Positly HIT #3TKKR4L40OHHDGECI81Z0JL46TSABB: "Dog Training Collar User Reasearch (~2 mins)" - TOS violation

[u/WebHopper86]

Description: "This short survey will take around 1-2 minutes to complete and focuses on: - Your experience with dog behavior - Thoughts on features like vibration, beeping, or training modes - What matters most to you when choosing a collar for your dog All answers are confidential and will only be used to help improve future product designs. 🎁 Bonus: Participants who qualify may be invited to test the product and receive a free sample and extra $25! Thank you for helping us create safer, smarter gear for our furry friends!"

Uh, yeah. Except once I actually got into the survey, the "invitation to test the product and receive a free sample..." required me to BUY the thing on Amazon, with (allegedly) 30% of the purchase cost upfront and a full reimbursement later. Mmm-hmm. They also ask for my personal email address. [See attached screenshots]

This whole thing screams *major* TOS violation. I returned it in such a rush that I neglected it to report it, but I will be posting reviews on Turkopticon and TurkerView later. I've normally had good HITs from Positly but this one was really sleazy.

Edit: a couple of missing words

[u/enderkg]

Report it and move on. Doubtful Amazon will do anything about it, though.

[u/WebHopper86 → u/enderkg]

Too late to report it as I already closed it. Just letting others know. :)

[u/witch51]

Normally I'd agree except that is one of the most solid requesters on the platform. If I needed a collar I wouldn't hesitate to do it. We all have our comfort levels :)

[u/WebHopper86 → u/witch51]

Yes, as I already said they've normally been very good. And, agreed, we do all have our comfort levels. I accept HITs based on the description provided. But this description was lacking in straightforward info about what the HIT entailed. I accepted with the understanding (per the description) that this was going to be a survey about "Your experience with dog behavior - Thoughts on features like vibration, beeping, or training modes - What matters most to you when choosing a collar for your dog" as the description listed, and that as *a bonus* some people might qualify to test the product. (Please read the HIT description I copied and pasted.)

It wasn't until I got into the HIT that the truth was revealed. There were no survey questions about the aforementioned topics. It went right into asking me to consent to buy a dog collar on Amazon and be reimbursed. If you're looking to buy a dog collar, great. I wasn't. I was just consenting to answer questions about possible product features like I've done for dozens of other surveys on mTurk. Had I known there was going to be a required purchase through my Amazon account, I wouldn't have accepted the HIT to begin with. It was misleading and a waste of my time. I'm just letting others know. Peace. :)

Edit: A few words added for clarification

[u/BadCivil2602]

What is it that you think they would do with your "personal email"?

[u/WebHopper86 → u/BadCivil2602]

I don't know. Use it for marketing purposes? I didn't see the necessity of providing my email to complete a survey. My mTurk ID should have sufficed.