaluation of consumer data.

The idea was that businesses would use the insights from these reports to improve and develop their products. With this mission, AC Nielsen, a marketing research firm, started its journey.

Although Nielsen started the company to collect marketing data on basic consumer goods, the company found its fame and success with TV ratings. These are also known as Nielsen ratings.

Neilsen Company

These were measurements of audience engagement for specific TV channels, radio, and newspapers.

Back then, this measurement process was quite rudimentary. Nielsen used to attach recording devices to television sets. The said devices had photographic cartridges that recorded the channels that the viewers watched.

Later Nielsen would collect these cartridges from the viewers, review the recording and determine which channels had the largest viewership.

Initially, there were around 1200 television sets in the United States to which Nielsen had attached its recording devices. The families who welcomed the company to record their viewing habits were known as Nielsen families.

AC Nielsen later detached itself from the media data collection operation and created a separate company. They called it Nielsen Media Research (NMR).

The Dutch conglomerate VNU later acquired NMR. Later in 2001, AC Nielsen was also acquired by the same company.

What Does It Mean For Pinecone Research

When you are participating in a Pinecone Research survey, think of yourself as one of those Nielsen Families. The company is actively recording how you are using or reacting to certain products.

These products and services are Nielson’s clients. Based on data like yours, they are generating insights for these clients and helping them develop better products.

That’s why there is ‘research’ mentioned in the platform’s very name. You are not merely participating in some survey. You are part of meaningful research that will help create a product that helps everyone.

What I found reassuring is that Pinecone Review doesn’t try to hide the fact that you are part of product research. At the same time, other paid-to-survey sites try to make it seem as if they are giving away rewards for just filling up surveys.

This goes a long way toward satisfying questions like ‘Is Pinecone Research Legit?’. Keep on reading this review

What Do You Get With Pinecone Research?

There are three things you get with Pinecone Research.

Firstly, you get to earn money or win rewards without any significant online skills. Secondly, you get to shape the development of future products and services with your valuable opinion. And lastly, you get to sample actual products and keep them.

They offer a similar opportunity as Flash Rewards and Valued Opinions sites.

Earn Money Online Without Skills

The surveys and product testing at Pinecone Research are some of the easiest ways to earn money on the internet. You don’t need to learn a skill for this. You just answer questions about your shopping habits.

Tell the survey what you like and dislike about certain products and what your expectations are.

The process of answering the survey isn’t much of a chore either. It’s a fun game-like experience. You’ll need around fifteen to twenty minutes to complete a survey. For each survey completed, you will receive a 3$ reward.

So, if you can complete 3-4 surveys within an hour, you’ll get 9-12$. Consider that the average American job pays around $10 per hour.

Shape Future Products

There have multiple occasions where I was using a product and thought if only the company consulted with me when they were designing it. Maybe, I could have told them how that little tweak in their design could have made all the difference.

But this was just wishful thinking. Companies have a panel of expert consultants. Why would they bother with me?

Well, Pinecone Research can be a satisfying experience if you ever feel like that. You already know how selective the platform is about choosing its surveyors. This ensures low competition among surveyors and high evaluation of individual opinions.

They don’t even call you a ‘surveyor’ but instead an ‘Influencer.’ Because your opinion will influence the development of the final product. I think Pinecone Research provides one of the best platforms to voice your concerns and comments as a consumer.

Sample Products

I found the sample products from Pinecone Research one of the unique features of the platform. It is rare for the average get-paid-to-survey site to go through the hassle of sending you sample products.

But Pinecone Research does it and also lets you keep the product you reviewed in most cases. Plus, you will take part in a paid survey about it after using it. So, you are getting product and payment too.

Pinecone collects consumer responses for a variety of clients.

So, there is an exciting range of sample products they might send you. These include food items, electronics like mobile and laptops, household items, self-care goods, clothing, and many more.

Food items will arrive in coolers. Meanwhile, the other items reach your doorstep in secure packaging.

How Does Pinecone Research Work?

In this section of the Pinecone Research review, I’ll walk you through the process of working with the company. The company follows a simple model. You sign up, take part in surveys, get rewarded and cash it out. However, the trickiest part is getting in.

