How can I tell if CashCrate is legit?
November 11, 2011 5:22 PM Subscribe
Is CashCrate legit?
After my last credit card statement, my savings is down by quite a bit. I need to make money and am going to grad school full time and then some. One of my friends suggested CashCrate to me and I can't figure out if it's legit or not, but she said she's gotten two checks already for $200+. Is this a too-good-to-be-true scheme? Where else could I make money from home without getting myself wrapped up in some stupid pyramid scheme?
After my last credit card statement, my savings is down by quite a bit. I need to make money and am going to grad school full time and then some. One of my friends suggested CashCrate to me and I can't figure out if it's legit or not, but she said she's gotten two checks already for $200+. Is this a too-good-to-be-true scheme? Where else could I make money from home without getting myself wrapped up in some stupid pyramid scheme?
Sign up for a bunch of survey companies. I take surveys now and again from about four, and though it's not a second income, it does give me a couple of bucks now and again.
posted by xingcat at 5:39 PM on November 11, 2011
posted by xingcat at 5:39 PM on November 11, 2011
I made about $10 / hour from Cashcrate when I did it a few years ago, but there were a lot of time-wasting things to avoid. It has a referral system that probably makes a decent percentage of your friend's money.
posted by michaelh at 5:58 PM on November 11, 2011
posted by michaelh at 5:58 PM on November 11, 2011
I can't speak to legitimacy, but to me it looks like a referral scheme, not a pyramid scheme. You probably won't earn much unless you build a big downline of first and second-tier referrals.
(The front page of their site wants a signup before it'll tell me anything -- no thanks! -- but their FAQ is visible to nonmembers and gives the referral stucture.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 5:58 PM on November 11, 2011
(The front page of their site wants a signup before it'll tell me anything -- no thanks! -- but their FAQ is visible to nonmembers and gives the referral stucture.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 5:58 PM on November 11, 2011
Not familiar with this particular site, but as an affiliate marketer who has dabbled with survey email submit offers before I can tell you what is likely behind it all.
So basically the "paying you to do surveys" may be them emailing you links to other email submit survey offers that payout ~$1-$1.50 (sometimes even higher). Beyond that, the actual survey is pointless.
The whole survey angle is just a way to get your email address in your system an learn about you to segment their email list. They will then begin emailing you non-stop with affiliate offers. See how they mention "shopping through us?" That means they want you to use affiliate links and are paying you a portion of their commission (this is referred to as incentivized traffic and is typically considered relatively low quality).
Can you make money from these sites? Sometimes. But its typically not worth the hassle and there are too many true scams from affiliates who just don't pay ever or put up so many barriers that it is impossible to meet the qualifications. You are much better off offering up services on freelance sites like ODesk, and other ones or doing random jobs on Craigslist. Plus, you can actually build a resume like that.
posted by Elminster24 at 6:45 PM on November 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
So basically the "paying you to do surveys" may be them emailing you links to other email submit survey offers that payout ~$1-$1.50 (sometimes even higher). Beyond that, the actual survey is pointless.
The whole survey angle is just a way to get your email address in your system an learn about you to segment their email list. They will then begin emailing you non-stop with affiliate offers. See how they mention "shopping through us?" That means they want you to use affiliate links and are paying you a portion of their commission (this is referred to as incentivized traffic and is typically considered relatively low quality).
Can you make money from these sites? Sometimes. But its typically not worth the hassle and there are too many true scams from affiliates who just don't pay ever or put up so many barriers that it is impossible to meet the qualifications. You are much better off offering up services on freelance sites like ODesk, and other ones or doing random jobs on Craigslist. Plus, you can actually build a resume like that.
posted by Elminster24 at 6:45 PM on November 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
An alternative would be Amazon's Mechanical Turk, if you're looking to make money at home.
posted by bjrn at 12:14 AM on November 12, 2011
posted by bjrn at 12:14 AM on November 12, 2011
I don't know about them, but I used to do surveys through a bunch of places when I was in undergrad, and one thing I noticed: When I started, qualifying for things was not hard. At around the time I stopped, it had gotten to the point where they'd require you to go through ten minutes' worth of questions just to supposedly find out if you'd qualified for the survey. Then it'd dump you out and say sorry, they don't want your help. When I was able to get paid for pretty much every one I started, the money was hardly great but it was enough for some fun money. By the time I stopped, it had hit the point where I was really only making like a dollar an hour because there was so much chaff.
posted by gracedissolved at 12:30 AM on November 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by gracedissolved at 12:30 AM on November 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
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If you have time available to do a survey online, you would probably earn a lot more money by just finding a part time job in your area.
posted by Think_Long at 5:25 PM on November 11, 2011 [2 favorites]