Earny App Gets Shoppers Money With Refunds They Weren't Expecting
BOSTON (CBS) -- Paul Sarnowski does most of his shopping online. "I order something every day or two from Amazon." And now when the price drops he automatically gets a refund. "It's literally free money back."
Paul got $2 back after he paid $7.99 for a USB cable. A few weeks after spending $300 on a new Samsung watch, he was credited $4.01. He was refunded $10 after buying a $459 computer and another $4 after the price dropped on a Red Sox hat.
The refunds may be small but they add up fast. Since November, Paul has racked up $130 in refunds. It's all through the app with the funny name Earny. "It's money back on everyday purchases with doing nothing at all."
Earny scans your email for those Amazon receipts then immediately begins tracking the price. Amazon doesn't offer price protection but credit cards do and that's how Earny gets the money. To take advantage of this app on Amazon, customers must have a Chase or Citibank credit card. Earny also covers MasterCard from Capital One, US Bank, Barclays, Bank of America and First Premier Bank.
"Amazon is definitely one of the biggest retailers," explained Earny CEO Oded Vakrat. But the app also works at dozens of retailers with any credit card.
Earny will track items purchased from Best Buy, Bloomingdale's, Carter's, Costco, the Gap Group including Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, and the factory stores. Also, JCrew, Jet, Kohl's, Macy's, Newegg, Nike, Nordstrom, Overstock, Sears, Staples, Walmart, Zappos, and Home Depot.
The trick to cash in? All those receipts must be sent to your email. "We do not have access to your personal information. We only have access to receipts," said Vakrat.
And no, Earny doesn't do this for free. The company takes 25-percent of every refund they find. "Its money I would never see anyway," said Paul. "So for them taking 25-percent of money I would never have seen in the first place -- I'm fine with it."
Earny has an ambitious goal of reaching 5 million customers by the end of the year. To make that happen the company is looking to expand the number of stores and credit cards that are part of the system.