Audry S.

PINCHme is advertised to the public as a service that connects consumers with brands which are willing to provide free product samples in exchange for honest reviews. Their advertising says: "No catch, no credit card!" They post logos of the major brands they partner with on their website and go to very great lengths to create the impression that consumers who sign up with PINCHme will have the opportunity to browse hundreds of products from trusted brands and select the ones they want to try in exchange for their honest feedback.

This is NOT opportunistic on the part of the consumer. It's very much a transaction, and high quality reviews profit the partnering brands considerably, in a number of ways. Social proof (ie honest product reviews) are a powerful tool for influencing the everyday purchasing decisions of modern consumers, especially if they are shopping online where they cannot physically see, touch, smell, or otherwise interact with products before buying them.

So really, PINCHme is offering a win-win situation for everyone involved. That's how they draw you in. That's how they get you to surrender your personal information to them (seriously, use a throwaway email address, customize your permissions, refuse to subscribe to third-party affiliates who will pester you into oblivion, and remember that your personal data has SIGNIFICANT value, it is YOURS, it is worth MUCH MORE than a deodorant stick or a bottle of contact solution, and these vultures hope you don't know that).

Here's the catch PINCHme explicitly promises you won't have to deal with: They will not provide you with free samples. They will offer free samples, gift cards, etc., but when you go to claim these items, they will barricade them off behind an additional requirement: sign up for a month of service from one of their affiliates (if you sign up and immediately cancel your membership, you don't get anything -- you have to let them charge you). Sometimes there are "free tasks" you can complete, like checking your credit score with Credit Sesame, but of course those take your personal information, including your social security number, so they aren't really free. Plus, all PINCHme's partners will add you to their effing email list, and if you unsubscribe, they will email you from one of their many, many other domains. Forever. Which is why I would advise using a throwaway.

Even if you complete a "free offer" as instructed, many people still do not receive the item they were trying to get. The page simply "thinks" until it times you out. Unless you were expecting this to happen, there's no way to protect yourself from it. It is a scam, and when it happens to you, there is no way to talk to anyone about it or have the problem resolved. They simply ignore/block you. You get nothing.

Don't waste your time.

I signed up as a tutor on Studypool kind of on a whim. Advertisements for the service, I noticed, boast that there's no waiting period to receive payments, and some students are willing to pay good money for a tutor to do their homework for them.

So, I signed up. If I remember correctly, there was a short grammar/writing assessment, and then I came to a screen stating my application was under review and I would have a decision on it within 24 hours.

The next day, when the same screen popped up upon login, I opened the chat box in the lower right hand corner to inquire about the delay, but instead of getting an in-chat answer, I received an email a little while later responding to my question, which I found kind of wonky. The studypool rep told me to give it another 24-48 hours.

Okay. No problemo.

A couple days later, after I'd already forgotten all about my application with Studypool, I was unceremoniously approved.

The first thing I did was go to look through the student questions. I liked how many topics there were to choose from. I had to do 3 "newbie" questions as an, uh, assessment. A post-assessment assessment, I guess.

Okay. No problemo.

The newbie questions are easier to "score" than non-newbie questions, which you have to bid on competitively against other tutors. I wrote my first answer -- a general explainer on Florida's child support laws (500 words, cite sources following the APA style guidelines) -- for $5, which I assumed would be transferred into my account automatically, per the aforementioned payout guarantees.

I finished the essay and submitted it to the student. Then I got scolded by pop-up text boxes about not introducing myself to the student first, using contempo-casual lingo to make the student feel comfortable. There was also a message above my text box where I could type messages to the student helpfully urging me to use gifs and emojis liberally, again, to make the student feel comfortable.

I wrote something like, "Hey there! All done with your assignment! Please let me know if you have any questions!" And then I tacked on three of those "ok" sign emojis.

The student never responded. My payment didn't come, either. As it turns out, the student has 72 hours after an answer is submitted to review it.

Okay. No problemo.

I moved on. Next question: "Explain the rise and fall of the Byzantine Empire." Same style guidelines. $5.

This time, I sent the student an introductory message that was almost identical to the message I'd sent the last student about finishing up. I looked for a good gif to add but I couldn't find one so I just added more "ok" emojis instead so the student wouldn't get anxiety.

I completed the assignment and submitted it. 72 hours. I began looking for the next question. I noted before beginning my next search that the student never responded to my introduction.

The third assignment was something medical-related for $4, but had no minimum word count. I finished it and turned it in. This time I did not bother with an introduction. It didn't seem to matter. None of the students responded to any of my messages at all.

The assignments, however, were all approved, and I was congratulated for submitting high quality answers and promoted to "rising star" status. I still have not received payment for answers about one week after submitting them. There's also something about a commission rate, so I'm fairly certain I'll be getting my $14 total minus 20% commission the site "earns" on each of my answers, leaving me instead with $11.20 for over 1,000 words, which I've still yet to receive.

I've never received an assignment since those first three newbie questions. The students are prompted to submit a "range" they're willing to pay, and most of the questions I'm qualified -- as a "rising star" -- to answer are in the $1-$20 range. I always bid at the top dollar amount, because even then, the rate the student is paying for the amount of work they're demanding is laughably low. There *is* an option to bid higher than the student's range if they're being unrealistic, but that's probably studypool suicide considering other tutors are willing to answer questions within the student's price range.

The website itself is what bothered me the most about Studypool. There is a drop-down menu at the top right corner where you can view your profile, your tutor panel, your questions, etc., but your tutor panel and your questions are the same thing, and you are taken to the same page when you click either one. Your profile is this wonky looking page with something you wrote in your application plastered to the bio section. When I once again opened the chat box to ask how I could change it, I received an email again hours later that said "you can do it through us" -- that's it.

I also downloaded the app, and it seems to be an improvement, if only they had a way to access your profile (and update your bio yourself), review your tutor panel, see your messages, see your questions (past and present), and read your reviews from students. I also can't find anywhere -- online or in the app -- to view my earnings. And I've looked and looked (though admittedly, I have not asked).

Overall, Studypool is an okay concept, although I have a moral aversion to helping students cheat. What can I say? It's hard out here.

Suggested improvements: Make the website interface more seamless, clean up the useless buttons on the drop-down menu that all go to the same place, force students to be more realistic with regard to pricing, respond to technical issues in-chat or don't offer a chat box at all, and be more clear about how everything works from the beginning.

Update 2/18: Being that I was unwilling to partake in the "race to the bottom" that bidding on assignments consists of, I decided not to pursue Studypool any further and instead cash out the pittance I earned.

I have been informed that I cannot withdraw my funds until I reach $50 (so like, never), and after emailing several different people -- quite politely, I might add -- I have arrived at the following realization:

Studypool makes money by advertising a service to students, and offers tutors the opportunity to earn money by fulfilling that service. Tutors sign up, perform Studypool's services, the students pay Studypool so that Studypool can pay the tutors, and Studypool just keeps the money instead.

I attempted to escalate my claim to receive the payouts I earned, but was simply told by a bored Studypool rep that if I wanted to see the money I already earned, they suggest I continue working on the platform until I reach $50. In the meantime, they will simply be keeping my earnings.

The students whose assignments I did were quite pleased with the work I provided, and I'm afraid they will leave Studypool a good review, thus generating more business for this site.

Final judgement: I wish I knew which VC firm funded this POS service at the startup stage so I could go chuck a rock through their window.