Terms of Service

1. Agreeing to these Terms

These Terms are an agreement between you and [Legal business name] ("CrowdFinds", "we", "us"). They apply when you use the CrowdFinds apps for iPhone and Android, the web app at app.crowdfinds.co, and this website (together, "CrowdFinds"). By creating an account or using CrowdFinds, you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you don't agree, don't use CrowdFinds.

2. Who can use CrowdFinds

• You must be at least 18 years old.
• You may have one account. The information you give us must be true and kept up to date.
• You're responsible for everything done with your account. Keep your password private and tell us right away if you think someone else is using your account.
• You can't use CrowdFinds if we've closed your account before, or if the law doesn't allow you to.

3. How CrowdFinds works

Scouts (also called Crowdmembers, and together "the Crowd") post "Finds": photos and details of items they see for sale in stores, with an approximate area. Buyers browse Finds and pay a claim fee to unlock a Find's exact location and the Scout's notes.

• CrowdFinds sells location information. We don't sell, own, hold or deliver the items in Finds, and we're not part of any purchase you make from a store.
• Stores aren't partners of CrowdFinds unless we say so. Prices, stock and store policies are set by the store and can change at any time.
• Scouts aren't our employees or agents. We don't check every Find before it's posted.

4. Claim fees and payment

• The claim fee is shown on each Find before you pay. It's usually 10% of the item's estimated value, between $3 and $25. Prices are in U.S. dollars.
• Paying the claim fee gives you a personal right to view that Find's exact location and notes. It doesn't reserve the item. Other shoppers can still buy it.
• Payments are processed by Stripe on a secure checkout page. We don't receive or store your full card number. Stripe's own terms also apply to your payment.
• Each Find can be unlocked by one Buyer. If your payment can't be completed because someone else unlocked the Find first, or it expired during checkout, we refund that payment to your original payment method.
• You can apply CrowdFinds credit at checkout. If your credit covers the whole fee, no card payment is taken.
• Don't share an unlocked location with people who didn't pay for it.

5. The 2-hour window, Item Not Here and credit

After you unlock a Find, you have 2 hours (the "window"). The app shows when your window ends.

• Item Not Here. If the item isn't at the location, you can report Item Not Here from the app during the window. You must be at the location: the app checks that your device is within 100 meters of the Find's location when you report.
• Credit. If the report is verified, we add 100% of the claim fee you paid to your CrowdFinds credit. Item Not Here can be used once per claim.
• No cash refunds. Except where section 4 or the law requires otherwise, claim fees aren't refunded to your card or bank. Item Not Here credit is the remedy for a Find that isn't there.
• When the window closes. If you tap Confirm Pickup, or the window ends without a report, the claim is final and the Scout is paid.
• About credit. Credit can only be used for claim fees on CrowdFinds. It has no cash value and can't be sold, transferred or exchanged for money. [Decide: does credit expire? If so, when.] Credit is lost if your account is deleted or closed for breaking these Terms.
• Misuse. We may refuse, reverse or remove credit that was obtained through false reports, location spoofing or other abuse.

6. Find Requests and extensions

• Buyers can post a Find Request describing an item, a budget, the claim fee they'll pay and a travel distance. Posting a request is free.
• Scouts may respond with a Find. A matching Find is unlocked like any other Find, under sections 4 and 5.
• Requests stay open for 72 hours. You can extend a request for another 72 hours for $5. Extension fees aren't refundable except as the law requires.
• We don't promise that any Scout will find a requested item.

7. Scouts and earnings

Posting

• Post only items that are for sale and on display at the location when you post. Post from the location; the app checks your device location and photo location.
• Describe items honestly, including condition and flaws. Your estimated value should be a fair, good-faith estimate.
• Don't hide, hold, move or reserve items for Buyers, and don't ask store staff to.
• Mark a Find unavailable as soon as you know the item is gone.

Earnings

• When a Buyer unlocks your Find, you earn 70% of the claim fee (your "Crowd Bonus"). CrowdFinds keeps 30%.
• Your share is held until the Buyer confirms pickup, or until the 2-hour window ends without an Item Not Here report. If a Buyer's Item Not Here report is verified, your share for that claim is cancelled.
• If another Scout takes over your Find under the takeover feature, when available, the claim fee is split 50% to the Scout who took over, 20% to you as the original Scout, and 30% to CrowdFinds.
• Payouts are made through Stripe. To receive them, you must complete Stripe's account setup and agree to Stripe's Connected Account terms. Stripe may ask for identity and tax information.
• You're an independent user, not our employee or contractor. You're responsible for any taxes on your earnings. Stripe or we may send you tax forms where the law requires.
• We may hold, reverse or cancel earnings tied to fraud, fake Finds, location spoofing or breaking these Terms.

