We recently came across the website called www.big-crumbs.net and decided to put it to the test. So we joined for free and started shopping. Sure enough, a few days later we got a cash-rebate back from Zappos.com for about $30 for the school shoes we bought for our children before school. Wow, this really does work!
Anyway, we wanted to tell the world about our great find and give others the answers to the questions we had about Big Crumbs before we joined. If you have any reservations about joining, we just wanted to let you know that Big Crumbs is not a scam.
The following are Big Crumbs Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is Big Crumbs?
Big Crumbs is a free program that lets you earn cash-back rewards by shopping at over 300+ online merchants through your own personal shopping portal to some of the biggest and hottest names including- Best Buy, eBay, Gap, Old Navy, Target, and more. Plus, you can earn cash from purchases made by individuals you refer.
How do I Join Big Crumbs and Get Cash Rebates for My Shopping?
It’s easy as 1-2-3:
1. Join – free at http://www.big-crumbs.net
2. Shop – at all your favorite online stores using your new online shopping portal. You also can save using your normal store coupons and online deals offered through Big Crumbs.
3. Get Paid – Earn cash back from your shopping and those you refer to Big Crumbs.
Shopping/Receiving Cash Back On Your Own Purchases
How Does Big Crumbs Work?
Big Crumbs has agreements with eBay and over 326 (and growing) popular retailers, such as Target, Old Navy, Gap, Circuit City, Best Buy, and more. When you visit BigCrumbs before shopping online and click our links to reach these retailers, BigCrumbs is paid a marketing commission. We pass that commission on to you! Membership in BigCrumbs is 100% free. There are no hidden costs and you don’t pay extra when shopping at our featured retailers. It’s really that simple! We also give you a chance to earn more cash just by telling friends how you’re saving with Big Crumbs.
What Do I Have To Do To Get Credit For My Purchases?
Just visit BigCrumbs before going to shop and click our links to visit our featured retailers.
You may want to use our Quick Crumb Bookmarks to add a bookmark to your browser for one-click access to your favorite retailers. You may also want to use the My Favorites feature to make your favorite retailers easily accessible from the BigCrumbs home page. Both Quick Crumb bookmarks and My Favorites are available beneath the retailer names while you are browsing.
If I Make Two Purchases From The Same Retailer, Do I Have To Come Back to BigCrumbs?
Please see the eBay Questions section below for the answer to this question when shopping at eBay. Yes. For purchases at retailers other than eBay, you must return to BigCrumbs to activate your credit again. Of course, you can also use your QuickCrumb Bookmark to re-activate your credit. A purchase is defined as one checkout/order finalization process. A single purchase can include multiple items, and you will receive credit for the total purchase. However, before initiating a completely separate checkout process, you must return to BigCrumbs to re-activate your credit.
How Long Does It Take For My Credit To Appear?
It can take up to one month for credits from your purchases to appear on your account, but it’s usually much sooner (one or two weeks). The time it takes depends on the retailer, and eBay in particular, usually reports to us within only a few days.
How Much Cash Back Do I Get From My Own Shopping?
The amount you earn varies by retailer, and sometimes by the type of product or service purchased. It also depends on whether you’re a CrumbSaver or CrumbEarner (see below).
In any event, this amount is clearly displayed with the retailers’ details, so you’ll always know the total cash back before you shop. Compare us and you’ll see that we offer the highest overall cash back rewards anywhere, along with the most generous referral program and an awesome member community. BigCrumbs is the complete package.
Do I Earn On Shipping And Taxes? What About Discounts?
The amount earned is based on the net purchase amount, which excludes shipping and taxes. The net amount is also after any discounts are applied. For example, if you purchase an item that costs $100 and you have a $20 coupon, the net amount on which you would earn is $80.
What About Coupons Found Elsewhere?
We cannot guarantee that coupon codes found on other websites, print materials, or elsewhere will generate cash back for your BigCrumbs account. Please be aware of this when deciding whether to use such coupons.
Do I Earn For Gift Card Or Gift Certificate Purchases?
Generally, these items do not pay cash back, unless they are the primary product of the retailer. For example, SpaFinder sells Gift Certificates as its main product.
Does Shopping Through BigCrumbs Cost More?
No. Never.
Is There Anything Different When I Shop Through BigCrumbs?
No! Your shopping experience is exactly the same as if you went directly to the retailer.
