Hi James:
Here’s what they don’t tell you! This scanner sound likes a great deal
until you find out what they expect you to do. Set up of the scanner
takes a while but the tricky part is what they expect you to scan and
then what amount of points you receive for it. They want you to scan
EVERY possible item you buy or get in the mail. This includes food,
clothing, freebies, samples, coupons and the list goes on and on. You
only get 150 points weekly for transmitting your information plus
occasional surveys points but the gift? items start out at the level
of 8000 points. A whole lot of work for very little gain and the rewards
are not that great. The scanner doesn’t always hold a charge which means
you have to re-enter all the information again! I guess this works for
people who really want their freebies but be warned this program is a
LOT of work for little gain. Otherwise I enjoy your freebie listing,
have got so many I lost count. Keep up the good work!
Bruce -
This is in reference to Homescan Consumer Panel.
So what ar your thoughts?
Related Articles
62 users responded in this post
Yeah me, I use to do “Shopper’s Hotline” scanner thing, works about the same way. You build up your points and usually get a gift card twice a year usually about 50 dollars each. We did it for about 4 years, even won a Bose wave radio/cd player. But their custermer service dept went down hill on me!
i have been doing it for about 4 years. When i statred, I looked at the rewards, and decided to get a slow cooker, since i didn’t have one. ut my hubby, who is always looking for gift ideas, bought me one for Christmas that year. I have yet to redeem by points…there is not really anything that I want/need. I wish they had gift cards to resturants, at least I would use them. It is a lot of work. i guess i keep doing it so i don’t lose the points I already have. They monthly, quarterly, 6 month and yearly drawings…but if you forget to transmit one time you are out of the drawings.
I just started this so that a friend who referred me would get points. It’s been quite a challenge to find time for this program in my schedule. I almost just packed it up and sent it back when I read the setup directions (pages of it!). I’m going to do it for a few more weeks to see if it gets easier. If not, out the door it goes.
Totally agree its a pain in the butt, you forget and then have to scan everything you put away. lol. I too was shocked at the rewards they have to offer. 8000 pts for a pen???? Give me a break. I’m ready to pack it in once I get 8000 I’m real close so it will take another month and then I’m sending it back. If they want us to take all the time and trouble the least they could do is make it worth while. Kim
I have been doing this for over 4 years I have got some great prizes, I don’t know why everyone is bitching! You get free stuff for scanning your groceries! It’s not hard! You people really need a life!
No personal attacks please.
People have opinions and don’t need to be told to get a life.
I have been amember for a couple of years and the longer you are in it the more they increase the point amout you get each week you scan. I dont find it any trouble to do in fact it is kind of fun.I for one am very happy with this program and wish I had started it sooner! The gifts get better with the higher points and since you can save your points for as long as you like I look foward to getting some good gift later on!!
I’ve been a member of Homescan for about 3 years and I think it’s great. Sometimes I don’t have time to scan, but I do it later. I’ve gotten some pretty nice things so far. I think it’s worth the time.
Okay the homescan does ask you to scan everything. But that is up to you just scan what you want evry week and you still get the same points. And the points add up very quickly. I have used them for a $20 desktop fountain, a microwave and a couple other items, plus they send you freebies alot of times just got a tote bag for the wife for free.:-) Now as for shoppers hotline yeah not as good but again you determine what you want to scan each week for your points.:-)
We’ve done the Homescan for several years now. We keep on learning as time goes on. We only have to load it through our computer when they have updates, no big deal. The hardest part is remembering to send it. Have not cashed in points yet but do agree that it takes ALOT of points to get things, still…..think it is worth the trouble & gives us a voice in what people buy. You also get points for the surveys that they send. Keep on scanning everyone so we can let the companies know what we want out there.
I tried doing this a couple years ago and after just 1 trip to the grocery store and seeing how time comsuming this system was, I called them & asked to return it. It definitely is NOT worth my time. I have been involved with many other places that reward you with gift cards or cash, & it doesn’t take that long to get them. I would suggest trying other places if you are interested in getting something of real value for a much smaller amount of time involved.
ive been doing this for three years and its not that bad! its time consumimg if you have a lot of groceries but its well worth it. i have over a hundred thousand points and im fixing to cash them in for christmas presents. its well worth it to scan your groceries and let the points build up.you scan when you want and what you want.
I didnt have any problems installing their program,nor do i have problems with the scanner, i just leave mine in the charger when iam not using it. the points are low,so maybe we should complain to homescan and maybe they can change that. i have only been with them for about 5 months now,remembering to scan items from the store is my biggest problem,
We’ve been using the Homescan Scanner for about a year now. I don’t recall any problem setting up the scanner and we leave it in the charger all the time we aren’t using it so we haven’t had any problems with it.
