iRazoo, Why did you do it?

As most of you have probably noticed by now, iRazoo is working on a complete and total overhaul of it's previous self and is converting into something more SwagBucks-ish.  Since they started their remodel, there have been a lot of iRazoo complaints and rightfully so, but I'm not quite ready to cut ties yet...

I will admit that when they initially implemented the changes, I was ready to jump ship instantly, but since then my annoyance has subsided partially and I've decided to stick it out and see what iRazoo turns into.  Here's a recap of the changes for those who haven't been with them very long.


Before:
When I started with iRazoo in mid October of 2009, you got points for every site you visited if you rated or commented on it.  You could earn 300 points per day and a $5 Amazon gift card was just 3000 points which meant you could get one every 10 days.  The number of points earned per comment fluctuated a bit, but you knew that you would earn enough to cash out 3 times a month if you were vigilant.

After:
Now however, the site has abandoned the one thing that made it different from every other search and win site on the market and that's where all the iRazoo complaints are coming from.  You used to be guaranteed points for every search you made as long as you visited links and graded or commented on sites, now it's joined the ranks of SwagBucks and all the others by becoming a "chance on search" type of site.

You can now earn 75 points, randomly, on any search - but any further rules are unclear.  I personally attempted to get more information through their community forums, but have yet to receive a response.  I generally do not click on sites anymore, or grade them, unless I win on that search and I'm unsure of whether or not iRazoo will look down on that or not since they haven't made any clear announcements on acceptable behavior.  If I win, I'll click a link and leave a note, otherwise I ignore it.

The first few days with the new system left me really disappointed because I went at least 4 days without winning.  Since then I've managed to win 1-2 times per day which still puts me at a huge loss, but I'm optimistic that future changes regarding referrals will cut the losses that users are suffering.

What I am suggesting to users though, is that you cash out as soon as you can and make sure to add your gift card codes to your Amazon account.  Usually I let mine sit on the site until I need them, but with things looking rocky and no clear cut rules on the new system, I don't want to risk losing what I've earned.  I was also planning on saving up for a $15 card, but once I had the few hundred points I needed to hit 6000 I opted for two $5 cards instead and am looking forward to receiving them late this month or in early March.

I completely sympathize with all the iRazoo complaints, and I'll admit that I hate the changes, but I'd recommend hanging in there for a while to see how it goes once the bumps get smoothed out.