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

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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 (387) 55.7
55.7
4 Star Reviews (94) 13.5
13.5
3 Star Reviews (51) 7.3
7.3
2 Star Reviews (41) 5.9
5.9
1 Star Reviews (122) 17.6
17.6

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Reliable

September 20, 2013 by Ashley from United States

PineCone Research doesn't send as many survey offers as other sites, but each survey completed is worth a designated number of points with a cash value. Surveys are interesting and easy to complete, and occasionally come with the opportunity to sample a product.

Reliable and honest

September 19, 2013 by Heather from United States

PineCone Research doesn't send many surveys , but when they do , these are easy, quick to complete and you'll be rewarded three dollars . It's common for them to send you products to test, they pay on time and paypal is available.

Solid Company

September 16, 2013 by Seth from United States

I've been with PineCone for several years and have found them to be a solid and honest company. Some of their surveys could be long but, they do not waste your time. After taking a survey they send out the reward promptly. Even though they recently went to a points system, you can still get the reward in cash (via PayPal) which takes an extra step to claim, but it is pretty quick once you find the link. They are also very responsive if you have a question about a survey or their site.

Best Site!

September 13, 2013 by Kylee from United States

This is the first panel I ever joined, and the best panel, by far. They don't send out constant survey invites (usually about one per month or so.) They also occasionally send out invitations to sample products at home. However, they pay $3 for every survey. They have somewhat changed their pay-out system, so they offer rewards differently, but you still earn about $3 per survey, and can easily cash it out through PayPal, etc. or choose a reward if you prefer.

This one is a mystery to me.

September 10, 2013 by Dave from United States

I signed up for literally 1 week only so let me make that clear. Did 1 survey. Finding how to convert their points to cash is IMPOSSIBLE for a newcomer, unless you do immense google research. I assure you the option is there in your account tab, hidden but there, but it took me forever to find.

I got 1 survey invite over the 7 days, but I said forget it and left this site. Given their invite frequency for surveys, and the opaque setup on how to redeem/convert points to cash, i dont get why this one is rated #2.

I give it 2.5 stars because it is very legit, run by Nielsen I believe, and did invite me for a survey and appears to be very honest. Plus you get like $2-$3 per survey I believe.

However, the design, setup, rarity of survey invites (1-2 per week maybe), and the annoying layout of the site and navigation for anyone not familiar, well, it was wrong for me.

Let me also say their catalog is filled with overpriced JUNK. Seriously, like your talking $20 for maybe a $5 valued trinket. Or $50 for a $10 shirt. That also weighed heavily on my rating. Basically, your only option is cash unless you want to get a $10 shirt for $50 in points after 3 months of surveys.