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.
My InboxDollars experience started on a high note. After receiving the signup bonus, I earned another 50 cents for completing a short profile survey. I also appreciated that I could see a list of surveys available to me, along with the exact dollar (or cent) amount they’re worth. Most sites we tested use points, and determining a survey’s monetary value can be a hassle. This list also included the estimated time required for each of the surveys and, for some, the topic.
I think the people that are saying good things about it are being PAID to say good things about it. INBOX DOLLARS is a SCAM. EVERYONE needs to REPORT them to the Better Business Bureau and Sue their ASSES. I bet if ENOUGH people got together and did that they'd get PAID and INBOX DOLLARS would get SHUT DOWN like they need to be so they can't SCAM people anymore.
InboxDollars doesn't care to keep you as a customer because they realize most people once they reach the minimum $30 payout won't continue, because the amount of time required to earn pitiful tiny sums isn't worth it, so revoke your earnings as you reach the threshold is an intentional part of their dishonest business model. They offer no explanation and no flexibility and no reasonable business practices.
In addition to the free offers, there are “paid” offers, too. i.e. Buy a bouquet of flowers through an online florist, get $7.00 back in your InboxDollars account. Lots of similar cash back offers for subscription box services and eCommerce sites. If it’s something you were already interested in, it’s not bad. Otherwise, no point in spending (read: losing) money in order to make money.
Some users have also complained how after playing hours and hours of games on sites like Winster, their accounts were not credited, and upon contacting InboxDollars' customer support, were told that “it is not the company’s responsibility to determine playing time but the responsibility of their partners.” Some users have decried how after being inactive at InboxDollars for a few weeks or a month, their accounts were suspended and they were no longer able to receive paid emails.
Now, don’t get me wrong. There are people who do make a few thousand dollars or more a year with paid surveys. But that’s not the norm. If you do want to increase your earnings substantially, your best bet is to also join focus groups (we have a big list of ’em. Just do a quick search on Google for “moneypantry.com focus groups”). They pay much more between $50 to $400 or more per focus group secession.
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).
Now, don’t get me wrong. There are people who do make a few thousand dollars or more a year with paid surveys. But that’s not the norm. If you do want to increase your earnings substantially, your best bet is to also join focus groups (we have a big list of ’em. Just do a quick search on Google for “moneypantry.com focus groups”). They pay much more between $50 to $400 or more per focus group secession.
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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:
I’ve been a member of inboxpounds (UK version)for almost two years now and only managed to earn som £90 in four payments, most of it from paid offers like bingo and other rubbish. I have to admit their surveys sucks, not only being potentially low paid, but also due to extremely low possibility of qualifying to get paid. And than you have to double check what you do, I just got one completed a couple of weeks back, spend some 40mins on it as it was promised to pay £2.00, got qualified and than I only got paid £0.20 a couple of days later. Also they don’t seem to pay for radio loyalty captchas any more.
IPoll provides surveys via their site and mobile applications, and this has made it easy for most iPoll members. In case you are waiting for someone in a parking lot or you are in a waiting line in a bank, or when getting groceries, you can utilize this time to complete some surveys using your mobile phone and make money. iPoll offers its subscribers $5 upon signing up. Once you join, you can take surveys and get paid via PayPal.
The platform also provides trait surveys which allow you to earn $0-03-$0-10. These trait surveys can increase your earnings slowly including your trait score. When you have a trait score, you will be able to get a maximum number of surveys in a month. So, strive to achieve a 9000 trait score and you will become one of the top 10 percent members who earn more per answer. What’s more, you can refer your friends and relatives and still get generous rewards to boost your income. All cash-out payments made by the company are made through Paypal or their partner virtual incentives, without any exceptions.
