Inbox Pays is a market research company looking to gather and sell shopping information and link consumers with brands and retailers. As you’ll learn in this InboxPays review, they promote a range of activities that each earn a dollar amount on completion. There is a sign-up bonus of $5, and the website offers a large coupon clipping section. However, the cash-out amount is very high at $50, and most activities are very low-paying (less than 50 cents). There is a lot of time and work required to earn even the minimum cash-out amount, and this, coupled with reported poor customer service, means we do not recommend Inbox Pays as a source of extra income.
An easier way to make some extra cash on the side is to use cash back apps like Ibotta or Fetch Rewards. Fetch lets you scan receipts for money in a simple and seamless process.
If you’re looking for a way to make some extra cash online, you might have come across Inbox Pays, a site that claims to pay you for completing surveys, offers, and other tasks. But is Inbox Pays legit, or is it a scam? How much can you earn with Inbox Pays, and what are the pros and cons of using this site? In this review, we’ll answer these questions and more, based on our own experience and research. By the end of this review, you will have a better idea of whether Inbox Pays is worth your time and effort.
What Is Inbox Pays?
InboxPays is a website that pays you for completing various online activities, such as taking surveys, signing up for offers, reading emails, playing games, and referring friends. Inbox Pays is available in the U.S. only and was launched in 2004 in Houston, Texas. It’s owned by A&A Marketing and is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau.
As a market research company, Inbox Pays gathers shopping information through surveys and promotes its associated brands through adverts. Contrary to similar platforms like Swagbucks or InboxDollars, InboxPays operates through a website only; there is no smartphone app. Inbox Pays has no Wikipedia or other social media presence and is a smaller market research company offering cash rewards.
It has numerous complaints about difficulties in cashing out and contacting the company, which is why many think it’s a scam.
Similar to other market research companies, Inbox Pays makes money from sharing consumer shopping information with brands and retailers. It then passes on part of this payment to members who complete various tasks. A key differentiator is that there are no gimmicks in accumulating rewards. Inbox Pays gives a cash amount for each activity successfully completed. As well as surveys, Inbox Pays has other cash-earning features like coupon clipping, product offers, and service sign-ups and trials.
Features Of Inbox Pays
Inbox Pays has a range of features to encourage participation in their research into consumer habits and preferences. These are designed to engage the user and provide interesting ways to earn cash rewards. Here, we will review these features.
#1 New Member Activities
When signing up, you must complete an introductory survey. This is a gimmick as you will qualify and be invited to join no matter what your answers are. Next, you add your personal information to build your profile. The more accurate and detailed your profile is, the better Inbox Pays will be able to match you to appropriate surveys. Currently, you will earn a bonus of $5 when opening a new account.
#2 Paid Surveys
Inbox Pays matches your demographic information to available surveys. Users can browse and choose from current surveys or sign up for email notifications when new surveys are available. Surveys shown are those that match your personal information and location. Payment is made once the survey is successfully completed, and earnings are likely to be between $0.50 and $5, depending on the length of the survey.
#3 Complete Paid Offers
Associated partners of Inbox Pays promote their services and brands through the Inbox Pays website, and they regularly make offers to members. Offers include signing up for free trials or purchasing a specific product that is advertised. There are some paid offers that can earn more significant amounts (over $50), but most of them are worth under $5.
While there is a range of such offers, they may not all be relevant to the consumer. For example, trials at education centers or specific types of credit cards.
#4 Referral Program
With InboxPays, you can earn additional income by referring friends. All you have to do is share your unique referral code and once a new referral cashes out for the first time, you will earn 10% of their future earnings. This is limited to cash your friends earn on paid offers only.
#5 Read Emails
You can earn Cash Mail Credits by agreeing to receive and read advertising emails. Once an email is sent and the user clicks on the image or link within it, credit is awarded. This only works on desktop PCs or laptops. Payment is up to $25 in cash mail credit for each link clicked but is more likely to be up to 25 cents. The contents of the emails include the following:
- Signing up for new email subscriptions;
- Completing more paid offers;
- Signing up to receive newsletters;
- Additional surveys and polls.
