July 29 2008

Work At Home With Amazon.com Mechanical Turk

Hey there good looking! If you're new here & looking for legit work at home, please check out my free Work At Home Guide. You may also want to subscribe to my Email list or RSS feed for updates on topics like the one on this page. And if you can't get enough me, you can also follow me on Twitter. Enjoy!

My bad…

Before I get into how to make money at home with Amazon.com I just wanted to apologize for my in frequent posts of late. It's the summer time & honestly I just want to be lazy for the duration of it. I haven't been able to do that since I was in elementary school. Now that I've retired, have a baby girl and my wife is home for the year, we figured we might as well enjoy the lifestyle that a work at home career as an affiliate has provided us. So please excuse the infrequent posts from now until September. We'll be back in full force then. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming…

Most of us know Amazon.com as a great place to buy stuff at a lower price. But did you know they offer work at home opportunities as well? I'm talking about a lot of opportunities here, not the one off telecommuting jobs that major corporations rarely offer. Amazon's work at home opportunity is known as Amazon Mechnacial Turk program (Please note, there is an interstitial ad page that will load before getting to the amazon page, just click on the skip the ad link at top right of the page to proceed to the correct page. Gotta pay the bills. lol). Strange name if you ask me. But who cares?

Here's How It Works.

Let's say a company has a directory of thousands of restaurants and need the hours of operation.

The company could ask a Mechanical Turk workers to find the hours of operation for each restaurant online (for instance by using Google or Citysearch, etc). They would do this by providing the name and city of one restaurant and load these tasks into Mechanical Turk "job board thingy".

Then you a Mechanical Turk would then take one of these "HITS" assignment and the company would pay you whatever the amount is for that particular task.

Or let's say, a company has people uploading images on their site but doesn't want people uploading the dirty kind you surf for late at night when you think no one is watching. (lol)

Well they would post a "HITS" where they would explain the task. You could then take on one of the hits and flag dirty pictures for the company using whatever mechanism they provide you and get paid for each image you flag or something to that effect.

Confused?

Just in case you suffer from the mad cow like me and didn't understand a word of the explanation above, I've created a short video for your enjoyment. It's true what they say, a picture is worth a thousand words:

What Types of Jobs are on Mechanical Turk

Some jobs or hits found on Amazon Mechanical Turk are as follows

transcribing audio or text
writing articles and summaries
re-writing/paraphrasing sentences, paragraphs, and articles
image tagging (identifying objects in a picture)
posting comments to blogs
writing reviews of movies, products, or services
researching details on various topics
answering questions
rating sites
checking search results
Becoming a fan of someone facebook page.
Tweeting a message.
Participating in a forum.
Bookmarking sites.
Watching Videos
Much more…

How Much Can you Make?

Browsing around the HITS projects, the payments are relatively low. It's anywhere from $.05 -- $100 (If you're lucky.) per HIT/job. But keep in mind there are so many available hits that it could add up really quickly in a given day. But it's definitely not the type of money that you would earn by running your own business as an affiliate marketer. But it's start!

When Are You Paid?

After the requestor (employer) of the hit approves the job you’ve done, you will be paid for each HIT you did for them. The money accumulates in your Amazon account. Then when you're ready to cash out you have two options.

How Are You Paid?

You can transfer the money to a bank account you have listed (Don't worry, only Amazon has access to it). Or you can redeem your money isntantly for an electronic Amazon.com gift certificate.

The minimum Withdrawal Amounts are as follows:

$10.00 minimum withdrawal to a bank account.

$1.00 minimum for an Amazon.com Gift Card purchase.

So with the amazon gift card option, you can literally have money by the end of the day. The great thing about Amazon is that they sell damn near everything so you could conceivably buy stuff you need around the house right from your desk. Gotta love it!

Are the positions actually available?

Don't ask me, take a look yourself by clicking here (Please note, there is an interstitial ad page that will load before getting to the amazon page, just click on the skip the ad link at top right of the page to proceed to the correct page.). lol

Tips To Keep You Safe!

Just like Craigslist, Monster or Careerbuilder there are some shady people that take advantage of sites that are meant to be helpful. Amazon Mturk is no different. Here's some advice that should help you stay out of trouble.

1. Avoid Hits that involve entering any personal information such as your name, email address, mobile number or physical address. A lot of times these hits are disguised as quizzes, data entry, surveys or website testing. I just skip over any hits that mention this. Why should you avoid these hits? They're probably affiliate offers and you may end up getting spammed with information. If you don't mind dealing with spam than by all means carry on. There is also a risk some of the requesters may be phishing for information to be used for scams. These are possible things to consider with hits that require so much information. Proceed at your own risk.

2. Be skeptical of high paying hits especially if they involve the hits I just mentioned in the first tip. There are definitely some hits that pay well but they tend to involve a lot more work just as you would expect in the offline world. But if it sounds to good to be true, it usually is. So don't let greed or desperation get the better of you.

3. Check for new hits all through out the day. They're constantly adding tons of work regularly so you can easily earn a couple of dollars per day if you just hang out at the Mturk site. I do hits during my down time.

Pros

- Instant Money.You can literally have money by the time you finish reading this article!

- Idiot Proof. Most of the hits (jobs) are super easy!

- Jobs are available right now! There is none of this sending out resumes and praying to the job Gods that you'll hear back from these employers.

- Flexible schedule. I literally do hits in between emails or any down time I have.

