If you’ve ever been curious about being a product tester, perhaps you’ve come across American Consumer Panels in your Internet travels. If not, you’re in the right place to learn more about how to get started with being a product tester. In this American Consumer Panels review, I’ll discuss how this works and if this particular company is worth joining.

What is American Consumer Panels?

American Consumer Panels is a consulting company that offers product testing and development. The company is headquartered in New York. They are listed on the BBB (Better Business Bureau) website but they are not accredited. They have an A- rating at the time of this review. According to my research, there is no information on who owns this company, who started the company or when. They work with well-known companies such as Dyson, Tefal, Sony, Kenwood, FisherPrice, Paco Rabanne, Ray-Ban, HTC, Nespresso, BaByliss, and Apple.

Verified Member of FTC Guardian

They claim to be a “verified” member of FTC Guardian. But what does that actually mean? American Consumer Panels claims that because they are a member of FTC Guardian, they comply with the Federal Trade Commission regarding truth in advertising. But FTC Guardian doesn’t make such a claim because that is not their function. Their main function is to provide online training so companies can comply with FTC regulations and GDPR compliance. The customized legal documents they provide help to keep websites protected from legal issues and intellectual property issues. If you click on the link at the bottom of the homepage, you’ll get a pop-up screen that simply verifies that American Consumer Panels is in good standing as a member of FTC Guardian. It does not claim that they are in compliance with any FTC rules or regulations.

How Does American Consumer Panels Work?

As a product tester, you will test all kinds of products that may include items such as iPads, baby products, kitchen appliances, computer games such as X-boxes and Playstations, TVs, and more. To get started, you will need to complete a comprehensive questionnaire. This is to tailor products to your particular consumer lifestyle and demographics. Once you sign up, a representative contact you. Depending on where you are located, they may also pay a home visit to you. After that, you will be sent products.

How Do You Make Money With American Consumer Panels?

The way the product testing is supposed to work is that you are sent a product to test. The product will also include instructions. You may also be required to take pictures as you test the product as well as audio recordings and sometimes videos. You will also need to complete a product journal and write a review on the product.

Pros and Cons of American Consumer Panels

Pros:

  • Variety of Products to Test There are many different product types to test so you won’t be bored. Keep in mind that the products you are asked to test are based on your demographics and your consumer profile. You’ll receive products that are most suitable for you to test.
  • No Experience Necessary You don’t need any experience for this job which is great for people who may be out of the workforce for a while or perhaps have never worked outside the home.
  • Keep The Products You won’t have to buy any products. In most cases, product testers get to keep the products they test.
  • Great Pay American Consumer Panels claims to pay product testers between $25 and $45 per hour. In-home testers are paid after each assignment. You can either expect a check in the mail or be paid through direct deposit.

Cons:

  • Only Available to U.S. residents Product testing jobs are only available to U.S. residents. American Consumer Panels do not ship products outside the U.S.
  • Only Part-Time Positions While the pay may seem great, there are only part-time positions here. There’s also no guarantee as to how many products you will test in any given period.
  • But Where Are All The Products? One thing you should be aware of here is that there are many claims that once you sign up, you are redirected to sign up to survey sites instead that have nothing to do with product testing. If you’ve ever signed up for a survey site before, you know that you make peanuts.
  • Are They Still In Business? According to the BBB, mail was sent to both addresses in New York in July 2019 and it was returned. There’s an address and a phone number listed, but the BBB site lists them as:  “believed to be out of business.” American Consumer Panels Review
  • Here’s The Rub In my research, I found that there are many claims from people who signed up to American Consumer Panels and were redirected to sign up to survey sites instead. So here’s the rub. American Consumer Panels receive a referral commission every time someone signs up to a survey site through them!

American Consumer Panels Review - The Rub

American Consumer Panels Review
The other thing you need to be aware of is that in-home product testing is not very frequent. So while they claim to “guarantee” 15-20 hours per week, that may assume that you are completing market research surveys–not product testing. This is stated on their FAQ page.

Is American Consumer Panels A Scam?

I think you can see for yourself that this is a questionable “opportunity.” If this company exists, it’s very possible that you will basically end up doing online market research surveys instead of product testing. Survey sites, in general, don’t pay very well. Here’s a few reasons you should think twice about this company:

BBB Returned Mail

The biggest red flag is from the BBB website which clearly states that they believe the company is out of business.

No Owner Information

There is no information on who started this company or who currently owns it.

Outdated Information

A lot of the information on the website is outdated. For instance, the Privacy Policy is dated January 1, 2016.

