I first heard about Pinecone Research on Dooyoo and made a mental note to keep an eye out for the banners online. However- the internet is a very very large place so I had no idea if I would ever become a member- I didn't even know the first place to start looking for the sign up banners.I went on the Pinecone Site and checked out the FAQ section and I even sent them an email to say I would like to become a member. I had a reply but it was the same as the FAQ section- saying you have to find a banner online in order to request to be a member, then have your request approved.

I forgot about Pinecone for a while then totally by accident, I was clicking on random freebies on a free stuff website one day and one of the "Get Paid for Surveys" offers linked me to a Pinecone Research banner! So I completed my name, address, email details etc and waited.

Next, I received an email confirming I had been accepted as a member and all I had to do was wait to be emailed a survey. Shortly afterwards I had my first survey come through- these are emailed to you on an ad hoc basis so you have to check your emails for the invites. I would suggest making the pinecone emails as safe emails and not junk or you may miss the emails, When I was away for a few days and did not check my emails, I tried to do a survey and was told it had closed so as soon as you get an email it is a good idea to complete the survey immediately as I gather they are only open for a few days so it does make sense to jump on them as soon as you see Pinecone have emailed you.

Within 3 months of joining up,I had four surveys come through. I was screened out of one, one had closed, and I have successfully completed two surveys. The different thing about this survey site is as soon as you complete ONE survey, they immediately send you luncheon vouchers by post in return so you do not have to accumulate a balance then request a redemption.

For each of the two surveys I have successfully completed, I received £3 worth of Luncheon vouchers (redeemable in most supermarkets and a lot of high street stores) in the post within three days of completing the survey. I love this factor as as soon as I have received an email and completed the survey, I know there will be vouchers arriving a few days later.

I have read from other reviews of this site that Pinecone can send you a £50 survey to complete and the other surveys pay random amounts £3, £4 etc. I cannot verify any of this from my experience as I have only received two lots of £3 in vouchers so far.

The surveys are pretty standard as far as surveys go- they are consumer opinion type surveys. You are required to accept terms and conditions that if you are asked about a potential new product you do not discuss the details with anyone etc., The survey length for the surveys I have completed has been quite average- around 10-15 minutes per survey. This is better than Toluna surveys which can take an hour to complete.

I would definitely recommend this site to people. Unfortunately there is no way to recommend friends that I can see, nor is there a way to sign up without finding a "Sign up" page/banner online. I would recommend people check the free-stuff website on a regular basis as this is where I found my sign up banner for Pinecone.

The surveys I had have arrived individually and no more than one survey every few weeks. I do not mind that the surveys are few and far between as I do not have to accumulate a balance before I can redeem it for cash or vouchers. I like how you are sent your vouchers immediately and I am keeping the vouchers to one side as my idea is to save them all up then spend them all in Asda or Tesco at Christmas.

Update for 2013-- unfortunately a few of my pinecone invitation emails went to my junk email folders as approximately 4 months after joining pinecone, I stopped receiving emails from them. I can only assume I did not complete one or two of the surveys and they must have taken me off their list. I am going to try to re-contact them to ask them if they can re-activate my participation so I will keep you posted!

Very recommended if you can find the banners to join up.