- Low Pay out minimum. If you stick with the amazon gift card options you can cash out a dollar instantly. That can probably be done in 10-20 minutes with certain hits.

Cons

- Low payout per hits. I think there are some people that will moan that this is damn near slave labor. But I think most reasonable people will see this as easy money that can be made in the comfort of their home while you can still pursue more substantial opportunities.

- Weak Scam Detection & Reporting. Unfortunately Amazon doesn't have a great mechanism in spotting con artist requestors (employers). You would think they could just post some hits to hire people to monitor the other hits and dry snitch on bad employers.

- Bank information. I know some people get the heebie geebies about giving out their bank information even if it's to a major company like Amazon. This definitely sucks if you don't want the gift card option. So the bank account thing may be viewed as a con. Personally It never concerned me since I've shopped on Amazon many times and they've never done anything shady with the financial information they have stored. So personally I think it's a silly concern. But to each their own.

Conclusion

Ultimately I think the Amazon Mechanical Turk work at home opportunity is totally worth a shot since there are many "jobs" that are actually available. The other reason I recommend it is that so many of you have made money with it. It's by far one of my most popular recommendations. However just keep in mind that this isn't a huge money maker. But you already know my philosophy. It's better to do a lot of little things that make you money which can add up quickly than making no money applying for work at home jobs that are extremely hard to land! My loyal subscribers that have actually followed this advice has had some great work at home success because of it. So what do you have to lose?

Update: One of my loyal subscribers has written a great article on How To Make Money Typing on Amazon which you should definitely read if you have interest in typing jobs and I know a gang of you do! lol When you read you'll see how It goes to show how well you can do with this Mturk program and how it can lead to other jobs. Enjoy.

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Kamil said on August 28th, 2008 at 3:47 pm

Hello Ed,

Love the website and I have decided to focus more on affiliates and surveys now more than traditional work from home opportunity. I have two questions for you. One, I am seriously thinking of joining Wealthy Affiliate and I plan on earning while I earn. Typically, how much money is offering for the jobs posted in WA. I know that you said that there are jobs there only for WA members so typically how much do they pay?
Second, I have applied to a couple of online surveys but it appears that I am not that qualified because I never receive surveys. It may be because I am 28 and single and I also work an online ebay business. So, is there a way I can twick my profile so that I am more qualified for surveys and so that I can start making money?

Thanks in advance

Kamil
Reply
Ellavemia said on September 9th, 2008 at 2:48 pm

I’ve been using Mechanical Turk for a while now. Around Christmas time I was living solely on Hits and buying food from Amazon with my earnings. That was extreme, but I’m just saying it works. I ran into a couple of Requesters who were willing to pay a bonus because of my quality of work. There are all ranges of Hits from a penny to quite a lot, but most high paying jobs are worth more than the Requester is willing to pay. Still, I can say that it’s a legitimate place to make some extra cash.
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eddysalomon said on September 9th, 2008 at 2:52 pm

Hi Ellavemia,

Thanks for sharing your experience. Sounds like you did very well with this opportunity.

Hopefully others will have the same experience.

Eddy
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Alvin said on October 27th, 2008 at 5:59 am

Thanks for the very informative piece here.

I really like to get a work at home job and you gave me a nice look at the opportunities to work at home.

Thanks again Ed!
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eddysalomon said on October 27th, 2008 at 6:59 pm

Hi Alvin,

Thanks for the kind words. I really appreciate it.
I am just happy I could expose you to some other less traditional opportunities.

Eddy
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Alvin said on October 27th, 2008 at 7:36 pm

Hi again Ed,

I have a question. Is there a way I can transfer my earnings to a local bank in my country? I noticed that MTurk can only make transfers to any banks in the US.
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eddysalomon said on October 27th, 2008 at 7:44 pm

Hey Alvin,

I wish I could tell you that I have the answer but I really don’t know what you would do in that situation.
You may want to visit: http://www.mturk.com/mturk/contactus and ask them this question directly.

They may be able to provide some insight. That’s always a problem for my international users, some countries are covered and some aren’t. It’s very frustrating to say the least.

Sorry I couldn’t be of more assistance.

Eddy
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Veronica N. said on May 27th, 2009 at 1:42 pm

Hi Eddy,

Um…well lets see after going through the reviews of your article and video i must say i was huh? . I am still a bit confused I will eventually figure this out.
Thanks again for posting this information.

Btw I heard birdies in the backround how cute. lol

Veronica N.
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Eddy Salomon said on May 27th, 2009 at 7:01 pm

LOL.
You’re welcome. I live in the suburbs so I hear birds, geese, and other strange animals I’ve never seen in the Bronx where I from. I was so accustomed to sirens, loud music and people talking loud that it took me a while to get accustomed to the sounds of nature. Quite frankly, it freaked me out at first. lol
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Speedo C said on May 30th, 2009 at 6:16 am

Hi Eddy,

First up, I want to thank you for suggesting Amazon Mechanical Turk to us. It’s a great site and pays us for our work. I signed up last month and had my first check come in a few days back for $58. I’m so thankful to you because I lost my job some time back and was badly in need of some income generating opportunity. You’ve been very helpful Eddy, God Bless You!!

Speedo
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Veronica N. said on June 3rd, 2009 at 11:42 am

@Eddy Salomon:

LOL to funny. I am originally from New York and I know exactly what you mean regards to loud noises hahaha Now I reside in South Carolina it took a while to get use to it so quiet here lol I’ll have to play my spanish music from time to time lol makes me feel like home….t/c Eddy.

