Let me recap where I started a year ago.

1. I paid to gain access to a site that promised only the best and most profitable paid survey opportunities. I did this even though I have always advised not to. The reason I chose this route is there have always been those who argue that I just didn't find the wealth of prospects available and I could if I paid to access the information.

2. I reviewed the recommended sites, but found very few actually provided financial payment for their surveys. I chose only to accept surveys that provided cash. If it was an incentive or lottery type offer I refrained from participation.

3. When it came to paid emails I only accepted emails where I was not asked to spend something in order to make some money.

4. I paid due diligence by filling our all applicable profile data.

What did I learn?

1. There is money to be made in paid surveys. Not much, but some.

2. Paying to gain access to paid survey sites is not only unnecessary, but does not seem to significantly help make money for members. Virtually all paid survey sites are free to join. Using a search engine is a more cost effective way to manage the discovery of paid survey opportunities.

3. Signing up for paid surveys will significantly increase the number of emails you receive from “third party” sources.

4. You can become very tired of taking surveys.

In many ways I had hoped I would be proven wrong. From the outside looking in there didn't seem to be much opportunity in this ‘money making' idea. From the inside I can say with confidence the bulk of the paid survey opportunities do not actually pay. Many that do pay are essentially token payments and the high paying surveys are extremely rare.

Especially in times of economic difficulty it can be easy for people to place their hopes in something that promises income. There are some legitimate money making ideas online, but sadly many of these wealth enhancement ideas simply do not deliver. What's more they often require an investment or paid membership from those who may least be able to afford it. In that respect it seems very much like gambling to me.

There are even websites that claim to provide an unbiased review of paid survey sites, but many of those are owned or affiliated with the very companies recommended to the site visitors.

It's sad to say, but even a neighborhood paper route would pay you more than the majority of online paid surveys even if you added in the bonus idea of paid emails.

In many cases the owners of the paid survey and email sites will simply derive income by providing a steady supply of people willing to take surveys. In one case I uncovered I could join a paid survey site and potentially make $3 per accepted survey or I could accept the same offer from another source and receive $0.50. I was essentially redirected to a third party website for the survey. The ownership of the site I used essentially was able to pocket $2.50 for every survey completed by their members.

It doesn't take long to realize some sites exist to skim a large portion of every survey payment leaving members with very little to show for their time and opinion.

By the way I spent $30 for access to paid survey information. After one year I earned back just over $47.