And, of course, you’ll start receiving cash payments when you shop through BigCrumbs!
Are My BigCrumbs Account and Retailer Account(s) The Same?
No. Your BigCrumbs account and the accounts you have with our featured retailers are completely separate.
Does BigCrumbs Need My Credit Card Information?
No. Your shopping is completely between you and our featured retailers. We never see your credit card information, nor do we need it. We are only notified of your purchases so that we may credit your account.
Sounds Too Good To Be True. What’s The Catch?
There really is absolutely no catch here. We’ve created a real opportunity for everyone to participate in the economy, and we’re pretty proud of it. In fact, we think it’s long past time that we all got a bite.
Membership Types (CrumbSaver and CrumbEarner)
What’s A CrumbSaver? What’s A CrumbEarner?
A CrumbSaver is a member who shops through BigCrumbs and earns cash back on his or her own shopping, as well as referral commissions on the shopping of any friends referred to BigCrumbs. CrumbSavers earn the maximum amount possible as rebates on their own shopping (listed beside each retailer). A CrumbEarner earns a generous, but lower rebate on his/her own shopping. However, in addition to earning referral commissions on their direct referrals, they also earn when the CrumbEarner referrals of their referrals shop, and so on, up to 5 generations away. This dramatically multiplies the amount a CrumbEarner can earn. In fact, CrumbEarners can suddenly find themselves earning additional income from the shopping of thousands of members, many of whom they don’t even know!
I Don’t Know Which Membership Type To Choose. Can You Help Me Decide?
Sure! Think about it this way: Let’s say you join as a CrumbEarner and refer a few friends. Now, let’s say those friends refer new members and so on. If, at any point, you have a total of four CrumbEarners referred by your referrals, you would earn the same amount as if you joined as a CrumbSaver (assuming they shop as much as you do). The moment you have five such CrumbEarners, you’ll make more money than if you’d joined as a CrumbSaver. And, when you get into hundreds of CrumbEarners…well, you get the point! The beauty of BigCrumbs is that you can get there very quickly. If you refer 5 friends and they each do the same, continuing through 5 generations, you would have 3,905 referrals.
If I Sign Up As A CrumbSaver, Can I Later Change To A CrumbEarner?
Yes! At any time, you may switch your membership to a CrumbEarner and begin multiplying your earning potential. You will start earning on the 2nd through 5th generations immediately upon switching!
If I Sign Up As A CrumbEarner, Can I Later Change To A CrumbSaver?
No. Unfortunately, allowing members to switch from a CrumbEarner would prove too tedious and complex in terms of accounting, and it could become confusing for other members.
If I’m A CrumbEarner And Refer Someone Who Joins As A CrumbSaver, Do I Earn Anything?
Yes, you will earn the standard Referral Commission (RC) listed by each retailer under this scenario. Remember, you always earn commissions on the shopping of members that you directly refer (whether they join as CrumbSavers or CrumbEarners).
However, you will not earn commission for CrumbSavers that are referred by your referrals.
In other words, you earn on everyone you directly refer, no matter the membership type. Beyond that, you earn on up to four more generations of CrumbEarners (bypassing CrumbSavers along the way) for a total of five generations.
If I’m A CrumbSaver, Can I Refer Someone And Earn Cash?
Yes, as a CrumbSaver, you will earn the standard Referral Commission (RC) listed by each retailer for any members that you directly refer (whether they join as CrumbSavers or CrumbEarners).
Referring
How Can I Make Money?
Simply refer friends, family, and co-workers to BigCrumbs (no spamming!) and you’ll earn cash every time they save money by shopping through our site.
If you join as a CrumbEarner (see below), you can also earn cash when the referrals of your referrals shop. In fact, this continues for up to 5 “generations” for CrumbEarners!
Wait, Isn’t This Just Like Other Opportunities?
The only similarity between BigCrumbs and some other opportunities is that it works on the referral concept. However, unlike most other programs, you do not pay anything to participate in BigCrumbs. In fact, with our cash back rewards and other discounts for online shopping, we actually pay you to participate!
Also, unlike other programs, there is no product inventory to manage, training materials to buy, or costly conferences to attend. It doesn’t require countless hours of your time, nor do you need to keep “re-selling” your referrals after they’ve joined. You tell friends about BigCrumbs. They join and save cash when they shop at their favorite retailers. You make cash. Everyone wins. Unlike most things in life, it’s truly that simple.
