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Time Coins and Store Coins
The two coins on Help Barter, where each comes from and what each pays for.
The difference in one table
| Time Coins | Store Coins | |
|---|---|---|
| Where they come from | Helping other members, rewards, invitations and the 200-coin welcome grant | Buying a coin pack, and the allowance that comes with a paid plan |
| Pay for help in Exchange Place | Yes | Never |
| Pay in the store | Yes | Yes |
| Count on the leaderboard | Coins earned by helping do | Never |
| Can be sent to another member | No | No |
Your wallet shows both balances side by side, and they are never added together — a combined figure would promise help that the Store Coin part can never buy.
Time Coins: earned by helping
A Time Coin stands for time somebody gave. Asking for 15 minutes of help costs 200 Time Coins, and the helper earns 200 — so one help funds one request.
Ways to earn them
- 200 for each completed help on Ask for Help, Offer Help and Mutual Swap.
- 400 for each completed Double Coins job on Elite Works.
- 200 for each completed group rotation (groups of five or more, first rotation of the day).
- 300 for each Website Traffic Generator challenge, on every plan.
- 2,000 for topping a category in the weekly rewards, and 400 for a 7-day login streak.
- 200 when somebody you invited by email joins (400 if they sign up with a Gmail, iCloud, Outlook or Yahoo address).
- 200 when you create your account.
Ways to spend them
- Asking for help on Ask for Help, receiving help on Offer Help, and your half of a Mutual Swap.
- Paying workers on your own Elite Works coin jobs.
- Anything in the store — listings, extras and products.
When work starts, the coins for it are held — taken from your balance but not yet paid — so you cannot promise the same coins twice. They go to the helper when the work is confirmed, or come back to you if it is not done in time.
Store Coins: bought or given with your plan
Store Coins exist so that money can be spent in the store without ever buying help. They come from two places:
- Your membership allowance
Premium pays 2,000 Store Coins every time it renews, Elite 10,000. Elite Lifetime pays 100,000 once when it starts and 5,000 every month after.
- Buying a pack
Premium and Elite members can buy Store Coins by card at Store → More coins: 1,000 for $10, 5,000 for $20, 10,000 for $30, 100,000 for $150.
Paying in the store
Every store price is in coins, and at checkout you choose how to pay:
- Store Coins only,
- Time Coins only, or
- Both — Store Coins first, and the rest in Time Coins.
If an order is cancelled or a listing is refused for a fixable reason, the coins go back to the balance they came from. Spending in the store needs a Premium or Elite membership.
Rules that never change
- Coins cannot be sent from one member to another. They move only for work done, so nobody can sell them on the side.
- Bought coins never count as earned. The leaderboard, your track record and "coins earned" on your wallet mean work done for other members, and money cannot change them.
- Rewards are never "earnings" either. Prizes, streaks, group and website rewards appear in your wallet under their own names.
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