Pinecone Research Reviews and Features

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Pinecone Research

85 Broad Street, New York, New York  10004 US
Tel: 800.864.1224   Contact: https://members.pineconeresearch.com/#/ContactUs
Operated by: The Nielsen Company, LLC

KEY FEATURES:

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PAYMENTS OFFERED

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HOW TO PARTICIPATE

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REDEEMING REWARDS

Typically, rewards are delivered within a few business days or sometimes even immediately after completing a survey. Your first 100 points will equate to $1, which will be sent to your home address.

Pinecone Research is a trusted leader in the survey panel industry. They are owned and operated by the market research company Nielsen, whose operations are headquartered in New York.

Pinecone Research focuses on improving the quality of tomorrow’s products through collecting research via paid surveys and product testing opportunities offered to consumers.

How Pinecone Research Works

pinecone research website

Pinecone Research Sign Up

Pinecone Research is an invitation-only survey panel, where members can earn rewards for participating in online surveys and product tests. Potential new members must be invited by other members to join, or they must find a join link posted on a website. SurveyPolice currently offers Pinecone Research signup links for Americans, Canadians, and people living in the UK: » Join Pinecone Research here.

To learn more about how to sign up for Pinecone Research, including tips on joining and why there are membership restrictions in place to begin with, check out our article on how to find an invitation to join Pinecone Research, as it should help answer any questions you may have about the process.

Payment and Rewards

pinecone research rewards

Reward Types and Amounts

For each survey successfully completed, Pinecone Research awards its members a minimum of 100 points, which equals $1.00 in your local currency. For example, Americans will earn $1.00 USD per survey, Canadians typically earn $1.00 CAD per survey, while Britons earn £1 per survey completion. There are a variety of rewards options that accumulated points can be exchanged for. These include:

  • Bank Transfer - Pinecone offers cash payments issued via bank transfer. When selecting this option, you will be asked to create a 'wallet' on a third-party payment processor website. Once set up, you can request a cash payment deposited directly into your bank account. Payments are issued in $10, $5, and $3 increments (which can be in different quantities; ex. 4 x $3 = $12). Bank transfers are typically issued within 48 hours of request, but can take up to 3-5 business days.
  • Amazon e-Cards - You can choose to receive an Amazon gift card with your collected points. The e-card will be sent directly to your email account.
  • Other Gift Cards - Pinecone Research offers a variety of gift card options including Starbucks, Apple Store, Walmart gift cards, as well as many others. Gift cards may be digital or in physical format and are listed under these categories.
  • Merchandise - Pinecone Research offers an extensive merchandise catalog consisting of various small electronics, household items and more. Merchandise rewards will be mailed directly to your home.
  • Prepaid Virtual Visas – prepaid Visa cards are available for redemption, however, they may only available to US residents.
Points Value: 100 Pinecone Research points = $1.00.

Redeeming Rewards

To redeem your rewards, simply visit the Pinecone Research website and log in to your account. From there, click the "Redeem" button to access the reward site. Under the SHOP tab next to HOME tab, select the reward items you wish to redeem and once you click on an item you are interested in, click the shopping cart icon to add the item to your cart. Click the shopping cart icon on the right side of the page to complete your order.

Note that PayPal is no longer offered as a rewards option and was replaced by bank transfers.

Earn your First Check/Bank Transfer Automatically

Once you complete your first survey, which is always worth a minimum of 100 points, Pinecone Research will automatically send you a check for $1.00 to the mailing address on your profile, or will ask you to cash out via bank transfer. This is a security measure to establish your profile and account. After your first check/bank transfer (or 30 days of being an active Pinecone member, whichever comes first), you will have the option to choose the form in which you would like to receive your future rewards.

Visit Pinecone Research's website 

Survey Taking Experience

Survey Types

Interesting online surveys are e-mailed to members, and are on a variety of different topics. As a Pinecone Research member, you are part of an elite group that represents consumers and households like yours nationwide. Your opinion is important to manufacturers who count on people like you to help predict which products will be developed and which may not be suited for launch. Paid surveys opportunities usually take about 15 to 20 minutes of your time to complete and you will be notified by e-mail when one becomes available.

Product Testing Opportunities

Occasionally, Pinecone may mail out products for their members to test from home. These may be physical products, or food items that may come delivered in a cooler. A follow-up survey is usually provided as part of the product test. These opportunities are highly sought after, as you may receive free food (or a product that you might be able to keep), as well as a paid follow up survey!

