A little over a week ago I shared how you can earn an additional 10% back IN STORE at Walmart (and online) using a new Facebook application called Endorse. Have any of you tried it yet? I’ve already got cash back sitting in my account and should receive my first check very soon!
Endorse isn’t just about recommending your favorite retailers though. You can endorse many of your favorite brands directly — even some surprising ones such as:
- Bud Light, Cuervo Gold, and Captain Morgan Coconut Rum — all staples at our Saturday college football game day parties!
- Walt Disney World — just another reason to spend some time at the happiest place on earth!
- Southwest Airlines — save on those rising airfare costs!
- AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas — have a date night for a bargain!
Endorse has just made POPing your receipts even easier. As an exclusive offer for Deal Seeking Mom readers, now you can email them in! This way you can hang onto those originals for exchanges, returns, rebates, etc.
POP by email is easy:
1) Take a picture of your receipt with your smartphone, camera, or scanner. One receipt per photo. Save the receipt to make sure we can use the image.
2) Email the photo(s) to [email protected].
3) Endorse will process your receipts and update your rewards balance. If we are not able to process your receipt image, we may email to ask you to try taking another image, or to send us the receipt in one of your free Endorse mailers.
Tips for taking good receipt images:
1) Flatten out your receipt, lay it on a flat table, and hold your camera directly over the receipt—taking these steps will give us the best chance of successfully processing your POP.
2) Make sure to include all 4 corners—we need to be able to see the entire receipt in order to process it. If your receipt is too large to fit in a single picture, send it to us in one of your mailers.
3) Always select the largest file size available to give us the best chance to read the image.
Checks are mailed automatically as soon as your earnings reach $25, so get started today. You’ll receive 10% cash back on your endorsements, and the best part is that when just 5 friends follow and purchase your endorsement, everyone gets 10% back and yours is FREE!
Renee McD
That is allowing them access to WAY too much info for my taste….
Steven Carpenter
Hi Renee-
I totally understand and appreciate your uneasiness. If I can be of assistance or you do want to check Endorse out, please email me at sc @ endorsecorp .com (I’m the founder and CEO) and I will personally ensure you have a great experience.
Spartacus Terrier
Mailed some off, but crossed out my payment debt #, as they do not need to know the last didgets of my debt card, if they do not process because of this, I’m out.
Steven Carpenter
Hi Spartacus-
Thanks for checking out Endorse. I hope your mailers arrived quickly. I completely understand your security concerns. We built Endorse with the highest levels of security and we have zero interest in any of your personal information. We will always process your POP’s in full.
Credit card and debit card numbers are no longer printed on receipts, just the last 4 digits, so there is no need to be concerned going forward.
Please let me know if you have further questions.
Mandi
Quick question, Steven — I got my first check today, so that was exciting! I also emailed my first set of receipts a couple days ago, but I never received confirmation that they were received as I had when I mailed them in. How long do those typically take to process, and is there any type of confirmation process in place?
Steven Carpenter
Hi Mandi-
I am glad the mailers worked out well for you. I am sorry you didn’t have a good first experience with the e-pop, it is designed to work the same way where we send an email once we process them. It happens in a day or two.
Do me a favor, please resend them to [email protected] and I’ll make sure we take care of you. Misty, our head of Customer Service, is expecting it.
Mandi
Hmm, sent it about an hour-and-a-half ago and still nothing. Going to copy your email address from above on this third try and maybe you can tell me what I’m doing wrong!
Carla
so you just email the receipts in and endorse products and get 10% back???? this is crazy!!!!!!!!!!! I am a bit confused though on how this is working…..
Steven Carpenter
Hi Carla-
I’m glad this sounds interesting to you. I assure you, we are not crazy :)
The idea for Endorse is to connect brands to their most loyal and most influential customers. Right now it is very difficult for a brand to reward their customers at scale for buying their products. By bridging the gap from online to offline, we are creating value for both consumers and brands and we will charge brands for the service.
