You probably read the title to this post and don’t believe it. Well, it’s true. I did this by doing an online offer. Now, I’m not the expert on these offers, but Carrie over at Money Saving Methods has done them for a while and as of September of 2008 she had made over $15,000 doing these offers. I was skeptical but I trust Carrie, so on December 29, 2008 I completed the 8 offers required for the prize and site I selected. I ended up receiving the brand new Wii and Wii Fit on February 20, 2009 so the whole thing took less than 2 months and around 3 hours or so total. The next one I do will take less time though, now that I am familiar with these offers.
You have probably seen these offers/banners before and said, “yeah right, that’s not legit.” Well, the ones I am highlighting here are legit. The parent company for these offers is I-deal though there are subcompanies such as Top Notch Media, Bullseye Media, etc. Once you do your first you’ll be hooked – but you can only earn $1,000 per sub-company in a 6 month period.
You’ll need a credit card (ideally one capable of giving you a virtual card number – look on their website or call customer service), a calendar, pen, and some patience but you can do it! Block off at least 2 hours the first day to complete all the offers. You’ll want to get them done in one sitting.
Choose the prize you want. Here are a bunch of options below. All the ones in this post are I-deal parent company site with different sub-companies. Please be advised that sometimes a component of completing an offer is to refer people to do the offer as well. Those can get complicated (not to mention ruin friendships) so all the ones included here are DIY (do-it-yourself) offers with no referrals needed at the time of posting (terms can change so please read the front page carefully to see how many offers are required and whether or not referrals are a part of that).
Wii and Wii Fit – this is the offer I did (FYI: The terms have now changed on this offer and you need to do 2 silvers, 2 golds, and 8 platinums PLUS refer 2 users and have them complete the requirements)
$500 in gas gift cards to your choice – Hollister, Abercrombie or American Eagle
$100 in Restaurant giftcards (Chilis or Fridays)
$500 Ikea Giftcard
$100 Visa Giftcard and Game Jersey
$50 McDonalds giftcard
$500 Orbitz.com giftcard
Pair of Nikes (your choice of Air Zoom Kobe IV, Air the Six or Air Jordan Retro 15 LS
There are more so please email me if you are looking for something different and I’ll look around.
Ok, so now that you have found the prize that you want, look to see how many “offers” you will need to do to get the prize. Offers are divided up into 3 categories – silver, gold and platinum. Usually for a $500 value prize, you will do 2 silvers, 2 golds, and 4 platinums. It may be less offers if there is a referral or two involved. Again, I did not include any referral sites here at the time I posted but these offers can change so be sure to CAREFULLY read the fine print on the first page – you should also open the terms and conditions and copy them into a wordprocessing document that you will use to keep track of this offer.
Set up a new free web-based email address for this – you will get spam from the offers you sign up with. Use this new email address for every offer you do.
Fill out the registration on the first page. Then you will get page after page of questions. If there is a “skip” click it, if not make sure to select “no” for each and continue. You’ll finally to get the page that has silver offers on it. I keep going until I reach the platinum offers, then I work backwards. The platinum page will have the fewest and most expensive offers so if there’s nothing on this page for you, pick a new prize and start over! You should figure out which offers you are going to do before starting to do them. Make a plan. This is a good time to research the offers you are doing. You are only allowed to do one offer per parent company. The sites don’t tell you who their parent company is so you’ll need to do some research. For instance, if a site looks similar and/or especially if the checkout page looks similar then they are likely from the same parent company.
Now you’re asking what an “offer” is – offers are trials for things like Netflix, skin and make-up products, book clubs, etc. Each offer will have its own terms. Make sure to copy and paste the terms of each offer (including price of offer, how long trial period is, price of trial, price after trial expires, number to cancel, etc.) on the same document you used to copy the general offer’s terms and conditions. Make sure to reference the first page to make sure you are doing the right number of offers under each category. Please make sure to read each offer’s terms VERY CAREFULLY.
A helpful hint is to open an offer, wait a few minutes and then log back in under “check gift status” on the main page to make sure that the offer shows as “pending”. Many may show as pending, don’t worry. Each offer that you open should show as pending whether you complete it or not. If you have an offer open and it doesn’t show as pending, close it out, wait a few minutes and start over until it shows as pending.
