National Consumer Panel: Accepting New Members!

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I posted about the National Consumer Panel previously and wanted to let you know that they’re once again accepting new members! The National Consumer Panel focuses on measuring consumer attitudes and behavior. As a panel member, they will provide you with a hand-held scanner. Every time you or members of your household shop, you’ll use the scanner to scan the barcodes on all of your purchases. Then, once a week, you’ll send them your purchase information. As a reward for doing so, you’ll earn gift points that are redeemable for name-brand merchandise, including electronics equipment, jewelry, household items, toys, and more!

Many readers have emailed me to let me know that their kiddos love to participate in the scanning process. It’s a great way to teach your kids about budgeting while making them feel very important! Make it a family activity and get everyone involved!

Check out this post here to see how one reader snagged $30 in cash as a National Consumer Panel member!

If you’re interested in becoming part of the Consumer Panel, you’ll want to go on over here and sign up. Please be aware that not all areas need Panel Members at this time. So you may or may not get accepted. Let us know!

Join The Discussion

Comments 44

  1. Elizabeth

    Nothing available in my area 🙁

  2. SenoraE

    Hummmm… it said no scanners available in my area, but to sign up at a DIFFERENT website to be put on the waiting list? Anyone else have that message? When I click on it it’s the login page, not another sign up.

  3. Lisa

    nothing available in my area either!

  4. Sarah

    For ten minutes a day on average I would like more reward than a set of bowls twice a year. I’m sending my scanner back.

    • KIM

      I’m wondering if there are different awards for different locations or if its all based on what your purchasing?

      • Amanda Stone

        It is based on how long you have been a member. I personally love this program.

  5. Collin (Mrs. Hip)

    It told me I was already registered, or some crap like that.

    • Karrie

      I got the same thing both times I have tried to sign up no one in my family is signed up for this I sent an email to them back on June 30th with no response and just resent that email with an update asking them why they never got back with me, if I don’t get a response this time even when and if I ever can join this panel I probably wont now because it seems they don’t have the best customer service, I was thinking about calling the 800 number but I don’t know if I’ll get anywhere with that either

  6. KIM

    I signed up for this program the last time you posted information about it and on Wednesday the scanner showed up in the mail. I’ll see how it all works and if its worth it. Thanks for the post!!

  7. Georgia

    I have been a panelist for about 8 months now as a result of one of Collin’s posts. I did have to be put on the waiting list at first. I was on the waiting list for a few months when I got the good news. I have to admit that it is a lot of work, but just a few month’s into my panel membership I won $1000 from NCP. They do weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual drawings for panelist who transmit data weekly. I would have to say that 10 minutes a day worth of work is well worth it! Not only did I receive my $1000 check, but I continue to receive free gifts on my anniversary and earn points to spend in their fabulous gift catalog. I LOVE IT!!!!!

    • Tammi

      That’s terrific! I’ve never won any of the sweepstakes, but my last prize I redeemd for was an iPod Nano, so I’m still pretty happy. 🙂

  8. Courtney

    How is it that no landline is needed???

    They’ve got me going down the street to borrow my neighbor’s landline. grrrrr

    Lots of time involved, very little reward.

    Do not expect to EVER get an answer to an email, and if you call, don’t expect them to be able to answer your question. And if you use ATTUverse, don’t even waste your time; your submissions can’t be read/used.

    • Donna

      Yes, you don’t need a landline. I do mine from my computer. They have different scanners for different ways of scanning.

      • Tammi

        I don’t use a landline either. Mine is connected to my computer with a USB cable.

  9. Courtney

    1000 BUCKS!!!!!!!

    I’ve been scanning for years, and all I’ve gotten was a blanket and magnet. grrrrrrr

  10. Cammie

    I just got mine last week (after applying after the last post too) and even though I have a 1 month old and a 2 year old helping me, it’s not too hard to do. So far it’s actually motivated me to get my groceries put away faster because I get everything scanned as soon as I get home, before the toddler whisks things away and things get mixed up. It does look like the points add up slowly, but it doesn’t take a whole lot of effort (I spend a lot more time clipping coupons each week)! Thanks for posting this!

