Genuine Money Making Opportunity...........or Not???

OK, so I finally succumbed to one of those dodgy looking adverts promising to make me thousands of dollars on the internet. This particular site offered me a free affiliate website which could earn me loads of money. The deal was that I would share revenue with the company. So I signed up. Of course once I signed up there were strong recommendations that I should upgrade for a price of $77 for which I would apparently receive tools and training. I decided at this point to decline this option. You also have to sign up with Clickbank, which is fine as I will probably make use of them in the future. Once I accessed my new site, I found that it is a site advertising a free website, with the option to upgrade, just like the one I had just signed up for. So the thing feels a bit like a pyramid selling scheme. There are also some other stuff being advertised on the site - some techniques which apparently make you loads of money. The problem is of course is that you don't get to see them until you have paid your money, so I have resisted the temptation to sign up with these myself.

I really don't know what to think about it. I tend to work on the assumption that "If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is!" I ought to be promoting this thing like mad to make loads of money on it, but I can't say I feel that inclined to do so. Well the link to the site is below should you interested, and should you make loads of money then let me know!! I realise that this is probably the worst sales pitch in history, but never mind. Here's the link anyway:

TOP MONEY-MAKING SECRETS REVEALED!!

Another Prize Draw Win!!

My second prize draw within the space of a couple of weeks! After never won anything before I have won again through GfK Consumer Surveys. Still not that big win that we all hope for - £5 Argos voucher time. Heading in the right direction anyway.

Ebay - Time for a Change to Ebid?

As I have previously said here, I have 2 identities on Ebay - one for selling stuff that we find around the house that we no longer need or want, the other for stuff that I have bought with a view to sell. My first identity (markd1950 in case you're interested) continues to do well and most things that I list sell for a reasonable price. However, my other identity is not doing so well having made just 2 sales and feedback remains stubbornly at 1! I have relisted the items several times now and rapidly getting frustrated with the money that I am losing in the process. It would seem that I have bought the wrong items - I was convinced with my long experience of using Ebay that what I bought would sell, but clearly not. I will buy more stock shortly of different items to see if they sell any better - I need to give some thought to this and research better this time.

In the meantime, I have a load of stock that I have paid for sitting at home. Time for a change of tack I think. In researching a new section for Extra Cash Review, I came across Ebid, another auction site. They do not charge anything at all to list with them. They do charge a small fee of 3% of the value if your item sells. Alternatively you can pay a fixed fee up front (£1.99 for 7 days, £6.99 for 30 days, £16.99 for 90 days or £49.99 for lifetime) to upgrade to Seller+ which means that you do not pay any further fees and you can have a gallery picture with your listing. I am thinking that I will try listing my current stock on Ebid as it will not cost me any money and also as there are fewer listings than on Ebay to compete with maybe my items stand a better chance of selling (perhaps?). The main down side is that there are far fewer potential buyers visiting Ebid than visiting Ebay. Worth a go though I think as it will not cost me any money - a key consideration at this point. If this batch sells then I will consider listing the next batch on Ebid as well. I will keep you all informed of progress!!

Join the Auction Revolution at eBid, Zero Fee Auctions for the US, UK Canada and Australia.

New Developments on Extra Cash Review

I have started work on developing the next section of Extra Cash Review. You can catch a sneak preview here. I am hoping to have it fully completed in the next few days.

Ditching Blogrush Widget

Due to the fact that the Blogrush widget that I placed on my sidebar has not been working and that I have had no response whatsoever to the e-mails that I have sent, I have decided to remove it from the Blog. I had hoped that it would bring some additional traffic, but if they can't be bothered to reply to e-mails then it will just have to go as it using up valuable space!

More Cashback Shopping Reviews on Extra Cash Review

There are now 2 more Cashback Shopping reviews on Extra Cash Review. They are for Ipoints and for Mutual Points. Check out all my reviews for Cashback Shopping sites to get the best deals on the web.

I have started work on a brand new section and I hope to have at least one page live within the next few days. Keep visiting here to keep up to date with developments.

New Survey Reviews on Extra Cash Review

I have been busy adding even more reviews to Extra Cash Review, so now on page 5 of the surveys you will see new reviews for MySurvey, Surveys.com and Survey Savvy. Visit Extra Cash Review to read these reviews.

Vouchers arrived

Today was a good day for shopping vouchers from surveys. I received £10 worth for Marks and Spencers for Valued Opinions surveys and £2 Argos vouchers from my huge (not!) prize draw with GfK Consumer Panel. These will both go towards the Christmas fund I think.

Valued Opinions offer a good range of surveys and they are fairly frequent (although I tend to get screened out of quite a few). They are fairly well rewarded (typically £1.00/£1.50, sometimes more, sometimes less) and they payout at £10.00. Lots of options for vouchers - many of the main high street stores included. No option to receive your rewards in cash unfortunately.

Join Valued Opinions.

GfK seem to run various consumer panels, but the one that I tend to do most surveys for is GfK What I Buy as these tend to be a bit more interesting. They are purely for prize draws though and there are much bigger prizes available than the £2 voucher that I won!