Another hint is to use a virtual credit card number for these offers. My Discover and Citibank cards have that feature available on their websites. Using the feature I am able to disguise my true credit card number by getting a virtual credit card number. Check your credit card company to see if this number is good for one use only or for one vendor only. Each company has different terms.
Sign up for offers that interest you. These companies are subsidizing the fabulous prize you chose so try the product and give it a chance – maybe it would make a great gift for someone on your list?
After you have completed the requisite number of offers, you play the waiting game (on pins and needles). With my experience, all of my offers had approved within 2 weeks. 2 of my co-workers just did one and they were also approved within 2 weeks. It is also common to have an offer or 2 not approve. If this happens, you need to do a replacement offer. Replacement offers generally credit within a day or 2.
Once all offers are approved and you “check your gift status” from the main page it will say that you have completed all offers and link to a redemption certificate. You must fill in and print this certificate as well as a W-9 form (these earnings are taxable) and send them in. I send them priority mail with delivery confirmation. I then wait until I see confirmation on the postal service website and give the company 2 week to process my redemption certificate and paperwork. If, after 2 weeks, your status has not changed, you need to email them with your delivery confirmation number. My status changed exactly 2 weeks from the date they received it and it said that my prize would arrive within 6-8 weeks. It arrived earlier than that, on February 20, via FedEx.
Ideal gives you 60 days from the date you first register until the date that everything must be completed and all paperwork mailed to them. Do the offers on the day you register as your clock starts ticking then. Keep track of all dates, company names, terms and conditions, cancelling instructions, phone numbers, etc. I found it easy to create a table (or spreadsheet if you’re more Excel-literate than I am) with that information for each offer I did.
Whew, this has been a long post and I’m sure many of you will have more questions. Please leave a comment or send me an email through the “contact me” button on the left sidebar and I’d be more than happy to help. Please remember that organization is key to successful completion of these online offers! Good luck!
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I started Nicole's Nickels in February 2009 to bring all of the great deals I was finding to my friends and family and then it took off! Since then I've continued my full-time day job as an attorney while blogging in the evenings and on weekends. I help my clients during the days at the non-profit I work for and then my Nicole's Nickels readers trying to find the best deals for their family! I live in south/central Florida and have 2 cute dogs (see their picture under "mascots") and an amazing boyfriend who has a spunky 6 year old we get to spend a lot of time with. I love telling my readers about great deals and also about the cool products I get to try. Most of all I love giving stuff away to my readers! I hope you'll take the time to
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Hi Nicole!
Can you use a debit card for the offers?
And if you did an offer for a different promotion company can you do it again?
Thanks!
Jessica: I've always had to do 1-2 replacements. I do them happily because after all, they are basically giving me something ($500) for almost nothing! I'm sorry it has stressed you out but my instructions do say to expect to do replacements. I hope your replacement credits. If it doesn't, I would do another. What is your OOP total as of now?
Jeri: NEVER, EVER EVER use a debit card on these offers. I've posted about this before several times. Debit cards are dangerous online. If there is a mischarge or an overcharge the money is out of your account right away and while you dispute it. With a credit card, you just dispute the charge and don't pay it and you never lose the money. If you don't have a credit card you can buy a prepaid Visa card at your bank. Make sure to register it so you can use it online though. I'm not sure what your second question means. I'm not sure what the term different promotion company means. Can you give me an exampled?
Nicole,
Thanks for all your help. I think my total oop will be around $70, but there are some products/ services that I pan to keep/renew, so it will be a little bit more than that. It will be well worth it. And next time, maybe I won't be so nervous. I'll let you know when I get my card. Again, thanks for all your advise. You're great!
I checked this morning and everything approved! yea! I will mail out my redemption certificate tomorrow. I know you warned this could happen, I just got nervous. I tend to panic. Sorry.
Jessica
Hi Nicole!
Thanks for the heads up about the debit cards.
What I meant about the offers if I did trial for Block Buster or such for Send Earnings can I do it again for another offer like Top Notch?
Thanks!
Hi Jeri: It depends on the company. Many say you can't join more than once in a 6 month or one year period. You'll have to look at the terms and conditions of each company.