    • Tammi

      One good thing, the longer you are a member, the more points you will get each week. They start to accumulate much faster then!

  11. Tallymomma

    I just got my scanner and have been debating if it is worth my time for the “prizes” available. So far I have seen mixed reviews but a little more negative than positive so still considering sending it back.

    • Elizabeth

      Same here. I’m expecting our 3rd child in February and am just now getting my energy back, but I’m not too sure it’s worth my while to spend my “me” time on this.

  12. Kayla

    no scanner in my area either 🙁

  13. Nicole

    I got my scanner, then realized how much work it would be. I have three little ones and use over 50 coupons every time I shop. It would be time consuming for me to keep track of all the coupons used, and enter them in the scanner. I sent it back before i even used it.
    Good luck to those with the patience to use one!

  14. Amber

    i just got my scanner. it does seem like a lot of work and not a lot of prizes worth the effort. i was fine with scanning barcodes of purchases… but i have to type all the prices in and it’s a lot of work to figure out which price went with each item BEFORE i can even put any of it away. I’m going to give it a chance, but not sure whether i’ll keep it or not.

    • Tammi

      Try using your store receipt as a guide. We have an island in our kitchen, so I line up all the products, bar codes sticking out. (My kids like to do this for me, which is a bonus!) Then I scan the items in the order they appear on the receipt. My grocery store also lists the coupons in that same order, so I can just look down that list to add the coupon amounts.

  15. Corrine C.

    My scanner is going back today. After reading through all the materials and determining how many points I’ll get the first year if I do everything they ask me to do, I wont have enough points for a dozen golf balls. I would think this information would be more valuable to NCP. My time is more valuable to me.

  16. Hailey Z.

    Not available near my area! 🙁

  17. Lisa Flenoury

    Hi:

    I got accepted!!!!! Received my scanner last week, I’m excited!!!!!!!A!

  18. Lori

    Said i was put on a waiting list, as soon as position is open they would send me one. Wait and see

  19. Tammi

    In addition to the points for scanning, there are also many bonus points available for online surveys. These take only a few minutes and really add on the number of points you receive for the scanning alone. I would recommend doing as many of them as you can!

  20. Jill

    Did this for a couple of years, so not worth the time and effort it takes to scan everything! And we didn’t get much in the way of prize compensation, either.

  21. Jessica

    I had the chance to do this…I am a stay at home mom. So i have time to take advatage of extra income and be part of this community but……This took so long! There was a code or every single thing you bought. If i kept the bills to scan at the end of week the produce would be off or even daily it still took 45 mins to enter in what ever items didnt have a bar code. It was not worth the “reward”..just want to let u know about my experience..

  22. Deb

    WARNING!!! Just so you know up front, if you use an air card for internet service, you cannot participate in this panel. They don’t have the tech for it. Of course, they neglected to tell us until after we’d spent HOURS scanning our deals. Yes, if you do Qing like most of us, it will take quite a while to record all your frequent purchases. They expect you to record every single purchase-everyone in the family.
    Try keeping up with that one LOL!

  23. Claire

    no scanner for us

  24. Christina L

    I signed up when I saw your last post and was selected! I’ve had mine for 3 weeks and it’s been great! It only takes a few minutes to scan the items I’ve purchased and when I shop locally ALL the prices are already inputted into the system! It’s fun to do and the best of all, I can choose gifts. The only complaint I have is that they don’t like it when I go shopping and actually pay less than the amount I purchased, it makes me redo the coupons!

  25. Sarah H

    I signed up a few months ago, got my scanner a few weeks ago, and started scanning. And i’d cry every time I had to scan everything, put in the prices, before I put the groceries away, with regular coupon shopping at 3 different stores, so at least 4 trips a week. The day I decided to send it back I went on a marathon trip to 3 stores and did a jig that I didn’t have to scan all of it! I did the math and figured it would take literally years to get a small prize. My time is worth more than 10 cents an hour! BUT I figure it was worth a try, just didn’t work for my life. I’d rather just do more online surveys, or, frankly, spend 10 more minutes a day reading 🙂

  26. Nicole

    I was accepted, but after having to enter in the price on EVERY item I bought and answer questions about if I used coupons in EACH item as well I got very annoyed and the process took too long so I sent it all back.