Pinecone Research Review - How It Works

Joining Pinecone Research

Pinecone seriously limits the entry of new members into its exclusive pool of surveyors. That way, they get truly professional reviewers who can provide valuable, insightful opinions.

On the other hand, the surveyors also don’t have to engage in unhealthy competition. So, no one is in a rush to complete half-dollar surveys so they can pile up to make a few dollars.

Instead, the platform is already paying you the highest rate of 3$ per survey, so you can take your time with it. But you need to have something exclusive about you to be worth these high rates.

Hence, the invitation links. You will find them on various review sites and platforms that are relevant to the online paid-survey scenario. Unless you are minimally orientated with paid reviewing, you are unlikely to visit these sites.

Therefore, posting the invitation link on these sites is an effective way for Pinecone to ensure your exclusivity.

Acquiring these links can be quite a challenge. Search for ‘Pinecone invitation links’ at the start of the month. Usually, the position gets filled up within the first week.

So, the same links wouldn’t work if you are late. You might have to make it through a few attempts before you can get into the club.

However, there are no strict rules on when Pinecone Research invitation links appear on the web.

On average, it happens a few times a year, presumably, when a Nielsen client is conducting new product research.

At the same time, be careful of the scam links. Pinecone doesn’t provide a direct joining page like other survey sites, and various ill-intended parties are using this fact to run fraudulent schemes.

They put up fake links that take you to fake pages and try to scam you.

The original Pinecone Research doesn’t claim any upfront payment for your participation in their platform. So, if some page is telling you to spend money on something as a prerequisite for taking part in the survey, it is probably a scam.

Signing Up

Once you get access to the Pinecone joining page, provide personal details to complete your membership registration.

This part is kind of extensive. Pinecone would ask for a variety of personal info. It will also ask about your preferences. This helps the platforms to determine which one of their target demographic you appropriately fit into.

If you don’t fit into their target consumer groups for that specific research, you won’t be able to take part in that survey. That doesn’t mean you should falsify information to increase your chances of getting into the pool.

The Nielsen Company has advanced methods of cross-checking your data. So, you will eventually get caught if you provide the wrong info. That will result in the cancellation of any rewards you earned.

Plus, you might be banned from entering any survey in the future.

You should also keep in mind that, Pinecone still follows the classic rule of ‘one Nielsen box per family.’

So, if someone in your family (this can be detected from the personal info you provide) is already a frequent survey taker at Pinecone, the platform won’t let you join the panel.

Participation Process

Surveys and product testing are the two major ways you can participate at Pinecone Research. Your rewards depend on the number of points you accumulate.

Each Pinecone point equals one cent. Completing a typical pinecone survey gets you 300 points or 300 cents ($3).

When you complete your first survey on the site, Pinecone will send you a $3 check at the mailing address you provided during sign-up. Or, they might deposit it in your bank account and ask you to cash it.

This will establish the authenticity of the mailing and payment information you provided in your form.

Participants at Pinecone Research can choose the surveys they want to take. However, that doesn’t mean you can wait around forever for an expected survey to arrive.

Their surveyor pool is limited, and everybody needs to be active.

So, if Pinecone notices that you haven’t been contributing for a while, they will push you out. The good thing is they will send you an email notification when you are nearing the danger zone.

Receiving Payments

Payments from Pinecone Research come in the form of Bank transfers. You have to create an account in ‘Wallet’ to receive the payments. The minimum amount for cashing out is $3.

Usually, you receive the money within 48 hours of a payment request. Although, sometimes it can take up to a week.

Pinecone Research can also send you Amazon, Apple, and Walmart gift cards based on your points. You might also receive merchandise like electronics or household items.

The platform regularly holds sweepstakes. You have the chance to win big cash rewards and prizes during these occasions.

How Much Does Pinecone Research Cost?

As mentioned in this Pinecone Research review, it doesn’t cost you money. It requires fifteen to twenty minutes of your time to win $3. There is no membership fee or subscription costs for being on the platform.

The only thing you contribute to the platform is your valuable opinion.

If you have followed an invitation link from your email or another site to reach a Pinecone Research page that is asking for money, it is probably a fake page.

