This is a guest post by Jessy Troy. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.
For many of us shopping is a bit of an addiction. With so many sales and chances to get new products online, it can become more like a mania. Of course, this means we suffer the empty checking account or high credit card bills in silence, promising ourselves that next month we will stick to budget. But what if you could shop and also make a little bit of that cash back? Yes, I am talking about making money while you shop, and without any of those mystery shopper scams.
This isn’t some kind of far off dream, and it has been proven to work again and again. This is because developers in the retail world have put increasing focus on better ways to shop online, as ecommerce becomes a regular part of the average consumer’s life. An entire industry has been created around making money as a shopping incentive to stimulate the web-based economy, and you can take advantage of that fact. Try these three tips to get you going.
Earn by Reviewing
Do you like reviewing products, or maybe just trying new products to see how they work for your own purposes? There are some sites out there that will actually pay you to write up a review about what you were already using anyway. These are not writing-specific, so don’t worry if you aren’t a world class author. They want opinions from real consumers trying real products right now.
Sadly, you have to be careful when finding these websites, as some are scams. But one good one to try is Epinions, which is a popular site approved by consumer protection agencies. They work by promoting certain products with your reviews, based on your opinions. Then, when sales are made, they distribute a percentage of that into a payment pool, which is paid out to the people who made reviews. Once you have $10 (within the U.S only) you can request to be paid. For those outside of the U.S, the amount is $100.
Sell Your Gift Cards for Cash
It has happened to all of us: you are at yet another ridiculous white elephant daytime office party and you are handed an envelope. Without even opening it you know that it will be a gift card, and almost certainly to a place you never shop at or visit. Most of those cards sit at the bottom of a drawer and are never used. But what if you could sell it to get a bit of extra cash?
There are some sites that will sell your gift card for a percentage of the price, usually between 60% and 90%. Gift Card Granny is a great example of a site that buy and sell gift cards. Ebay is another great option, as they have gift card sections where you can get up to the full price for it. Some sites also offer a way to trade yours in for a store you actually like.
Answer Questions, Get Paid
Product answering sites are becoming all the rage. The idea is a wonderfully simple one. You sign up, answer questions about products and if your answer is selected as the best you will be paid for it. Once it adds up to a certain amount you will be able to request a payout, which will be sent to an online payment third party, like PayPal.
There aren’t the many legitimate sites that work this way. So far, the best I have found is IMShopping. The only downside to this site is the amount that has to acquire before you are paid is higher than some sites, but still lower than others like Inbox Dollars. You also have to wait if you go over $40 until the next pay cycle.
Bonus!
Still want more? Try a paid survey site, such as MySurvey, or Inbox Dollars.
This is a guest post by Jessy Troy, whose online passion is collecting DIY gadgets.