That said, we did find that it is easier to take the scanner with us to the grocery store. Sometimes we will scan as we put the items in the cart, and other times we will double scan…we use the self service area and scan with both scanners at the same time. We find this is easier and faster than scanning at home and trying to find the prices on the receipt.
I’ve been doing the Homescan for about 3 weeks (this is my third), & I have just over 2000 points! They’ve sent 3 surveys worth a total of 650 points, in addition to the weekly points. I keep the scanner in the kitchen, so when I get home with the groceries, I can just grab it & go.
When I first got the kit & saw that I’d only get about 9500 points for a year of transmitting, I was kinda disapointed, but if I keep getting surveys like I have been, it shouldn’t take more than a couple years to get up to the good prizes (& since I only spend 5-10 min scanning 2x/week, it’s not a bad deal), + the occasional freebie (I’ve already got 1 coming). It’s kinda like having a part-time job, but you only work for 20-30 minutes/week!
We tried this over a year or so ago – it did not work out – to much involved – especially if we forgot to scan before putting away the groceries. I did not have issues with scanning or transmitting – but the point/prize ratio was terrible – I was happy to send the unit back and be rid of it.
I just got mine in the mail yesterday. After looking at the gifts, I do agree that the points required are high. But I am a SAHM with ALOT of time on my hands (LOL) so I think it will be an enjoyable experience nonetheless. Besides, what a better way to get gifts for other people without spending a dime?
I have done the scanning for a very long time, when I lived in N.Y. I did it there , it does take along time to get things but before you know it you have your points and your ordering, to me it was alot of fun,I can no longer do it because I have a digital phone and a vista computer so the phone jack fit`s neither. I sure enjoyed it and I`m sorry I can`t do it now.
Surveys in general are a waste of time. But time is something that I have, never feel that you are going to get rich from doing this, however there are some nice prizes if you just hang in there. Heres a tip, I send my scanner on Monday that way if I forget I can do it Tues, Wed, Thurs. You get the picture, then Monday I send again. That way you never miss the drawings.
I was excited to try it and very disappointed with all the work it took and with not very good rewards. I used it for a couple weeks, had trouble almost every time, and then packed it up and mailed it back. Thankfully there was a return label on the box so it was free to return. This thing just didn’t work for me, but I’ve heard of many people who do it and enjoy it. I’ll stick to my quick freebies and sweeps, thankyou http://jfsdaily.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/4.gif
I agree that it is a lot of trouble. I did it for awhile and then guit. I found that stopping to scan the groceries when I am trying to put them away, (frozen stuff, Ice cream, Meat, etc) was a large chore. Maybe if I shopped more often and for less stuff at a time it would be easier. I don’t know. I just know it wasn’t worth the bother to me.
I started with them about 2 months ago and I love it!! I didnt have to do anything to set the scanner up except plug it in! I keep the USB cord attached to my computer and the scanner on the charger all the time! My kids love it. They help me when we come home. I only scan the things I remember to scan. I usually shop 2 times a week and scan that. Sometimes Ill remember to scan the small trips. How do they know if you arent scanning EVERY single trip or item for that matter. OR dont scan everything and just put the total in and they will know that you purchased more because the total is higher than the prce of the few items that you have scanned. I also have gotten over 1000 points since joining two months ago and thats NOT including the sign on bonus!
This is for some people and not others, just like taking online surveys and doing other things. Its to each their own! I like people to know my opinion because I am a VERY opinionated person! So anyways thats my rave for the day!! HA
I have only been with them just over 6 months, at that point my weekky pionts went for 150 an weeek to 300 a week, I do ALL the surveys, they really don’t take up much of my time. I have well over 20,000 points right now, and will hold on to them until I know what gift I want. I am NOT finding any problems with the program. I have INVITED 3 friends to join and 2 have done so,and I got points for that. I feel the points add up rather quick, so I am sticking to the program. I am buying these items anyways, it not like you have to shop for items they want you too, so why not take a few minutes of my time to get points to get gifts, Christmas is right around the corner. I might just get a gift or two FREE
I did this for over a year, and in my thoughts it is a total waste of time,and the points do not add up for all the time you spend scanning items, it became a real problem so I quit doing it. I contacted customer service several times about how to return the scanner, and never received a response but yet I got a letter from a laywer last week saying they were sueing me because I never returned the scanner.A complete waste of my time
The scanner works for some people and not for others. Its just like other survey companies. I ended up sending mine back, not because of dissatisfaction but just lack of time. I always seemed to forget to scan or some other family member put the groceries away. And yes the points were a bit high but it’s okay if you want to use your time for it. I also received a letter that they were going to sue me if I did not return it because I didn’t use it often enough, so I sent it back right away a little dissapointed with their customer service methods. Oh well, there are so many great survey companies and I have received so many nice gifts and products to try. (All those companies have been on JFS James) Keep em coming. Thanks
Not worth it! I sent mine back already. They should tell you point values and prize up front. Had I known what I needed to do, I never would’ve signed up! BTW, melpet, the problem is, I have too much of a life, and not enough time!
