Back in May I read an article on the Moneysavingexpert website entitled "how to boost your income". Dooyoo was featured along with some market research / focus group websites one of which was Indiefield.

I signed up for 4 of them but Indiefield was my first invitation to trial so for anyone wondering about them I thought I would share my experiences.

** ABOUT INDIEFIELD **

Indiefield describe themselves as a consumer directory whose purpose is to test out products and ideas on the general public on behalf of the manufacturer. Feedback is then submitted to the manufacturer as to whether they are onto a winner! This could be to test a new product to the market, or to test the water with changes to an established product.

** HOW TO JOIN **

Registration is free and really simple. Just log onto their website (www.indiefield.co.uk) and register some basic details and you are in!
You will then need to complete your profile which gives Indiefield more of an idea about you, your background, your lifestyle etc. The more they know about you, the more likely you are to be selected on the basis that you match the criteria for a particular trial.

All this is for a basic account. If you want to upgrade to a Premier Account you will need to submit a photo - it's still free but means you will be even more likely to be selected for research.

I have chosen not to submit a photo - just a personal preference I really don't like doing that as you will notice from my dooyoo avatar :)

** WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? **

Well for about 5 months not a lot really...from time to time I logged into my account and updated my personal profile but I didn't receive any invitations to participate in trials. I wasn't too bothered as it had been free to join and required relatively little effort. However in November bingo! I received a questionnaire about alcohol consumption which I completed and submitted.

A couple of days later I received an email inviting me to take part in a wine testing trial.

** ABOUT THE TRIAL **

I was told that I would need to go along to a hotel in the city centre on the given date and time to collect three bottles of wine and answer a few questions.

The questions took about 10-15 mins to answer and were done face to face with a representative from the company. I had to look at several bottles of wine and answer some questions about the bottle appearance and label design etc.

After I had finished I was given three bottles of Jacob's Creek Vintage Shiraz to take home and test. I was quite surprised that they were all the same wine as I was expecting them to be different - also thought wow that's rather generous that they gave me three!! Not being one to complain about free wine, off I went and was told that after a week I would be required to complete an online questionnaire about the wine and then after another week, would be invited back to collect a further 3 bottles.

I did my duty and drank the wine (well it's a tough life...) and completed my online questionnaire which asked mainly about aesthetics of the bottle and label and very little about the actual wine. A couple of examples were about the height and weight of the bottle which didn't look any different to me than a normal bottle.

Upon my return visit there was no questionnaire this time but when I was handed my wines I was surprised to find that it was the same stuff as the previous time! I asked the representative if that was right and she told me "well that's what they have allocated so..."

At this point I began to think that it was going to test me to see if my answers were consistent. I tried the wine expecting a different taste but it was exactly the same stuff to my tastebuds anyway. The label and bottle appeared the same to me so when completing my final questionnaire (which was a repeat of the first one) I gave the same answers.

I have since found out that their was a difference in bottle weight and height - I honestly didn't notice that at all!

** REWARD **

So six bottles of quality free wine was payment enough right? Wrong - I was also informed I would be sent a cheque for £30 for my participation!

The support was great too as I did email to ask when I could expect my cheque and received a reply the same day - it's reassuring to know there is someone on the other end to actually answer your queries. I did indeed receive my cheque so I hope that reassures anyone who might be thinking of joining Indiefield that they are reliable and reputable.

Based on my experience, I don't think there are any bad points about Indiefield. I would be more than happy to participate in any more trials they send my way!!