How Do I Get Credit For Referrals?
Simply ask your referrals to enter your member name when they register. That’s it!
You can also use our Referral Wizard to quickly create custom e-mail invitations from pre-written templates. These invitations will contain your specially-coded auto-link. When your friends follow this link to BigCrumbs and join, you’ll be automatically credited with the referral (they don’t even need to know your member name)!
How Much Do I Earn When My Referrals Shop? Can I See An Example?
You’ll earn the amount listed beside each retailer as the Referral Commission (or RC) whenever your referrals shop at that retailer. You’ll also earn this amount when referrals of your referrals shop, and so on–all the way to the 5th “generation”. As an example, let’s say a friend that you referred makes a contact lens purchase for $200.00 one month. Further, the listed retailer referral commission is 1.2%. In this case, you would earn $2.40 (1.2% of $200). Whoever referred you would also earn $2.40, as well as the person who referred them, on up to five people. Doesn’t sound like much? Let’s say you refer 10 friends who join as CrumbEarners, each of whom then refers 10 more CrumbEarners, all the way to 5 generations. In this scenario, you will have referred a total of 111,110 people. That $2.40 would be $266,664.00 for the month, if they each made similar purchases.
Please note that this is just an example to illustrate the power and potential of this concept. There is certainly no guarantee that you will make this much. But, there is room to fall well-short of this and still do “pretty O.K.”, possibly even replacing your income. Besides, even an extra $50 a month for a few one-time referrals isn’t too bad!
How Do I Know How Much I’m Earning?
When you join, you’ll have access to your Account Manager. From there, you can run reports to see how many of your referrals signed up, how many people they referred, and so on. You can also run reports to determine how much your own shopping has generated in cash back for you and how much you’ve earned from the shopping of your referrals in any given time period. Additionally, a statement is generated for you each month, which totals all of these amounts. These statements are then used to determine what BigCrumbs pays you.
Payments
How Often Am I Paid by Big Crumbs?
You will be paid for both your own cash back and for your revenue from referral shopping once per month. There is no minimum balance requirement. We pay one month in arrears. If you earn your first rebates and/or referral commissions in January, you will receive your first payment in March. That payment will cover all cash that you earned in January. You will then be paid in April for your February earnings, and so on. Therefore, the statement generated in March, would cover all shopping through January 31. This one-month delay helps to ensure that any purchased items and returns have time to be processed. Payments are sent on or about the 15th of every month.
How Does BigCrumbs Pay Me?
BigCrumbs uses PayPal as its payment processor. This means that you must have a PayPal account to receive payments. The e-mail address that you use to register with BigCrumbs is where your payments will be sent, so it should be linked to your PayPal account. When we send you a payment by PayPal, you simply login to PayPal to receive it.
How Do I Receive The Payments BigCrumbs Sends Me?
You will receive an e-mail from PayPal, notifying you that you have received a payment. If the e-mail address specified on your BigCrumbs account is already linked to your PayPal account, there is nothing to do. Your payment will be automatically deposited into your PayPal account.
If your e-mail address is not linked to your PayPal account, the e-mail you receive will provide instructions on how to do so. Finally, if you do not have a PayPal account at the time of payment, the e-mail you receive will also provide instructions on how to create one and link the e-mail address to which the payment was sent, allowing you to receive that payment.
Is There A Minimum Payment Amount?
No. BigCrumbs will pay you each month, no matter how much you have in your account.
What If I Don’t Have A PayPal Account?
You can sign up for a PayPal account absolutely free. Just follow this link to Join and look for the “Sign Up Today!” at the bottom of the page. Choose which type of account you want to open. Most people will opt for the free “Personal” account, which is for individuals who want to be able to receive payments and send payments. If you are a business and need to accept credit cards you may want to consider the “Business” options.
Can I Still Receive Paper Checks Directly From BigCrumbs?
We’re sorry, but we can no longer provide that option. However, you can request a paper check from PayPal once your account is established there. If you are requesting paper checks from PayPal, you must verify your address/identity the first time by doing one of the following: linking a bank account or credit card account to your PayPal account or faxing proof of identity/address, such as a driver’s license, utility bill, etc., to PayPal. For more information, please see the “Verification” section of PayPal’s Privacy Policy.
Is There A Payment Processing Fee?