Endorse pays you back 10% every time you buy your favorite products, shop at your favorite retailers, and eat at your favorite restaurants. The way it works is you click the “endorse” button on your favorite things, buy them as you normally do in the real world, and then send in your receipts as your “proof of purchase.”
You can also get your endorsed and purchased products for FREE by getting 5 others to do the same. After you endorse Walmart, you can then share it to your friends. When they click on the link, endorse, and buy, you get the “credit” for their purchases. If 5 do so, we reimburse you for your ENTIRE Walmart trip.
Does that answer your question? I am here to help so happy to hang around to make sure everyone understands it and has a great experience.
Renee
In what timeframe do the receipts need to be sent in and does the “endorse” need to be done? I tend to let things pile up :(
Steven Carpenter
Hi Renee-
The first step is to make sure you “endorse” your favorite products and brands before shopping for them. We have to be able to tie the endorsement to a purchase after the fact.
I know you are busy and the last thing you need is another chore to do. We suggest sending in your receipts each week or every two weeks as part of your normal shopping routine. While there is no time limit, Endorse becomes more valuable the more frequently you earn your rewards. It’s completely up to you.
rich
So is this just a walmart thing , or can you shop anywhere for these items? Walmarts in massachusetts are lousy. Do alot of target.
Amy
No it’s not just Walmart. There are other popular stores like Target and Kohls. There are 600 and some different food brands you can endorse, too.Check it out on facebook. It’s easy.
Katie
I was just trying to sign up and get a mailer and was not able to get my information in. Am I doing something wrong??
Steven Carpenter
Hi Rich-
You can buy your endorsements wherever and whenever you already shop- Target, Wallgreens, Stop & Shop, etc. In fact, you can endorse Target and get 10% back on your entire bill.
You should still endorse specific products and buy them at Target as we are coming out with product and brand-level rewards shortly.
Steven Carpenter
Hi Katie-
I’m sorry you had a difficult time getting through. Hundreds of people are signing up so we know it has been working. Facebook has been very slow and buggy today, so please try again. If you are still having problems, send me an email to sc @ endorscorp. com and I’ll make sure you are taken care of.
Summer
I just signed up and am trying to understand this. So if I endorse Walt Disney World and I book a trip there I get 10% of the cost of the trip back? Or is it just for purchases made in gift shops at Disney? If I book a flight through Jetblue I get 10% of the cost of the flight?
Steven Carpenter
Hi Summer-
You get it.
You would get 10% back for the cost of your Disney tickets. The same goes for Jet Blue tickets- you get 10% off the plane fare (not taxes, fees) for tickets you purchase yourself, from their website, and up to 4 total tickets.
Summer
Is there a list of certain things that are included or excluded. For instance there seem to be restrictions that are not spelled out anywhere. Example – Jetblue, max. 4 plane tickets. Disney, tickets only. Are there restrictions on all other stores or the amount that can be purchased?
Alleen
I just want to make sure I really understand this. If we sign up and endorse retailers and products, we can then email copies/pics of our receipts and it will be credited to our account? Do we have to do something else to ensure it goes to the right account or is our email enough if we verify it via the facebook app?
Any press releases,etc on this I can read?
Steven Carpenter
Hi Alleen-
Yes, you understand. You need to endorse your favorite products and retailers first before purchasing them. You then can “pop” (send in your receipts) in two ways: by mailer or by email.
When you sign up we send you a Welcome Kit with free mailers and you can send in all of your receipts from the week in those. Just like you do for Netflix. The second option is to take a photo of your receipt and email it to us according to the instructions above. The mailers each have a unique identifier that ties it to your account and the emails need to come from the email that you used to sign up for Facebook. That is how we know to credit your account.
We just soft launched the company a few weeks ago so there is no press on Endorse. I am an entrepreneur that sold my last company to E*Trade and I am backed by the venture capitalists that funded Facebook, Groupon, and Diapers.com.
