Palfish- Alternative to Nicetalk, Set your own rate! (Beermoney x-post)

Introduction

So many of you guys have been seeing the NiceTalk tutor app plastered all over /r/beermoney, and are turned off by the fact that it is a Video Calling service, and can be difficult at times to get accepted. I had issues initially getting accepted as they claimed my introduction video didn't give enough information about me. Luckily enough, I found Palfish.

Palfish is an alternative to Nicetalk, in the sense that you don't have to always be in a video chat with your students. Yes, for those of you who are camera shy you don't have to show your face. This was a major benefit for me, as I for one am not the best when it comes to video chatting with strangers, and secondly when I am on the phone I like to pick up some stuff around my room if it's messy.

The approval is very easy, you upload a picture of yourself, write a small bio to be used in your profile, and then record about a minute of you speaking.

Teaching

Teaching with Palfish is really easy. Usually when you sign up, you will get notifications in Chinese, but these mean that students are following you. You can then message these students to make an appointment, text chat, or just talk in general.

When you go online you will get called by students who are looking to learn the language you are teaching whether it be English or some other Language. When you are in call you can turn video on if you want, text and send pictures, or hang up. I can just leave my phone on the charger and talk using headphones which is a huge plus.

I find that the best times to get people are in EST 6-8 PM for the working adults who are preparing for work, EST 2-5 AM is the afterschool to dinner time, and 8-10 AM EST is your evening crowd. Remember, Beijing time is 13 Hours ahead of EST.

You can also sell lessons and do podcasts on Palfish. These I unfortunately don't have experience with since I only casually teach, but it's great for actual teachers.

Payments

This is what may get a little confusing, once you get approved you have the choice to be payed in PayPal or AliPay. I'm going to assume everyone who reads this will pick Paypal. Palfish pays you in RMB, Chinese Yuan at the end of each month. This when sent to a foreign Paypal will be exchanged for USD, at about a 10% fee. My last month's payment which was ~5.00 was 4.50 After fees. The nice thing about it being held until the end of the month is that you can keep track of how much you earn a month a lot easier than say Nicetalk, and the payment is Automatic with no minimum.

Did I mention you get to set your own rate? Yep. You set your own rate on your conversations. The minimum is .5 RMB/ min or $5.50 an hour. I keep mine low to build up good reviews and make sure I get a fair amount of students. You can also set the pricing on a by student basis, so one student can be paying more than another.

Refs

Palfish offers a referral service that will pay you for the students that you get to use the app, and the teachers you invite who do a half hour lesson.

Students:

5RMB for one 5 minute lesson

10RMB for a reload of 10RMB or more.

Teachers:

20RMB if the teacher is approved by Palfish.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Payment Proof

Ref Link :D / NonRef iOs :( / NonRef Android :(