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH BRUCE, I AM IN THE PROCESS OF PACKING IT UP, AND SENDING IT BACK.
I use to do the homescan, but my son went into the hospital for a few weeks and they called me on my cell 22 times sometimes more than once a day and threatened to sue me if I didn’t return their scanner to them since I broke my contract. I even told them my son was in the hospital and they had the nerve to tell me that I could get my husband to do the scanning while I was at the hospital. Needless to say when my son finally got out of the hospital I was sending it back when I got a letter telling me I was being sued for $660 for the scanner. I sent it back and they still have not cleared up the lawsuit. It’s soooooo not worth it.
I did it for about 3 years. I see the importance of it but their program kept messing up on my computer. Also, it takes forever to get enough points for some cheap little gift. One of the gifts I got didn’t even work, but by the time I used it, e-mailed them on how to return it and got a response from them, the 30 days had gone by and they wouldn’t do anything about it. It’s just not worth it to me.
I could just copy and paste all the negatives people have replied with, and it would explain my experience with this program.
I signed up for Homescan, and was really excited when I got it. I started reading about it and became concerned. I wondered what kind of information were they able to get from the scan. So, I called the company and they told me that they would see the info. for how I paid for the items. They could get my credit card numbers, bank account numbers, ect. They assured me that it wasn’t a concern though, because they would never use any info. they received except the products. I decided that it was just too much of a risk. One bad employee could take everything. I would rather be safe than sorry.
I agree with Bruce and the others. I enjoyed it at first, but then it got to be a real pain. Not worth the time for the amount of points you get. It takes too long to get enough points for something worthwhile. After getting the points I needed, which took forever, I packed it up and sent it back. Also told them the reason why.
We did it for a while, but it was more trouble than it was worth. Half the stuff that we get did not “fit it” with their options (we buy a lot from Marc’s “closeouts” aisle) and we had to manually enter a lot of stuff, which took even more time. The batteries went dead a few times, they never do tell you that you have to clean the scanner tip every time you use it or the ink builds up, the scanner does not always work and you have to keep scanning the same item a lot before it will register (I wore a hole in the barcode on several of their pages trying to enter fresh produce), the unit did not work with our cordless phone to transmit data each week, so I had to drag up the corded phone to transmit, and even that was “iffy” a few times. Never did get enough points to redeem, but they did send out some nice gifts on a fairly regular (I believer quarterly) basis just for participating. We finally got frustrated and sent the scanner back. It can be a good thing if you are more patient than we are. We were doing the Nielson one.
I sent the scanner back the minute I read the instructions & realized they wanted me to scan Every can of soup, bag of noodles, everything. Sheesh.
Personally I didnt like it.. ohh and by the way.. if you say u dont like it, and you are gonna send it back, do it fast .. otherwise like me, if you dont scan nothing in 2 weeks they try to bill you for the scan lol..
I’ve been doing this for several years and I don’t always scan everything I buy. I scan my major grocery purchases and my scanner works great! I keep it on the charger when not in use and I have never had it cut out on me. My points seem to accumulate pretty fast and I only have to do it once a week.
I whole haertly agree with Bruce; I had this a whik=le back and discontunued it becauese of the reasons he gave. Not worh the effert to do this one at all.
I had a similar experience like Nikki. I received my home scanner and when I attempted to transmit my test, it wouldn’t work. Called tech support, not much help. Tried again and it locked my computer up completely. (A new dell) Contacted them back and said forget it. When I didn’t get it shipped back right away, I got a letter from an attorney. So not worth it for me.