I started my first offer on 10/10. I'm seeing a $70 charge on my CC this morning from SHOPDANI.COM. I've traced this back to the HauteJewelryDirect / Bella Sole offer.
I have the terms for the offer noted down. It was supposed to $9 for a piece of jewelry and then 2 WEEKS LATER, I should've received another piece for $68.
I'm going to dispute this charge on my credit card.
Do you have any advice? I was careful to note the terms on each of my offers and this has definitely not been encouraging so far.
Hi Vidya: I'm sorry you are frustrated and it sounds as though you are having a bad experience with an offer. I personally have never had any offer overcharge me but of course it's possible. I would contact the company and also dispute the charge on your credit card. This is the reason why it's so important not to use a debit card on these offers.
I just wanted to give you an update about my situation. I posted in haste earlier. The store had only put a block of $70 on my credit card but the actual charge went through yesterday as $9, as expected.
All my offers are currently in the pending state. Keeping my fingers crossed…
Thanks for the wonderful post and the quick responses to the comments. It is really helpful!
Hi!
First of all, thanks for all your advice. I completed a Bulls Eye $500 Kohl's card offer a few months ago…all went smoothly and I got my cards! I decided to do another one this month, this time through Top Notch, and did all my offers, including some replacement ones, had all my offers approved, and sent in my forms. I just checked my gift card status and everything has been placed on hold saying that I violated the terms of the offer! I am confused, as I did not complete any of the same offers from the first time I did it. I also thought it was strange that all the offers approved and figured they wouldn't have if it was a violation. Anyway, I sent them a letter (as instructed) and am waiting to hear back…any advice? Has this happened to anyone else?
Catra48: I've nevr been DQ'd but I have heard about it happening to people and it doesn't happen until the end of the process so that is normal. Perhaps two of the offers you did for this last giftcard were related in some way, that would be enough to disqualify you. Please keep me posted on what happens.
Has anyone have the Terms & Conditions change after they've signed up?
My offers from esolutionmedia were supposed to be 2 silver, 2 gold & 4 platinum when I signed up (I have a copy of the terms) but now the terms have been updated to 8 platinum offers. My 4 platinum offers are still pending.
Anonymous: I haven't had it happen to me but it has happened to others I know. Ideal's terms and conditions do say that they can change their terms and conditions at any time but they have emailed customer service and thoroughly explained what's going on and it has been resolved. Good luck and keep me posted.
I am signing up for the $500 Visa gift card. After doing a few offers, one popped up to get a $1000 walmart card. It was 2/2/9. So I started doing that offer. While doing that offer, another popped up and I signed up for stuff under that one and then realized it was for a different offer. My question is: How do I find out how many offers I have signed up for under the $500 offer and the $1000 walmart offer? I don't want to sign up for more offers than I need to and I can't find the Check Gift Status page you were talking about. I don't want to close the windows on any of these offers as I am afraid they won't count. HELP!
Bearlady110: I think you probably didn't keep hitting skip or no and head all the way to the last page of offers like was in my instructions. It sounds like you got caught up in the offers they try to entice you with along the way. The check gift status link is on the home page of the offer. Go back to the original link you used from the blog and the check gift status link is on there. It sounds like you may have never completed registration and started on the original offer though. The pages and pages of things they try to entice you with are not related to Ideal so I would have no way of knowing exactly what you signed up for, with what company, etc. You're probably going to have to monitor your credit card and cancel accordingly. I'm sorry this has been frustrating for you. My directions are step by step and if followed perfectly, you'll be successful on these offers.
None of my mailing instructions specified 'Priority mail with delivery confirmation'. Is this something you've figured to be the best method?
I sent out my redemption form by Fedex Ground with signature confirmation yesterday and I'm now worried! Should I resend a new package?
Dear Anon: Yes, this is what I have found to be the best way, it proves it was delivered without requiring signature as the location you are sending it to is not an office, I believe it is like a po box almost. From what I have heard they do not sign for packages so if I was you I would resend the package out using priority mail with delivery confirmation. It's the way I know works! Hope that helps.
