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.
You don't get any money until you've saved up to $30 in credit. I don't qualify for most surveys I try to do. Lottery scratch points tease $10, $25, or even the chance to win $100, but all I've ever won is a few cents. I wonder if it even is possible to win any dollar amount or if that's just a lie. At most I earn several cents a day. Definitely not worth the time.
Why do you earn just $0.25 to $0.75 for completing a survey rather than $5.00 or more? And why does Inbox Dollars require certain people, based on their lifestyle and certain answers to questions to qualify for surveys? Also why are Inbox Dollars members required to earn $30.00 before they can make a payment, rather than make a payment after first opening an account?
In addition to earning real cash and helping brands with critical marketing information such as consumers’ preferences, you can also earn so-called “spins”. You can use these to play the Billy the mascot’s Spin and Win game which will earn you additional money, survey tokens and sweepstakes. Consequently, you will bank even more cash after completing a survey.
InboxDollars is one of the worst programs. Unlike others, they have a very short “6-months of inactivity and we’ll close your account and keep your money” term. Plus, you earn next to nothing. I too stopped getting paid emails and tried to unsuccessfully qualify for surveys. As such, I mostly did the big-ticket things, like signing up for money back on donations to charities. I accrued $98 and log in monthly to avoid the “inactivity” thing. But, guess what? They just closed my account for not completing anything in six months. They don’t even hold up their own definition of “activity”. So, user beware–withdraw when you can, even though UNLIKE the other programs, they charge a 3% fee on what you’ve earned. Sketchy, sketchy, sketchy.
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).