Panda Research Review: Is it Legit or a Time Sucking Scam?

Most of the times when you think of a panda you can't help but smile because they're so damn cute and cuddly. But in other circumstances the word Panda can give you the heebie jeebies if you've been a victim of a Google search engine penalty knows as the Panda update. Or it may have left a bad taste in your mouth if you've signed up for the Panda Research Panel. Well today I'll dig in to determine if all those negative Panda Research Reviews I've run into have merit or it's just people whining more than Keith Sweat. So let's dive in.

What Is Panda Research?

It's a market research company that has been around since 2005. They recruit and pay people money online to participate in surveys. Panda Research is located in Buffalo, Ill and NOT accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) if that means anything to you.

Although Panda presents itself as a survey panel, in reality it is a multi-headed Hydra with a couple of ugly heads. We'll talk about that in just a bit.

How Can You Make Money With Panda?

There are actually three ways you can make money:

• Get paid for each successfully completed survey: That sounds simple enough and should be a piece of cake.

• Get paid for successfully completed paid offers: This is the second head of the Hydra. When you sign up for free, you also subscribe to receive emails from Panda Research which contain ‘offers' of product trials. Some of these require a small fee for shipping and handling; others will be free of charge but require your credit card information. It is your responsibility to keep track of these free trials and cancel before the expiration date.

• Get paid by referring new free members and get commissions from their activities: The third hydra head tells you to recruit your family members and all of your friends to become free members also. You then will receive 10% commission of all their activities as long as their account is active.

Did you know you can also get paid to take surveys, complete offers and refer people on sits like SwagBucks.com, FusionCash.com, InboxDollars.com and SurveyJunkie.com? Well now you do. But if that's not what you're after and you would prefer making a living working part time or full time online, check out My Best Work At Home Recommendation.

How Does Panda Research Pay You?

The payout threshold is $50.00 and when reached a GET PAID button will appear on your account page. When you click on it and request payment, the support team will get back with you for account verification purposes. They say this is necessary to avoid fraudulent activities.

After the account verification took place, there will be a mandatory 30 day waiting period before the actual payment is processed and the money is transferred into your PayPal account; usually on the 1st or 15th of every month.

Okay so it sounds like pretty standard stuff. But you already know how I do. I have to dig deeper past the surface to find the little surprises that may bite you in the ass. So with that said let's dig into the complaints against Panda Research.

What are the Panda Research Complaints?

Folks, there are so many complaints it's not even funny. I read a gang of them. So I tried to narrow down the most common complaints that Panda Research members have expressed all over the web. But there are far more.

There are no guarantees in life…

A lot of sites like to hide the nasty stuff in the terms and conditions or disclaimers. Let's keep it real! Most of us don't read it because we already know it's going to state the company is not responsible for diddly and you waive your rights to come after us. But I still dig into them to see if there is anything alarming. And not surprising I found the following:

Are you “f'ing” kidding me? They flat out tell you right off the bat that there is a chance of not getting paid for a number of reasons they deem valid. Awww hell nah! Its bad enough that there are survey companies that use screening questions to disqualify you and don't pay you for the time you've spent taking that. But to know you may go through a whole survey and not get paid is unacceptable. You could probably stop reading the review right here and I wouldn't even be mad at ya!

Panda Research Lack of Customer Support:

So I wanted to get an explanation of the crazy terms and conditions. Maybe it was a misprint or I “dont read too good”. lol Of course they don't make it easy to contact them. You practically need Dora the explorer's map to find their contact link. Apparently you need to be a member also to ask questions. Well after the scavenger hunt and jumping through hoops I opened a support ticket asking for details about their non-guarantee pay nonsense. As of this review, 7 days later, I have not received any response at all. I guess it's better to ignore one new member in order to avoid answering some unpleasant questions.

Panda Research Surveys are NOT Surveys!

So I checked out their surveys to see if I can make a buck or two. I clicked on exactly 38 so called surveys and ONLY 1 was indeed a real survey about grocery shopping habits ($1.50 pay if I would have completed the 25 minute survey).