May you have an awesome day!!

Veronica N.
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Veronica N. said on June 3rd, 2009 at 2:20 pm

Oh almost forgot to mention I don’t seem to have found an article about Clixsense.com if mention in one of your articles, could you please tell me more about it and how it works please?

Thanks again,
Veronica
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Eddy Salomon said on June 3rd, 2009 at 4:23 pm

LOL I’m glad someone else can relate. When it gets warm, I roll my car windows down throw on some old school rap and drive around the neighborhood blasting my music. Makes me feel all warm inside during those summer days. lol
We visit the old “block” because our family members still live there. But I won’t lie it feels good to come back to our quiet suburban home now. I never thought I would ever say that. lol
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Eddy Salomon said on June 3rd, 2009 at 4:39 pm

I’ll be releasing an article as soon as I get my first payment. I like to wait until I get paid with the companies I personally recommend. Because I’m an affiliate marketer I don’t want folks’ thinking I’m talking out my arse just so I can get paid for referrals. I like to practice what I preach. There are too many sites out there that recommend everything. But most of them have never even tried or researched the crap they’re promoting. So as soon as I get my first payment I’ll dedicate a full article and video. But from all the research I’ve done the company is legit. It basically works very much like YouData. You log in, click on the ads, get paid. Wash, rinse and repeat the cycle every few days and like any good company they offer an affiliate program so you can make even more money by helping others work for the company. Most of the get paid to click websites that I’ll be reviewing will work the same way. I hope this gives you a quick insight to it.
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Dee said on June 19th, 2009 at 9:45 am

Hi Eddy,

Just a comment about Mechanical Turk…I’ve been working on some of their stuff and I would HIGLY reccommend that you accept the hit BEFORE you start working on th project. I worked on one project one day that took me about 10 minutes but by the time I got back over to submit the work the hit had disappeared and was no longer available! Bummer….all that work for nothing.

I have been paid twice by Amazon for this, so just so everyone knows it does pay out. It wasn’t much but it was interesting to me because I went to buy a book on Amazon and it actually gave me the choice of whether to use my money toward the purchase. Cool deal the way I use Amazon all the time.

DW
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Eddy Salomon said on June 19th, 2009 at 9:55 am

Hi Dee,

Thanks for the advice and chiming in. I think Amazon actually explains that in their tutorial. But it’s good that you point it out again so people don’t make the same mistake. I’m just happy to hear another one of our recommendations is making people money. It’s not a lot of money but I bet it’s better than making no money at home. You couple this with many of the other free non-traditional work at home opportunities we’ve recommended and it adds up quickly. Great job and thanks for actually sharing! It’s always good to hear from people like you because it may give folks hope and the incentive to take action.

Keep up the good work!
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Faith D. said on June 23rd, 2009 at 2:11 am

I’m so glad I found your site a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been turking since then and writing for associated content and getting paid already. I couldn’t find a job this summer but the writing is adding up already and the “turking” hmph, well I’ve made a small amount and spent a small amount but its adding up. I also am selling my old research papers online and signed up for mylots yesterday. So hopefully everything will add up nicely. thanks.Have a great summer, I really appreciate your blog.
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Joanne said on June 26th, 2009 at 11:10 am

Eddy, I’m from Brooklyn, NY and now that I know you’re from the Bronx, NY I feel I can trust you more! I just found your site after many years of searching for at home work. I like your philosophy of doing many different things to make money and not wasting time on looking for the ONE big job! It makes so much sense. Anyway thanks for all the research you do and for sharing it with the rest of us.

Joanne
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Eddy Salomon said on June 28th, 2009 at 10:00 am

Hey Joanne,
I was actually born in Brooklyn, NY and spent my earlier years there. My heart still feels that connection though. Anybody from Brooklyn knows what I mean. In any event I’m happy you can appreciate the multiple streams of smaller income strategy. I think it’s an easier way to make money now rather than later especially for people just starting out.

Thanks for your continued support. It always means a lot to me getting some local love. Take care and good luck.

Eddy
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Ann K said on July 22nd, 2009 at 8:24 pm

Dear Mr.Eddy Salomon,
I am a not a US citizen, but i am a Malaysian, and i found that most of the home job links on your site is not available to me. I would appreciate if you could refer a legit home based online data entry or surveys job that i could work online from home. I am trying to secure a home based job in order to enable me to take care of my young daughters needs for eg. sending her to & from school, & tuition etc, and also be able to secure an income at the same time. I have been trying for almost a year now since i lost my administrative assistant job in a software company after it folded in due to the recent economic downturn. I am already 53 years of age now so it is not easy to secure a decent job due to my age. My search for a legit work at home online job was not fruitful as i found out that they are all mostly SCAMS.
Anxiously awaiting your response and thanking you with sincerity.

Yours Sincerely,
Ann K
Reply
Eddy Salomon said on July 22nd, 2009 at 8:30 pm

Hi Ann,

You can just call me Eddy.
Try visiting my international page: http://www.workathomenoscams.com/international it should help you. The amazon opportunity listed above is also a good option. I also recently introduced Clixsense which is available in your area:
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/2009/07/21/is-clixsense-com-a-scam So you do have options.