So forgive me for being dense, but the 'duplicate offer' thing is confusing me. From what I can tell, I cannot choose a Blockbuster offer (for instance) on both the gold and platnum levels. However, once I totally complete an offer (for the big prize), when I sign up for a new big prize offer I *can* repeat offers that I had previously chosen.
Is that correct? Am I even making any sense? Thanks so much for your help!!
i signed up for the $500 visa gift card. I don't understand why offer that i signed up for under the gold, showed up on the silver also.. netflix will I be charged twice for this offer?
i signed up for the $500 visa gift card. I don't understand why offer that i signed up for under the gold, showed up on the silver also.. netflix will I be charged twice for this offer?
Woman Formerly Known as Jenn: You cannot choose a Blockbuster offer for more than one category (gold , silver, etc.). Theoretically you could sign up for Blockbuster for a new big prize offer but most companies only allow one signup per 6 month period.
The issue is with the parent companies. You cannot duplicate parent companies within the same big offer but you can if you're doing a different big prize offer. You may not always know companies are related though and that's where you need to do your research.
Anon: Either you mistakenly clicked the link for netflix in the wrong category page or there is a kink in the system. Wait a day or 2 and see if it changes back. If not, you will need to do a replacement in the category it switched from. Offers show as pending once you click on them regardless of if you signed up for them or not so maybe you opened the Netflix offer under silver first and then completed it under gold in which case it would show up under both. Hope that makes sense.
Hi Nicole! I've been nervous about this for a while now and finally am testing the waters. I am going through the company Consumer Incentive Rewards. In your experience, does every offer require a W-9? What are their reasons for requiring one? Thank you!
Katherine: The company you are mentioning is not an Ideal company so you didn't get it from my blog. Since I only blog about ideal offers and you're not doing an Ideal offer I can't give you any advice.
Thanks so much for wall your info on these offers! I'm proud to say that I finished one and on Oct. 28, 09 they received all the paperwork and approved me! I'm so excited. I did the offer for a $500 Visa gift card. My question is, how long does it really take to get the prize? I know they say 6-8 weeks, but you said that it took less than that, so I am wondering just how much less. I am looking forward to getting it soon!
Hi Leslie:
I would say anywhere from 4-8 weeks should be expected.
Just wanted to let you know- I started my offer for the $500 Lowes/HD gift card on 10th Oct. All my offers approved within 10 days and on 30th Oct, my gift card was processed. I received my card by Fedex on 18th Nov. I am IMPRESSED!
Thank you for the great post!!
Awesome!
Hi Nichole – I just wanted to thank you for this info. I started my offer on 11/6, and 7 out of 8 offers approved by day 10. On 11/17, I complete a replacement offer…nothing. On 11/27, I completed another replacement offer…nothing again. Today (11/30), I completed my THIRD replacement offer…I’m getting worried, because I’ve completed so many offers, and that last one just won’t approve…and the clock is ticking. Any advice or do I just have to keep signing up until one works? When I signed back in to complete my replacement offers, my name was no longer displayed on the page as it was for the first set (where it says last steps – a $500 Visa Gift Card has been reserved for xxx). Is that normal? They all show as pending (I made sure they were on my check status page as pending before completing the offers).
Hi Andrea: In the future, if a replacement doesn’t credit after 2 days do another one right away. That way the ticking clock won’t come so much into play – you waited 10 days to do a second replacement, that’s precious time. What matters is the check gift status page – complete your replacement offers right from the check gift status page, that’s how I have always done it.
ok, it took awhile (I started mid-July), but i finally got my wii+active set!!
Nicole,
I have a quick q for u….I dont have SSN..I am from a different country so does that mean i cannot do these offers???
I was just planning to start on these, so i would much appreciate a response regarding which might be suitable for me if any…
I mean to say that i stay in US but not a citizen or Green Card holder..
You have to fill out a W-9 form with the offer so you need a social security or tax identification number.
OK!!
Thanks a lot Nicole..
Hi Nicole,
I know you have done quite a few of these offers and I was wondering how you are finding enough “offers” in the gold, silver and platinum categories? They seem like the same ones. Have you found that they add more?
Thanks!
