Regarding "Get Paid to Complete Offers"-type Sites

[monkey0506]

Someone I know recently convinced me to sign up for (against my better judgment) yet another of these sites claiming to pay you simply for completing their sponsor's offers. Most of these simply include "fill out the first two pages of 'Click Here to claim your FREE* PS3/Xbox 360/HDTV/Laptop/etc.'" and the like.

According to the site, their minimum payout is $10USD. I currently have...been wasting a lot of time on this site, yes...and have about $50USD in pending offers, and only $3USD in completed offers.

The person who convinced me to register for the site insists it's legitimate, and it seems like it might be, but honestly, how can I expect to get paid just for sitting on the computer filling out surveys for "FREE*" items I'll never see?

I'll withhold the name of the particular site (since I think it may be taboo to mention specifically which one I've registered to), but has anyone ever actually done this type of thing and received ANY payment (no matter how minimal)? It just seems a bit too good to be true...so my instinct tells me it probably is.

Yes...well I have to go to "work" tomorrow...and I have to go early at that. So I need sleep. Adios.

[TerranRich]

Nah, I never bothered with those types of sites, but I have done those "complete X offers and get Y item" offers...twice.

I've gotten a free Sony Vaio laptop (which I'm using right now) and a free Sony Handycam (which I sold and used the money toward a better JVC Mini-DV camcorder). Those definitely work, but you have to look over the offers and make sure that either (a) you need some of the items, (b) some of the items are a free trial sort of deal and allow you to cancel before you're charged, or (c) they're relatively cheap even if they're useless.

For the laptop, I had to sign up for a month of PeoplePC (under $6), three free language-learning sets (all of which I returned), 3 or 4 of those useless sites that let you search for deals on useless crap and is $1 for a trial month/week, Blockbuster Online (which I could use, and did), and a few other things I can't even remember. I spent under $20 in all, all for a laptop worth over $1,000. I'd say it was a good deal.

Oh, and don't go for any of those deals that require you to refer anybody else. You'll never get anybody to sign up, and even if they do, they won't do crap.

I might go for a $500 Macy's gift card or a free gaming console next...although I'd then have to buy games for the latter.

But as for what you're talking about, monkey, I don't bother with those.

[ildu]

Well, I was looking through some sites that I found according to your description, monkey.

www.cashcrate.com is probably what you're involved in, but I found a site called GPTreasure that got my interest. They have no minimum payout and they promise to pay every completed offer within 24-48 hours. It's interesting since being such a short time would make it very difficult for scammers to hold on to scammees. Still, even if these things aren't scams, the referral systems make them sound very pyramid-schemey.

I wasn't really interested at all, since it's such chump change. You can get quite a lot more money with less effort by getting a real job. However, Terran here caught my eye. Here we have someone who's actually benefitted quite well from these 'schemes'.

So:

1. What does completing an offer specifically mean? Is it just about signing up to places and testing services that might ordinarily have a problem getting users?

2. How long and how much effort did it take to get that laptop (and other prizes)?

[TerranRich]

What happens is, regular companies (at least in the US) like Blockbuster, Vonage, PeoplePC, etc. pay the "free stuff" sites to put up offers for their sites. That is how the "free stuff" sites can afford to give away stuff. They get paid big time by the corporations.

Now, completing an offer usually varies from site to site, but it's usually just sign up for the first week/month/whatever the sponsor is offering, then cancel before it rebills. I had to keep track of all the sponsors I signed up, when the cutoff date for each one was to cancel them, and how to cancel them (call, email, fill out form, etc.).

From the time I completed the final offer, it took about a week for GetMyFreeLaptop.com to say "Hey! We confirmed everything, now just sign this IRS form that says we're giving you a gift worth over $600!" So basically I have to claim it while doing next year's taxes, but I usually get a crapload of money back from the IRS anyway, so it's no big deal. I sign the form and send it off to them, which has to be notarized...that can be done at most banks here.

It took about 3 weeks (when it said it would take 2-4) to get my new laptop, in Sony packaging, with everything you'd expect it to come with...manuals, CDs, etc., and with Vista preinstalled (yay). The camcorder was done a few years ago, and it was pretty much the same way. Both products were working perfectly and I was very satisfied.

[Radiant]

TANSTAAFL.

[Hudders]

"Now, the first thing I have to tell you is that this isn't pyramid selling"

[Darth Mandarb]

These things are ALL scams ... every one of them.

It's amazing to me people still fall for these things.  (no offense intended)

There's simply no way the owner/operator(s) of these sites are going to give you any money when they are only obligated to do so by some weakly (but cleverly) worded form on a website.  They collect the money and keep it all for themselves.  My guess is, if you were to email them asking them about your money, that you'll never get a reply.  They've moved on to another scam.

At least you didn't give them any money ... right?

[TerranRich]

Darth: Actually, I had completely forgotten until I got a random email, that I was a part of SendEarnings, which paid you to complete offers and read emails. The offers paid anywhere from $1 to $20 I think, and the emails only like 20 cents each. But I did get a $50 check in the mail. I wish I had some proof. Maybe I'll log back in and do it again, but there are some that are genuine. Maybe not his, but SE was.

[Candle]

lots of info here if you got time to read it all.
Lots of mac books etc gave away.