Good luck.
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Christina Vincent said on July 31st, 2009 at 11:45 am

Hello This sounds good I only have acess to my fiancee’s computer every two weeks example: August 8th and 9th and August 22nd and 23rd etc. when my son visits his dad. I am avaliable about 3 or 4 hours every other weekend and in about a year if I do not find other employment I will be avaliable every doy about 4 hours or 6 hours. thanks for a place to see that is actually real and not a scam.
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Eddy Salomon said on July 31st, 2009 at 11:51 am

You’re welcome Christina!
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Ikenna said on August 1st, 2009 at 12:43 pm

I went through the website bu Nigerians are not allowed to join. Too bad. Why is it that most online ventures do not allow Nigerians. I do not stay in the U.S I love to do online business but I have not seen any legitimate ones that accept Nigerians. Please i would like you to help me with online jobs that Nigerians can do. I have internet facility, I am a graduate and I believe I can work from home and make good money for myself. I have done mystery shopping that paid me $96 here in Nigeria but I need more jobs to do here in Nigeria. Please help me.
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Elizabeth McGill said on August 1st, 2009 at 10:14 pm

Eddy,

Months ago I bookmarked your site, and boy am I glad I did! Not only did I join Mechanical Turk, but on my first HIT I got a bonus plus, now I write on a long term basis for the person I made the bonus from! These HITs are wonderful, and if you put out quality work, you just might get a long term assignment like me. Now, I am waiting for a data entry job to come around from the same requestor!! He said he liked my work so well he wanted to keep me busy! I joined 1 week ago, and I have already made $33.75 !!!

Thank you for putting the websites up that do make you money. You will not get instantly rich, but if you work hard enough, it is something that you can make money at.

Oh! I also joined Mylot, and am very pleased with the community there! I have found friends that are contributors of other writing sites I am a member of! My websites have really been active with the PVs!! Thanks, and keep up the good work here, people do join these sites everyday!
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Eddy Salomon said on August 2nd, 2009 at 12:12 am

Hi Ikenna,

I’m really sorry to hear about your situation. You may want to visit my international work at home page instead:
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/international

Unfortunately your country is associated with a lot of the common online schemes so I guess companies find it easier to just black list a whole country then to do it on a case by case basis. All it takes is a few bad apples to ruin it for everyone.
Ironically I just read a report where most of the spam comes from the U.S. but yet we’re not getting blacklisted. So go figure. In any event, try the international page listed above. It may help. Good luck.
Reply
Eddy Salomon said on August 2nd, 2009 at 12:16 am

Hey Elizabeth,

Thanks for taking the time to share your success story with me. Goes to show when people take action it can lead to things. I know at first glance when people see how much is initially offered for these non traditional opportunities they think its a waste of time. But you’re living proof it can lead to bigger and better things. So you go girl!

Again I really appreciate hearing these stories, If more people took the time to share them I think it would inspire a lot more people to succeed. So thanks again. Keep us posted.
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Elizabeth McGill said on August 2nd, 2009 at 10:43 pm

Eddy,

I had to update! I’m so excited! Ok,so I earned $33.75, off ONE HIT on Mechanical Turk, secured a long term assignment, (Still going, INCLUDING a data entry job!) OK….still with me? Guess what?

I invested $18 in http://www.GoHomejobStop.com, a full years subscription! (scroll up people, it’s in the list!!) If there is somebody out there that can’t find ONE job from this site in a full year, well…I couldn’t even imagine that scenario!!

Eddy, I have not seen soooooo many writing jobs available in ONE place, you know how I feel about writing!!! There are 217 writing jobs in ONE place…..t-w-o h-u-n-d-r-e-d s-v-e-n-t-e-e-n !! That’s just writing, there is also sections on business, clerical, customer service, engineering programming, finance, creative art design, human resource, medical transcription, web developement, and get this….listening? There is even a miscellaneous section! How cool is that!

Now for the kicker! In the miscellaneous I found a job title that is line with my course work!! (currently going for an Associate in MIBC)

Geeesh! Eddy, I’m telling you, I’m practically doing the “happy-snoopy-dance” here! I’ll get you an update as soon as I have one.

Oh, gee, sorry to be filling up your discussion with such blabber, but I just had to say something about your site!

You guys, listen…..I’m a full-time student and you students out there know money gets pretty darn tight! All you have to do is just keep looking, keep making time in your day to look through these sites, find one and then just DO IT! For every good lead you turn down, someone is coming right behind you and picking the ball up and making that money you just turned down!

Eddy, thanks for your dedication at putting these sites out. You may never know how many people gain a better spot in life because of you, but as for me? I’m going to darn well tell you about it!

-Liz
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Veronica N. said on August 3rd, 2009 at 12:25 pm

Hi Elizabeth,

Top of the Morning or Afternoon to all our viewers out there.

That is totally awesome! ! lol I want in hahaha!!! And would like more information about it the more the Meriel I like to learn and to see what’s out there on the net…it is people like you who inspire just like Eddy Salomon to keep on going. Keep up the great work.

Veronica N.
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Eddy Salomon said on August 3rd, 2009 at 3:24 pm

You go girl! Thanks for the update Liz! I love your energy and I’m extremely proud of you!
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Evelyn said on August 8th, 2009 at 3:52 pm

OK…I’ll bite…
How do you sign up to be a “Mechanical Turk” for Amazon? Or do you just start doing the “HITS”?

