Why do people use Google Answers?  Now, let me clarify.  I have
learned alot from reading answers to questions here and it is amazing
the pure amount of data, trivial and otherwise, that is out there. 
However, a large of the answers provide are found using basic search
engine queries.  An example is when someone asks a question and the
researcher provides an and answer and their search terms used were
taken directly from the question itself. Now, there are several that
show obvious heavy duty investigation and research by the researchers.
 I do not mean, in any way, to belittle the work done by researchers.
What I am asking is why would someone pay anywhere from two to five to
ten dollars for someone to answer their question when, had they simply
typed their question within Google, or used quotes, they would have
found it on their own at no cost.

Admittedly, I have used GA for a couple of questions that I probably
could have found the information for, but I did it for one of two
reasons: 1) I simply did not have the time and it was worth a small
investment to have someone find the information for me, or 2) I was
just lazy.

So, is it laziness, lack of time, curiosity, lack of search engine
(Google is specific) usage skills or what?  Think about it.  Unless
there has been some marketing that I am unaware of, the only way to
find GA is through a search on Google in the first place.

Yes, I know, this question is a perfect example of what I am talking
about, but I am curious as to what the researchers, haveing seen
1000's of questions, feel the percentage of questions were answered
with basic search engine skills.

I look forward to the responses

tar_heel_v-ga,

First of all, I think you generally answered your own question to some
degree when you site Questioner lack of time, laziness, and lack of
more advanced search skills. But I will add a few things here which
you may consider when pondering why people use Google Answers and
other Q&A pay services.

There are gradations of complexity in the Questions posed to the GA
service. As you point out, many Questions priced $10 and less may
oftentimes be answered by entering the keywords from the question
itself, and visiting a few sites on the page one results, and pasting
excerpts to the Question, citing them properly, and adding a bit of
explanation to put it in context.

[Note: It is this concept which fuels my AnswerBot idea which will
operate by automatically inserting the nouns and verbs from a Question
title into the Google search engine, locating the first paragaraph
from each of the first five links of the page one Google search
results, and copying-and-pasting this information to the Answer box
for that Question--look for my Question WIFS #1B--Technology, coming
soon (also see WIFS# 1A: Human Resources still posted and awating an
Answer)].

To directly answer your question, I'd say that 90% of all $10 and
under Questions can be answered through basic searches. Now, what
percentage of all posted GA Questions are in the $10 and under range,
I do not know (although I'd like to), but I suspect it's around 70%.

For the people asking these $10 and under questions, I'm sure the
reason for not finding the answer themselves has to do with laziness,
lack of time, or just a complete lack of computer/internet savvy. Keep
in mind that the account holder is not necessarily the person asking
the question--they may be doing someone else with no computer skills
whatsoever a favor.

Also, and no one has touched on this yet--I think another reason for
paying people to find answers which are easy to find might be that of
corroboration. If the accuracy of the question is extremely important
to the Asker (and this is especially true of the market research
questions where Askers may be using the information gleaned to seek
funding for business ventures), then even if they already found the
answer themselves, they may be willing to pay money to feel
corroborated (or use as "independently verified data" in a business
meeting) when somone else who is completely objective comes up with
the same answer. This will also apply to questions priced over $10,
now that I think of it, and may be the rationale behind pricing a
seemingly "easy" Question at a fairly high dollar amount. [Also note
that pricing a quesiton higher tends to increase the likelihood it
will be answered in a short period of time].

GA may provide a sense of security to those who think they have the
right answer to a pressing question, but just want someone else to
concur with them.

Consider further that even if you are capable of finding the Answer to
a Question, if you have 2 or 3 or 4 or more Questions you need
answered "yesterday," then you're going to want some assistance.

The following link is to a site which reviews the more popular premium
Q&A services, including GA:

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/product/66665.html

By perusing these reviews, you will get a sense of what it is
customers (i.e. Questioners) are seeking, generally speaking.