Been with Nielson for quite awhile and have never encountered a problem with them. Customer service has always been great. Have had a computer problems and they have always given me the points for the weeks my computer’s been down. They don’t collect any private information except that which you give them when you sign up (i.e, credit card numbers, social security number and the like). In regards to not being able to transmit, they have a protocal for that also. I’ve been able to redeem my points for so many great gifts, the minimal trouble it takes to scan my items as I put them away is worth it. Granted, when you start out the points seem small, but they increase the longer you’ve been with them. And, you get bonus points for your birthday, anniversary date you joined, and they increase for each year you’ve been with them. As for Shopper’s Voice, I tried them and from the first I had problems. In fact, I never heard from them! I sent the scanner back a full year after receiving it and never being able to use it! So, Nielson, if you want to put the effort into it, can be worth it. That’s my opinion and I never give it.
I’ve been doing this for awhile and the only problem I had was it wouldn’t trasmit for me. I called support and they got me through it- other than that it’s been ok. I keep the scanner in the kitchen and scan things as I put them away. I don’t even think about it now, just do it. I figure if it takes awhile for points to build up it’s ok, I’m not really going out of my way to get the points and will use them for something at some point in time.l
I felt the same way and ended up sending my back when they started sending me notices that they would make me pay for it if I didn’t. It was to much work for my life for little gain. Plus I wondered what do they use that information for. I heard bad things but oh well.
Yes, they would like you to scan everything but what I do is just scan my
weekly shopping trip for groceries. Once in a while I scan something else.
Of course they would like you to scan everything but I only get points for
sending the info once a week so I see no need to scan more than once. The
points you get for sending a scan once a week go up based on how long you
have been a member. The breakdown is as follows:
0 – 6 months 150 points
7 – 12 months 200
1 – 2 years 225
2 years 235
3 years 245
4 years 255
5 years 280
6 years + 325
They also offer you quite a few surveys a month (some are triggered by what
you scan) which earn you more points. For example, in August I earned 1640
points. Only 940 of those were from my weekly scan. In September I have
earned 2,655 points (1,000 for my 3 years anniversary) so far.
You also get bonus points monthly for sending a scan every week, for your
yearly
anniversary, and for your birthday. I have been a member for just over 3
years and have accumulated 92, 025 points in that time. I have had a couple
of times where I had to set up my scanner on a new computer or had a error
on the scaner and their customer service people are great. They walked me
thru it and had me up and running in no time.
The scanner can be off of its base for several weeks before the battery runs
out and if you keep the base by your computer or in the kitchen where you do
most of your scanning, you should almost never have a problem with that.
Sure, this requires a little work on your part each week but once you get
the hang of scanning and entering the info, it only takes a few minutes more
per week to put away the groceries while scanning. The gifts are very nice
also and they add some new ones each year. I am getting hoping to get either
the Bushnell Voyager Sky Tour Reflector Telescope (143,000 points) or the
Magellan RoadMate 1200 GPS (158,000 points) in the next year or two.
Obviously there are many more gifts that I could have already redeemed my
points for over the 3 years but I have had those two items on my radar since
I began. I think that it will be worth the wait! Hope this helps.http://jfsdaily.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_lol.gif
I also agree with Bruce about this program. I was glad to return the scanner and I didn’t have any problem doing that. It’s easier to make some extra bucks with surveys or mystery shopping. I really like being part of the Mail Decoy program – get paid just for posting the special mail each day. Check with Hausernet to see if there is an opening in your zip code. Besides a lot of catalogs, etc I get Time, Sports Illustrated, People and Entertainment Weekly each week.
Hey,
I used to be part of the homescan panel. The barcodes on the produce and meat dont always work and the points are not that great. Plus, if you lose your phone you cant send in scans as the unit has to communicate over your phone line. I got lucky to get a tool kit (cheap) and a panini press.
I don’t see the problem here.
You already have the item in your hand when you take it out of the bag. It takes all of one second to scan it, and about 10 seconds to send the scan to them when you’re done. If an item won’t scan, they ask you to enter the bar code manually, but you *can* just skip it.
The Walmart in our area is not in their scan system. I’m not willing to manually type in 40 or so items, so I simply don’t do it. They can’t fuss at me for something they know nothing about.
I’ve spoken to their customer care reps a few times, and found them to be both knowledgeable and courteous.
This program takes far less effort than surveys do. Personally, I do both.
I agree that it takes time to build up points for their gifts, howevere, FREE is FREE.
I’ve been with them for about 3 years. I’ve already cashed in once, and I’m already back up to 26,000 points already, and I would have a lot more if I did all their once weekly surveys. Those are not mandatory.
The only thing that ever took me any appreciable amount of time was setting up the scanner when I received it. It took me all of about 20 minutes to set it up.
P.S. They have NO access to our credit card or bank account numbers.
