Aug 13, 2001 03:27 PM
5338 Views
Netcarrots.com is a site that rewards its members for the various activities performed by them. This is their way of sharing a part of their revenue with the committed members who help them earn it. I have been a member to this site since October / November 2000. I had really liked the concept.
A member could earn netcarrots (each valued at Rs.0.25), the official currency of this site, from the various sections of this site.
Carrot O Mania: One could earn netcarrots by applying for various products like a credit card or a personal loan etc. through partner sites like apnaloan.com. There have been no updates for the last 6 months or so.
Eye of the Carrot: In this section, one could earn netcarrots by visiting various sponsors whose banners were hosted on this page. This section has been discontinued for the last 4-5 months.
Carrot Splash: In this section, one could earn netcarrots by registering with the various sites listed there. No new additions have been there for some time now.
Carrot Search: One could use the search engines listed on this page for performing valid searches upto twice a day per search engine and earn 2 carrots per search in the process. No search engine is available at present.
Surveys: The members were rewarded with netcarrots for participating in surveys.
On an average, a member could earn around 70 netcarrots a day, when all their sections were functional and updated regularly (March 2001). Now this figure is zero.
In addition, one can also earn by shopping online and offline from netcarrots.com partner companies like fabmart.com, goodliving.com, khuljasimsim.com and Domino's Pizzas. It rewards 10 netcarrots for purchase of every Rs.100 worth of goods. In percentage terms it works out to 2.5% of purchase value. Out of these, the netcarrots on Domino's Pizzas are no longer available effective July 2nd, 2001.
I have earned thousands of netcarrots by making offline purchases from Domino's Pizza, though my experience of online purchases through netcarrots.com has not been good. I made several purchases from fabmart.com through netcarrots.com, but was not rewarded any netcarrots for the same.
One could spend the netcarrots thus earned in three ways.
Carrot Offers: A member could choose a product category and then a product from one of the various categories. This product could then be purchased by paying in netcarrots from the account.
Bidding: One can bid for the listed products and pay for in netcarrots.
Shopping: One can redeem netcarrots for fabmart gift vouchers, or Domino's vouchers or make online purchases from their partner sites like goodliving.com and khuljasimsim.com.
As regards fabmart gift vouchers, earlier they used to be available in denominations of Rs.100, Rs.200, Rs.500 and Rs.1000, but now only Rs.1000 denomination is available.
On July 2nd, 2001, netcarrots.com suddenly decided to discontinue updating netcarrot account with rewards earned through offline purchases from Domino's, leaving me with some 500 netcarrots worth of netcarrot coupons. I wrote to their customer care (which was always prompt till then) but they never responded. I even tried the mobile phone number printed on their netcarrots coupon, but it had been deactivated.
These factors leave us with a feeling that this site is in a cash crunch due to losses on account of lesser number of sponsors than required and/or low payment recoveries.
To give the devil its due, netcarrots.com is an honest site, which has honored its obligations in the past, and I myself have benefited from it. However, I would not recommend it at present to new members.
This site is in the process of revamping its business model. I would wish them all the best so that they can once again start rewarding their committed members.
