Like other sites we tested, InboxDollars is a survey aggregator. So clicking on a survey opportunity typically redirects you to a third-party site. In most cases, I was led to a typical survey setup: starter questions about my age, gender and ZIP code, followed by either a disqualification or questions on a specific topic. A few survey topics I covered include McDonald’s, insurance and grocery stores.

In a few cases, InboxDollars directed me to “exclusive offers” instead of straightforward surveys. One required me to give my name, address, phone number and birthdate to earn money and enter a sweepstakes for a Target gift card. Another time, I was prompted to give my email address and choose between Coke and Pepsi in exchange for $1 and a sweepstakes entry. I didn’t want to give my contact information to what appeared to be third-party sites, so I clicked out of these promotions.


I cashed out the 30 thats supposed to be processed on October 2nd then starting working on my next 30$ made it to 26 Dollars and they have TOOK my surveys away no warning no explanation just gone contacted customer service through chat he said he does not have access to that info I do know I completed surveys and did not let anyone use my account or my computer or phone If it seemed I HURRIED THREW SURVEYS THEN THATS NOT TRUE EITHER A Lot are repeats or you dont qualify for or they ask A qustion that you have no choice but to answer to move to the next one WETHER IT PRETAINS 2 YOU OR NOT I would like my serveys back or atleast A explsanation on why they were takin away
In a few cases, InboxDollars directed me to “exclusive offers” instead of straightforward surveys. One required me to give my name, address, phone number and birthdate to earn money and enter a sweepstakes for a Target gift card. Another time, I was prompted to give my email address and choose between Coke and Pepsi in exchange for $1 and a sweepstakes entry. I didn’t want to give my contact information to what appeared to be third-party sites, so I clicked out of these promotions.

How it works: Panda Research is a market data company that claims to have paid out over $2 million to date. Users complete surveys, which can take anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes each. The sign-up and survey completion process are both easy and typical, but there are a few things you should be aware of before investing too much time on the platform:

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How it works: There are two ways to earn cash with Survey Savvy. The first is, as the name suggests, by completing surveys (which typically pay between $1 and $3 each). However, you can also make passive income with Savvy Connect, which is a lightweight and unobtrusive mobile app that runs in the background on your computer and/or mobile devices, collecting anonymous data to send back to the company. Savvy Connect users can earn $5 per month per device, just for keeping the app installed.

Better Business Bureau Inboxdollars


I have had Inboxdollars for about 8 years. I started doing it for some extra money to go on vacation, I didn’t make enough to go on vacation, that was unrealistic on my part, but I did make enough money to buy a laptop and I have been cashing out with about $100 each year since. I currently have $127 to cash out. The site is legit, you just have to stick to it if you really want it to work.
I made about $280 over the 1st 4 months after joining. But I quickly learned that the higher the $ for a survey, the less likely you to qualify for it. So I would only do the 25 cent ones and only if I had an additional 25 cent spin. So a 10minute survey would pay 50cents but you are almost 100% assured of qualifying. I too got tired of getting to the end of survey, only to be disqualified for entering the demographic info. I was “watching” videos, because i found that some just looped,so if i was cleaning or cooking, I could turn them on for background noise. I made too much that way, so I was disqualified from watching additional videos. The offers are mostly scams, but not all of them. Again, the higher the payout, the more likelihood of not getting it. I eventually just ran out of ways to make money,and stopped all together. Put inboxpennies is a hilariously accurate description. I ended up making about $2-3 an hour. Another bad thing is that if you do make more than $300 in a calendar year, they want your tax info, and I wasn’t willing to give them that.
After InboxDollars acquired SendEarnings in 2005, a new holding company – CotterWeb Enterprises Inc – has since owned and operated both entities. InboxDollars also acquired DailyRewards, a Canadian company, in 2014. The company has a number of corporate associations with large companies like eBay, Stamps.com, Netflix, Target, H&R Block, Walmart and PCH (Publisher’s Clearing House).
In my opinion, Inbox Dollars is a scam. After registering and wasting hours upon hours to make a few cents I started receiving a swarm of emails, 83 in one day to be exact, from the companies I was questioned about in the surveys. Not to mention an abundance of calls from unknown numbers. What an invasion of privacy! This is not worth the hassle. Be smart and don’t fall for this one!

Disclaimer: NerdWallet strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. This information may be different than what you see when you visit a financial institution, service provider or specific product’s site. All financial products, shopping products and services are presented without warranty. When evaluating offers, please review the financial institution’s Terms and Conditions. Pre-qualified offers are not binding. If you find discrepancies with your credit score or information from your credit report, please contact TransUnion® directly.


No it’s not a scam, although lately it seems their partners may be scamming members. I have been an inboxdollars member since I believe 04. Last year they introduced the tv channel, just another way to earn first it was earn up to $2.00 a day viewing this channel then they capped it at .50 which is fine. It takes awhile, you see the same videos over and over again. The player eats up memory, retaining more than half of my 12gigs sometimes.
IOCS is a not-for-profit research organization that conducts studies and experiments on shopping-related behavior – things like how we, as consumers, evaluate products, how we make the buying decisions, etc. Although the focus is mostly on shopping related behavior, some of their experiments and studies include broader areas of marketing, psychology, and economics. 

Some websites, like eBay will pay you as much as $6 to sign up to their sites and place bids. Another website, Stamps.com, will pay you as much as $10 for signing up for their free trial program.  However, with the latter, if you do not cancel the free trial before expiration, then you will be billed monthly for their programs (in the case of Stamps, its $15.99 per month).
It’s a very well-known scam. You cash the check, then they ask you to either wire some of that money back to them as some sort of fee or buy something for them and send the item to them. So, you deposit the check, then wire some cash to them thinking that the check you just deposited will cover that. A few days later, after you already send them the money, the check will bounce and the money you send to them will come out of your own account. 

Interesting read, thanks for sharing. I suppose that online surveys may generate a few extra dollars on the side for some people, but it does require you to qualify for certain surveys online. In many cases you may not qualify, and will result in having to search for more surveys. This can be time consuming and in most cases not as profitable as may be expected.
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