My Experience with ReviewStream, a Get Paid to Review Website

I have been writing for ReviewStream, the website that pays for reviews, since 2005. I have made hundreds of dollars with them and earned a spot as one of their featured reviewers on the front page of the site, so my experience is very positive. ReviewStream does pay, and it pays promptly. Reaching the payout threshold of $50 is not difficult, even if you do not aim for $2 per review but get only bulk rate (currently 40 cents). Keep sending 5 reviews a day, and you will reach it in less than a month.

As to what you can review for this site, it is virtually anything. It can be any products - books, movies, cosmetics, clothes, chocolate, household items, electronics, appliances. You can review any place you have been to - restaurants, hotels, amusement parks, resorts, airports. You can even review people - pop stars, politicians, actors, anyone you can think of. Your review does not have to be long, but it needs to have your personal opinion of whatever is being reviewed vs. just a description.

One thing that needs to be mentioned about ReviewStream is their exclusive-only policy for reviews. Users have gotten their accounts closed for plagiarizing, which is only fair. But ReviewStream goes a step farther and frowns on what they call self-plagiarizing as well: if you re-use parts of your own reviews, you will get a warning, and you may end up banned as well. However, if you play by the rules and make sure each review you submit is your own original work not published anywhere else, you are safe.

Some time ago, ReviewStream had implemented a new program: paid voting. What it does is it actually gives all reviewers writing for ReviewStream an opportunity to earn more money as people read their reviews and find them helpful. Every review page now has a voting button, asking the reader whether they have found the particular review helpful. If yes, they vote "Yes" and the reviewer gets some $$ added to his/her account. Currently (February 2008), each helpful vote brings a generous amount of 10 cents.

I think it is a very good new development. I do realize I will not instantly make tons of cash: the minimum payout is $5, and, as far as I understand, you must generate $5 on one review in order to be paid (the earnings are not being summed all together). Still, I consider this new program a nice and generous gesture. I would suggest that all of us who write for ReviewStream spend some time reading other people's reviews and voting for those we like.