Swagbucks Surveys: Are They Legit?

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I have been a member of Swagbucks for a long time and have seen a lot of good and bad things transpire with the site. At one point surveys used to be one of the quickest ways to earn SB (Swagbucks) but over time the payouts became less, it took longer to complete them and the payout percentage dropped (and is still dropping). You can access surveys through all of the portals like Peanut Labs and TrailPay as well as the Gold Surveys. When I get an email saying that I have a survey that I am pre-qualified for I usually give it a try because I have about an 80% success rate of getting it completed and credited. I know I am not alone in saying this – there are companies that have surveys there that cull the data they want from members then have an error screen pop up. You could also get the dreaded "this survey has been filled" message. Most of the surveys have a message about having prompts that will alert them to people speeding through surveys – if they didn't routinely screw member over by giving them the "sorry, this survey is full" line then people wouldn't feel the need to rush through it. What other ways do members get screwed over by surveys? You could end up not getting credited then having to fight to get the SB you earned as well as having to provide proof that you actually did the survey. If it's more than 20SB I take a screenshot and save it as a temp file until it's credited. When I have had to contact Swagbucks about a survey that didn't credit, one of three things happened. They tell you to contact the portal in which you took the survey, they tell you to wait three to thirty days for it to credit or they realize you have the proof needed to show that you completed the survey. I get the feeling that they don't like it when people are 'prepared' because it means that they are going to have to dish out SB to someone and that could be more than what they were "paid" to have the survey at the site. It's like a bait and switch; they advertise a survey to take 15 minutes to complete but offer some ludicrous SB payout (like 300SB or more). They don't expect people to actually be able to complete it or they hope people will get frustrated, get disconnected from the internet or hit an error page and DQ out (disqualify) so when they "over offer" Swagbucks then have to pay it out, it could mean they are losing money or aren't breaking even. I don't put anything past any company that operates online; I have been screwed over by tons of "completely legit" places and all I can do is warn people about possible scams. Are the surveys at Swagbucks legit? Some are, some aren't. If I click on a survey offer and see it is from a certain company I won't do it no matter how much the payout is or how short they claim it to be. It's simply insulting to invest ten or fifteen minutes into a survey that you answering honestly then to get a DQ and get 1SB – its even worse when they don't even credit you the 1SB. Have you given up on surveys at Swagbucks? Did you ever have to fight for SB's owed to you? Do you think that some of the "errors" are there purposely? Image: Swagbucks logo