Join GfK What I Buy.

Ebay - bizarre coincidence

Tonight I will be packaging up some stuff I have sold on Ebay. While printing off the packing slips I thought that 2 things were bought by the same person, so I was preparing to try and work out a discount for postage and packaging. However, on looking more closely I realised that the 2 items were actually bought by 2 different people, in different parts of the UK, with exactly the same name! What are the odds on that?!

Most Searched Keywords

Now that I am thinking more about traffic to Extra Cash Review, I was thinking that perhaps I would have been better coming up with a site focussed on the most searched keywords on Google. Today's top 5 are:

1. Kendal Sheppard
2. Michelle Obama the view
3. Subaru brat
4. Boeing tanker
5. Gao tanker

All I need to do now is combine these elements into one website and the traffic will come! Could be a challenge. There are some intreguing ones further down the list such as at No. 53 "How to kill with a knife" and No. 54 "Why is this night different from all other nights"! And then there is No. 59 "Left tibia"! What does it all mean?!

Extra Cash Review - Redeveloped Site Launched!!

The first phase of the redevelopment of Extra Cash Review is complete and is now "live". This first phase brings a new look to the site and some changes in layout. The layout changes allow for new sections to be added in the near future. Over the next few days there will be a few minor refinements to the layout and the individual reviews. You will see that as a result of the changes to the layout there are a couple of pages without much on. The next phase will be to add further reviews within the existing sections.

Once this is complete then over the coming weeks there will be several more sections added. Keep visiting here for the latest news on the redevelopment of the site.

Hits4Pay

Hits4Pay is a paid to click site - U.S. based like most of them are. I have been signed up with them for about 3 months now and been getting ads to click on, on a fairly regular basis, although there have been a few quite periods. There is a generous $10.00 sign up bonus and you recieve $0.02 per ad you click on - not a lot, but more than many other paid to click sites. I am up to $11.84 (including the sign up bonus) so far and they pay out at $20.00, so a little way to go yet. I don't know how reliable they are at paying out - this can be an issue with some paid to click sites, although at the current rate it will be next year before I reach that point! Oh well, it is money for nothing.

You can join Hits4Pay here.

Paid Surveys with Panelbase

I have been doing Panelbase surveys for about three months now and I have just reached the £10 payout threshold. They pay a generous £3 sign up bonus and their surveys generally pay quite well, although not that frequent. The surveys are the usual mix of consumer stuff. They also do surveys by SMS and phone, which they say they pay more for, although I've not had any of these yet. Panelbase also do focus groups - again I've not yet been invited to any of these. The rewards are in cash - payable by BACS or cheque. I have ordered my £10 by BACS today and they say it takes 7 days.

You can sign up to Panelbase here

Credit Card Stoozing

Here's another idea for making extra money - credit card "stoozing". There are various versions of this, so I will describe the version that I am familiar with. To start off you need 2 credit cards, one of which should have an introductory 0% rate balance transfer offer (card 1) and another which allows you to pay into a bank account (card 2). From card 2 pay up to 90% of the credit limit of card 1 into a high interest bank account, or some other account which pays a high rate of interest. Then immediately transfer the same amount from card 1 to card 2. You can then cancel card 2. You will then be earning interest on the amount you transferred for the duration of the introductory period. Before the introductory period ends, you can either repay the balance from the high interest account, or if you are confident that your credit rating will allow it, apply for a further 0% balance transfer card to pay off the original card before you start paying interest. You can obviously continue this as long as you like.

However, there are some golden rules that you MUST keep to for this to work:

• Do not use this method if you already have debt - whatever you pay in interest will be more than anything you gain in a high interest account, so you would actually gain more by paying off your debts first.


• Make sure you pay off your 0% card before the introductory period ends otherwise you will start paying interest, which defeats the object.


• Be aware that every application for a credit card leaves a trace on your credit history, so do not attempt this unless you are confident that you have a good credit rating. If you are rejected for your first application for a 0% card then do not immediately apply for another one. This will only damage your credit rating. It is best to leave it for several months (or longer) before trying again. If you are rejected again, then it is best to leave it altogether.

For more information and the latest on the best 0% credit cards visit the excellent Stoozing.com.

Prize Draw Win!

Yesterday I had my first ever prize draw win from a survey! OK, so it was only a £2.00 voucher for Argos, and not the big prize that I was hoping for, but it's better than nothing. This one was from GfK Consumer Panel. I have been neglecting the purely prize draw surveys recently due to lack of time. Maybe I ought to try these again for a chance of that big win!

Extra Cash Review - Site Re-development

Over the coming weeks you will see some changes to Extra Cash Review. I hope to complete the first phase of this by 20th June 2008. This first phase will see a general new look to the site and some changes to the layout, particularly to the Home Page - this is to allow for future expansion of the site to cover further topics. Phase 2 will be some additions to the existing topics. Following this there will be a gradual introduction of further subject areas.

Is there anything you think I should be covering? Add your comments to this blog for consideration.