Evelyn
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Eddy Salomon said on August 8th, 2009 at 8:18 pm

It’s pretty straight forward. You watch the video above. Click on the link above and sign up. It’s that simple. If you have questions you visit their site and email them or look for their FAQ or help section. Good luck.
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Viva said on August 15th, 2009 at 1:57 pm

Hi,
Just want to chime in and say that I have been working for Turks since June 2008 and have made over $1,040.00 so far. It helps if you like to write or rewrite and you type fast.
Anyway, thanks for your great site!
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Sky said on August 18th, 2009 at 12:15 pm

Hi Eddy, I just wanted to ask, is Mechanical Turf open to international members? I am from the Philippines and it says on their FAQ that to receive payment you can have it transfer to US personal bank account. Do you Paypal options?
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Eddy Salomon said on August 18th, 2009 at 7:55 pm

Hi Sky,

I assumed they were. But I would try to email them or read their faq section again.
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Tanja said on August 25th, 2009 at 10:54 am

Hi Eddy,

I just joined AmazonMechTurk and was wondering why my account is seeing a debit of $1 from them? I’m new at this and want to make sure I’m doing everything correctly. I didn’t think there were any fees involved. Please assist. Thanks!
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Eddy Salomon said on August 25th, 2009 at 3:54 pm

Hi Tanja,

I haven’t heard of such a fee. Did you try contacting amazon directly to determine what that is?
I think that’s the best course of action. A number of people have worked with Amazon and I’ve never heard this.

Let me know what you learn when you contact amazon.

Eddy
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dawie said on August 26th, 2009 at 5:28 am

Hi Eddy
I just want to know is it possible to have earnings send to paypal account at Turk,i know they have the amazon gift account and then the us bank account ,unfotunatly i dont have a us bank account .
Tx keep up the best web page ever.
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Tanja said on August 26th, 2009 at 8:31 am

@Eddy Salomon:
Hi Eddy,

I called amazon and spoke with a rep who said he would need to take my debit card number and the debit card’s bank phone number on the back to pass that along to the billing dept. to figure out if that amount needs to be waived. I’m still waiting to hear back.
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Eddy Salomon said on August 26th, 2009 at 8:46 am

Dawie,
You need to contact Amazon.com about that question. But from what I gathered that’s not an option.

Hi Tanja,

Thanks for the update. Look forward to future updates regarding this because I’ve never heard anyone having this
issue. Thanks again for keeping me in the loop.
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michelle madden said on September 29th, 2009 at 11:14 am

my name is michelle madden. Do I need my own website to do this?
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Eddy Salomon said on September 29th, 2009 at 11:17 am

Hi,

You might want to read the article and watch the video above. There was no mention of needing a website for this opportunity.
I would hate to see you miss out on some great opportunities because of scanning articles. Hope this makes sense. Good luck.
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MGY said on October 25th, 2009 at 1:40 am

Hi Eddy,

I’ve been using Mechanical Turk for a few months now, and I have to say it really works. Some of the HITS are really easy, and fun.
I’m glad I came across your website, it simply makes it so much easier for us folks who are interested in finding legit ways to make some money.

Thanks for educating us on how to avoid becoming victims to scammers.
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Eddy Salomon said on October 25th, 2009 at 9:07 am

You’re welcome MGY.
It’s always good to hear people taking action on these recommendations. You’re living proof that they do work if folks are willing to come out their comfort zones. So congratulations.
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Matt said on December 10th, 2009 at 4:42 pm

Hey there,
I just happened upon the site while I was thinking about how to make a little extra and still stay home with my kids and continue going to school. What a resource!
I’m gonna try the amazon thing after I do a little research.
Thanks!
Reply
Eddy Salomon said on December 10th, 2009 at 8:44 pm

Hi Matt,

You’re welcome. This amazon opportunity is one of the top ones I recommend. So many folks have tried this opportunity and had success with it. So trust me when I say
it’s a no brainer. That being said, it’s always good to do your research. Because the fact of the matter is, just because it may be good for some doesn’t mean it will be for all.
Good luck.
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jessehollis said on December 11th, 2009 at 11:37 am

Jesse Most of the things that you write about are correct. selling on sites like amazon, overstock, and ebay works. affiliate marketing works. but I found this out by trying things over the years. I will let you know other things that work over the years.
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Veronica B said on December 19th, 2009 at 10:42 pm

Hey Eddy and everyone,

tonight I just joined the Amazonturk thing and I am giving it a try. By reading everyone else’s response and seeing how they have generated sucess, I am stepping out of my boundaries and giving it a try. I work two jobs, and seem to be getting nowhere. I tried the surveys and were never qualified. so I confidence in this. Thanks.
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Cayla L said on January 4th, 2010 at 8:50 pm

Hey Eddy!

First, love the site! I’ve shared it with many friends and family members. My favorites are MTurk and Opinion Outpost. Unlike most sites, Opinion Outpost only has a minimum cash out of 5.00, so you don’t feel like it’s taking forever to work your rewards up! I’ve made 250.00 on MTurk so far, just doing it on the side when I have time.

I wanted to alert you of a few scams WITHIN MTurk. First of all, there are several HITs that ask you to go to one site, fill out a form, and then continue to http://www.whatismyip.com. I’m not sure if everyone is as skeptical about giving out their IP as I am, but I avoid them. Also, as with most things in life, if it seems to good to be true, it probably is. There are 4 and 5 dollar hits that once you accept them and do them, they won’t let you submit. The posters rig it to where you are unable to Submit after you have done the task. You do it thinking you’ll get paid top dollar for not much work, but then are unable to Submit for payment.

