I tried this not too long ago beginning of 2010. It seemed simple enough and when everything arrived it was easy for the first few times but then the 3 stores (Walmart, ShopRite and Weis ) I shopped the most were no longer giving them their barcode information for prices (according to neilsen). So my 5 minutes to scan everything in when I got home from shopping with a toddler turned into a 20-30 minute ordeal after each shopping trip. It just became so not worth it for me for the prizes they offered in their catalog.
Also when I called to tell them I was done and ask how to ship things back they became nasty. They began sending me threatening emails of collection notices if I didn’t return the equipment immediately. Mind you I sent it back only 1 week after I called them. I called them after 2 weeks with the tracking info so they would stop sending me the emails-also an unpleasant phone call.

This did not work for us either…..a lot of work to record your purchases. For many (most of our shopping) you needed to scan, enter qty and price. Would need to complete many weeks of purchases in order to receive any benefits. I guess this was an example of something that sounded too good to be true :(

I definitely think that Neilsen is not for everyone, but it may depend somewhat on your stage in life and personality type. I have been doing Neilsen for about 6 years now. My kids are teenagers, and I am a numbers person, so it has worked for me. YES, the big Walmart shopping trips are a drag because you have to key in every price, but after a month or so, I had all the prices memorized, and I also would know when there were changes with rollbacks or price matches. (Which was handy info to know when I was shopping other places , too!) But, numbers stick in my head, so it is a system that I like. In the 6 years that I have been doing it, I have earned enough points for an iPod for my son and (almost) a VCR/DVD player and recorder. The bummer thing about the last prize is that right as I was amassing enough points, they redid the gift catalog and it was gone. :( But, I will use those points for something else. PLUS, once I received a $500 American Express giftcard in the mail!! Evidently, I had won one of their monthly drawings! In summary, I really don’t do it for the immediate prizes. I, personally, do not mind scanning everything (although anyone in my family groans if I ask them to scan a bag :)) and I look at it as long-term getting something for work I was doing anyway.

I did it for years an it really wasn’t worth it. Not sure if they changed their points system or not, but I think after 3 or 4 years with a LOT of time spent on my part, I only had enough points to get my daughter a Little Tykes desk. I get a better return doing Swagbucks which requires little to no effort.

To be honest, as much as I love influencing the powers that be, there are almost no rewards for this program (esp. for the work that can go into it) and when I missed 2 weeks for a holiday followed by a family emergency, they were calling to bother me (in addition to sending stuff in the mail and email). I told them it was an emergency that I would start again as soon as possible, and they continued to harass me! Be warned.

that’s a really smart idea by Neilson, has anyone ever tried it? I know some of the larger supermarkets I started to give their customers handheld computers so instead of having to queue at the checkout they can now scan and bag everything as they go around store and then check out with their credit card. No more queuing what I dream