No Dates on Images

There are plenty of pictures of testers posing with the products they’ve tested but there are no dates on these pictures.

Limited Website

There’s no telling how old these pictures are. In fact, the website only has four pages.

Final Thoughts

Lots of people are looking for a way to make money online. The challenge is finding an opportunity that is legitimate–not a scam. In this case, there are simply too many red flags for this to be a decent way to make money online. There are many legitimate ways to earn money from home, but they can be hard to find. Here’s my #1 recommendation on building an online business. Sign up for free and you’ll get free training, free hosting and a ton of great support! You won’t have to worry if this opportunity is a scam or not because there are now over 2 million members!
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18 Comments

  1. Reading this review on American Consumer Panels reminds me of all of the companies that is operating today with no knowledge of the owners, and hardly or no support. This poses a red flag for me, and I personally believe is only a matter of time before this company get shot down.

    I know of good survey sites that offer a few dollars online, but I think that my time is better spent on more long-term and valueable programs that I can work towards building a full time income. I took a look at your number one recommendation, If I get started with this company, how long do you think I can start to earn an Income? And what that income would look like?
    Thank you for your review and I am looking forward to your response.

    Cheers!

  2. Unfortunately I didn’t came across American Consumer Panels before, it is my first time. They are so good in misleading people. They are put a great offer out there and they are claiming that they are a member of FTC Guardian, they comply with the Federal Trade Commission regarding truth in advertising.

    people who signed up to American Consumer Panels and were redirected to sign up to survey sites instead. They are receive a referral commission every time someone signs up to a survey site through them, but not disclosing that affiliate earnings. This also is a BIG RED flag that we must stay away from this company “There’s an address and a phone number listed, but the BBB site lists them as:  “believed to be out of business.”” 

    Thanks for the very informative and helpful review 

  3. Thanks alot posting such an amazing review about American Consumer Panels and making clear review on the benefit attached. This is the most valuable online business I have seen and I will love to be a member as well. I really dont see this as a scam because I glanced through properly to know what I’m getting into. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful article to everyone interested. 

  4. There are so many of these Hype Promotion sites that promote one thing and then give you another product that requires buying an “upgraded” feature to get what is originally promised.  I occasionally do a survey here or there with e-rewards but only if the amount is high for 20 or 30 minutes of answering questions while I am watching soccer :)  Some of these companies just skirt the FTC rules by having some truth to the offering.  Testing products sounds like fun if they actually did it, though the amount of people applying would probably limit the supply anyway.  Great info for us out there in ethernet! 

  5. Thanks for sharing all of this background and information on American Consumer Panels. There are a lot of paid product testing / money making opportunities out there and it can be overwhelming to try to evaluate each of them. To me, this does seem like something to avoid since there seems to be no one in charge and mail is being returned to sender. I appreciate the candor of the article and review. Often when things sound too good to be true, this is exactly the case.

  6. Wow! Great info here, thank you! It’s so frustrating to not know what you’re getting into online. It definitely sounds like there is something sketchy about this business since they BBB mail was returned. Yikes! Fortunately there are so many other, legit ways to make money online – Wealthy Affiliate is a great one to look into. Thanks for posting!

  7. This is a very interesting way of testing products. Do you know how it is determined if product testing is available in certain geographical areas?  I need not know that they may require home visits, so this might not work for some. If they are out of business, is their website still up and taking new applications?

  8. I have to be honest, I do not like having any associations whatsoever with any company that cannot be upfront with their claims. Even though the offers appear to be legitimate, they are clearly misleading people and earning from referrals. Also, the idea that the company operates through an anonymous owner is a good indication that it should be completely avoided. Thanks for sharing 

  9. Thanks a lot for such an amazing review about American Consumer Panels and explanation is given.

    I want to do an online business, I read in several articles about American Consumer Panels, but this is the best I have read. I will definitely try this method of making money and I hope to make an income.

    Thanks again and I wish you all the best!

  10. ConsumerPanels? Never heard of it, to be honest, sound interesting anyway. Can you give more info on how it works and sign up for it? I think that this is not legit thou. I mean, how does a company trust people to test and keep their product as a secret? A company like Apple always keep their new product private. It’s not clear how this thing works… 

  11. If not an outright scam, I would have to give these guys an A+ in the bait and switch technique.  We all know how horribly the survey sites pay.  I have a difficult time imagining a company paying people to try out products at home and paying them that kind of money AND allowing them to keep the products being able to stay in business.  A great way for the company to earn passive income from just sending people to survey sites, however…  Not so good for the people!