Update 10/8/10: Readbud banner removed as I no longer recommend Readbud.
I’ve been hanging in there with Readbud, more out of stubbornness than anything else. I was enthusiastic when I joined in April and had a great time the first few weeks. Then things got iffy. But I stuck with it through the slow times (and non-existent times) while the company promised upgrades and a better experience with more earning opportunities. Now 4+ months later, the site does seem improved but the paid articles are extremely limited. So I’m getting three articles daily and earning at the exhilarating rate of about $.15-$.20/day when I’m lucky. That’s right – a little over $1/week. Compared to the initial $1+ per day in the beginning, the current rate is a huge disappointment.
Earnings To Date
Like I said though, I’m hanging in there. My earnings now total $44.46 and I am determined to see if I actually get paid once I reach the $50 limit required for payout. And you can bet I will be posting here either way. I’ve seen a few instances online of payout “proof” but will remain somewhat skeptical until I actually see the money in my PayPal account. For all I know, Readbud planted the proof I’ve seen. Would they do that? I have no way of knowing. It does appear that the number of articles each day diminishes significantly once earnings exceed $10 or so. At the initial rate of reading, I would have reached payout in a less than two months. At the current rate, it would take almost a year. I should be there in just another 5-6 weeks, however. How many people get discouraged and give up? I know at least two personally. So why did I stay with it?
Why Bother with Readbud?
I actually enjoy reading the articles. During the painful transition period that began shortly after I joined, I often found myself gritting my teeth just to get through. How many times can I read a poorly written article about government college grants for single moms? There were many articles that didn’t even rate a single star. But lately the content has improved. I actually found all three articles today interesting and reasonably well written. And the ads have improved, as well. At least now I’m seeing ads for tankless water heaters instead of nothing but online gaming.
Bottom Line
The bottom line is I plan to stick with Readbud at least until I reach payout. If I’m actually paid, I will probably continue simply because I do enjoy many of the articles, which I read while drinking my morning tea. I also have a few people signed up under me and if they ever reach payout, I supposedly get $5. I figured out, however, that to actually receive payment, my account total would have to reach $50 again. So we’ll see how it goes and I’ll be sure to report my experience here.
You will definitely have to let us know if you get paid. I started at Readbud, but after reading some poor reviews, I gave up. I think I have several dollars earned. Like you, I enjoyed reading the articles, and it's nice to hear the ads have improved because they were a huge turnoff for me. If you post a good review of it after getting paid successfully, maybe I'll give it another shot. I was getting anywhere from a few articles to several articles per day. I noticed it helped if I had my 50 interests very wide open.
ReplyDeleteJust check back in about 6 weeks, Victoria. I'm definitely on a mission to see if Readbud actually pays. I'm sure a lot of people get discouraged with the low earnings after the initial quantity of articles drops off. I was getting 10-13 articles/day in the beginning but have been at 3 max since sometime in my second month, I think. According to the Readbud blog, there were a lot of behind the scenes changes going on in the past few months. I’m sure the loss of Google ads really hurt them and that moving the server to the US took time and resources, but I assumed all would be back to normal eventually - but maybe this is normal?
ReplyDeleteCrystal at $44 you are so close. I'll be checking to see when you finally get paid. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Felicia. Yes, I'm very close now. But at the recent rate of 13 or 14 cents a day rather than closer to 20, this is going to take a while! And this morning I only had two articles instead of the usual three, so we'll see if that continues. Maybe as I get closer and closer to payout, I'll only get one each day?
ReplyDelete