Get Paid To Shop
Strictly speaking, this section should be titled "rewarded to shop", as usually companies reward you with points or rebates for shopping. But those points can often be converted to cash, goods, certificates, or the right to bid at auctions.
NUMBER 1: BigCo-op - Paid to Shop
OFFICIAL BLURB: As a BigCo-op Member, you'll earn CashRebates when you shop at any of the BigCo-op Merchant Partner stores...same selection, same price, same service, but with cash-back! Cash Rewards when you refer your friends
Share the Free BigCo-op concept with a friend.. or two... or twenty and earn extra Cash Rewards on the purchases made by the shoppers and members you refer.
MY EXPERIENCE: They have good companies included here. Most people would shop at them anyway. So if you are going to shop at these companies anyway, go there through the BigCoop portal to earn rewards and rebates for shopping at big names like J.C. Penny, WalMart, OfficeDepot, Disney, Hallmark, E-Bay, and Nordstrom’s and more. Free to join. An international opportunity. Even in Australia they have Ebay and Domain Names. Ummm.. if you sign up please remember my referral code: CR301211.
NUMBER 2: MyPoints
OFFICIAL BLURB:The ultimate destination for FREE rewards on the Internet. Redeem your Points for valuable rewards from our name-brand merchants like Blockbuster, Barnes & Noble, Eddie Bauer, The Sports Authority and more!
MY EXPERIENCE: People are getting rewards. It has a good reputation and a large number of people. I'm accumulating points quite nicely by clicking on their emails. If I was from the USA I would have earnt a lot more by now - all those lovely offers for freebies! But it still works well for us non-US people.
NUMBER 3: EmailCash (Australians only, sorry)
OFFICIAL BLURB:EmailCash is Australia's leading provider of online direct marketing, incentive and loyalty programs and services. EmailCash has over 300,000 members, and to date, over $375,000 worth has been given out as rewards. Number 1 stickiest Web site visited by Australians (Roy Morgan Research).
MY EXPERIENCE: Excellent site. Every day I do the survey to earn points for advertising in their classifieds. Earn points for shopping from their site - very easy with the excellent selection of companies. Bid at auctions for fantastic goods at a low price. You can earn lots of points for advertising or auctions by buying from the shops here. Bookshops, flowers, music - all the good stuff.
Mystery Shopping
This is not strictly Paid-To-Shop, but it is related. Mystery Shopping involves visiting a store as a normal customer to observe the service offered while making an enquiry. You then fill in the survey form supplied, answering questions and writing comments to describe your visit. Mystery Shopping is a form of market research. Many companies will pay you for this.
HOED is Australia's leading mystery shopping company. Signup by sending them an email to the address listed on their site.