There are some HITs that pay well and seem simple. They ask you to simply “download a picture and tell what is in it”. Sometimes it will ask you to name the fruit, or copy the number. It takes you to an external site, and you are asked to download a weird file. I haven’t actually downloaded the external file, but my computer pulls it up as red.

Just remember with MTurk. Most HITs don’t pay well. If it seems too good to be true, it most likely is! No one is going to pay you .50 cents to tell you what fruit is in 1 picture.

Overall, I LOVE MTurk and highly recommend it to people with some time on their hands. I made 25.00 just TODAY because I ran across some fairly simple, but well paying, HITs.

Thanks again for all your hard work.

Cayla
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Leslie said on January 7th, 2010 at 7:24 am

Hey eddy,

Love the work you’re doing. I live in Caribbean and has been looking for an online Job or opportunity that does not require a fee for start-up. I tried Mechanical Turk, but they only gifts baskets for earnings for us in the region.
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Eddy Salomon said on January 7th, 2010 at 9:57 pm

Leslie,

Thanks. Visit the international page or my recommendations page for other options:
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/international
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/recommendations

Good luck.
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James said on January 10th, 2010 at 9:42 pm

hello eddy,

i came upon your site completely by chance and am glad i did i am still a little hesitant, and so i would like to ask a few questions sorry for grammatical/spelling errors. first off
1) all the work at home sites you recommend are they free to start and have fees, or do they have a one time start up fee or how do most of these sites work.
2) i decided to also comment because not many places online have discussions where the one person (mod/creator/blogger) actually reply back to them so with that said. i am currently a college student who got put on academic suspension, i am currently a psychology major, and are in real need of money so are there any free work at home sites that pay decently, and are easy to do for now? (sorry its so long)

glad that you actually keep up with your promises
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Eddy Salomon said on January 11th, 2010 at 12:38 am

Hey James,

Glad you found my little site. I’m sure you’ll find useful as you read through it. Don’t worry about your grammar or spelling, mine is awful. lol

1. In terms of my recommendations most are free. The best way to find out about the recommendations is to read through them and visit the recommended sites.
Pick the ones that are the best fit for you based on what you read. http://www.workathomenoscams.com/recommendations

Based on your needs you probably need a job so be sure to read the following pages:
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/companies
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/category/work-from-home-jobs-leads
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/workathomeguide

So that’s pretty much it in a nutshell. Everything you need is pretty much in the pages above. But you have to be willing to read them and take action on the companies of interest to you. Good luck.
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katie said on January 13th, 2010 at 11:49 am

Hi Eddy,

I just found your site today, and I’m so glad I did you have a ton of helpful info. I’ve been trying out MTurk and looking through the site and was wondering if you knew if they have an affiliate program. I know amazon does for reffering people to products etc. but was wondering if you can refer people to MTurk? Thanks for all the help!
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Eddy Salomon said on January 13th, 2010 at 11:54 am

HI Katie,

Glad you found our site. Be sure you become a subscriber if you enjoy it so you don’t miss out any helpful content:
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/subscribe

In terms of an Mturk affiliate program, I wish they did have one otherwise I’d be making a lot of money from it. lol But unfortunately they don’t.
Take care.
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ismail said on January 14th, 2010 at 9:29 pm

Hai eddy. Thanks for your article it is ver usefull for me. I’am a new reader on your blog
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Eddy Salomon said on January 16th, 2010 at 9:34 am

You’re welcome Ismail. Be sure to become a subscriber so you don’t miss out on any new articles I may post:
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/subscribe
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sharita said on January 18th, 2010 at 12:03 am

hi eddy! just like to say, i hear alot of positive feedback/comments! im going to give mturk a try! i’ll keep u posted!
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Eddy Salomon said on January 18th, 2010 at 11:42 am

Sounds good Sharita.

Good luck!
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Heidi said on February 6th, 2010 at 1:13 pm

Hi Eddy,

Thanks for doing this site! It’s great to get real advice as to where to go to make some money. I joined the MTurk program. I made a few cents so far. I was wondering about some of the higher paying ones. They will say it’s totally free but they want you to give your cell phone# or pull your credit report. I checked some of these out but then steered clear and returned the hit. Are some of the higher paid hits legit? One in praticluar was offering $22.00 to take a surevy and at the end of the lone survey it wanted my cell phone number for a monthly ring tone fee. I backed out quickley and didnt try to collect the money.
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Eddy Salomon said on February 6th, 2010 at 2:04 pm

Heidi,

You’re welcome. Glad to hear you’ve made some money with MTurk. Most people do. It may not be a lot right now but it will add up especially if you couple it with a lot of the other opportunities I’ve recommended in the past. In terms of some of the HITS you mentioned, I think you’re right to be skeptical. I think there are certain affiliate marketers that are making up bogus hits to lure folks in so they can promote their affiliate links. So for instance someone may say they have a hit that will pay you $5 but before you can get started on the hit we need to get a credit report on you, so visit MyAffiliateLinkSoICanGetPaid.com Once you fill out the credit report, they’re getting paid by the parent company which may offer them $15-20 for bringing you in. Then that affiliate make take part of that money $5 and pay for some fake hit they make up. It’s very much how get paid to try offers ( http://www.workathomenoscams.com/2008/05/07/getpaidtotryoffers/ ) work but these guys aren’t really being upfront about it. So it’s a bit deceptive on their end.