They never even SEE our receipts.
hey there!
i’ve been a member of homescan for not quite a year now and i love it. he didn’t mention that the point value increases the longer you’re a member, you get “anniversary” points, and the surveys are short and sweet. for the little time i’ve spent, i’ve accumulated over 30,000 points. it doesn’t take all that long to scan items and if your scanner doesn’t work, let them know! they’ll replace it. i’ve already spent 30 minutes on a survey and gotten paid a whole dollar for it. homescan is a very good deal!
I happen to enjoy Homescan. It’s not that much of a hassle to scan your purchases. You get points and trade them in for great stuff. I’m working towards the Quisinart. I enjoy the surveys too. If you don’t mind scanning things then you should do it.
i do want to thank them for all the stuff, and the chance to win 20,000.00 dollars or a new car, a shopping spree, or other prizes.
take care..thanks James!!
Just wondering if anyone is worried about privacy and such. I’d be worried about having my info stolen/sold (who I am and what I buy etc).
I’ve been a member of Homescan for over 3 years now. I really enjoy it and it’s not that much work. i just scan the minimum and transmit it weekly. I’ve redeemed points for some great stuff. A Thermos Brand personal thermos Retail $26.,Hot air popper $25.00, George Foreman grill $20.00 Deluxe Heating Pad $26.00 and i recieve items to try out like body wash, food etc. I have my son help me scan and we get some great items i would probably not buy on my own.
I guess to each his own but i’m satisfied with HomeScan
When I got the scanner about a year ago, I read the paperwork while it was charging and knew I’d made a mistake. For all the effort, I could go buy whatever they offered for ‘points’ and it would be of better quality!
As it turned out, the scanner wouldn’t work! The emails I sent to their customer service explaining the problem and asking for help were ignored, but what I did get was daily emails reminding me that I still hadn’t transmitted any data . . . Further adding that there were numerous people waiting to be part of their selective program – which I had the “honor” to be part of, and that if I wasn’t going to participate I needed to return the scanner immediately OR face legal action.
So much for that wasted effort, but all for the best! My time is worth much more than what they offer, especially in consideration of the money they collect from clients based on the data their members provide for next to nothing!
I have been a member of Homescan for several years now and love it. I too had a few problems at first, but if you read the instructions very carefully you can usually figure them out. I have now got over 100,000 points and have gotten a few prizes for gifts. Free gifts just to scan a UPC code-wow-tough job.
I tried it for awhile but didn’t like it! We buy the bulk of our groceries for the month all at once so it was a bit of ordeal to scan as we were putting away. Not only that, what about the food that doesn’t have a bar code… they were seeing when we bought potato chips or ice cream but what about all the produce or meat from the butcher? I had problems transmitting most of the time and hearing a fax tone that close to my ear was a bit painful. What bothered me the most though was I was locked out of my account because I asked them to send me my password more than once which meant I couldn’t do those surveys for extra points. I’m sure I could have gotten it fixed but by that time I was done. Oh and I also got the letter everyone else is talking about after not sending in a report for 2 weeks in a row.
Homescan is great if it works. Mine was delivered and left at a neighboring house (UPS is not supposed to do that!). After a month I recevied a letter stating that I had not used it. I emailed them to say I never received it. We tracked it down to one of the neighbors. The day after I got the “non-use” letter I get the Welcome package. Then the next week I get a collection letter. I did not even open it. It went back to them. I will stick with My Points. Easier and better rewards. Besides, what does Homescan really do with that information? Scary!
melpet, that was rude. lol… not all of us are housewives who sit on our asses all day with all the free time in the world. such a tragedy there are people like you.
I homescanned for a long time, and having worked for A C Niellsen before doing in person store scans, here are some tips that will help you scan more accurately and have your scanner ready to transmit easily.
Take your scanner to the store with you, along with the UPC sheet for stuff like meat, bakery, fresh veggies and fruits. Have the store you are shopping in entered into the scanner. Scan each item as you put it in your cart. Checkout as usual and put the total for your purchases into the scanner when you return to your vehicle. This way by the time you get home, just unload your stuff you bought and put it away.
Living in the country and designating certain days where all errands are done, having that scanner with me in the store saved a whole lot of unnecessary double work. And none of the employees of the store ever even saw me doing this.
As for what does AC Neillsen do with all that info? They sell it back to manufacturers who have a contract with ACN, so the companies and manufacturers actually have a good idea of what types of things people buy on a consistent basis….and NO…they do NOT sell your individual information to anyone…ever.
Hope this hint help and assures those who worry about their private info being sold.
Leave A Reply
Please Note: Comment moderation maybe active so there is no need to resubmit your comments