More Makeovers than Madonna! (pureprofile.com)

Member Name: bollinger28

Product:	pureprofile.com
Date:	28/07/09 (315 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Professional site with well paid online survey work. Payment by BACS. Payment for pre-screeners.

Disadvantages: You have to remember to log into your account fairly frequently or you may miss surveys available. T

Pureprofile is yet another online survey site, and it's one I've been a member of since 2003. Looking at my rather long list other survey site reviews, you may be wondering why I've never written a review on this site before today. It's not because of lack of earnings, or the fact that I never get any work from them - because I do well out of this site, and have done for a number of years now. The answer is fairly simple; I just lacked the will. This site has had more changes and re-launches than most, and just when you think you've got a handle on the way they operate, they decide to change things yet again. However, the site seems to have settled down somewhat of late, and I feel I can actually venture an accurate and straightforward opinion of them at long last.


~*~ Who or What are Pureprofile? ~*~

Pureprofile are actually an Australian-based research company, but they also offer membership to residents over the age of 18 living in the UK (and many other countries around the world too - have a look on their website if you need more details). Membership is not limited to one member per household, which is a bonus if you want to sign your husband / wife / partner up.

Although their website blurb tries to make it look like they are a survey company with a difference, don't be fooled. Their website claims "Pureprofile gives you the platform to sell your attention to businesses and your answers to researchers. We enable you to make money from your profile; because without the profile there is no way for you to market your attention and be targeted with relevant information". The idea behind this, is that you create a profile on things you are interested in i.e. a new mobile phone, and advertisers will contact you with "relevant, paid offers" matched to your profile. That's a complete load of old tosh and/or marketing-speak as far as I am concerned; I've never been targeted or contacted by any advertisers through my profile.

As far I am concerned, Pureprofile are no different to any of the other survey sites I am a member of. Basically they're a market research company that pays you to answer surveys. And of course, like most survey sites, you receive irrelevant survey invites all the time. It doesn't matter what you put on your profile, you still get sent surveys that have nothing to do with your likes/dislikes. You can tell them you're a 21 year man with no kids, and you'll still receive surveys on Barbie dolls!

However, if you discount all the whizzy marketing blurb, Pureprofile is actually a survey site worth joining, as they do offer quite a bit of well paid survey work. You just need to ignore all their silly claims of "you are the next media mogul", "experience the next button, Real Research and the power of your Profile" and "Serendipity on the web" << yes seriously, it does say that on their website......


~*~ How do you sign up? ~*~

The website can be found at www.pureprofile.com. It's a very high tech looking website in a rather soothing turquoise shade. The site is fairly well laid out, and easy to navigate once you know what you're doing. Initially it can seem a little daunting, as there are a lot of tabs and buttons all over the shop. However, you soon get used to how it all works.

Registration is easy, and it is, of course, free to join. On their home page there's a banner screaming "Open a free account in 30 seconds!", and you simply fill in a short form giving your name, email address, country of residence and your postcode. You also choose an account password at this stage too. Next you'll receive an email from Pureprofile asking you to confirm that you wish to go ahead with your membership by clicking their given link.

Once you click on the link, you'll get a screen congratulating you on joining Pureprofile and inviting you to click on their "Next" button. I should say at this stage that Pureprofile are very, very keen on their "Next" button. It's something that features all over the site and you will often finding yourself clicking on it to access their surveys, quizzes, Stat of the month (a current poll their change monthly) or simply completing any personal profile. The good news is that you can't miss it - it's bright red with a white arrow and a white question mark on it!

Once you're logged in, you need to have a good browse around the site. First off, I'd go to the "Preferences" tab, as you can tell Pureprofile how often you want to hear from them, and whether you're interested in receiving surveys at the lower end of the paying scale as well as the higher. Next, they'll invite you to complete your personal "Profile", which is an interminable selection of questions. Honestly, it's never ending! I estimate it takes between 60 to 90 minutes to complete all their questions. Everytime you answer a question, a whole new set of questions asking for further details pop up. It's very annoying and frustrating indeed. If you decide to complete your entire profile (and there are 20 different sections, which I'm not going to list here as they're too boring and repetitive) then your "Profile Dashboard" will come up as 100% complete. Well done - you've wasted an hour of your day...for no reason whatsoever! I'll let you into a secret here. As I said earlier, this site has had more changes, makeovers and general reincarnations than Madonna. At one stage in the last couple of years, members were redirected to a newish looking site, and asked to complete a new series of questions about themselves, probably sold as a way to "maximise our earning potential" or in Pureprofile speak "unlock a brand new world of participation and payment". The thing was, I'd already completed a similar profile and wasted half my life doing so, when I'd first joined back in 2003. I was blowed if I was going to go through the whole process again....so I left my Profile Dashboard at about a 20% completion level for months and months and months. Nothing happened, no one contacted me to ask why, and most importantly, I still received the same amount of survey invites, and my earnings didn't dip. In the end, I did complete my dashboard up to the full 100% (mainly because the site had probably gone quiet on me, like all survey sites do sporadically), but it made not one jot of difference. My earnings stayed the same - and I've received no more or no less surveys or earning opportunities as a result. The moral of that particular secret is that completing your full profile on this site is a waste of time - you won't get anymore work out of them despite what they say. Similarly, you'll still be invited to complete all sorts of inappropriate surveys that don't match your profile in any shape or form!