The other worst case scenario in that situation is that they’re actually stealing your information for identity theft. So like any job board, proceed with caution. If it just doesn’t feel quite right, just pass on it. There are always going to be folks that abuse legitimate resources such as Mturk, Craigslist, Job boards, etc. But as long as you trust your instincts and do your research when possible, you can avoid a lot of these scams or deception. I hope amazon does a better job of screening some of the folks posting hits in the near future. But it’s nearly impossible to root out all scam artists. They’re very good at what they do and persistent like roaches. But don’t let it deter you.
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Paula said on March 11th, 2010 at 2:15 pm

Hi Eddie,

I have been doing some of the ptc sites like clixsense, hits4pay and wordlinx that you recommended, but I have never tried amazon mechanical turks before. I have one question, how do they pay you, is it through paypal, check or to your bank account? I wasn’t able to find that info when I went to the site. Basically how do I get the money? Also, I want to thank you for this site, it really does help with weeding out all of the scams.
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Paula said on March 11th, 2010 at 2:21 pm

Hi Eddy,

I apologize for spelling your name wrong!!!
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Eddy Salomon said on March 11th, 2010 at 2:53 pm

Hi Paula,

No worries. lol
I believe it may be by paypal. That’s usually how most of these companies pay. But I could be wrong. Hey you “Turkers” can you chime in?
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Ellen said on March 11th, 2010 at 5:33 pm

Your Turk work money sits in your account until you decide to withdraw it. then you can have it transferred to your bank account via direct deposit or towards an Amazon gift certificate. You can see this if you log in and click on Account Settings. There is no Paypal connection that I can see.
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Judy said on March 11th, 2010 at 11:52 pm

Hi

I just browsed around and read this and i was wondering how do you get paid for this?

Thanks =)
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Eddy Salomon said on March 11th, 2010 at 11:58 pm

Thanks for clearing that up Ellen!
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Paula said on March 12th, 2010 at 8:47 am

Hey,

Thanks, Guys!
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Lori said on March 16th, 2010 at 10:42 am

Hey Eddy,

I signed up for this yesterday and have completed about $4.14 worth of HITS. Not too bad as I was being very picky since I was afraid of the potential for viruses.

I see all sorts of comments about payout to bank account. Has anyone actually done this? Don’t want to give my account info until I know its legit.

Another question that came up is what about taxes? How does Uncle Sam get his hands on this? (since you know he will) Can one of the more veteran MTurk users let me know their tax experience and if I’m going to have to file a W-2?
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Eddy Salomon said on March 16th, 2010 at 11:44 am

Hi Lori,

Sounds good. Keep up the good work. A fellow Turker said you’re paid via amazon where you can then use the money to purchase things at Amazon.
In terms of taxes 99.9% of work at home opportunities work as follows. You’re usually considered an independent contractor not an employee. When you reach about $600 for a given company, you may be required to fill a w-9. At the end of the year you’ll receive a 1099 that is filed with the Feds and a copy is sent to you. You then take that to your accountant. They will ask you what expenses or deductions you have such as internet fees, computer, etc, etc. That will be subtracted from what you earned. If there is anything left, you’ll be taxed on that when you send in your return. When you start making some big money, I would suggest getting incorporated. It definitely helps your tax burden.

So that’s pretty much how the taxes work. Keep in mind some companies aren’t based in the U.S. so they may not require this. But as a rule you’re suppose to report the income regardless. Please keep in mind I’m not a tax advisor or professional. You should always seek the advice of a professional tax advisor for questions like this as the information I provided here may not be accurate.

Hope this helps.
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Ellen said on March 16th, 2010 at 12:50 pm

You can use the Turk money you earn towards Amazon gift certificates or just put it directly into your bank account. I do the latter and it is fine. This is all being run by Amazon.
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Irene Kelly said on March 17th, 2010 at 4:54 pm

I live in the UK and would love to earn money from home but I have joined lots of things in the past 2 years and never earned a cent. I’d love to try Amazon Turk but if there is no paypal and ai don’t have a USA bank account how would I be paid. Is ther anything like this that I could do from UK. By the way love your site. At last someone is fighting back agains the scammers.
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Bryan said on April 12th, 2010 at 10:59 am

Eddy, your website is a wonderful oasis in a desert of work-at-home misinformation on the Internet. Thanks for the heads up on this money making opportunity. I just transferred $11.74 to my bank account from Mechanical Turk. I was able to do that with minimal time. I found a couple hits that paid $1.50 and $2.00 and only took me about 5 minutes total to complete. I’m going to use MTurk income to fund my other online money-making ventures. That way I can tell people that I made this money completely from online opportunities. Thanks again.
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Eddy Salomon said on April 12th, 2010 at 11:04 am

No Bryan,

Thank you for taking time out your day just to come back and share your success and thanking me. I really appreciate it. It never gets tired hearing people taking action and making money. I’m really proud that you plan to re-invest some of the money you’ve earned back into yourself by trying some other opportunities. That’s a great way to leverage your income and what I do. So applaud you! Thanks again for sharing!
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Bryan said on May 3rd, 2010 at 9:39 am

Quick update: I just completed my first month of doing MTurk. I made $84 and change working on Hits in my free time. All in all I probably spent about 12 hours total working with MTurk. $84 divided by 12 is $7 per hour. Not bad for working from my home. If I put a little more time into it I could have broken $100 easily. Eddy, thanks again for the tip.
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Eddy Salomon said on May 3rd, 2010 at 9:58 am

Great Job Bryan!

