Can you get paid to stuff envelopes from home? (No)

Can you get paid to stuff envelopes from home?

Unfortunately, you can’t make money stuffing envelopes as a side hustle. These work-at-home scams make easy money by requiring you to pay a small fee for a start-up kit and never provide you any work. Such jobs may also act as a pyramid scheme and collect your personal information.

In fact, a quick Google search shows numerous press releases by the Federal Trade Commission about this scam:

• In this scam, only 10% of people got money from stuffing envelopes for an average payout of $19.50. However, individuals paid anywhere from $99 to $399 to join.
• This scam had individuals pay a $35 fee to join and offered an outlandish $5 per envelope, promising individuals to earn $2,000 to $4,000. Individuals were also instructed to put ads in local newspapers for recruiting purposes.
• Another scam had individuals pay $40 for startup expenses and promised $7 per envelope. Individuals were then instructed to recruit others to pay them $7. Making matters worse, the mailer company didn’t provide any materials.

In this article, I’ll show you why you should avoid this kind of work. I’ll even show you some of the best ways to make money from work-from-home jobs.

Key Takeaways:

• Home stuffing envelopes jobs are a type of scam. Hard-earned money is lost through startup fees and stealing your personal information.
• Such opportunities seem legitimate by offering money-back guarantee and saying the task takes little effort while requiring no prior experience.
• Warning signs include requiring a joining fee for a starter kit, asking for personal information, focusing on recruiting others, offering a lot of money for little work, negative reviews, misleading information, and being unable to contact customer support.
• The best alternatives for legitimate ways to make money include virtual assistants, data entry, remote customer service, freelance writing, social media management, virtual bookkeeping, online personal training, online consulting, online course sales.

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Can You Get Paid to Stuff Envelopes from Home?

Receiving a get paid to stuff envelopes from home ad in the mail or your email inbox feels like a dream come true — as long as you meet the quota, you could earn over $1,000 every week stuffing envelopes!

Unfortunately, this just isn’t the case. All of these envelope-stuffing jobs are scams.

You can’t get paid to stuff envelopes from home. Always remember that if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

Since becoming an envelope stuffer sounds easy, it’s a perfect target for get-rich-quick schemes (scams), encouraging scammers to bombard people with illegitimate ads for leaflet packing jobs at home.

Nine times out of ten, you won’t receive work. Instead, you’ll be asked to pay an upfront fee for an assignment list that never appears. But on the rare occasions you receive work, don’t expect to be paid. Trust us; the money never shows.

How to Spot a Scam Like Envelope Stuffing Jobs

Envelope stuffing jobs (read: scams) have been around for decades. And somehow, even with the continued rise of technology, these “work-from-home opportunities” still exist.

Thankfully, it’s much easier to establish whether an advertisement for envelope-stuffing jobs is a scam by understanding the following red flags:

#1 Paying for a Start-Up Kit

No legitimate work-from-home opportunity necessitates you splashing the cash before you’ve started earning (or at all). So, any envelope stuffer position that asks you to pay for a start-up kit is a scam — reputable companies don’t expect you to pay for them to hire you.

Sometimes, the adverts will say the upfront fee is to acquire an assignment list or apply to businesses looking for at-home envelope stuffers. But again, these are fraudulent.

Unsuspecting people who have handed over their hard-earned cash (around $30, minimum) won’t receive a kit, assignment list, or companies seeking their labor.

#2 Asking for Personal Information

Asking for a start-up fee is often the first (and heart-wrenchingly successful) step in acquiring your personal information. Once they have everything they could need, they open bank accounts, take out credit cards, apply for state benefits, drain your accounts, and so much more.

The consequences of divulging sensitive information in the hopes that it’s a legit envelope stuffer position can be catastrophic. Hackers can steal your identity (i.e., create another you on paper) with just your date of birth, address, and name.

Therefore, you must always thoroughly check the companies you wish to work for to rule out any get paid to stuff envelopes from home scams.

#3 Acting as a Pyramid Scheme

Does your “stuffing envelopes” income have less to do with the actual work and everything to do with signing up more people? It’s a pyramid scheme, and you don’t want any part.

