In this Maru Springboard America review, I will share detailed information and my personal experience with this online survey panel!
Maru Spring Board America (former Spring Board America) is an online paid survey panel operated by Vision Critical, a well-respected research firm based in North America, with offices globally. Springboard America is a very promising online paid surveys panel that partners with organizations including household brands, government bodies, not-for-profit organizations and their surveys reflect a wide range of research subjects including public opinion, health, technology, consumer goods, media and travel.Join SpringBoard America – USA Panel – Must be at least 14 year old, lives in United States
Survey Rewards
Members Earn Survey Dollars for completing surveys. When you reach $50 in your account, you can redeem your Survey Dollars for Cash via a personal check, have the money transferred to your PayPal account, request a Amazon E-Gift cards, make a donation to a US charitable organization.
Who Can Join Maru SpringBoard America?
- Open to Countries/Regions – United States
- Minimum Age to Join – Must be at least 14 Year old
Maru Springboard America review
Survey Frequency & Quality – I receive a few surveys invitations a month, I wish I get more because their surveys usually are easy and pretty short. Survey topics include politics, social lives, economy, technology, computer and Internet and many things we care about in our everyday lives.
Survey Rewards – The surveys I received usually pay between $1 – $5 (mostly $1 & $2), but I have heard people get paid handsomely for focus groups and product testing that pay $50 – $100. Since their surveys usually easy to do I think the they worth my time. The only issue I (and many other members) have is the high cash out threshold of $50. I have been with them for over a couple years now I have only managed to cash out twice. Since I know they are legitimate so I am patient and stick with them. I remember reading on their website they explain the reason for this is to keep member engaged and active. So I don’t see them lower this threshold any time soon.
How To Get Started
Joining Maru Springboard America is a very simple – you will be asked to complete a short Member Survey (filling out the sign up form), then you will be sent a confirmation email to the address you provided which contain a link to confirm your membership. By joining the panel, you will be entered into their $1000 Sweepstakes.
Once you are a member, you will be invited to surveys by email. Each survey invitation will contain a unique link which you click on, and will state how many Survey Dollars are available if you qualify and complete the survey by the date specified. Survey Dollars earned by completing surveys will be added to your account once the survey is closed.
You can log into the panel portal at any time to check the balance of your survey dollar, update your profile information and change your password etc. The member portal is well designed and easy to browse.
Other Notes & Tips
Response and take their surveys as soon as you receive the invitations, because their surveys quota fills quickly, and by being an active member you will be provided consistent survey opportunities.
Springboard America requires that members take part in at least one survey per quarter (three months).
Also make sure to take their monthly “Mosaic” survey. The Mosaic survey usually take less than 10 minutes and by completing the “Mosaic”survey you will qualify to receive more relevant surveys and earn more Survey Dollars and be entered into our quarterly sweepstakes for $750 in cash prizes.
Conclusions
Despite the high cash out threshold, I think Springboard America is a very good online survey panel. It might take a while to cash out but it’s easy to qualify and their surveys are enjoyable. I definitely recommend SpringBoard America survey panel!
Join Maru SpringBoard America – USA Panel, Must be at least 14 year old
hello question,
I looked on this site springboard and did not see paypal as an option listed as payout it seems from there faqs page and other places on there site. I believe it says you can get paid by bank transfer using some program you need to sign up with I believe or by getting paid by check is this correct? Did they indeed not have paypal as payment option anymore?
Amazon is a good payment option but would prefer cash and don’t feel good providing bank info at least not in the beginning but I think by check might be better in my opinion.
Hi SK,
Yes you can get paid by check or Paypal, or amazon gift cards. As far as I know Paypal is the new option they added not long ago. So their reward payment options are good for me. 🙂 Just wish they can lower the minimum cash out threshold.
March Newsletter: Market Research 101
Why don’t you tell us about a survey’s topic in the survey invite or introduction?
