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May 12, 2008 12:24 pm US/Pacific
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Focus Groups Offer Dollars For Your Thoughts
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ―
When you're called to jury duty, you're paid $15 a day -- but you could earn hundreds a day being a member of a mock jury. Or in your wildest dreams, have you ever thought you could actually get paid to eat chocolate? Well, you can.
"You're getting paid to have fun, and you are sampling chocolates," said taste tester Lindsey Bailey. That's right: you can get paid to sample chocolates and give your opinion. Bailey is part of a research group at
Tragon, a market research company.
"Mad money! It's good money, and it helps a lot," said Bailey.
Participants come in, try products, give their feedback, and after about an hour, get a pay check. One group was tasting energy bars. "It's a nice adjunct to some fun cash and some fun income," said Lisa Weiner.
"If you are doing a quick consumer line test, that might just be $35 to $50 dollars for 20 to 30 minutes of your time. It just depends on the study," said Doug Vort of
Tragon. The longer the study, the bigger the paycheck.
"Who doesn't want some extra money?" said Bailey.
Research groups want opinions on more than just food. "We've studied everything from potato chips to computer chips," said Aaron Nichols of
Nichols Research. Nichols says companies want your opinion for just about everything.
"The different types of things that we use people for might include focus groups, ethnographies, usability testing food taste tests, online research mock juries, car clinics, the list really goes on and on," he said.
Folks are getting paid to play video games, go shopping -- even take a cruise. Research can last between sixty minutes to two hours.
"Depending on the subject, it can pay anywhere from $75 to $400," said Nichols.
One of the highest paid gigs is being part of a mock trial.
"A pretend mock juror is usually here all day and can make anywhere from $200 to $300 or more," said Nichols. "It's a dream come true for a lot of people."
If you'd rather
take surveys online, your opinion and a few clicks can earn you points towards gift cards at major retailers like Macy's and Target.
"You should know that manufacturers of these products really do care about consumer input. Your feedback is really taken into consideration. It matters," said Vort.
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