Has anyone reached the $80 threshold for payout with Benable yet?

[WBartworks]

I've been pretty bored over the last week, so I had plenty of time to create some lists at the Benable site. At first I had trouble getting the "optimized" batch for just one of my lists but then was able to get six more lists optimized rather quickly. 

What I find odd is that I made two sales before I even got one list "optimized," but now that I have seven lists optimized I don't get any.   The traffic to my site also has not increased. Therefore I would like to know what other Benable users experience and have the following questions:

1. How long have you been with this site?

2. If you were able to reach the $80 threshold, how long did it take?

[PenguinPower]

I've been on since about March. I'm not a super prolific poster - I have created 45 lists since then, most of them have optimized. I'm a bit less than 1/2 way to the $80 threshold so far... I seem to get a referral every few weeks, most of them pretty small - less than $2. I generally get a handful of list views each day, though many of them seem to be people looking to follow to get followers. I have generally accepted everyone, as I figure whether or not we have any mutual interests it's still something that will please the algorithms. 

[JLynnW]

I've also been with Benable since March, 8 months, and had hoped to reach the $80 threshold by now. I was averaging $10/month, but that has slowed down in the last 2 months. I enjoy it, but my goal has been to promote my Zazzle photographic products. I haven't seen an identifiable Zazzle sale yet. Forever hopeful is a good place to be, so I continue my pursuit and hope that it may benefit someone.

[NigelSutherland]

For my Zazzle products on Benable, I have Benable earnings turned off. I was of the impression that I would affect my Zazzle commission. Was I wrong?

[PenguinPower]

No, that’s absolutely right… if you don’t turn it off they take a cut of your royalty… all of my Z products are turned off too, but it does seem like they like lists of mixed items from various sources - it’s easier to get a list optimized when it’s not just a laundry list of products from one store, so I mix my Z products with related stuff from other retailers- like putting pens and markers from Target in with my cards. 

[Barbara]

My results are the same as others. Given that I'm almost gone from Zazzle at this point, I have no Zazzle products and am focusing on my other interests such as books, art, and hobbies because they're all fun to add to. I do wish, though, that their earning threshold were a lot lower than $80, given that we earn so little per product sold. More like $25 would be good.

Optimizing: We need a minimum of 15 products in a list, though I had one optimized when it was less. Also, the descriptions we do per list and item seem to have a lot of weight--to the point and with maybe some keywords in them, though I'm not sure about the latter other than that, on one list, I received a message that boiled down to sprucing up the description of it. I did and it was quickly optimized. If you have 15 items in your badgeless list, try fleshing out the description. Maybe that'll work.

[Anne]

I gave up on Benable as they continued pushing about installing all sorts of things in my browser. And what @PenguinPower says: "people looking to follow to get followers". 

[PenguinPower]

You can skip the plug ins and just hit the yes, I did that button.. it stops bugging you, even if you didn’t actually install anything 

[Barbara]

I've got to do that the next time the nag shows up. I hate being nagged to do anything, but when the nag is to do something I refuse to do like get involved in social media or use the Chrome browser...well, they can just stuff it.

[jophb]

I've been on Benable for a couple years and have yet to hit it. Granted I haven't touched it in probably 1.5 years.  I believe they give you some quick wins and features to get you excited.  Since it's invite only still, it's probably mostly people who are also trying to make lists to be able to earn money.  I've looked at their traffic levels in the past. It's teeny tiny in comparison to Pinterest, like .1% or something like that. So in my opinion, if you aren't having success with Zazzle referrals from Pinterest, the likelihood on Benable is going to be even lower.  

[WBartworks]

I think Benable wants to attract as many users as they can, so that they can sell the information they get from their users' listings. They may even sell users' email addresses. All the while stringing their users along with little bits of income here and there to keep them adding new lists. After all, whether or not your listings will get indexed and ranked higher on a search lists is all up to them, even though they claim your optimized lists will be found quicker. Why else could I make 2 sales before I even have one list optimized, but then after optimizing 7 more, traffic doesn't increase. Sure, Benable may let a few users reach the $80 threshold so that the company looks like a legit business, but I imagine it won't be that many.  I also had a few Zazzle products listed at Benable, in hopes I would get some referrals, but not one of them has been clicked on yet.  I can track this with my Google Analytic account.

So my suggestion is, don't waste your time adding lists, but if you do, be careful what your posts are about. I had started a list called, "Things to do and see in my area," but then deleted it, because it lets people know whereabout I live which could be very dangerous, especially since my full name was listed on my site. Also, don't install the extension, Benable wants you to install, because that's a way to track your activities on the web.
BTW:  I deleted my account today.

[Anne]

@WBartworks Great example, I am going to leave as well. Thanks.

[WHS_Designs]

@Anne 

1. I've been with Benable since March 2025.
2. I reached the $80 payment threshold on April 1 (no joke) -- in large part because I was incentivized by Benable on social media (plus I got several referral bonuses -- referral bonuses disappeared for me once April 2025 rolled around). These bonuses helped immensely.

Your situation describes that of a friend who signed up for Benable. They had just 6 recs and 1 list, and made a referral a week later (and then crickets after that).

I also have a high follower count (compared to my other social media accounts) compared to the Benable accounts that I follow.

I didn't (and won't) install the Benable extension.

I have 56 lists, and I take time and effort to write interesting recs and titles. This I believe helps establish credibility and authority with my chosen topics (and having said, that I don't use AI to write anything for me).

H

[WBartworks]

Congratualations on successfully achieving $80 in 1 month.  Have you reached the $80 threshold again since then?

[WHS_Designs]

@WBartworks thanks and no—I’m $37 away from my second $80 payout. 🙂

[WBartworks · Accepted solution]

So from what I've gathered from reading your posts and others, is that it isn't easy reaching the $80 threshold, even if one has created many lists for many months or even years.  However, if you have referral bonuses, you could reach the threshold quickly.

[Wesha]

I just joined Benable a few days ago, but I didn't know the payout threshold is sooooo high ... $80 ! 😞

[Barbara]

I don't consider Benable a great platform for making money, but for a couple years, I  found the same with Pinterest. Of course I might not have been all that good at promoting on Pinterest. Benable is a lot easier to use and, therefore, more fun. If they ever start behaving more like Pinterest, changing things so you have to do this, then changing again so you have to do this, that, and the other thing, I'll be out of there like a shot. It's the biggest reason for wiping out my store here.

[Anne-Marie]

I've been on it since beginning of summer. I am not very active on it though. I have a few lists that get views weekly, but that's pretty much all the activity there. I have 14 dollars so far, mostly from recommending ... socks. Not kidding. They brought me around 10 dollars so far. 

[Barbara]

There are a lot of people who are somewhat addicted to socks for either the quality and/or the design. On top of that, it's a rare person who doesn't wear socks. So yeah, socks are an admirable idea.

My best seller (so to speak) is a very specific brand of Japanese watercolors, which have over time gained huge popularity in the artist community. I wonder if that's the key to success, trying to choose items that have already risen in their specific genre, something that's searched on a lot.