Do Not Take this "Simple Survey" to Win a Hawaiian Vacation

I was surfing the net in Hawaiian waters looking for another good Hawaii Sweepstakes contest. It is getting harder and harder to find current and legitimate Hawaii contests for our weekly Hawaii Sweepstakes Sunday feature post.

This time I clicked on a paid google listing for www.consumerexpressions.com It said enter to win a Hawaiian vacation or take $3500 cash instead. Consumer Expressions motto is, "Simple Surveys, Rich Rewards."

You can enter the 2008 $3,500 Extravaganza Sweepstakes from now till June 30, 2008, but I would not recommend it. I actually participated in their online survey so I could let you, my dear reader, know exactly what to expect. First you have to provide your name and contact info. (I suggest you use a free email account when entering contests, just in case you receive an increase in spam.) Since I already live in Hawaii and don't need to win a free trip here, I put down all bogus information--which I am now glad that I did. Next you have to check off that you read the following statement:

Yes, I understand that this is a market research based survey and will to the best of my ability answer questions honestly. I further understand that I am under no obligation to accept any offers that might be presented to me based on my responses, and that I need only to complete the survey to receive my entry into the sweepstakes.

Next you click off items in multi categories such as household interests, lifestyle changes, a few other general questions about yourself, buying habits, items you own or are planning to purchase soon, and if you are interested in other offers--many, many offers.

It was actually not what I consider a simple survey because it was lengthy and every time you answered yes to a question, the survey would get longer with more questions. After a while I clicked the No, No thank you, or none of the above check boxes. It took about 10-15 minutes to fill out, but if you were doing it for real it would probably take a lot longer. After completing the survey, I tried getting back to the original home page and it would not let me! It kept refreshing to another offer home page and I spent half an hour trying to get back to the original landing page so I could provide the exact link.

Red flag. Offers that disappear after you filled out lots of personal information is not a good sign. Usually I only post Hawaii Sweepstakes contests that only require a bare minimum of contact information.

I don't think I will ever participate in a marketing survey again.
ConsumerExpressions.com expects too much time and information from you with little chance of a rich reward.

Check out our EASY to enter Hawaiian Sweepstakes listings.

Comments

[Evelyn]

One has got to appreciate that extra scrutiny. I appreciate you going the extra mile, HVG! Honestly! :)

[HawaiiVacationGifts]

Thanks Evelyn! At first I thought people would be disappointed if I didn't post a real Hawaii sweepstakes find, but it took me so long to research, and I thought people should know what kind of contests to stay away from.

[Pua]

Sheryl, you know what I am wondering the most after I read your post and what you went through with this 'simple survey' that this thing was Google 'approved'.

Google which asks us specifically in their webmaster tools to report any spam! Maybe this is where you should go and report this site. Just an idea, Pua

[HawaiiVacationGifts]

Pua, Thanks for sharing, I never thought about that!