8. Rules for everyone

You agree not to:

• Post or request weapons, ammunition, drugs or drug items, alcohol, tobacco or vaping products, adult content, recalled, counterfeit or stolen goods, or anything illegal to sell.
• Post fake, duplicate, misleading or recycled Finds, or fake your location.
• Sell, share or trade Find locations or tips outside CrowdFinds, or arrange payments outside the app to avoid fees.
• Harass, threaten, scam or discriminate against anyone, or share someone's personal information.
• Trespass, break store rules, block aisles, photograph people without consent or interfere with store staff.
• Use bots, scrapers or scripts, try to get exact locations without paying, or probe, overload or break CrowdFinds' systems.
• Create more than one account, or use someone else's account.

9. Your content

• You own the photos and text you post. You give CrowdFinds a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, show, adapt (for example, resize or crop) and use your content to run and promote CrowdFinds. This licence ends when your content is deleted, except for copies we must keep by law or that others already saved.
• You confirm you have the right to post your content and that it doesn't break anyone's rights or the law.
• We use automated tools, including AI, to suggest listing details from your photos. Check suggestions before you post; you're responsible for what you publish.
• We may remove content or limit Finds that break these Terms or that we think put users at risk.

10. Safety in stores

You visit stores at your own risk. Follow the law and each store's rules, watch for traffic and your surroundings, and don't go anywhere that feels unsafe. CrowdFinds doesn't inspect items or locations and isn't responsible for what happens at a store or in a purchase between you and a store.

11. Community and other services

CrowdFinds links to services run by others, such as Stripe, maps apps and our Scout community on Skool. Their own terms and privacy policies apply. Our community rules also apply in the CrowdFinds Scouts group, and breaking them can affect your CrowdFinds account.

12. Suspending or closing accounts

• You can delete your account at any time from your Profile in the app.
• We may suspend or close accounts, remove content, or hold earnings and credit if we reasonably believe someone broke these Terms, committed fraud or put others at risk. Where we can, we'll tell you why.
• Sections that by their nature should continue after an account closes (for example 5, 9, 13, 14 and 15) keep applying.

13. Disclaimers

CrowdFinds is provided "as is" and "as available". Finds are posted by Scouts, and we don't promise that any item will be available, accurately described, priced as shown or worth the trip. We don't promise that CrowdFinds will always be available or free of errors. Some places don't allow these disclaimers, so they apply only as far as the law allows.

14. Limits on our liability

As far as the law allows, CrowdFinds isn't liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential losses, such as lost profits, travel costs or time. Our total liability for any claim about CrowdFinds is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim and $50. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that can't be limited by law.

You agree to cover CrowdFinds' reasonable costs and losses from claims caused by your content, your conduct at a store, or your breaking these Terms or the law.

15. Disputes

Please contact us first; most problems can be solved quickly through support. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of [State], without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute that isn't resolved informally will be handled by the state or federal courts located in [County], [State], and you and we agree to their jurisdiction. Either of us may bring a qualifying claim in small claims court. [Lawyer: decide whether to add arbitration and a class-action waiver.]

16. Apple App Store

If you downloaded CrowdFinds from the Apple App Store, these Terms are between you and CrowdFinds, not Apple. Apple isn't responsible for CrowdFinds or its content, has no obligation to provide maintenance or support, and isn't responsible for any claims about the app, including product liability, legal compliance or intellectual property claims. If the app fails to meet any warranty that applies, you may notify Apple, and Apple may refund the app's purchase price (if any); Apple has no other warranty obligation. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms and may enforce them against you. You confirm you're not in a country under a U.S. government embargo and not on a U.S. government list of prohibited or restricted parties.

17. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms as CrowdFinds changes. If a change is significant, we'll tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect. If you keep using CrowdFinds after the change takes effect, you accept the updated Terms.

18. Contact

[Legal business name], [Mailing address]. Email: support@crowdfinds.co. In the app: Menu → Contact support.