Over the past few years, pyramid schemes have gained a lot of press. Why? Because it was revealed that somewhat well-known brands were actually subscribed to this fraudulent, unethical, unsustainable practice.

Pyramid schemes masquerading as envelope-stuffing jobs are usually promoted on social media, illegitimate company websites, internet advertising, YouTube videos, conference calls, and more.

Generally speaking, the envelope stuffer scam is a pyramid scheme if most or all of the following criteria are met:

• Emphasis on recruiting, not envelope stuffing
• The company’s financial statements don’t include revenue from retail sales
• The commission structure is complicated
• Promoters promise high returns in short periods

#4 High Pay for Minimal Effort Tasks

In a perfect world, everybody would earn jaw-dropping amounts for doing next to nothing. But unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world.

Minimal-effort tasks (like envelope-stuffing jobs) do not earn big bucks; only scammers say they do to try and lure you into their traps. Advertisers who market “unlimited” income from stuffing envelopes are being ridiculously optimistic at best or outrageously lying at worst.

#5 Negative Reviews

Regardless of the work-from-home opportunity, always Google the company beforehand. The results should tell you there’s nothing to worry about.

But when searches turn up negative reviews, you should leave the envelope-stuffing job alone.

We suggest checking reviews from TrustPilot or those published on the Better Business Bureau website. Both sites are known for providing accurate information on the legitimacy of companies.

#6 Unable to Contact Customer Support

Phoning customer support to no avail screams scam to us, as it should to you. Not being able to get hold of a helpful staff member (or anybody at all) is a tell-tale sign that the get paid to stuff envelopes from home opportunity is far too good to be true.

The reviews you read on TrustPilot, and other websites will likely divulge the company’s lack of customer service. After all, people are more than happy to share their experiences with businesses — good and bad ones!

On top of that, the envelope stuffing job supply may not have a physical address. That tends to be a massive sign of an untrustworthy company.

Always be wise and remember that genuine, legitimate companies have transparent offline and online contact information.

#7 Misleading Information

Whether it’s the information on their letterbox junk mail, online advertisement, or email, envelope-stuffing scams tend to contain misleading information about pay, the task itself, recruitment, and more.

You need clarity before joining any work-at-home schemes, especially if there’s a chance they might be pyramid schemes or other scams. So, we suggest asking some or all of the following questions (provided you can even get ahold of somebody from the company):

• Who will pay me?
• Where’s your business located, and which states do you operate in?
• How long have you been in business?
• When will my first paycheck come in?
• What security protocols do you follow?

Any unclear answers or shiftiness from the representative you speak to indicates an illegitimate, untrustworthy company.

10 Legit Ways to Earn from the Comfort of Your Own Home

We know you might feel disheartened about the too-good-to-be-true get paid to stuff envelopes from home opportunity. However, all hope is not lost! Plenty of legitimate work-at-home jobs exist; it’s just a case of finding one that suits your skills, experience, and interests.

Almost any job you’ve done in a traditional environment translates to the virtual world. There’s bound to be something that suits you.

You’ll find ten wonderfully legit ways to earn good money from home below:

#1 Virtual Assistant Jobs

You need: Desktop or laptop, a word processor, wifi

Pay rate potential: $40,000 to $60,000 per year

As a virtual assistant, you can make between $35 and $50 per hour from the comfort of your home on a freelance basis. Sometimes, your jobs will last a day; other times, they’ll last for a few weeks or months.

To do well, you’ll need strong administrative skills, be organized, and an interest in all kinds of industries.

We can safely say you won’t be bored. VAs do everything from replying to emails to online customer service, arranging meetings, and posting on social media. It’s a very varied work-from-home opportunity.

#2 Data Entry Jobs

You need: Desktop or laptop, wifi, relevant software

Pay rate potential: $19 to $21 per hour

Data entry is exactly what it sounds like — transferring information from one place to another.

Depending on the company you work for, the rates are relatively low. However, you don’t need special skills or qualifications to start, making it a relatively easy way to kickstart a work-from-home career.