Extra Cash Review - Review of Pigsback

Extra Cash Review has now been updated to include a review of Pigsback cashback shopping site. I have actually just got enough points with Pigsback to cash them in for a £10.00 gift voucher (no cash option available unfortunately). I have somehow managed to do this by spending hardly any money at all - mostly by signing up to freebies, etc.

Join Pigsback here.

Lightspeed Survey Panel

I have had a couple of paid surveys from Lightspeed over yesterday and today. The first was about health and today's was about parenting. Lightspeed generally pay the equivalent of around £0.85 to £1.30, occasionally more. You have the option of redeeming points in exchange for gifts or cash paid via Paypal. The great thing about Lightspeed is that the minimum payout for cash is just £1.00 and your payment generally lands in your Paypal account within a week. Also you have the opportunity to be entered into prize draws by completing Mini Polls and "Quick Match" surveys. I am still waiting for that big win though!!!

You can join Lightspeed here.

Check out full reviews of free to join survey panels at Extra Cash Review.

Website Problems

DISASTER!!! I happened to notice today checking on my website that most of the links from the Home Page were not functioning! I think this must have happened somehow during my most recent update of the site about a week ago. So no-one has been able to get past the Home Page for the last week. I have repaired all these links and now I need to go through the laborious process of checking every other link on the site just to make sure that no other page is affected. I will hopefully do this later today. Again, another learning point - must remember to check these thoroughly after I make changes to the site. Please feel free to let me know of any problems you have with the site or any comments in general.

The website is Extra Cash Review which gives a thorough review of paid surveys, cashback shopping and paid to click sites.

Make Money With Affiliate Programs

I have signed up to some affiliate programs for my website, Extra Cash Review. This will mean that if someone clicks on an ad and then makes a purchase then I receive a payment. I have also signed up with Google Ad Sense which create ads relevant to my site. Traffic is still quite low so I have decided not to sign up to any more and just concentrate on building up more traffic. So far I have submitted my site to numerous web directories, all the main search engines and to social bookmarking sites. I have also been looking at trying to get links to my site at every available place on the web. This has been a steep learning curve for me as I have no previous experience of building a web site, let alone exploring Search Engine Optimization (SEO)!

Why not visit Extra Cash Review for the best reviews of paid survey sites, cashback shopping and paid to click sites. It is being regularly updated, so visit often to view updates.

You can also visit my Squidoo lens which tells you about my experience of putting together my first website.

Making Money With Squidoo

For the uninitiated, Squidoo is a site where you have the opportunity to make a mini website, which Squidoo refer to as a "lens". You can make as many lenses as you like. Money can be made on these in one of two ways; firstly if a visitor clicks on a Google Ad, or if you add an Ebay or an Amazon "module" and a visitor makes a purchase via your lens. I joined just over a week ago and have made 4 lenses so far, but have made absolutely no money whatsoever. I think I will persevere though as it may help to generate traffic for my website, or for this blog!

You can find me on Squidoo here. My latest lens is on adoption and I am quite pleased with it - I was considering putting it forward for "Lens of the Day".

You can sign up with Squidoo here.

Writer's Share

I received my first payment from Writer's Share (of £1) this week. For those of you who don't know, Writer's Share is a site where you are invited to write around 150 words on suggested topics and for the ones they like you will be paid £1. Apparently they are accepting around 80% of submissions. Some of the topics are quite obscure though. My submission was several weeks ago so I had all but given up on the chance receiving anything. Just after I submitted my piece, they closed all topics due to a backlog. At the time of writing all topics are still closed, but the site says that the backlog is clear so new topics should be available soon.

You can sign up to Writer's Share here.

[Edit - Please note, Writer's Share no longer appears to be operating.]

You Gov Surveys

I have just completed another You Gov survey. This one was for a prize draw - I have never won anything ever in a prize draw, but you never know....... Most You Gov surveys are for a cash reward, usually between £0.50 to £1.00. You have to collect £50 before you can collect your money - I am only up to £6, so it may take a while. The surveys are usually a bit more interesting than some of the other survey panels though, so worth persevering. If you want to join You Gov you can do so by clicking here.

You read all my reviews of paid surveys panels by visiting my website, Extra Cash Review.

Mystery Shopping

This week I had my first experience of mystery shopping. I'm not actually signed up with any mystery shopping companies, but I just received an e-mail from a company offering me £35 to phone 6 car insurance companies for a quote and then fill in online surveys about each. I don't know where they got my details from - perhaps best not to ask!! Anyway, I did the required task, although I had to split it over 2 days as it was quite time consuming. I managed NOT to buy any insurance despite each company insisting they had the best deal on the planet. I usually look for quotes on the internet so that I have time to look at all the details, so I had to force myself to listen to all the details as I have habit of switching off and not listening to sales people on the phone - something to do with a natural distrust of sales people!

Anyway, I manged to finish the task in time (there was a time limit) - just need to wait for the cheque to arrive now! Next task is to look into some more mystery shopping sites I think.

Selling on EBay

I have decided to create 2 identities on EBay - one for selling stuff we find around the house, the other for stuff we have bought wholesale. It was a bit scary spending money to make money, but feels necessary. Unfortunately, not much of what we bought it is selling! You can visit us on EBay here and here.