Ciao.co.uk - is it worth it?

Ciao is a website that pays you for writing reviews. However unlike review site Dooyoo they don`t pay you to submit a review but they pay you when another ciao member reads your review. The reason I joined Ciao is because you are allowed to cross post reviews from other sites there so you get paid more. I write under the name mariofan123. 

It is very easy to sign up to but very hard to navigate around the site. The layout is poor compared to other sites like Dooyoo and the worst thing about the site is the speed! It can take me a couple of minutes to log on then to see who has rated my reviews! This is why I don`t rate people who rate my reviews much as I could have read twice the amount on other sites!

The rating system is similar to Dooyoo but includes a couple of additions like exceptional (sort of like nominating a review and you are only allowed 5 a day.) and off topic. The amount you get paid varies but is indicated by the number of pound symbols next to a review. For example if a product has a £ symbol you get 0.5p per read, if it has a ££ symbol you get 1p and £££ pays you 2p. If you write the first review on a product you get double this rate for 30 days. You only get paid for helpful, very helpful and exceptional ratings which are a good idea as it stops people getting paid for rubbish reviews! 

There are also the addition of community points which are gained for various bits and bobs like writing reviews, reading reviews and receiving reads. These have no monetary value but give you an idea if you are rating an established member. When you reach the second level you can add photos to your review which is a great idea and I think other review sites liek Dooyoo should let you do this!

Then there is the premium fund which gives you a boost to your rather poor balance. No one knows how this works but I have received £2.00 from it last month and £4.00 the month before that. 

The minimum amount for payout is a low £5 and is paid by BACS which is better than the high payout on Dooyoo. I requested a payment for £9 something and am waiting for it to appear in my account. Apparently it takes ages to arrive but after a month and a half the money comes. I have now recieved this amount! 

You can also earn from referring members and get 50p when they write their first review and 50% of their earnings apart from the premium fund for the first 6 months which is quite generous. 

There is also a survey section of ciao but it is a separate site and the pay is rubbish so I have not bothered with that and apparently half the surveys you don`t qualify for! 

Overall I think it is worth joining if you already write reviews for another site but the pay is much worse and the speed of the site let it down a bit. I will soldier on for now but if you sign up make sure you get paid for reads on a review as some don`t pay at all. If you would like to join and help me too send me a message or write a comment and I will send you a link! 

This article/ review may be found on other sites under the names ns1209 or mariofan123.