Many scam runners have designed such sites to trick people who have never seen the original Pinecone Research joining page.

Who Is Pinecone Research Best For?

Pinecone Research is best for those who are looking to make a few dollars on the side. You also need to have an interest in reviewing new products and providing opinions.

If filling out surveys and answering personal questions isn’t something you like, don’t join the platform. Also, it is not a platform to make a full-time online income.

If you are looking to earn a full-time income online, check out my recommendation at the end of this Pinecone Research review.

Who Should Join Pinecone Research?

Well, first of all, not everyone who wants to join Pinecone Research can get into it. So, don’t waste too much time finding invitation links if you have already made a few attempts. Wait for the next time the links appear across the web.

Pinecone is mostly interested in college-aged adults who reside in the United States, Canada, or Germany. And I think these are the people who might benefit from joining the platforms.

Not to mention, you should be comfortable answering questions about your shopping habits and personal life.

It is an ideal earning site for people who already have a full-time income. That way, you wouldn’t be dependent on Pinecone surveys alone to make money.

They will just be like a fun pastime that brings a little income and allows trying out free products.

Who Shouldn’t Join Pinecone Research?

If you are looking to make a full-time income on the internet, you shouldn’t join Pinecone Research. Indeed, you can theoretically make an average hourly income by taking surveys on Pinecone.

However, that’s just theory. In reality, Pinecone doesn’t provide you with consistent surveys.

On average, you can expect to participate in four to five surveys per month. This means you won’t be able to earn more than 12-20$ per month from the platform. Plus, a company might abruptly cease its research initiatives.

When that happens, you might not be able to complete a survey or even not get paid for completing it.

So, Pinecone is by no means a full-time earning platform.

If you are serious about making money on the internet, invest your time in learning high-paying skills. You can learn in-demand skills like copywriting, graphics designing, SEO expert, e-commerce, dropshipping, or affiliate marketing.

Also, there are more easy-to-join and non-exclusive survey sites on the internet. They pay you much lower than Pinecone, but you will get more frequent surveys.

However, these types of sites can never provide a full-time income. So, the best course of action is to acquire a skill.

Pinecone Research Pros

From my experience, Pinecone Research is one of the most legit and honest paid survey sites on the internet. Indeed, it’s not a site to make a full-time income. But it can be a fun way to make a few dollars on the side and try new exciting products.

So, here’s why you might want to join Pinecone Research:

  • Make some side income without a specific hard-learned skill
  • The platform doesn’t use deceptive marketing language to trick users.
  • You can try out products before they come to the market, keep them, and also get paid to review them later.
  • It’s an excellent platform to voice your consumer concerns about a product.
  • One of the highest payments you can get for a fifteen-minute half-minded survey.

Pinecone Research Cons

Pinecone Research is probably one of the hardest sites to join on the internet. So, you might end up wasting a lot of time searching for and clicking invitation links.

Plus, there are a few more things that make the platform unsuitable for some people-

  • Surveys are not frequent, so you can’t make a significant income
  • They don’t have a valid social media page.
  • The Nielsen Company hasn’t done much to address the widespread scams that are running at their expense.
  • Customer support is lousy.
  • A survey you are taking can abruptly become null and void.

My Pinecone Research YouTube Review

In case you are interested, I have recorded a YouTube review. Hit the play button to start the video!

Pinecone Research Review – Conclusion

If you are asking, ‘Is Pinecone Research legit?’ you probably got the answer. The platform is one hundred per cent legit, and it almost seems like they don’t even want you to join unless you are special.

This Pinecone Research Review wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t tell you that survey sites aren’t your solution to an online income. They are mostly a place where you can have fun for fifteen to twenty minutes a day.

If you are serious about earning money online, invest yourself in a high-demand skill.

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The Best Way To Make Money Online

I earn online by creating simple affiliate websites to connect people with products they are already looking for.

It’s called affiliate marketing and it is the best way to make money online (at least in my humble opinion).

If you want to learn more about how to start making money online with affiliate marketing, I strongly suggest you sign up for the free training on the next page.

And don’t forget to share this Pinecone Research review with your friends and family!

All the best, Ivan @freeaffiliatemarketingbusiness.com

Related: Flash Rewards Review

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