  27. danielle

    This is so not worth it!! I signed up and was immediately accepted. I received all of my supplies within a month. But once receiving the supplies, I learn not only do you scan the store you purchased it from, the price you paid, how much your coupon was, etc etc…. and all for very little in prizes in comparison to your time put out. Some of the biggest prizes: an Xbox, a small sized flat screen TV, a GPS…. and that would be after approximatey a year of submissions. I was never told of sweepstakes or ways to earn cash. Oh, and the equipment they send is still owned by them, so if it is not returned or damaged, you are responsible for the cost. Returning was super easy though, with prepaid postage included in the original box it came in.

  28. Donna

    I’ve had my scanner since June and for the first month was a little slow at doing it and getting the hang of it until they kept calling me and emailing me to see if I transmitted. Although it was a hassle that my scans weren’t going through because of what kind of phone line I had, I still kept with it and ended up getting a different type of scanner. Customer service was very helpful and nice. I shop at 3-4 different stores and I have 3 kids ages 6-1. It’s really not as bad as it sounds. Have I really looked at the prizes to see if it’s worth it? No not really. I’m a stay at home mom so it takes me only 5-10 mins to transmit. So I figure, why not? It’s not going to hurt anything. If you see it as a waste of time, then it just is but if you look at it in a positive way, it could be something more. I guess patience is a virtue…

    • Tammi

      Well said. 🙂

      I hope that you will enjoy using it as much as I have. At first I earned a lot of prizes that I would then give to my kids as Christmas or birthday gifts, but now that they have outgrown a lot of the things in the kids’ catalog, I’m actually earning some things for myself! That’s nice too.

  29. Bre J

    I signed up after Collin’s last post too. I have already got my scanner and scanned in two shopping trips. Not too bad… but I agree on the amount of time it took to enter every price and coupon, which was alot. I live in a small town and the only mainstream place we have to shop is a “super” walmart. Where did those of you shop where it already put the prices in/ what state do you live in? Im assuming that is what makes the difference. I used a highlighter and just marked thru the things as i scanned them in, took about 30 minutes, but I think it would be worth it IF I ever won one of the side bonuses (like the cash, vaca or the car!) I only go shopping once a week or every other week, so Im finding myself only scanning my purchases once or twice a week at the most. And you only have to upload them once a week, right?

  30. LadyE

    I just received my scanner earlier this week, however, my router does not have an extra ethernet connection. I was debating on whether it would be worth it to go out and buy another one. After reading these posts, I have decided it is not. I am sending mine back asap. So glad I saw this first!

  31. Collin (Mrs. Hip)

    I signed up after Collin’s last posting and was shocked with all involved. After all my shopping trips my 11 year old helped me input. However due to having DSL we couldn’t input with our phone. I called the company and they were very nice. We needed to send it back and get one that would download info from our computer. I don’t think we’re going to continue with this. It would take too long to get the prizes, with too much of my time taken. Teaching at home I do not have that time to spare.

  32. Paola

    I just got my scanner in the mail but I told them I didn’t have a phone line, and they don’t give you any information of how to transmit wireless, is it possible??? the scanner seems pretty old technology, I need to call them tomorrow and find out, anyone knows anything about it??

  33. winniewms

    I just received my scanner, and I’m going to send it back. Scanning the bar codes of each item I purchased didn’t sound so bad. But there’s a lot more involved in that. Each shopping trip must be entered separately, with store name, who shopped, how I paid, total I paid. But more difficult is what must be done for each item I scan. For each item scanned, I need to put in how many I purchased, I might be asked to input the price. I then need to answer whether I used any deals (store deal, manufacturers coupons, and store coupons). Then I need to put in the total value of the deals and coupons I used. Because I almost always shop with store deals combined with stacked coupons when I can it will take me much longer than just scanning the bar codes of each item, working with the receipt and adding up coupons. When you look at the rewards, many are sweepstakes, and it isn’t until you’ve been with them for more than a year or two that you really can earn many points to get anything significant. I don’t think the ratio of work to payoff is right for me.

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