I had to submit the tax info as well, but this is true for any legitimate business. They sent me a 1099 at the end of the year and I gave it to my accountant along with my other tax documents. The fact they pay on the books is good, it shows that they obey tax regulations. If you make money you need to be prepared to pay the taxes, of course expenses towards making that money are deductible. I am disqualified a lot, often for days, thus I mainly do surveys while watching TV etc…They should pay more and let u know sooner if u do not qualify, I wholeheartedly agree. In 3 years one a $25 sweepstakes once (Target Card) and am aware that their wheel is a virtual wheel which means some combinations much more likely than others)Have hit the $5 twice and the $1 about 4-5 times. There help desk has some good people and some who do not care. The only reason I stay with it is that little money is better than no money..
nbox dollars is a scam. They will pull you in by offering $5 to begin and another $7 for completing some other tasks. It all goes downhill from there. I quickly realized that filling out countless surveys. I really gave them a try, I tried and tried and tried. Finally I snapped and said “No More!” What happens is that once you start a survey and it could be 15-20 minutes of filling questions, they will reject you based on answering a question as “no”. So you could answer “yes, yes, yes” for multiple questions and after 20 minutes of tedious (and yes, boooring!) questioning you are rejected from survey by punching one lousy “No”. Then they offer “sweeps” which is a raffle ticket that will never win you anything, pathetic! So, after seeing what a sham I got myself into I just decided to get my $30 by strictly opening the “paid mail” and using “paid search”. I had opened the account with them 1.5 years ago and finally was able to collect my $30 (actually $27, they even take $3 for “processing fee” – a final slap in the face) after countless hours of filling surveys and opening stupid paid mail. They pay 2 cents per one paid e-mail so yes it will take a while. I will be closing my account with inbox dollars now that I recovered a small fraction of what my time is actually worth, and I recommend staying clear from them and finding another way of making $$$.
Hi, I live in South Africa and have made quite a few US dollars from various sites over the past few months. For me, Toluna is definitely the best, and they offer nearly daily surveys. You don’t always qualify, but when you do the survey reward is quite substantial. I have never had problems from them and at regular intervals receive money in my PayPal account. However, I cannot say the same of Panel Station. Even though I have sent various requests asking why I have not been paid they do not even have the courtesy, so far, to answer any of my mail – whether they were submitted on the site or sent via e-mail to their “South African” address. I must say that I am very disappointed with them, as they are recommended by quite a few other sites, as well as your own.
Not a “scam” in the sense of the word, but really not a way to earn any type of money. If you can find the companies that do the surveys and do them on your own with out sites like this you will make a substantially bigger amount of money. The “scam” is they take 90% (if not more, to be honest probably 99%) of the survey payout for themselves. Its the same for the “offers”, they will take the majority of the offer from the company, and give you a small percentage, And if that was not enough, they also take a percentage of your payout. This should be illegal as it is criminal to do this to people.
this company stole my credits or rather disappeared them when they deleted my account in January saying I was not active for 6 months when I was currently active in doing offers. Customer service is a joke they speak broken English for 1 and 2 they have no access to any information for your account or the company. those same people are the ones who would talk to the better business bureau when you complained that they will not give you the credits that they owe you.
How it works: Vindale is one of the oldest, most well-known, and most highly-rated survey companies around (boasting an “A” rating from the BBB and a great Trustpilot score of 8.1). The only thing that keeps this site from ranking higher on my list is the minimum cashout amount, which is $50. It can take a good amount of time and dedication to hit that mark. Still, the company provides high-quality surveys with good payouts, which makes Vindale a great choice for users who plan on filling out surveys regularly but less attractive for those who are thinking about just dabbling.
Hi, I'm Zina! I'm a personal finance expert with a passion for helping millennials figure out their most pressing financial issues. My interest is personal -- I paid off my student loans in three years and have been helping others take control of their finances ever since. My work has been featured in the Washington Post, Fox Business, Time, Quicken Loans, LendingTree, Forbes, Money.com, Mint, and many more. I currently live in Indianapolis, IN with my husband and two dogs.
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