Fort Worth, TX -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/20/2013 -- New tech startup Boostapal.com aims to give online shoppers a level of financial control that most aren’t aware they don’t already have. While the company exists to give students a foolproof, effortless way to earn money without sacrificing the study time required by overly demanding part-time jobs, in the process, the company is exposing consumers to the truth about where their online shopping dollars wind up.

Boostapal co-founders John and Jim Williamson say that their site is able to generate income for students by redirecting money from online sales away from advertisers, and back to students. The site is open to all users at no charge, and student participants must be between 13 and 25 years of age.

“As getting into college gets more competitive, young people are forced to start thinking about and working toward their educational goals much earlier than did past generations. Extracurricular activities aren’t just for fun anymore; they now heavily influence college admissions boards,” explained Boostapal co-founder John Williamson.

“Boostapal.com helps relieve some of the pressure on students by offering them a way to simultaneously earn money, enjoy some ‘kid time,’ and focus on their studies and activities. And for students already in college, it’s a great way to bring in some much-needed cash without having to juggle school and a couple of part-time jobs.”

By educating Internet users about the links they click, Boostapal wants to give consumers the opportunity to make an informed decision as to who will benefit when they engage in online shopping.

“We simply give users a choice,” John offered. “They can either toss their valuable clicks to the students in their lives, or they can continue to allow blogs, Internet marketers, forums and search engines to reap all the benefits.”

Here’s what’s going on: When you’re online – maybe you’re on Facebook, Google, or reading a blog or newsletter – more than likely, the pages contain links to different retail stores and products.

Seeing the link may remind you that you wanted to get, say, new towels for your guest bath. So you click the link to Target.com, do your shopping and your towels are on their way. And if you got in your car and drove to a brick-and-mortar location, the price you paid for the towels would be the same. This part, you know.

But as you made that online transaction, something was going on behind the scenes. By getting to the store the way you did – clicking that link on that blog, for instance – you obligated Target to pay the blog owner a portion of the money you spent as an advertising fee. As John is quick to point out, “Remember – it’s the same money you would have spent regardless, but a portion of it is going to an online advertiser. And it gets sneakier. Even if you don’t buy your towels immediately after clicking that link, and instead go back to the Target site the next day to make a purchase, your computer has been told to “remember” you clicked that link. So, when you do make your purchase, the advertiser still gets their fee – all because you clicked a link once in the past. You can start to see how valuable your clicks are.”

Boostapal.com works by interceding in this process. When a student signs up with Boostapal.com, he or she invites parents, relatives, friends of the family, etc., to become his “Boosters.” When an adult accepts the invitation and shops online using the Boostapal mall to get to their favorite stores, that’s where the game changes. In this scenario, Boostapal is the advertiser getting the referral fee from the online purchases. Only instead of keeping it, they redirect 50% or more of that fee into the student’s Boostapal account – an account he can access via Paypal® or check.

“With more than 2,000 stores available to our users, we’ve made shopping through Boostapal a no-brainer,” continued Jim. “The world of online shopping is all about vying for a user’s click in order to profit from it. We think that, given the choice, most consumers would rather have a say as to where their money is going. And we hope they will see Boostapal as a way of putting their clicks to work for their kids.

There’s no catch. Boostapal is 100% free to use. So it’s difficult to understand why anyone with one or more young people in their life wouldn’t use Boostapal. You’re helping a student at no cost to you, and with very little effort. What’s not to love?

And if you’re still not convinced, watch their two-minute video; it’s eye opening. View it now at http://www.boostapal.com/booster/how-it-works

L.A. Murray
817-881-0180
press.marketing.communcations@gmail.com