Amazon Mechanical Turk Reviews

I'm having trouble sending my survey. An error message keeps popping up. I've reached out to customer service regarding this issue, but I haven't received any response from them.

I am unable to send out my survey. I keep getting an error message. I have contacted customer service about this, but I have never heard back from them.

While a fair chunk of the tasks on Amazon Mechanical Turk are legit, albeit not very lucrative, I've been running into scams on the platform more often lately. I've picked up on certain behaviors from those posting the HITs that let them squeeze a lot of effort out of folks for little to nothing. And if you find yourself in a disagreement with a Requester, don’t expect any help from Amazon. They won’t lift a finger; you’re on your own. So here are some red flags to keep an eye on or steer clear of entirely.

Be super cautious about taking HITs that offer low base pay (typically 25 cents or less) but claim big bonuses for completion. I once tackled a HIT from a Requester named Geneva Resort (also listed as L-PAL). It involved writing an essay and doing a vocab test. All in all, it took me about an hour to an hour and a half. The base pay was just a penny, but I went for it because they promised a bonus of nearly $12. Well, Geneva Resort approved the HIT and sent the penny, but the bonus? Never saw it. I reached out to them several times; they didn’t bother to reply. And as for Amazon support, they say they don’t “mediate any issues between Workers and Requesters.” They do enforce the base pay if a HIT is approved, but they won’t make Requesters keep their word on bonuses. So, I guess I’m just out of luck for all that work I put in.

Another trick Requesters use to dodge payment is giving an unrealistically short time frame to finish the HIT. You gotta complete the work, grab your completion code, and submit it before the time runs out. If a HIT expires, you can’t submit it for payment. There was this one time I accepted a HIT from a Requester named Suan C without checking the time limit. I finished the HIT in one go (10-15 minutes, tops), got my completion code, but when I went back to submit it, the timer had run out. I reached out to Suan C, and just like Geneva Resort, they ghosted me. And once again, Amazon did nothing. So always keep an eye on the clock and skip HITs with ridiculously short completion times.

Lastly, I’ve noticed that many HITs will list the estimated completion time right in the title. That’s handy, as you can compare it to the time given. However, a lot of Requesters tend to lowball that estimate. I’ve lost track of how many times it took me 2-3 times longer to finish a HIT than I thought it would. While the Requesters did give enough time for me to complete the HITs (which means I got paid), I ended up doing way more work than I bargained for given the pay.

In summary, I’d say Amazon Mechanical Turk is a decent way to earn some extra cash, but be ready for the possibility of not getting paid (or getting paid very little) for your efforts. I’d consider this more of a last resort option than anything else.

Not much use for folks just starting out - keep reading. This site pops up in searches like 'How To Make a Fortune Working Online.' First off, it’s a genuine, 'legit' platform owned by Amazon. They dish out small online tasks known as 'Hits.'

I spotted a couple that seemed interesting, and from the 'preview,' it looked like I could handle them, plus they paid decently for some extra cash if you could complete enough.

The catch? I wasn’t 'qualified' to take them on. Qualification mostly means you’ve got to have completed hundreds or even thousands of previous hits.

So, you find yourself in a bit of a bind where you can’t take on any jobs because you lack the 'qualifications,' and you can’t get qualified since you can’t do any jobs. This leaves you stuck doing tasks that allow 'unqualified' entries, which usually translates to - surprise - endless boring and annoying online surveys.

The only other task I could access was hunting down email addresses for people online. That was nearly impossible; it took me half an hour to find one, and the time limit was just 5 minutes. Plus, I got the feeling the end user was just looking to gather email addresses for spam.

Interestingly, there are quite a few posts from business users on the site saying the survey data they received was pretty much useless, as many people are just filling them out with nonsense to qualify for better gigs.

Oh, and they apparently don’t pay you in cash, just in Amazon Gift Tokens. For those in the USA. Unless you’re in India, then it seems like this work is really aimed at a specific audience.