~*~ How do they reward you? ~*~

I know if probably sounds like I don't really rate this site, as I have been criticising it a fair bit. However, despite all its silly claims and time-wasting irritations, Pureprofile is one of the better ranked survey panels I'm a member of. It does offer a good amount of work, and the payment is fair and appropriate. Most importantly, when you do reach their claim threshold, they pay out promptly and in a timely fashion.

Payment is made into your nominated bank account via BACS, once you reach £25.00. The site is secure (with that little padlock thing displayed next to the URL), so you need have no worries about disclosing this information. You'll receive an email from Pureprofile informing you that they have received your request for payment, and letting you know when their next BACS payments will be made (usually within 21 days).

~*~ The Surveys ~*~

Surveys rewards are calculated in pounds and pence, so no strange points system to get used to with this site. Survey rewards can start from as little as 5p (one or two simple questions only) and go up to £2.00 / £2.50 for longer questionnaires. The lowest amount I've been paid is 5p and the highest £5.00 during my six years of membership with this site. I must say that the rewards are always appropriate, and scaled to the amount of time you put into them. There are no silly rewards of 10p for a 50 minute survey like some sites I've known.

What is nice about this site is that they even pay you even if you don't quality for the full survey - sometimes 5p, sometimes 10p and often 20p. So responding to a survey invite is always worthwhile, as you rarely come away empty-handed, or with a paltry prize draw entry you've got no hope of winning.

A lot of people complain that they rarely get any survey invites from Pureprofile, and that it's not worth joining their panel. And here's where I let you into secret number two about this site. You should never wait for an email invite from Pureprofile before you access the site to take part in a survey. In my experience, they only ever email survey invites to their members as a last ditch attempt to fill their quota on numbers of respondents. If you log onto the site every now and then (say two or three times a week), you may well find you log straight into a page displaying that "Next Button", which is the signal that you've got a survey that needs answering. I'd say that at least 80% of the surveys I do for Pureprofile have been through accessing my account, rather than waiting for an email from them.

I'd say on average I respond to 4 or 6 surveys a month from Pureprofile - sometimes it's more and sometimes it's less. Like most survey sites, the surveys can be sporadic. You get nothing for three weeks, and then four all in one week. I don't always quality for the full survey, but I don't mind coming away with 10p or 20p just for responding....as they soon add up. If you are screened out, they do it quickly and cleanly, and you're not lead half way around the garden for twenty minutes before they boot you out, like some sites.

Surveys from Pureprofile can be any variety of different subjects - there's no particular theme to them. I've answered surveys on beauty products, phones, technology, food and drink and TV to name but a few. On the whole the surveys are well phrased, easy to complete and the rewards are always commensurate with the time spent on them.

As soon as you complete the survey (or even if you're screened out), your account balance will be updated, so no annoying hanging around waiting for them to add credit to your account. As I specified earlier, payment can be requested once you reach £25.00. That may seem like a lot, but it's fairly easy to reach this threshold - I'd say it roughly takes me from seven to eight months. In six years of membership, I've amassed a total of £175.00 from this site - most of which has been earned in the last two to three years (they offered little to no work when I first joined them in 2003, and didn't really become a good earner for me until 2005/6 onwards).

~*~ Referral Scheme ~*~

Another good thing in Pureprofile's favour is their rather generous referral scheme. If someone joins through your referral link, then you can earn up to £5.00 from their activity. Everytime your referee earns £5.00, you receive a £1.00 credit to your account (up to maximum of £5.00). There is no limit to how many people you can refer, and it really does work. I have referred several people over the years and the credit does reach your account without mishap. If you'd like more details on joining or you'd like my referral link then do please ask me : o )

~*~ Recommended? ~*~

Yes, if you're a fan of online survey work - then I would recommend Pureprofile without hesitation. Despite all their hype, serendipidity(!) and super-flashy website, Pureprofile is quite a good earner. For me, it offers reasonably frequent survey opportunities, above average rewards and a threshold that is achievable if you put in the effort.

Recommended with four stars from me. They lose one star for their over-complicated and flashy website, and all their silly marketing-speak. If you ignore all their silly stuff, you'll find that underneath, they're a fairly decent survey site with a nice amount of reasonably well paid work on offer to their members.

~*~ Quick Summary to get the best out of Pureprofile ~*~

DO Regularly log into your account - there maybe a survey for you behind that Next button
DO Use the referral programme as a handy way to boost your income
DO Respond to all survey invites even if you think you won't qualify as they still pay out for pre-screeners

DON'T Bother with their time-consuming profile questionnaires if you don't want to
DON'T Wait for email invites as you may be missing out on work
DON'T Let the techno-babble and general flashiness of the site put your off joining

~*~ Contact Details ~*~

Pureprofile
57-61 Mortimer Street
Westminster
London
W1W 8HS

Tel: 0207-101-7101 or 0207-101-7379

Summary: Quite a decent survey site underneath all the techno-babble