Did you know that brands are willing to spend top dollars for product testers to test their upcoming products? Yes, you can get paid for product testing and earn up to $30 an hour. This process is also known as pilot testing, and big companies can test their products in real life to see if it works. So, if you are interested in testing out new products and love finding out mistakes that other people made, product testing can be a compelling career option.
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Is Getting paid for product testing a scam?
No, earning money through testing products is not a scam, and big companies rely heavily on the testers for the overall success of their product.
How Does Product Testing Really Work?
When a new product is launched in the market, product designers at times fail to address the actual use cases and end up creating a product that customers do not like. Once a product is launched, this can be an expensive mistake and not economically viable. That is why before releasing a product in the market, companies want to test out on general people to see the feasibility of the product, and that is where paid testers come into play.
How Can You Become a Product Tester?
To become a product tester; you first need to sign up with a Product Testing Website (A full list given below ) that offers product testing. Once you do that, the firm will periodically send you screener emails and surveys to fill to see if you fit the current testing jobs.
Once there is a perfect match, the research firm will reach out if you want to test out their new product and, if approved, will directly send the product to your home to test it out. You may be required to sign an NDA ( Non-disclosure Agreement) mentioning that you will not post any image or tell anyone about the product before its official release.
Once the product is sent to your address, you will have a couple of weeks to test out the product. The research company may ask you to document all your findings, and after the end of the testing period, you may be asked to fill up a survey documenting your overall experience. That’s it; after that, you send the product to the company and get paid for product testing.
Popular Product Testing Websites
Pinecone Research
Pinecone Research specializes in product testing for new products that have not yet been released to the general market. It compensates you with points in return for completing surveys regarding the items you receive from the website. After that, you may exchange your points for cash, gift cards, or brand products.
Although the website is well-known and transparent about how it pays ($3 for each survey), jobs can be hard to find, and you should keep your eyes open for any possible opportunities.
Toluna
Toluna is another popular platform for getting paid for product testing. You simply sign up on their website and start reviewing products in exchange for free products and cash. The products available in Toluna vary drastically from shower gel to cosmetics. There are around 300 such products available at any given time for review, and testers are chosen at random each time from a pool of suitable testers. If you are interested in product testing, Toluna is a platform you must look out for.
American Consumer Opinion
Another site that pays for product testing and surveys is American Consumer Opinion (ACOP). You’ll share your thoughts on a variety of topics, including advertising campaigns, new product ideas, and more. The website has paid out a total of $30,146,855 and is well on its way to becoming one of the most reliable product testing websites on the market.
It’s simple to sign up, and you can use your Google, Facebook, or Apple ID to create your account. After signing up, you will be asked to fill in your details and have to answer multiple questions to bring out your personality traits. Next, you will be given specific products that you will use before completing a comprehensive survey documenting your experience with the product.
You’ll earn points for each survey you complete, which you can payout via PayPal. You may also give your points to charity or use them to join competitions for a chance to win cash or other prizes.
JJ Friends & Neighbors (Johnson & Johnson)
Johnson & Johnson is one of the biggest brands in the United States and owns Aveeno, Neutrogena, Clean & Clear, and other brands you may have in your home right now. It also owns JJ Friends & Neighbors, who are concerned with testing the product before being launched in the market.
JJ Friends & Neighbors offers a ton of options and has a steady line of products that needs to be tested. You can keep the product for free and also get paid handsomely in the process. On top of that, if you are a resident of Newyork NYC area, you may be eligible to participate in one of the company’s “dedicated sensory panels.”.
One small issue we found with JJ Friends & Neighbors is that most of their products are skincare and cosmetics, and many people are not huge fans of putting random things on their faces. Many also have allergic reactions, so you will probably give them a pass if you have any skin condition.
McCormick & Company, Inc.
Hungry? Want a free bite and also get paid while you eat? That’s exactly what McCormick & Company is offering through their food testing program. To participate, you must apply to be a member of the McCormick panel. You should get frequent emails recruiting for research once you’ve been added to the database. McCormick claims that studies fill up rapidly, so you should choose a time to participate as soon as you receive notification of one.
Tests usually last 30 minutes to two hours and pay $10 to $15 in Amazon gift cards, with some tests paying up to $30 per hour. McCormick also looks for people to participate in in-house testing at its Hunt Valley plant near Baltimore. These examinations usually run half an hour to two hours and cost anything from $30 to $100. If you are a foodie and love to try out new things, McCormick & Company is the place for you.
UserTesting.com
Ever got annoyed because a website or app did not work the way it intended? You may consider applying for a website tester if you have an eye for details and some basic computer skills. Website is often the cornerstone for any business, and companies are willing to shell out top cash to make sure their websites are functioning.
UserTesting is a platform where you can get paid to test websites and document what you like and dislike about a website. You do not need to fix any problem or need any programming skill, just your honest opinion.
UserTesting also has the most diverse user base ( 13 to 62 years) with continuous jobs to try out. Testing each website and documenting your findings can take 20 to 40 mins at maximum, and testers can earn up to $15 – $25 per website.
Alba Science
Alba Science is another website that usually sends cosmetics to be tested. Alba science typically deals with expensive high-quality skin products, so the opportunity to test out their products is compelling for many. They also have full-fledged testing facilities throughout the country, where you can go in person to test out the products.
In-house testing usually takes substantially longer, and you may have to stay the night at their place for their scientist to check the impact of the product. But the payments are substantially better than other platforms and oftentimes pay well over $40 an hour.
Beta Testing
Beta testing is another popular website where you get paid for product testing. Similar to UserTesting but not quite, Beta Testing emphasizes the usability and user experience of the overall website. You will be asked to perform some tasks, and you will be responsible for testing if all the features are working properly. Beta testing has a bit of a learning curve to make sure you understand what is expected of you as a tester.
Beta testing pays on an assignment basis up to $30 per assignment, which usually takes 45minutes to an hour to complete.
Crowdville
Crowdville is another popular testing platform for our friends in Europe. It allows testers to dive deep into their mobile application ecosystem and find bugs and glitches that can ruin the user experience. Sensitive finance app requires extensive testing before they can be introduced on the market, and crowdville creates a bridge for testers to test apps before it goes live.
Crowdville is also good at giving step-by-step instructions to its users, and you can earn up to $30 an hour for testing applications through their website. Again, you are responsible for finding the bugs and do not require any programming skills at all.
BzzAgent
We kept the best of last; BuzzAgent is an excellent platform that may not have any financial incentive for testing but a ton of free goodies for you to keep. How this works is you sign up creating an account at BuzzAgent, and fill up a survey with your personal traits. Next, good folks from BuzzAgent will send you goodie bags with random products to try out. You can give detailed reviews on them and keep the products in return.
There is no cash incentive on BuzzAgent, but gigs are more frequent, and as you keep posting a quality review, the items on your goodie bag keep getting better. So if you just want to test out product testing and get your feet wet, BuzzAgent can be a great start.
Bottom Line
Product testing can be a fun way to make some side income but do not expect it to replace your full-time job. What you can do is combine other fun activities that can help you financially, like, getting paid to read email, filling out surveys, walking, or even sleeping and pair that with product testing to make a substantial monthly income. You may also consider starting an online dropshipping or affiliate marketing business as they are more scalable and can eventually help you achieve financial freedom.
