Looking for a way to make a little extra cash each week? InboxDollars could be just the ticket. It’s a legit way to earn a bit of extra money by doing simple tasks online, like visiting survey sites or shopping with retail partners. But don’t get it twisted, it’s not a ticket to instant wealth. Think of it more like a handy online side gig that can also help you find discounts on stuff you’d buy anyway.
So, what’s InboxDollars all about? It started in 2000, offering small cash payments to members who opened and read sponsored emails from partner companies. If the partner companies allowed it, users could earn extra cash, anywhere from 10 cents to 25 dollars, for doing something the email asked, like clicking a link or signing up for a trial offer. This was a big hit, attracting loads of retail partners and email recipients, and it’s still going strong today.
But that’s not all. InboxDollars has added a bunch of other ways to earn, like exclusive discounts and cash-back offers from retail partners, electronic coupons, free and discounted online games, paid online surveys, and payments for watching advertorial videos. Once you request your first payment, you get a Gold Membership, which gives you perks like faster payment and better incentives for certain activities.
InboxDollars is now part of the Prodege family of brands, which runs some of the most popular paid survey and market research sites in North America. It’s similar to other legit side hustle sites and apps, like Qmee, Zoombucks, and Swagbucks, which also offer rewards and cash payments for doing simple tasks online. It’s free to join and use, and you even get a $5 sign-up bonus when you activate your account.
But don’t expect to get rich quick with InboxDollars. Most users only make a few dollars per month, and even the most dedicated users won’t make a fortune. According to a testimonial from an employee on the company’s blog, you can earn anywhere from $15 to $55 per month if you log in several times per week and complete the activities available to you at the time.
Signing up for InboxDollars is easy. You just need to provide some basic contact and location info, and create a username and password. You don’t need a bank account or PayPal info because InboxDollars pays by mailed check or Visa Prepaid card. As soon as you create your account, you get a $5 bonus. Once your account is active, you can start earning and saving money on the site. As you complete tasks, InboxDollars puts small credits into an escrow account tied to your user account. You can request a payment as soon as your account reaches $10.
But there are some limitations to be aware of. Some offers can only be used once, and depending on your payout method, you might have to pay a processing fee. If you don’t confirm receipt of a PaidEmail or do a task at least once every 10 days, your account becomes inactive and you can’t request a payment. You have six months from the day your account becomes inactive to ask for it to be reinstated. If you don’t, you lose access to the account and forfeit all unpaid earnings. Also, the money in your InboxDollars account has no value until you reach the $10 threshold.
InboxDollars offers lots of ways to earn and save money. You can get retail and grocery coupons from brands like Scott, General Mills, and Pillsbury, and earn 10 cents for every coupon you redeem. You can also earn up to 25 cents per day just for printing coupons. There are dozens of online and offline retailers that offer ways to save money through InboxDollars, with savings or cash-back earnings varying, but you can get up to 15% back on select purchases and even greater discounts at the point of sale.
InboxDollars partners with market research companies to offer short surveys that pay up to $10. You get credit once the company receives and reviews your survey, which can take anywhere from a few minutes to one week. You can’t just give nonsense answers to finish surveys quickly. If the survey company finds inconsistencies in your responses or signs that you didn’t take the survey seriously, your answers get thrown out and you don’t get paid.
InboxDollars’ original feature, PaidEmail, pays you to read up to three sponsored emails per day from InboxDollars’ retail partners. You always get 2 cents per email. To get paid, you just click the acknowledgment link at the bottom of the email. Some PaidEmails come with extra earning opportunities that pay between 10 cents and 25 dollars. These might include signing up for a free trial with a retail partner.
You can also earn virtual scratch-offs that typically pay no more than 25 cents (but can pay $25 or more in rare cases) for every short video you watch all the way through. Some videos you can watch once, while others allow unlimited viewing and earning.
InboxDollars offers access to dozens of online games through the GSN Games family. You can earn up to 10% cash back on the total purchase of token packs and boosters, and certain GSN tournaments let you apply extra game winnings to your InboxDollars account. Once you deposit real money into your InboxDollars Cash Games account, which connects to your WorldWinner account, you can earn a small kickback for each dollar you spend on game-related features. But this is more of a discount on the cost of gameplay, not a way to earn income.
InboxDollars has some pros and cons. On the plus side, you can earn real cash online, get an automatic bonus just for signing up, and there are lots of ways to earn and save. On the downside, payouts may incur fees, the website is not mobile-friendly, there are strict inactivity penalties, and you can’t donate your earnings to charity.
InboxDollars is one of the original websites that paid users real money to interact with brands at home. It’s come a long way since then and has many imitators. But how does it compare to another popular consumer app, Swagbucks? Well, InboxDollars rewards you with cash, has a redemption minimum of $10, and an inactivity timeout of 10 days. Swagbucks rewards you with points, has a redemption minimum of $1, and an inactivity timeout of 12 months.
In conclusion, there are plenty of legit ways to make money online, and InboxDollars is one of them. As long as you don’t expect to get rich overnight, it can be a good way to add a few extra bucks to your weekly income or save on purchases you’d make anyway. You can definitely earn money with InboxDollars, just keep your expectations realistic.