First and foremost, thanks for coming back here and sharing the good news. It’s very inspiring. I wish more people did that because I know there are a lot of folks making money with this particular opportunity. I’ve recently started taking advantage of doing the hits in my free time as well instead of wasting time on Facebook or something. lol
I definitely think you get what you put in with it. I plan to do a bit more as time allows. But it’s easy money and tons of fun. Feels great to be making money from home doesn’t it? Goes to show it is possible if you have the right guide and take action! Thanks again Bryan.
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Cathy said on May 17th, 2010 at 11:09 pm

Hi Eddy- MTurk has been a fantastic place to be. I have yet to see $7 bucks an hour but……….. At least my daily income has been rising. Who knows? And it’s more than I was making before just poking around all by myself. There is a lot to be said for experience, keeping yourself safe and finally making money. I like to encourage people to do the same thing but most of the people I know are not as adventurous as I am. And here I am at 11:08pm working. But it’s not for that other guy! Thanks for all this that you’ve put together. Great vision!
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Eddy Salomon said on May 17th, 2010 at 11:12 pm

You’re welcome Cathy!
You have a great attitude and it’s because of it you will ultimately succeed at working at home and eventually making the money you want. Unfortunately there are a lot of short sighted and limited perception folks out there. As a result they will continue to get more of what they have been getting for years. Whereas folks like you will have a world of opportunities.
So keep at it!
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CRYBABY said on June 8th, 2010 at 12:15 am

Dear eddy
just joined turking i love it there is so many option but my concern is since im from UAE i saw one faq about taxes and I need to have an SNN no incase my earning would reach on a certain amount..will you explain more about this? and if i apply for this SNN is there a risk i may not be approved? so will it mean i wont get all my money from amazon?..im non us based turker…im an addict of your site and a huge fan , love ur site and thanks youuuuuuuuuuuuu
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Eddy Salomon said on June 8th, 2010 at 12:18 am

Hi again,

Sorry, you need to contact Amazon about these questions.
I hope this helps. Good luck.
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CRYBABY said on June 9th, 2010 at 2:07 am

hi eddy

i started amazon turking yesterday and i have 12 pending job to be approved i hope just wanted to verify, amazon doesnt have this affiliated links? right??

eiii just a news i got my first payment from cloud crowd with usd 7 im so amused

i love this site !!!! keep it up eddy
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Eddy Salomon said on June 9th, 2010 at 7:13 am

Congrats,

I’m happy to see you taking action. No the Amazon Mturk doesn’t have an affiliate program otherwise I would be making a lot of money with all the people I’ve referred to that site. lol

Keep up the good work. More action, just leads to more money.
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Renee said on June 22nd, 2010 at 11:03 pm

I’ve been doing MTurk for about five months and I like it a lot. It’s very straight-forward. The minimum cash out for PayPal is $10, but you can put any amount toward Amazon.com purchases, which is awesome if you buy from there frequently.

Here’s a tip: Get qualified for HITs from a Requester called TryMyUI. It’s a company that finds ordinary people to review web sites for their customers. E.g. Somebody owns a bakery that does catering for special events. They have a site and want to know others’ impressions of it. They hook up with TryMyUI, who in turn hooks up with you to test that site. You’re given a set of objectives. Then you record your comments & thoughts into a mic as you explore the site and accomplish the objectives. It’s very easy and normally pays $10 a HIT.

However, don’t expect to get a HIT every day or even every week. There are some tests you won’t be qualified for. It’s still a good MTurk supplement!
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Renee said on June 22nd, 2010 at 11:05 pm

Oh, and here’s their site: http://www.trymyui.com//
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Eddy Salomon said on June 24th, 2010 at 7:00 pm

Renee,

Thanks for sharing your success with one of the many companies listed at Amazon Turk. Mturk continues to be a winner for anyone that gives it a real shot. Like any company it’s not perfect but most of the feedback I’ve always received from people that have taken action on it is they love it. So I’m happy to hear that’s the same case for you.
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chris said on June 30th, 2010 at 6:08 am

hi again ,
also dont you think its unfair that people living in the states have the option to cash out but if your from the uk for example you have to spend any money you earn at there site such as amazon mechanical turk! What happened to equal rights and opportunities? Thisoption should be aailable to everyone and more people would be encouraged to do it if they were able to be paid like everyone else in the states
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Eddy Salomon said on June 30th, 2010 at 7:45 am

Chris,

I totally agree with you. But that’s pretty much life. There are certain opportunities that may be available to you that aren’t necessarily available to me here in the states. I know it’s frustrating but that’s how it is sometimes. That being said, visit our international section:
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/international I created to specifically help my visitors outside the U.S. I’m sure it will help you. Good luck.
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pringu said on July 3rd, 2010 at 3:52 am

great great work eddy, this amazon mturk thing realy works. m an indian n jus came across your site some 2 mnths b4, n i shud say wahhh! to such informations you give to the lay men. A special thnx 4 u n ur work. just a reminder, did make 37$ till date! n du have some lil doubts, hope u cud clarify it 4 me at some point , well done bro!
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Eddy Salomon said on July 5th, 2010 at 7:14 pm

Congrats Pringu.
I’m glad to see you’ve been doing very well with Amazon Turk. Keep it up.
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