Yes. A processing fee of 2% of the payment amount with a $1.00 cap will be deducted from each payment that we send to you. This is the fee that PayPal charges BigCrumbs. We do not make money from this fee. Note that you will not be charged again by PayPal when you receive your payment. Note that there is a $10,000 single-payment maximum allowed by PayPal. If the amount we owe you exceeds $10,000 for one pay period, we will break the payment into multiple payments. This means the above fee will be assessed per payment.
Is The Money I Receive Considered Income? Will I Receive A 1099?
Yes, it is income. However, we are only required to send a 1099 to members who exceed $600 in payments from us during a calendar year. At this point, we will request additional information from the member, as required to complete the 1099.
eBay Questions
Which eBay Transactions Pay Me Cash Back at Big Crumbs?
As the buyer, you will receive cash back on any winning bids and Buy It Now purchases. Best Offer purchases are not eligible for cash back per eBay’s policy. As the seller, you do not earn anything on your sold items, unless the buyer is a BigCrumbs member that you referred. Of course, you earn referral commissions on all purchases made by your referred members, whether you are the seller or not.
What Do I Have To Do To Earn From My eBay Purchases?
You must click through from BigCrumbs (or use your QuickCrumb bookmark) prior to placing a winning bid or making a Buy It Now commitment to receive credit. It is not necessary to click through to make payment later.
Also, simply clicking through prior to making your payment does not activate your BigCrumbs credit at eBay. Unclear? Let’s look at an example:
Let’s say you go to eBay directly (i.e. not by clicking through from BigCrumbs) and place a bid. A day or so later, you find out that it was the winning bid. So, you go to BigCrumbs and click through to eBay to make your payment. In this case, you would not receive credit for the purchase, because you only clicked through to make the payment, but not the bid itself. So, it’s best to click through prior to every bid you make, to ensure that you’ve clicked prior to placing the winning bid. For Buy It Now transactions, you would click through prior to making the “Buy It Now” commitment.
There is one (convenient) exception. If you are going to eBay to make several bids, you may click through once from BigCrumbs and place those bids, without having to return to BigCrumbs between each bid. But, you should not visit any other websites and click through to eBay from them (even in another browser window) between your BigCrumbs click-through and the placement of any eBay bids.
How Much Do I Earn From eBay Purchases?
As a CrumbSaver, you will receive 36% of the seller’s fees in cash back when you shop and 4% of the seller’s fee when your direct referrals shop. As a CrumbEarner, you will earn 20% of the seller’s fees in cash back when you shop. You will also receive 4% of the seller’s fee in referral commissions when your direct referrals shop. Unlike CrumbSavers, however, you will also earn 4% of the seller’s fee when the CrumbEarner referrals of your referrals up to 4 additional generations away shop. This means you can earn on a total of 5 generations of shopping. To estimate the seller’s fee, you can view eBay’s fee page. It is difficult to determine the Feature fees paid by the seller beforehand (if any), but you can get a very good estimate of the other fees on this page.
Do I Receive A Portion Of All Seller’s Fees for eBay Purchases?
Yes! Cash back and referral commissions are based on the entire eBay seller’s fee. For instance, this would include the insertion fee, final value fee, and any listing upgrade fees when applicable!
Can I Use A Sniper Service/Program?
No. BigCrumbs is not compatible with sniper services.
Of course, you can still get credit for any Buy It Now or non-sniped auctions that you win, as well as any purchases through our other retailers.
You can also refer friends and earn referral commissions when they shop.
How Are Dutch Auctions Paid?
Dutch auctions are a little more complicated to compute and you generally earn less because eBay charges a lower per transaction seller’s fee for Dutch auctions.
To compute the per transaction seller’s fee, simply add the following three lines:
(Insertion Fees / Quantity Available) * Number of Items You Purchased
(Feature Fees / Quantity Available) * Number of Items You Purchased
(Final Value Fees/ Quantity Sold) * Number of Items You Purchased
The Insertion, Feature, and Final Value Fees for Dutch Auctions can be found on eBay’s fee page. It is difficult to determine the Feature fees paid by the seller beforehand, but you can get a good estimate of the other fees on this page.
Note that as a CrumbSaver, you would earn 36% of the amount computed above. As a CrumbEarner, you would receive 20%.
Availability by Country
In Which Countries is BigCrumbs Available?
