Become a Home Consumer Tester and Get Free Productsby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 04 Jun 2009 07:44 AM One way to stretch your budget on the household items that you use is to become a consumer tester. You'll get free products and usually a small payment besides. When my oldest child was our only baby, I did some consumer testing for a couple of companies. Basically, I would receive unmarked products in the mail, test them out and then fill out a survey with my observations and comments. After the survey was submitted, I would receive a small check in the mail for my time. Plus I got to keep the products that I tested and put them to good use. This was a great opportunity for a non-working stay at home mom. The testing could be incorporated into our normal routine. Plus, it was fun to try new things and feel as though I had a real say into what products would be coming on to the market. During the time as a home consumer tester, I tested all sorts of products, such as tuna, baby wash, cooking spices, deodorant, diapers, laundry dryer sheets, bras and more. Often, I wouldn't know the brand name of the products. Most of the time the surveys wanted to know which scent of something I preferred or whether or not laundry detergent made my clothes soft. While there were some products that I liked more than others, there were never any duds or awful products. If you are looking to become a home consumer tester, check the Internet and forums for opportunities. Make sure that you do your research and ask people if they have ever done testing for a particular company. The companies will pay you, and you should never have to give money or personal information outside of your address and maybe phone number, so you can be contacted with products and opportunities. Companies may ask for certain information to see if you fit into their demographic. For instance, they may want to know if you have children and the ages of the children. You can read more articles by Mary Ann Romans when you click here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right. Favorite Deal Websites: Related Articles: 12 Ways Staying Home Saves Money Overmyminutes.com: Keep Track of Your Cell Phone Usage Simple Attempts at Money Stewardship Money Saving Steps to Take When You Are Laid Off Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments StBridgit (322) 04 Jun 2009 05:59 PMThis is a great way to subsidize eating out, too. We shop for two different mystery shopping companies, and we get free meals at nice restaurants and free delivery pizzas. As with your consumer surveys, you should never be asked for money to sign up. You will usually be reimbursed for a set amount per meal, but they are prompt at sending the reimbursements, and it usually includes extra money for completing their surveys.  Mary Ann Romans (26886) 05 Jun 2009 10:03 AMThat is great. Can you recommend any particular companies? StBridgit (322) 05 Jun 2009 11:58 AMYes, we shop for the National Shopping Service and for Mystery Guest, Inc. NSS does all sorts of companies, but the one we do the most is a national pizza chain. Mystery Guest has more of a choice of mid-range chain restaurants. The best tip I have for doing this is to be sure that you follow the rules explicitly for the shopping, have a good memory, and review the survey & rules before going to do the assignment. Discuss this article
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