Largely useless for new starters - read on. This is one of those sites that comes up in 'How To Make a Fortune Working Online' type searches. Firstly, it is a real, 'legit' thing and it's owned by Amazon. It parcels out small pieces of online work in units called 'Hits'.
I found a few of these that looked interesting, it looked from the 'preview' that I could have done them and they paid alright for a bit of pocket money if you could do enough of them.
Problem was I was not 'qualified' to do them. Qualification largely means having done hundreds or thousands of previous hits.
So you end up in a chicken/egg situation where you can't do any jobs because you are not 'qualified' and you can't qualify because you can't do any jobs.
This means you're reduced to doing things which have an 'unqualified' entry which usually means - surprise- endless tedious and intrusive online surveys.
The only other piece of work I found was accessible to me was trying to find email addresses for people online. It was largely impossible it took me half an hour to find one and the allotted time was 5 minutes. I also got the impression that the end user was just after collecting email addresses to spam people.
Interestingly, there are a lot of posts here from business users of the site saying the survey information they got back was useless, because clearly a lot of people are stuffing them with any old rubbish just to get qualified for better work.
Oh and also they don't pay you apparently except in Amazon Gift Tokens. For the USA. Unless apparently if you live in India, so no prizes for guessing who this work is really for.

Honestly, this platform has been super helpful for me. I've managed to pull in as much as 8000 a month. But, ya know, that income really depends on how much time you put into it. I even got a Hyperwallet from Amazon m Turk, which makes transferring cash to my Indian bank account a breeze. I've checked out a bunch of other sites to make money online, but none of 'em come close to m Turk. Amazon M Turk is doing a great job!

Personally, this site helps me a lot.
I have earned a maximum of 8000 per month. But this income is based on how much time you spend on this site. Even I also got a Hyperwallet from Amazon m Turk. Which makes an easy direct money transfer to my Indian bank account.
I have tried many platforms to earn money online but there is not a single website on the internet which can compete or near to m Turk.
Amazon M Turk keeps it up.

If you’re in a place where a few cents actually mean something, just skip this program altogether. Once I figured out what it was really about, I never touched mturk again and pretty much forgot it existed. That was until I received an email saying they’d suspend my mturk account because they thought I lied about my location, supposedly checking against my Amazon purchases since I hadn’t logged in again (I didn’t lie, folks, I’m just traveling for the summer - ever heard of that, or is it against your 'rules'?). Since I never completed any 'task' there, I’m not bothered - but it’s pretty offensive, PLUS it feels super scammy if someone actually spent time trying to earn a few bucks. This whole thing isn’t worth anyone’s effort. I’m honestly shocked that Amazon owns it.

Unless you live somewhere where a few cents are worth something, don't even bother joining this program. When I realized what it was about, I never opened mturk again, and pretty much forgot about it. That's until I got an email saying they'd suspend my mturk account as I lied on my location, supposedly on cross check with my amazon purchases since I never logged in again (I did not lie, geniuses, I'm travelling for summer - have you ever heard of people doing that, or is it against your "rules"?). Since I never did any "task" there, I don't care - but I find it offensive, PLUS it's super scammy if someone had spent any time on it gathering a few dollars.
This thing isn't worth anyone's time. I'm surprised Amazon owns it.

I set up a so-called "free" AWS account as instructed. Just a week later, it got compromised, and I ended up with charges exceeding $270. I had to waste more than 8 hours tweaking the settings for a "server/database" that the hackers set up, since AWS insists they can't shut down the account or issue a refund without you reversing everything. Even if you never wanted any of the shady services Amazon pushes. It's been over 3 weeks, and I'm still waiting for my money to be returned. Steer clear of this fraud, and honestly, AWS should just go under. These guys are total crooks!

They'll shut down your account without any warning or reason, even if you've been a member for more than ten years! It doesn't matter if you're a top performer with a clean record. There's no one to reach out to or any way to contest the decision. You won't be able to get into your account, and you'll lose all your hard-earned cash and pending payments. If you're making a dime on that platform, just know they can pull the plug on you anytime.

I used Amazon MTurk to recruit people for an online survey. I ran a little test, aiming for 30 completed surveys. Unfortunately, all the participants turned out to be bots or scammers. I couldn't make use of any of the survey completions. I wouldn't suggest it for academic or market research purposes.

Used Amazon MTurk as a requestor to find respondents for an online survey. I did a small test, looking for 30 survey completes. All of the Workers that took the survey were bots or scammers. I wasn't able to utilize any survey completes. I do not recommend for Academic or Market Research.

Honestly, they're just alright.

they are just okay