Here is my profile on LinkedIn. I am much more handsome in person, I assure you :)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenacarpenter
renee
How do I endorse it before I even know I’m going to buy it? Or should I Just go in and endorse everything I typically buy and the stores I typically go to in a given 2 month or so span?
Steven Carpenter
Hi Renee-
The idea is to endorse the products you love and buy. The service will not be valuable if you endorse everything in the hope you will purchase it later. Brands and marketers do not find that valuable either. In the near future, we will likely limit the number of endorsements if it gets out of control, so please make sure you are thoughtful. The rule of thumb is you should endorse the things that you are buying now since that is the only way you get 10% back.
Rachel
So do you only get one endorse per reciept? So if I send in a Target reciept, and have Simply Orange Juice on it, do I get an endorse for Target AND Simply OJ or just Target?
Steven Carpenter
Rachel-
You get 10% off your entire receipt and you get “credit” for the product-level endorsement as well- so 10% off both. Shortly, we will have product-specific badges and rewards so the more loyal you to your products and brands, and the more friends you have endorsing and buying, the more cash back you will unlock. Right now, in our early days, we are making it easy with 10% flat cash back each time you buy.
There is a ton of value for endorsing specific products and not just endorsing Target- you should do both for maximum value.
We can accept as many endorsements as you buy.
Meagan
Ditto to Aileen renee and Rachel…. would like to know those answers too! Also curious how does it work, say today I went to Mcdonalds and Walmart and signed up tonight. Can I submit those reciepts, or does it have to be from after I signed up for endorse, or does it have to be after signing up and also endorsing that specific retailer or item? Wow, thats long and confusing… sorry!
Steven Carpenter
Meagan-
No worries, it makes sense to me.
You need to endorse first and then shop and pop. We time and date stamp the endorsement so we can tie that to the receipt. So next time you go to McDonald’s or Walmart, simply send in your receipt and you are in business.
Renee
That is what I meant. I know I buy some products on there and I know I shop at target and kohls all the time, so I will go in and endorse those. Thank you for the clarification, I didn’t realize I had to endorse them before the fact so i am out of luck on the things I already bought in the last few weeks because I hadn’t endorsed them already right?
Kim
This sounds pretty awesome. I went through and endorsed stuff we always get and have on hand. I have the same question as above – how does it work when I endorse a product and the store, like Target? I am assuming I get credit for the purchase at the store. How about coupons and gift cards used? How is that figured. How about buying gift cards now that we are getting into the holiday season? Sorry, too long.
Steven Carpenter
Hi Kim-
You get 10% off your entire receipt and you get “credit” for the product-level endorsement as well- so 10% off both.
We deduct what you got off for using coupons and we do not give rewards for buying gift cards.
Meagan
OK, so what happens if you pay with a gift card? I totally understand not getting rewards for buying a gift card. I’m sure though lots of us will recieve gift cards good at retailers that we’ve endorsed. Does it count the same as cash or are we outta luck?
Steven Carpenter
Hi Meagan-
If you use a gift card, we do give you your full rewards- it’s cash and we treat it like you paid out of pocket for it. You are in luck :)
Meagan
Do our reciepts from e-retailers count too? Alot of moms I know use Amazon for the Amazon Mom program to get diapers and wipes. I saw that alot of Pampers products and some Luvs that can be endorsed.
Steven Carpenter
Yes, we accept e-receipts for purchasing your product endorsements from online retailers like Diapers.com and Amazon. You should be rewarded for buying the things you need and love wherever it is most convenient for you.
Jennifer
How do you tie the endorsement to the store/product? I understand we “endorse” it on Facebook, but how does that tie back to an email address we used to email our receipts?
Steven Carpenter
Hi Jennifer-
We tie your receipts to your endorsements in two ways: 1) each mailer is individually coded so we know which mailers come from which Endorse user, and 2) for receipts that are emailed into us, they have to come from your email address and are then tied to your endorsements- both retailers as well as specific products. We are able to do that because we have developed product-level recognition of receipts.
