Harris Poll Online has been around for 43 years and is owned by the Neilson Company.  This is the same company that used to put the little black boxes on television sets back in the day.

They tracked what families watched and then Neilson used that to put out television show ratings.

Why does this matter? It means Harris Poll and its parent company have not only been around for a long time, but they are well known and well respected in the market research world.

This shows up in their ratings around the internet.  They consistently have 3 or more stars, which is amazing for a survey site.

Even the good ones often have lower ratings simply due to the nature of the business.

Sign Up Process

There is nothing new to see here.  You sign up using your name and email address, provide other contact and profile information, and you are ready to roll.

I didn’t notice anything here that threw up any red flags.

They never requested payment or even credit card information, which given their reputation I was not surprised.

Anyone who lives in the United States, its territories, or Canada and is over the age of 13 can sign up.  Anyone over the age of 14 can sign up in other countries.

Will They Give Out My Information?

Everyone wonders if these types of sites are going to share their information with others, resulting in a ton of spam.  It is a legitimate concern because, frankly, it happens too often.

The best way to avoid this is to create a separate email account specifically for survey sites.  However, it doesn’t appear to be much of an issue with this one.

Harris Poll has a link to their Privacy Policy on the landing page, so it is easily accessible.

They do not share or sell your identifiable information with anyone other than “carefully vetted” third parties that also offer surveys on the site.

Surveys

They don’t overwhelm you with surveys as many survey sites can.  They send 3 or 4 per month to your email on file, and you choose if you wish to take them or not based on pay and estimated time to complete.

How many surveys you are sent, what they pay, and how long they are will vary based upon the specific surveys that are available and that you are qualified to take at the time.

The more completely you fill out your profile information, the more likely you are to be matched with the best surveys for you.

Screeners

Short questionnaires known as screeners will be sent occasionally as well.  These are not paid, but sometimes rewarded with sweepstakes entries.

It is tempting to ignore them, but if you are serious about taking surveys, you really shouldn’t.

These are sent out to collect further profile information.  They help determine which panelists are a good fit for upcoming surveys.  If you disregard them, you could be missing out.

Third-party Surveys

There are occasionally opportunities through Harris Poll to take third-party surveys.  Though they look different, Harris Poll has formed a trusted relationship with these parties, and they are legit.  They pay the same as if they were from Harris Poll directly and will post to your account the same way.

Rewards

Like most other survey sites these days, they work on a points system.  Here they are called HIPOINTS.  They can be redeemed for sweepstakes entries, gift cards, magazine subscriptions, airline miles, and merchandise.

The minimum cash out balance is $10, and points are added to your account within 10 minutes of completing a survey.

Each survey is worth from 75 to 150 HIPOINTS, and it takes 1250 to redeem a $10 reward.  With only 3 to 4 surveys per month, it is easy to see how it could take while to earn enough to cash out.  However, it isn’t really any longer than with other sites.

If you redeem an electronic gift card, they say you will have it in 24 to 48 hours.  Other merchandise will take 7 to 14 days via the United States Postal Service.

Do Points Expire?

Points do expire if you are inactive for more than 12 months.  If you do not complete at least one survey in a 12-month period your account will be terminated and you will lose all points.

They make it very clear in their Site Terms that if you lose your points in this way you will not be reinstated and you will not get your points back.

What Makes them Different?

Aside from the umber of years, they have been around and the stellar reputation, there are a few other key differences between Harris Poll and other survey sites. Some of good, some are bad, and some are nothing more than simply different.

• There is no cash redemption option. This is unfortunate and will turn many off, but gift cards are almost as good as cash, and some actually prefer them to cash.
• Some sites offer a sign-up bonus, though not all. Harris Poll does not.
• There is no open survey list on your account dashboard. Surveys are offered through email invitation only.
• You cannot tell how long a survey will take or how much it will pay from the email invitation. You have to click the link, and if you qualify, you will be told what it will pay and how long it is estimated to take.
• There are not a lot of ways to earn here. They only offer incentives for answering surveys.  There are no shopping, searching, or video watching options as with a lot of other sites.  The simplicity is welcomed by some, but others prefer a variety of options.

These are pretty big differences, but nothing that should cause concern.

On the Go?

Harris Poll Recently added a mobile app.  It is newer, so there isn’t a lot of information about out it out there. It isn’t rated very high on the iOS store, however.  Hopefully, over time, they will get the bugs worked out, and it will get better.

Web Chatter

The Harris Poll BBB file has had some action lately.  They still have an A- rating, and there are only 69 complaints on file.  For a very old and large company, this is not bad.

The most recent wave of complaints, however, relates to people logging in to redeem points and finding they no longer have an account, or that their points are gone.

The company has responded to each complaint, but they have not allowed the BBB to post the response publicly.

Customers have noted they are satisfied with the response, and the complaints are closed, so that is a good sign.

The only concerning issue I saw was that one response that was posted publicly stated that they had to “refresh” their panel from time to time, which meant randomly closing accounts.

They noted that they were allowed to do this per the terms and conditions listed on the site.

They also stated that with current technology, they realized there is likely a better way to do this, and they are looking at making changes.

I couldn’t find this in their terms anywhere, so it is likely the changes have either been made or are in the process of being made.

Is Harris Poll Legit or a Scam?

This is definitely a legitimate survey company.  There are some complaints, but it appears they are being dealt with by company to the satisfaction of panelists.

They never ask for money or credit card information, so they definitely are not trying to scam you out of money.

Besides, a company does not last this long or have an A- rating with the BBB if they are scamming people.

Conclusion

This is a panel you should definitely join.  While I can’t say definitively that it is the best poll website, it is for sure one of the best.

They offer a lower payout minimum balance than many, and they work hard to keep the disqualification rate low.

When you do screen out, they compensate with entries into their $10,000 sweepstakes.  If you are interested in taking paid surveys for rewards, this one should definitely be on your list.

Just remember, keep your expectations realistic.

A lot of the complaints on survey sites are a result of unrealistic expectations.  No one is going to get rich doing this, but you can definitely make some nice extra money.

If that is what you want, make sure you sign up for Harris Poll.