BigCrumbs is currently available in the following countries:
Australia
Canada
Ireland
United Kingdom
United States
We are working to bring our service to other countries as well. Stay tuned!
Is Big Crumbs as Scam? – Questions From Skeptics
Many people think that BigCrumbs is too good to be true. That’s an awesome compliment, but rest-assured we are very real! The following answers to questions from skeptics have helped to crystallize understanding and dispel doubts for many. A little knowledge goes a long way!
How Can BigCrumbs Be Real?
Retailers spend billions each year for online advertising alone–all to reach you. BigCrumbs simply allows you to share a piece of that. After all, you are the engine that drives the economy. Don’t you deserve it?
We realize that it represents a new concept, but it’s very real. It simply takes a small shift in your thinking to see a new world of possibilities. In fact, the real question is how can BigCrumbs not be real? It just makes sense for all involved.
Does BigCrumbs SPAM Or Sell My Personal Information?
Absolutely, positively not. We do not engage in SPAM, nor do we rent, sell, or otherwise share your personal information. In fact, we are well-aware that such activity would hurt us far more than it would help us. From a logical perspective, it wouldn’t make sense to pair old, slimy ways of generating revenue with such a new, innovative opportunity.
To sum it up:
1. It’s not good for us.
2. It’s not necessary.
3. It’s not our business.
4. We just plain don’t like it.
How Long Has BigCrumbs Been In Business?
BigCrumbs has been in business since October of 2005. In that time, we’ve paid cash back and referral commissions on millions of dollars in member purchases.
Our parent company (Integral Technologies, Inc.) is a Georgia-based corporation that has been in business since January of 1998.
How Do I Know The BigCrumbs Company Is Legitimate?
There are many easy ways to verify this, including:
1. Consider that we have been partnered with eBay and many national retailers for years
2. Consider that we have paid cash back on millions of dollars in purchases to thousands of members
Is BigCrumbs A Pyramid?
Absolutely not. This question results from a fundamental misunderstanding of what pyramid schemes are and why they are illegal. Simply put, a pyramid relies upon those involved paying to participate. This is probably the single most important factor. In a pyramid, the participants pay a fee and that fee is used to pay those who recruited them. Further, pyramids typically do not offer a real product or service (although they may attempt to veil their activities with a product). So, the only way to recoup one’s investment is by signing up other people. In other words, any earning comes almost exclusively from others paying fees to join.
So, at the most basic level, pyramids are illegal because they take people’s money, even when there’s no real product from which to benefit and even when the so-called “earning opportunity” is derived from others paying money to earn as well.
It’s a shell game that unfairly leaves someone holding the bag, which is why it’s illegal. It’s a consumer protection issue.
Some people are confused because BigCrumbs offers payouts on multiple generations, but our program in no way resembles a pyramid. Here are just a few reasons:
1. BigCrumbs is 100% free. There are no fees to join and no hidden costs, such as “training materials”, etc.
2. The revenue comes from an outside source (the retailers) for which BigCrumbs provides a valuable service. We believe that it’s only fair that we share those fees with our members.
3. We provide a real and valuable service to our members as well (access to savings at places that people enjoy shopping).
4. There is absolutely no obligation to participate in the referral program to benefit from our service.
We have invested heavily in tools and technologies to help members succeed and we give it all away free. We see a win-win situation that allows us to give money to members rather than take it from them. It’s smart and it represents a new model. BigCrumbs pioneered it, though many will attempt to follow our lead.
Why Not Just Pay For Direct Referrals Instead of Paying On Multiple Generations?
Because you deserve more. If you refer Wally and Wally refers Lumpy, you are indirectly responsible for Lumpy joining our service. So, we acknowledge that and give you the opportunity to earn when Lumpy shops. It’s funny: “Refer-a-friend” programs have been in existence forever and most people readily believe that they are fair and make sense. However, such programs don’t acknowledge your “viral” effect and they don’t compensate you for it.
You have indirectly driven thousands of customers to various businesses over the years. When’s the last time you were paid for it? So, while we understand that paying across multiple generations gives pause to some, we’re not going to stop doing what’s right in order to do what’s perceived to be right by a relative few. What we’re doing is different, fair, and long overdue. As a result, instead of conforming, we’ve been encouraging people to shake off their conditioning and step up to claim what they deserve! Fortunately, there are thousands upon thousands of savvy people who get it. It’s working.