To sum up, I'd say the answer to your question is, a combination of
lack of internet/computer skills, lack of time, corroboration and
plain old laziness. (i.e., human nature).

Google search strategy: 

Keywords "google answers reviews" 

://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=google+answers+reviews

Good luck in continuing your inquiries!

~omniscientbeing-ga

Very well answered.  I agree wholeheartedly with your reasoning and
clarifications of the $10 and below questions.  I applied as a
researcher and find myself researching questions and agree that there
are some very detailed questions that would take a much more than a
basic search, even with what I feel are well above average search
engine query skills.

Thanks again and I look forward to seeing your answers on future
questions.

You ask an interesting question. I won't post this response as an
answer because I'm not sure there is an "answer". The reasons vary
from person to person. I think you've already identified the most
common reasons.

What may not be obvious if you haven't tried to do much of this type
of research yourself is that, for many questions, it isn't as simple
as just plugging a couple of words into a search engine and getting
back a list of compliant sites. It takes practice, technique, and,
above all, patience.

For instance, yesterday I answered a question that had me looking at
dozens of sites, then finally coming in through the "back door". The
questioner wanted information about an accident involving a limousine
that hit two policemen "several years ago" in southern New Jersey.
Sounds fairly easy, right? But no Google search I could think of came
up with anything (as a matter of fact, another researcher locked it
and tried before me, and apparently couldn't come up with the answer
in the two hour lock period). While Google has several million sites
indexed, it doesn't have them all.

I finally was able to find the desired information by going into the
archives of the Philadelphia Inquirer (which I found through Google)
which happens to be the largest major newspaper near southern New
Jersey. Not too many people have the experience or time necessary to
complete that kind of search.

I'm a fairly new Google researcher and I still spend a considerable
amount of my time studying answers posted by more experienced
researchers just to learn new search techniques and ways of thinking
about different kinds of questions. I hope one of these days GAR
newbies will look at my stuff for the same reasons.

The point is, if you really want an answer to your question, the best
way to get it may be to try coming up yourself with the kinds of
answers the researchers post each day - I think you'll find it's
harder than it looks for most of the questions. I'm guessing the vast
majority of question askers have already tried and failed to find the
answer for themselves before they decide to pay someone else to do the
looking for them.

Then, of course, there are the questioners who just want someone to do
their homework for them, but that's another matter entirely...

I'd agree with Ericynot's comment. I'd also point out that sometimes
people (including me!) can't find the answer they seek because they
don't have the background information they need to use relevant search
terms.  Similarly, some questions are very hard to answer using normal
searches if you don't already know the answer.  For example, the link
below is to a question I recently answered.  Searching on the obvious
search terms would be unlikely to yield the answer, and the resulting
term isn't even listed in any dictionary I know of.  I could find
plenty of definitions on the Web, but only AFTER I already knew the
answer.
https://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=68421

Also, there are some sources of information (such as newspaper
archives, mentioned by Ericynot) that aren't available on search
engines. And sometimes you have to go to specialty sites, as I did in
the question below, to get information that's too recent to be
included in search engines.
https://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=72396

That question is also an example of one that you won't find find the
complete answer to anywhere. It requires some background knowledge
(not a lot in this case, but some) in order to apply the information
available.

Dear Tar Heel,

I believe that many questions posted here, including your $2.00
question, are not necessarily easy to answer.  I often find the more
expensive ones easier to answer than the cheapest ones.  That has a
lot to do with my knowledge base, which may be different from the
askers’.  Conversely, many askers may be able to answer questions I
have about the world, which I would be willing to pay a given sum of
money, and a larger one depending on my increased wealth, urgency,
lack of time, or a moment’s laziness.

My answer is that that this is the place where diverse knowledge bases
are aggregated to respond to diverse aggregated demand for answers. 
In other words, people use this service because as a whole, we all
know different things, we all have different needs, and we all value
those things/needs differently.

Claudietta