Every few months they rotate the offers so you are able to do more than 1.
hi nicole, thanks for all the information you provide. I am trying my first online offer now. I was wondering- do you wait to see that your offer has been credited to you before cancelling your free trial with the company? for example, if gevalia gives me 8 days to cancel, do i need to wait to see that offer go through before cancelling? i want to cancel everything before i forget to do it, but i want to make sure i’m credited as well…
Talking about offers and cancelling is against the terms and conditions of these offers. I don’t want to jeopardize my status with the company and can’t answer your question.
i’m sorry, after i wrote that i found where you had responded to similar questions in the past saying that you wouldn’t discuss cancellations. i understand! thank you.
Question
I filled out all my offers and it says wait 30 days to approve. If I cancel before 30 days, will it not approve them??
I am confused by when you say it says 30 days to approve. Have you read my instructions? If any offer hasn’t approved by day 13, you need to do replacements. As far as cancelling goes, it’s specifically prohibited in the terms and conditions to talk about cancelling and I won’t jeopardize my status with the company by violating.
PLEASE ALLOW 30 DAYS FOR THE QUALIFICATION OF OFFERS BEFORE EMAILING
CUSTOMER SERVICE. WE WILL ONLY EVALUATE REQUESTS AFTER 30 DAYS.
YOU MAY SIGN-UP WITH EACH OF OUR ADVERTISERS ONE TIME EVERY 6 MONTHS. ONCE
YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED AN ADVERTISER’S OFFER YOU ARE PROHIBITED
FROM SIGNING-UP FOR THAT OFFER, AS WELL AS ANY OTHER OFFER SPONSORED BY THE
ADVERTISER, FOR 6 MONTHS.
THIS OFFER IS LIMITED TO ONE GIFT PER HOUSEHOLD.
USERS WHO VIOLATE THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE A
PROMOTIONAL ITEM FROM THIS WEB SITE.
See where it says 30 days? I would cancel because some of the free trials i’ll take, but don’t want to commit to $394/year. Do you get what i’m saying?
Yes. But as I say in my posts, Ideal does not manually credit offers. So if your offers don’t credit after 30 days and you email them they will not do anything. You need to do replacements after 13 days like my instructions say. Beyond that, I can’t talk about cancelling as it’s against the terms and conditions.
Nicole,
I started an offer that Carrie recommended and now I’m looking for more (you’re right – I’m hooked!) I’m wondering how do you ladies know what company or sub-company each online offer is though (ideal, bullseye, top notch, etc). I know you can only do so much through each company and am trying to get straight what to do next.
Thanks!
It says what company on the bottom of the offer page.
This may be a dumb question, but what exact;y do you mean by a “replacement offer”? Do you simply mean to do a different/another offer, or is there a specific way to replace one you already did?
Yes, replacement offers are done just like any offer. There is no special trick.
I signed up on 2/5/10 for a $500 VISA offer, and have so far had 2 silver, 2 gold, and 6 platinums approved. I have to other platinums that have not approved, despite me having already received the items – Ivory White and Vista Print.
I just checked my status, and I saw that the terms and conditions have been changed. This is now a referral program (AKA pyramid scheme). These were not the terms when I signed up for the program (I copied them along with each offer into a spreadsheet), but if I try to do replacements they would fall under these new terms. I’m now almost $50 out of pocket, and only eligible for a $25 gift to a merchant of *their* choice.
Hi Kelli: Ok, You need to contact Ideal using the “contact us” link on the front page of the offer and explain that the terms changed to include 2 referrals but it wasn’t that way when you signed up. Offer to email them the original terms and conditions you have. It’s my experience that they will lock you in under the original terms without an issue. As far as the 2 offers that did not credit – remember, an offer not crediting doesn’t mean you didn’t do the offer or receive the items, it just means they didn’t credit for some reason. You’ll need to do 2 replacement offers asap since Ideal won’t issue manual credit. I always expect to do 1-3 replacements so you’re right on target. Hope that helps.
Hi.
I’m new to this, very interested, and VERY skeptical. lol. Do all of them require the “2 unique households” to complete the offers too before you get accepted and get your “gift”?
No, not at all. In fact, when I do my monthly post NONE of them require referrals. Terms do change (you’re locked into the terms when you sign up) so you may see some now on old posts that require referrals. I don’t recommend doing one that requires referrals. Let me know if you have any other questions.
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