Can I Work From Home Stuffing Envelopes?

By Paul | Apr 26, 2009

Have you heard that you can work from home stuffing envelopes? Are you wondering if it is a scam or for real?

There are some real opportunities to make money addressing envelopes. There are situations where a company wants their mail to go out in a hand written envelope to look like a personal letter. For example:

- Banks sending credit cards to customers may want to disguise their mail to reduce the risk of theft.

- Debt collection agencies sometimes use this method of serving documents because people are more likely to open a letter that is addressed by hand. Companies sending marketing mail may do it for the same reason.

These genuine opportunities do exist but they are not very common. More often when you see an ad to work from home stuffing envelopes it is a scam. This is an example of how the scam operates:

You are asked to send a small amount of money, perhaps $5 or $10, for the instructions. You receive a letter that tells you to place ads like the one you saw, print copies of the letter that you just received, and stuff them in envelopes to send to the people who will send you $5 or $10 just like you just sent. This is illegal in most jurisdictions because people are not receiving any benefit for their money. So do not get involved.

How Do I Know If The Ad I Saw Is For Real?

There are things you can do to find out whether the ad that you saw was a genuine opportunity to make money addressing envelopes at home.

- If the ad asks you to send money, it is probably a scam. Companies who genuinely want to employ people to address their mail do not ask for payment from you.

- If there is a number you can call for more information, call it and ask for the name of the company. You can then check them out with the Better Business Bureau.

If you found a genuine opportunity, that is great. Congratulations. If not, you are probably feeling disappointed right now. You need to make some money. What else can you do?

Other Things That You Can Do To Make Money

If you have a computer and internet connection and are a US or Canadian resident, there are other ways that you can make money without needing any special skills or qualifications.

The first is to complete paid surveys. How does this work? You sign up with one or several market research companies who want consumers to answer questions about certain products and services. Instead of sending somebody to your door to ask you, they have you fill out a form on the internet. To compensate you for your time they offer a payment for each survey that you fill out. If you enjoy telling people what you think of their products this can be a great way to earn some extra cash.

There are also sites that you can join to be paid to read email. Usually the email will contain ads and you must click on a link and look at the ad for a certain time before qualifying for a payment. The payouts are small here and some companies have a reputation for being very slow to pay, so try to find some feedback on the company before you sign up.

So do a little more investigation before you answer an ad to work from home stuffing envelopes.