Visit Pinecone Research's website 

Community Features

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Pinecone Research App

If you prefer to take surveys on the go, you can download the Pinecone Research app onto your iOS or Android mobile device. The app will allow you to view available surveys, take online surveys, view and redeem your points, view your account history and more. Just remember to first join the Pinecone Research panel itself before attempting to take surveys through the app!

Quick Customer Service

If you have a question on anything Pinecone Research-related, do not hesitate to send in an inquiry through the website. The response time is usually 1-3 business days, or even quicker depending on the workload of employees during the time of your question.

Is Pinecone Research Legit or Scam?

pinecone research legit or scam

Is Pinecone Research Legit?

Pinecone Research is legitimate and is not a scam. This survey program is over fifteen years old and has paid out millions of dollars in rewards to its members. Pinecone offers quality paid surveys and product tests to its members and is known for offering fair rewards. Operated by Nielsen, a market research leader, Pinecone Research is not a scam and is a completely legitimate website.

Eligibility: Available in select countries including USA, UK, Canada, Pinecone Research is an invitation-only panel.


Please note that PInecone Research has been targeted by a cashier's check scam. If you receive a large, unexpected check seemingly from Pinecone, DO NOT attempt to cash it!

Pinecone Research Reviews (695)

5 Star Reviews (388) 55.8
55.8
4 Star Reviews (93) 13.4
13.4
3 Star Reviews (52) 7.5
7.5
2 Star Reviews (41) 5.9
5.9
1 Star Reviews (121) 17.4
17.4

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Love this site!

August 24, 2021 by Lisa from United States

I think Pinecone is one of the best sites online. They have done an excellent job of screening so that I have been able to complete every single survey I've been offered. And I've been given the chance to do home tests 2 or 3 times and for products I am really interested in trying. You can take your pay in either cash/Paypal or they've got a good gift catalog and the prices are reasonable. Each survey you complete is worth $3 - more than a lot of sites pay.

There have been some emails that I've gotten for things such as "secret shopper" that CLAIM to be from Pinecone but these are NOT genuine Pinecone and are actually scams that use Pinecone's reputation - don't fall for these.

Update: For some reason, their surveys have gone from 1 every couple of weeks to one every 6 weeks or so. Not sure why and they swear they're sending me every survey I'm eligible for.

The fastest payer of the lot.

July 22, 2021 by James from United Kingdom

I have been with Pinecone for about two years and they are the best. The amount that they say you can earn per survey is pure fiction as it traditionally is with survey companies, but having earned a reward, it drops through the letterbox about a week later. This compares well with the month or more of other survey companies. it is just a shame that membership is usually by invitation only.

Update: Further to writing the above, I have had major issues with a payout. I cashed in a credit for an Amazon voucher. When it came, it was in the form of a contribution to a digital wallet (I haven`t a clue what that is) and in spite of the many different release codes that I have been given, none have worked. Consequently, I have no access to a reward for my work. I repeat, I didn`t ask for it to be deposited in a digital wallet, simply an Amazon voucher. I have had to write it off and down to experience. Avoid Pinecone because they have gone shifty.

Pinecone Research reply logo

Pinecone Research responded to this review on March 25, 2022

Hi James,

Thank you for leaving your review. Please reach out to our customer service team with the order in question and we will attempt to make this right for you!

Best

Pinecone Team
Great site!

May 15, 2021 by Elaine from Canada

The only issue is that they don't often have surveys so it takes a while to get points.

Awesome research company

March 29, 2021 by Michelle from Canada

Love this research company. The surveys are not as many as I'd like but its still a good amount. The customer service is quick with replies and very quick to help in any way.
They also are very fast to issue your reward. They have great options for rewards.
This is definitely a great survey company to sign up with!

Pinecone Research reply logo

Pinecone Research responded to this review on April 23, 2021

Hi Michell,

Thank you for taking the time to leave us some Feedback! While we do wish to provide as many surveys as possible, they are reliant on the needs our clients present to us, which at certain times of the year may be fewer than usually.

We appreciate your membership with us, and hope to continue providing great customer support!

Best Regards
gone

March 27, 2021 by jennifer from United States

We're sorry, but we are unable to retrieve your data to restart your existing membership. Feel free to reapply. We will be posting banner ads on various unspecified web sites, this is so we may better target more specific groups needed to meet the needs of our clients. This is our only way of accepting new panelists at this time. really this just sucks.

"policy regarding lapsed membership and reinstatement. Unfortunately, once an account has been deactivated and inactive for a long time." To this I say - I can't fill out surveys you didn't send me,,,,