#6 Coupon Clipping
Inbox Pays has a large section on the website dedicated to coupons for use in partner stores. These can be clipped and used for quick money saving on purchases. There is a wide variety of coupons, and some, as pictured below, offer good value.
#7 Spin Wheel Game
Once an offer or survey is completed, you can spin the wheel to earn extra cash. Amounts on the wheel range from zero to 50 cents to $100. While it makes sense that you will only earn low amounts, it’s still a fun way to earn totally free cash.
Cashing Out From InboxPays
Payment from Inbox Pays can be made through a U.S.-verified PayPal account or by check in the mail. Payments are made on the 1st and 15th of every month and the minimum cash-out balance required is $50. Once you reach that threshold, you can request payment. All payments are made in multiples of $50 only.
To make it more complicated, cash-out balances must be made up of the following:
- Minimum of $25 from offers and/or Spin Wheel credits;
- Maximum of $25 in Cash Mail Credits. Amounts exceeding $25 will carry over toward the next payment.
Pros Of Inbox Pays
- Emails are limited to a maximum of three per day. This ensures that customers don’t feel they are being spammed.
- The refer-a-friend program means that you will earn up to $5 every single time they cash out.
- The coupons give discounts and save money immediately. The process is easy with only searching, clipping, and presenting the coupons at the point of sale. Accessing the coupons alone may be worth having an account with Inbox Pays.
- Each household can have an Inbox Pays account, widening the potential for earning rewards.
- The site is not just about surveys; there is a range of activities that are interesting and engaging to members, including saving money and immediate discounts.
- The Spin Wheel is a fun bonus way to earn extra cash.
Cons Of Inbox Pays
- Some trial offers require your credit card details, and the customer will be charged if they are not canceled before the end of the trial period.
- The combination of cash-out balances means you cannot just rely on one type of activity to contribute to your cash-out balance.
- Surveys can be limited in number, and you cannot rely on them being the only source of income on the site. Some can take over 30 minutes to complete for a small return.
- In reality, the earning potential for each activity is relatively low, and the cash-out amount is very high compared to other similar sites.
- Trustpilot reviews give Inbox Pays a score of 1.4 out of 5, with complaints mainly about being unable to cash out and no response to complaints from the company.
- Hidden in the Terms and Conditions, it states:
“Members won't be eligible for cash incentives by only completing the surveys. Signing up for the offers our partners advertised is necessary to be eligible for cash incentives.”
This is not the impression the website gives and it means that completing the survey alone is not sufficient to earn the advertised cash. The Terms and Conditions page also advises that it can take up to eight weeks to receive cash back on these kinds of sign-up offers.
Pricing
Inbox Pays is free to sign up to and use. Advertising partners pay Inbox Pays to use their program to reach out to specific customers like you. Inbox Pays uses part of that payment as a cash reward to their users. They use amalgamated data to report to their partners. No personal information is passed on without permission.
In Summary
On the surface, Inbox Pays looks like a fun, interactive way to earn free cash. However, the company is not transparent, with repeated reports of difficulty in making contact with them. No, or defunct, social media presence confirms this lack of customer interface. All the cash back categories are advertised with the highest earning amount possible, while the reality is that most activities will earn between 10 and 50 cents.
It will take a lot of time and dedication to reach the $50 minimum cash-out amount, and even then you’re not sure to be able to withdraw it, since it has to be composed of $25 in email rewards and $25 in survey rewards.
If you’re looking for a simpler and better way to make a couple of extra dollars every week, Fetch Rewards is a much better option. It has a tiny minimum cash-out threshold of just $3 which you can easily earn by scanning receipts into the app.
InboxPays Review FAQs
Is Inbox Pays legit?
Yes, Inbox Pays is legit. However, reviews on Google all advise that it is difficult to reach the high cash-out balance of $50 because of the low payment on activities.
Is Inbox Pays worth it?
No, in our opinion Inbox Pays is not worth it. The issues already mentioned make it much less effective than other cash back services. There are many apps and websites that offer all the activities found on Inbox Pays but have easy access to customer service and much lower cash-out values.
Does Inbox Pays pay real money?
Yes, Inbox Dollars pay real money. There are no points that must be converted to dollars. Each activity completed successfully will earn a dollar amount.