Sheila
If I regularly shop at 4 stores then I can “endorse” all 4 of them today without being considered “overboard”? Then I’d just shop and & send in receipts…? This sounds great-just signed up! Had missed seeing it previously!
Steven Carpenter
Hi Sheila-
You can do that. I would also strongly suggest that you endorse the products that you love and frequently purchase. Ultimately the product-level endorsements will be more important than the retailers, so the longer history you can demonstrate and the more loyal you are to specific brands and products, the more you will earn in the long run.
Tara Kuczykowski
Just to clarify, Steven, would it be suggested that users send the POP emails from the email address that they’ve associated with Facebook so you can tie them to their endorsements easily?
Steven Carpenter
Yes, Tara, thank you for clarifying. The email address from which you send in your POP’s should be the one that you used to sign up and manage your Facebook account.
Beth G.
Do we need to send an individual email for each receipt? Or can we attach multiple in a pdf?
Steven Carpenter
Beth-
You can send all of your POP’s in one email or separate emails, whichever is easiest. Please make sure you only take a photo of one receipt at a time.
Kyra Nieto
I have a purchase I want to make very soon, but am not able to sign up for some reason. Do the purchases have to be in-store only, or can they be online purchases as well? Thank you!
Steven Carpenter
Kyra-
I am sorry you are having a difficult time signing up. We are seeing many people signing up so we think things are working properly. Please try it again and let me know if you have a problem.
You can buy your endorsements wherever you normally shop- online or offline. What is important is that you endorse your favorite things before you purchase them. The more loyal you are the more valuable you are to the brands so make sure you continue to purchase them over time.
queenie
i tried to post my address while signing up, but it wouldn’t process. also, i clicked on “why do we need your address”, & it wouldn’t open it did accept my email address though.
also, do you mail checks after reaching $25? or paypal?
Steven Carpenter
Hi Queenie-
I’m sorry sign up didnt work for you. Please try it again- sometimes Facebook is a little wonky. We are seeing lots of successful sign ups so it should be working. If you are still having trouble, please email [email protected] and we’ll take care of you.
We send you a physical check right now. Our banking partner is Wells Fargo. You will be excited to hear that my co-founder was one of the earliest engineers for PayPal, so there will hopefully be a PayPal integration in the future.
Karen
I’m in! It sounds like a really neat idea, I hope it really works.
I’m a little confused though…after I endorse a product or retailer, do I get credit for it even if no one else I know endorses it? What if I don’t have very many “followers?”
Steven Carpenter
Hi Karen-
It does work! No need to hope. You will see for yourself when you try it.
There are two reward components: 1) 10% cash back for you simply for endorsing, shopping, and popping your receipts, and 2) 100% back when 5 of your followers do the same. You can easily share the links for your endorsements to your friends on Facebook and via email. It makes financial sense for you to do so! We will be making it much easier to connect with your friends around endorsements in the coming weeks.
Travis
This is a really interesting idea and I’m excited about trying it out.
Summer
s there a list of certain things that are included or excluded. For instance there seem to be restrictions that are not spelled out anywhere. Example – Jetblue, max. 4 plane tickets. Disney, tickets only. Are there restrictions on any other stores/services or the amount that can be purchased?
Steven Carpenter
Hi Summer-
Since we just launched, we don’t have all the proper FAQ’s, How It Works, blog yet. We are hard at work on all of it as we speak and it will be live shortly.
In the meantime, those are the basic restrictions. For purchases over $250 you need to send in the original receipt- we file and store if for you in case you need it for warranty or return purposes. Today there is no hard dollar limit- you can endorse and POP a car if you want to.
You cannot endorse and be rewarded for popping cigarettes, prescription drugs, and gift cards. For the hotels, you are rewarded just for the room net of taxes, fees, and room service.