The reason why we do not always tell you the details of a survey topic is that you would be going in with preconceived ideas or impressions that would bias your responses. Research has shown that not knowing what a survey topic is generates more honest and thoughtful answers and targets the specific groups required for the survey results. For example, if we say we are doing a survey about orange juice, then ask “Do you drink orange juice?”, many will select “Yes” (even if they do not drink orange juice) to continue to take the survey.
Based on the information you give us in the Monthly Profilers and Mosaics, we can specifically send you surveys that are most relevant to you. We will often still ask prescreening questions at the beginning of each survey to ensure you are within the required target demographic and may need to ask you to not take the survey based on the responses we’ve received at that time.
Received their January newsletter, here is the part noteworthy:
You may have noticed we have been sending you special Screeners with topics such as household products purchased or the type of beverages you drink. These screeners tend to be more detailed questions that are in particular demand and by completing these you effectively become a member of a smaller community of members that will be receiving more surveys on these topics in particular. Please keep a lookout on your inbox as more will be coming in the near future!
Members are randomly selected for our surveys based on a number of different factors such as age, gender, geography or region of residence to name a few. So, with the added information from the “Mosaics”, “Monthly Profilers” and special Screeners, we can target even more relevant surveys for you, which means you have more opportunities to provide your input and qualify to receive more surveys with Survey Dollars!
New Springboard Rewards option: Amazon Gift cards! Here is the last month’s newsletter:
We are excited to share some news with you! As a member of Springboard America, you now have more options to choose from when you redeem your Survey Dollars. In addition to requesting cash via PayPal or check, or making a charitable donation, you can now redeem your points for Amazon Gift E-cards! We are happy to offer more redemption options that suit your preferences. Thank you for your continued participation!
I took Member Satisfaction Survey for Springboard America today… and let them know that I am not very satisfied with the incentive they offer (I have only been receive $1 surveys lately).
Received the monthly Newsflash (July 2013) today…
Market Research 101
Recently, many of you have been inquiring as to why you were disqualified due to a survey reaching a maximum number of completes before you have had the chance to participate. In this NewsFlash, we would like to address this by providing you more information on the use of Quotas.
Quotas may be put in place within some surveys that require a specific number of responses from certain demographic groups, most commonly region, age, gender, although other variables may be used as well. As the survey collects responses, and if quotas are in place, it will detect when we’ve exceed the responses required from any particular group and will then prevent anyone else within that same group from entering the survey. For example, we may be looking to collect responses across the US with a maximum of 50 Males, aged 65 and up, who live in California.
With quotas we can keep track of this in order to keep from exceeding the total responses and the next 65+ male in California that enters the survey will be given a message that we’ve reached our maximum number of completes. Depending on the study and the number of invitations sent out, sometimes quotas can fill up quite quickly or conversely, may be quite difficult to fill.
Refer-A-Friend to Springboard America
Due to popular demand, we have extended the opportunity for you to invite your friends, family, colleagues, to become a member of Springboard America.
Click here to take part in our Refer-A-Friend Program.
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Do you have friends or family members who you think would be interested in sharing their opinion on Springboard America? This is your opportunity to earn Survey Dollars simply by telling your friends, family, or colleagues about joining.
You will earn two (2) Survey Dollars for every person you refer, who qualifies and confirms their membership to Springboard America through this exclusive invitation.**
Please note: for tracking purposes, you will need to use the link in this invitation to complete our referral form. You may only earn Survey Dollars for people referred through this Refer-A-Friend program. Also, you will only be able to use this invite link once.
Just want to share some of information in their monthly newsletter:
Quick Tips
We recommend you complete 1 survey per month to keep your account active in the community. If not, you do stand the chance of losing your membership and your Survey Dollars.
Market Research 101
We often receive requests from our members for more survey invitations, and yes, we would LOVE to send even more to you but the number of surveys you receive depends on the requirements and type of research we are conducting and how these fit with what we know about you. As we are sure you will understand, we cannot invite every person to every survey. This is for the sake of ensuring that each and every one of our research studies accurately represents the make-up of the American population.