All other survey offerings were in fact product or service offers which will pay you some money IF, and only IF you complete the offer; meaning you either buy something outright or agree to a test trial.

These trial offers require your credit card information and provide you with a cancellation period of 15 – 45 days. If you miss to cancel within the given time frame, your card will be charged with the cost of the product. Many of these are monthly recurring, like magazine subscriptions, and then you cannot cancel for a whole year.

In short, this seems to be more of a get paid to try site and NOT a real survey site like some of my favorites including SurveyJunkie.com, SwagBucks.com, FusionCash.com or even InboxDollars.com. Get Paid To try offer sites are fine and a legitimate way to make money if you're organized and understand how they work. Many offers are free and don't even require a credit card. I know because I've made money with them. But when signing up for Panda Research you're expecting that most of the money you'll make is from surveys not doing offers.

Be ready to jump through hoops to get paid!

First and foremost their payment threshold of $50 is ridiculous for a survey site. They make it damn near impossible to reach that amount just taking surveys. By the design you'll probably have to do offers to reach that threshold.

I find the payment & verification process annoying as hell. It's bad enough they've worded their terms and conditions so they DON'T necessarily have to pay you for your work and time. But then they add insult to injury by dragging their feet paying you in a timely manner. Yeah yeah I know it's under the guise of preventing fraud, but come on! Other survey companies and get paid companies have better systems in place that are quicker and just as reliable. But not with Panda research, it will take up to 90 “frigging” days to get your hard earned money. Don't get me wrong, you will get paid.

But if you have that type of patience and work ethic, you're better off starting your own business like I did with My Top Work At Home Recommendation!

“Mo Complaints, Mo Complaints & Mo Complaints..”

As if the stuff I've listed above isn't enough you can read more complaints down below.

So Is Panda Research Legit?

The company seems to be legit and legally able to operate within the confines of the law. Are they a good option for taking surveys? Not in my opinion. They may have started out as a Survey Panel but have left that path a long time ago.

Panda Research is now a “Get Paid To Complete Offers” site, meaning that you probably have to do some offers that require money that will pay you more than you spend. But you better be very organized so you know when to cancel or you'll lose money. And even if you do complete the offers, Panda Research may deem you didn't so you're not paid. So if you are looking to make money by just doing surveys, you are at the wrong place.

I can totally understand why so many members complain about Panda Research. However, by signing up as a free member, you agreed to ‘their terms and conditions' and are left without recourse. In other words, you're pretty much screwed if anything goes wrong.

So given all this I think it's probably a waste of your time. SurveyJunkie.com would probably be a better option if you're just into surveys. But you can make money with the offers and the few surveys they do provide. Just expect to wait a very long time and jump through some hoops.

But you can smarten up and add other ways to earn money online into your income nest egg. You can make money doing what you already do online like watching videos, playing games, visiting websites, reading emails and more at SwagBucks.com, FusionCash.com and InboxDollars.com.

I hope you enjoyed my Panda Research Review. You may also want to read my Survey Club Review if you enjoyed the one you just read. As always I would love to hear your opinion about it. So chime in on your way out in the comment box below. But before you do that, I want you take a very short and quick survey. The answers to this may lead you on the path you've always desired.

1) Are you interested in making money online legitimately?

2) Are you willing to learn and work to start your own business?

3) Would you like to do that in a scam free and supportive environment?

If you answered the 3 questions with “Yes” I can help and show you the………….

Check Out My #1 Free Work At Home Recommendation!

It may be a better option for you than Panda Research. It's pretty much risk free since it doesn't require a credit card like so many of the Panda Research offers. So give it some consideration if you're looking for a real way to make sustainable income at home. I won't sit here and tell you it's easy or fast. But it is real and does have the potential to help you earn a full time income from home like your boy Eddy with a y earns.

Take Care guys.

Thanks for reading!

Eddy with a y