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CrowdFinds is treasure hunting with a crowd. The Crowd is everyone out and about who spots great items in thrift stores, consignment shops, pawn shops and clearance sections, and posts them as Finds with a photo, the price and the general area. Buyers pay a small claim fee to unlock the exact spot, then buy the item at the store.

Most thrift stores, pawn shops, consignment shops and off-price stores don't put their stock online. The only way to know what's there is to be there. The Crowd is there, so every Find is something you couldn't find any other way.

Yes. Browsing the feed and map, saving Finds and posting Find Requests are free. You only pay when you unlock a Find, or if you extend a Find Request.

To browse and unlock Finds, you can use CrowdFinds in your browser at app.crowdfinds.co. Posting Finds as a Scout happens in the iPhone or Android app, because the app needs to confirm you're at the store.

Anywhere the Crowd is posting. We're growing area by area, so open the map to see what's near you. If it's quiet where you are, post a Find Request and put the Crowd on it.

Buyers browse and unlock Finds. Scouts are the members of the Crowd who post them, and they earn a Crowd Bonus of 70% of the claim fee. You can be both, and switch between them from your profile or the menu.

The claim fee unlocks the exact pickup location and the Scout's notes, like the aisle or section. It doesn't buy the item. You pay the store for the item itself.

It's usually 10% of the item's estimated value, from $3 to $25. The Scout can adjust it within that range. You always see the fee before you pay.

No. Other shoppers can still buy it, so go soon after you unlock. If it's gone when you get there, use Item Not Here within 2 hours for 100% credit.

Checkout opens on a secure Stripe page in your phone's browser. You can pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. CrowdFinds never sees your full card number. If you have CrowdFinds credit, you can use it at checkout.

Payments happen on Stripe's secure page. When you're done, tap Open in the CrowdFinds app (or the back link in the top corner) to return. Your unlock will be waiting.

• Go back to the CrowdFinds app. The unlock usually appears within a few seconds.
• On the checkout screen, tap I've paid. Check now.
• Still nothing after a few minutes? Contact support with the Find's title and the time you paid. Don't pay again.

No. Once a Find is unlocked, it leaves the feed. If two people pay at the same moment, the second payment is refunded to their card automatically and they're notified.

After you unlock, tap Open in Maps to get directions in Apple Maps, Google Maps or Waze.

After you unlock a Find, you have 2 hours to pick it up or report that it's gone. The unlocked screen shows the exact time your window ends.

While you're at the spot, tap Item Not Here. We check that you're within 100 meters of the location. If you are, 100% of your claim fee goes back into your CrowdFinds credit.

CrowdFinds doesn't give cash refunds. Item Not Here credit covers the full claim fee and you can use it on your next unlock. You'll find your balance under Credits in the menu.

It confirms you actually went to the spot. Allow location access when the app asks. We use it only for that check and don't show it to anyone.

No. Once the window closes, or after you tap Confirm Pickup, the Scout is paid and Item Not Here is no longer available. It also works only once per claim.

It tells us you got the item, and it releases the Scout's Crowd Bonus right away. If you don't tap anything, the Scout is paid automatically when the 2 hours are up.

Put the Crowd on it. Tell us what you're looking for: the item, your budget, the claim fee you'll pay and how far you'll travel. Every Scout within that distance gets an alert right away.

• Several Scouts can answer with a Find. You compare them and unlock the one you want.
• New Finds that match your request are sent to you automatically, even if the Scout never saw it.
• You only pay when you unlock a Find.

72 hours. You can extend it for another 72 hours for $5, or cancel it any time from My Requests.

No. Posting is free. You only pay if you unlock a matching Find, or if you choose to extend the request.

It's what you earn when someone unlocks your Find: 70% of the claim fee. On an $18 claim fee, that's $12.60. See the full table on the Join the Crowd page.

It's held until the Buyer confirms pickup, or for 2 hours after they unlock if they don't report a problem. Then it's released to your Earnings and paid out to your bank account through Stripe.

The Buyer reported Item Not Here from the spot within 2 hours, and it was verified. To avoid this, only post items that are in the store right now and mark a Find unavailable as soon as it's gone.

Buyers pay for a real, current location, so the app checks that you're at the store when you post. Gallery photos must have been taken at the spot.

24 hours, or 48 hours for furniture. You can extend a Find once, mark it unavailable, or put an expired, unclaimed Find back up from your dashboard.

Weapons, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, adult items, recalled or stolen goods, and anything illegal to sell. See the Scout rules and our Terms of Service.

• Nobody sees your own location.
• Before a Find is unlocked, Buyers see only an approximate area, a few hundred meters from the real spot.
• We remove location data from photos before they're uploaded.

Details are in our Privacy Policy.

Open the menu and choose Notification preferences.

On the sign-in screen, tap Forgot password and follow the link we email you.

Go to your Profile and choose Delete account. This permanently removes your account. Unused credit can't be recovered after deletion.

To report a Find, use Report on the Find's page. To report something broken in the app, open the menu and choose Report a problem.