We do this by utilizing sampling techniques that selects our members for surveys according to key demographic requirements such as age, gender & region to name a few and within each of these demographic segments the selection is random as to who is selected for each particular study. We do our best to invite everyone to as many surveys as we can by applying rules to avoid inviting the same members each time but to spread it across the entire Springboard America panel.
In addition to ensuring we pull a representative sample, we also try very hard to pre-screen you for surveys through our Mosaics and Monthly Profilers as we are often looking for very specific sampling targets. This is to avoid having to send out a survey to thousands of people when we’re looking for only a select few. Since sampling draws from the data that you provide in these Mosaics and Monthly Profilers, you will increase your chances of being included in a survey sample if you complete these profiling surveys.
During the monthly Mosaic survey, I got this question and looks like they no longer use Paypal for cash payment (check still available I guess) and instead add Amazon gift cards.
You spoke – we listened!
One of the biggest frustrations we hear from members is how long it takes to receive Survey Dollars via PayPal. In the February/March NewsFlash, we explained why we experience delays in receiving your PayPal deposits (connecting to the banks is a manual process, high volumes of payouts) and mentioned that “we are always working to find ways to streamline these processes, to use technology and research other reward offers as much as we can, so that we can pay you sooner.”
The good news is we are going to stop sending payments via PayPal and start sending you Amazon gift cards. The benefit to you is you will receive your reward within 2 weeks!! Even faster than receiving a check!
If you are not familiar with Amazon, this is what they say about themselves:
With a mission “to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices,” Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished, and used items in categories such as books; movies; music & games; digital downloads; electronics & computers; home & garden; toys; kids & baby; grocery; apparel; shoes & jewelry; health & beauty; sports & outdoor; and tools, auto & industrial.
As usual, you will still have the option to receive your Survey Dollars by check or you can make a donation to a charity of your choice.
On a scale of 0 to 4, where 0 is Happy and 4 is Sad, how do you feel about the move to rewarding you with Amazon gift cards?
Thanks for your comment/feedback Soly!
Received an email from Springboard America about their new Facebook application. Here is from the email:
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Good news! We now have a new Facebook application!
We have successfully integrated Springboard America on to the Facebook platform and are looking for members like you to try out the application.
(Please note this is optional. If you download, you will not affect how your surveys are being sent. Your information still remains private and confidential.)
This app will allow you to answer Springboard America surveys, check your Survey Dollars balance, access portal news and updates, and see what the latest Quick Poll is…without ever having to leave Facebook!
If you’d like to participate, click here.
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I know I won’t download this.
Just a note that the original message I posted in this article was a paid survey news about Springboard America back in 2009, that’s why you see some comments from 2009. Here is part of the original article:
Heard about the Springboard America survey panel lately and joined myself. Haven’t received any surveys yet, but it seems a pretty good paid survey site. The only thing I dislike about them is the $50 minimum payout requirement which seems a little bit high, but overall it might worth joining.
I took me about 10 months to reach the $50
Just joined – am 82 and tried a LOT of these surveys. Hoping it will be a GOOD experience. Agree that $50 is high expectation.
😆 hi everyone
just joined the spring board america panel. waiting for my first survey.
I already did 2 surveys! Both for $1.00! 😀
:cheer:
That’s great Walter!
I am still waiting for my 1st survey from them! 😛
Just joined “Springboard America” and took my first survey.Easy and enjoyable.
I too, think the $50. threshold is a bit high but, let’s see how long it takes to reach it!
So far, so good. 😛
Thanks for the feedback Lee! :cheer:
I joined about 1-2 months ago and have received about 3 surveys (all for $1). I always qualify despite my answers so that’s a good thing (so far). Their surveys are interesting and more political in nature and you really have to think, as some require you to write your opinions. The last survey I took had a follow-up questionairre about how often I wanted to be contacted so hopefully I’ll start getting more.
Thank you so much Charee for letting us know! :cheer: I am going to add SpringBoard America to the US Paid Survey List!
I received my first survey from them at the beginning of this week, it was only for $1, but the survey was very easy to answer.