Unfortunately, data entry scams do exist. So, we suggest finding legitimate positions on platforms like:

• FlexJobs
• Axion Data Services
• Capital Typing
• Clickworker
• Remotasks
• QuickTate
• GoTranscript
• Scribie
• Sigtrack
• Kendall Creek Communications
• Medix

#3 Remote Customer Service Jobs

You need: Landline or cell phone, desktop or laptop, high-speed internet

Pay rate potential: $8 to $25 per hour

Interestingly, customer service jobs became one of the world’s first legitimate online opportunities to earn extra cash.

Today, the pay runs from $8 to $25 based on your experience.

Keep in mind that most customer service positions are phone-based. So, you’ll need a landline or separate cell phone to complete your duties.

That said, you can find a few chat-based support roles. But this will require high-speed internet and a relatively fast typing speed.

#4 Freelance Writing

You need: Desktop or laptop, wifi

Pay rate potential: $30,000 to $85,000 per year

Writing could be the perfect legitimate work-from-home job to earn good money if you have a decent typing speed and good command of the English language.

As a freelance writer, you can work from anywhere as long as you have access to the internet.

The beauty of this option is the various types of writing positions available — press releases, newsletters, blog posts, product descriptions, prose, and more.

Upwork is a popular platform for finding entry-level writing gigs. However, starting your own blog may help you land higher-paying jobs immediately.

#5 Social Media Management

You need: Desktop or laptop, wifi

Pay rate potential: $50,000 to $75,000 per year

Becoming a social media manager is the best way to realize your social media dreams without creating a personal brand.

These days, every business in existence has an online presence. However, entrepreneurs don’t necessarily start companies because they love social media. So, they recruit people to do it for them.

Expect to run Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok accounts. You’ll certainly earn more than a bit of extra money!

#6 Virtual Bookkeeping

You need: Desktop or laptop, bookkeeping software, wifi

Pay rate potential: $41,000 to $65,000 per year

Bookkeeping is one of the world’s most profitable careers — that’s approved by Entrepreneur and Forbes!

On average, you earn between $60 and $82 per hour. It’s the perfect choice for those who want to supplement their income without working many extra hours.

You complete most of the work from your computer and don’t need special certifications or experience to land bookkeeping positions.

#7 Virtual Travel Agent Jobs

You need: Desktop or laptop, wifi, landline or cellphone, travel agency software

Pay rate potential: $37,000 to $60,000 per year

Do you enjoy organizing trips? Then becoming a virtual travel agent will be your best work-from-home opportunity.

As a travel agent, you’ll shop for the greatest vacation packages, find accommodation, and even set up outings for your clients.

It’s worth noting that vacationers expect travel agent services to be free for them. So, you’ll earn money from the companies and hotels you work with — when travelers book through your service, you’ll earn a commission.

#8 Online Personal Training

You need: Desktop or laptop, portable bench or step bench, weights, exercise mat, wifi

Pay rate potential: $42,000 to $72,000 per year

Since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world, people have been working out from home. So, becoming an online personal trainer can be a very lucrative business.

Virtual coaching gives your clients unparalleled flexibility, which many people are craving in these times of hybrid working.

But to ensure credibility, you’ll need to have in-person training experience. Ideally, you’ll have a sports or nutrition diploma or degree too.

#9 Online Consulting

You need: Desktop or laptop, landline or cellphone, wifi

Pay rate potential: $40,000+ per year

Everybody has expertise in something, and businesses or individuals will pay good money for that knowledge and experience. You can offer online consultancy services in your chosen discipline and make extra money.

While you can consult on many areas, people pay top dollar for these consultants:

• Business operations
• Financial advisory
• Trust and pension
• Financial risk management
• Economic
• Investment
• Tax
• Business process management

#10 Creating and Selling Virtual Courses

You need: Desktop or laptop, wifi

Pay rate potential: $100s to $1,000s per month

Finally, you can make and sell a course on your passion to share your knowledge. No matter what you’re good at, somebody wants to learn from you — knitting, calligraphy, coding, you name it!

Once you’ve made it, your course will become a great source of passive income.