All About Getting Free Stuff
FABULOUS FREEBIES - THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE DOWNRIGHT UGLY!
What exactly is the scoop on freebies? Can you REALLY get stuff for free?
The answer is YES … IT DEPENDS … and NO. Sigh!
The YES part is … YES you can actually get stuff for free … as in no money.
The “it depends” part involves what you have to give away in order to get the free stuff.
And the "NO" part is that fact that in some cases,free is just an illusion!
In the freebie world what you are most often giving away is information. You may also find that you are spending TIME. If you have time to spend that’s great, go for it … if your time is limited and worth $$, then you have to consider what you are willing to “spend” in order to get your no money goodies.
For my own purposes I classify freebies into three categories –
1) free and easy 2) you pay the shipping and easy 3) jump though hoops (time involvement)
BEFORE you start your freebie quest it is IMPORTANT to get a free (or throw-away) e-mail address. Be sure that this is separate from your regular e-mail address … AND separate from the e-mail address you use for entering sweepstakes. Depending on the goodies you go after, your freebie e-mail box may fill with junk mail rather quickly.
1) Free and Easy Freebies
The freebies most often offered in this category are product samples. Companies who are promoting new products or product lines may offer to send you free samples. They hope that once you try their product you will become a loyal customer. My experience shows that these manufacturese are very smart. I often buy products after trying out a free sample.
The samples you get will range from the ridiculous (so small you wonder why they bothered wasteing the postage fee) to the sublime (huge full product samples).
My favorites in from past years are the Oil of Olay, Pantene shampoo, and Mr. Clean Eraser give-a-ways. I also got a HUGE package of goodies from the Swiffer people … they sent FULL sized containers of over a dozen different products. I was totally blown away! I liked many of these products enough to start buying them. I would never have purchased the products if I hadn’t tried the samples. And you never know when you send for the samples what sized package you will find in your mail.
At the end of last year I sent for a half dozen free calendars. Two of them were great, the others carried too much advertising for me to want to hang … but I put these to use on my desktop and in my briefcase.
I have also subscribed to the Blockbuster DVD subscription service and purchased several software packages after sampling their trials.
What do you have to do for this category of freebies?
Normally you will have to fill out a very simple form — your name, address, phone number and e-mail address. It could be as simple as that. My experience is that you usually don’t get a pile of junk e-mail. These are legitimate companies who honestly want you to try their products. They don't want to antagonize you will junk mail.
Occasionally you may have to join their “club” (free). Occasionally you may have to answer a very simple consumer questionnaire … ie. What skin care product do you normally buy?
2) You Pay the Shipping Freebies
I have been VERY pleased with the give-a-ways I have received in this category. Because you are paying for the shipping, you usually get bigger and more substantial goodies. The samples are big enough that you really get a chance to see if they work, or if you like them.
Those of you who have been getting Contest News for some time will know that I am a RAVING fan of the free soup offer. I was so impressed by what I got that I just can’t shut up about it. I was amazed by the HUGE package of soup mix (enough for 20+ servings) I got, I continue to order it every month. (I like the Chicken Soup mix the best). I also have loved several of the skin care products (30 day samples), a coffee maker and samples, and several of the CD software packages I ordered.
I additionally classify the “trial + order” freebies into this category of freebies. You can get loads of free books and magazines this way. They send your free books and put you on their “regular shipping” list. You need to be careful here and make sure you cancel before they send a shipment you will get charged for. I always order these freebies with the intent of cancelling ... burt in several "book freebie" promotions I stayed subscribed for several months because I LOVED the line of books … and the promos were a good deal.
What do you have to do for this category of freebies?
Normally, you just pay for the shipping. Sometimes the shipping charges are inflated … so you have to decide whether you want the product enough. Some of the companies never send you emails, other companies put you on their regular correspondence lists.
3) Jump Through Hoops Freebies (time involvement)
This is where the something for nothing stops. The offers are great … get a free computer, get a free ipod, get a free flat screen TV. But in order to get these big money items for free you have to spend a LOT of time jumping through hoops.
The hoops may involve checking off a dozen (or more) other offers for information … and then doing something with each of the offers. The hoop may involve filling out lengthy consumer questionnaires. Your e-mail box will fill up with junk mail very QUICKLY. You may get most of the way through the requirements and then give up (which is what the promo company counts on).
Most of these offers are available only to residents of the USA … so I don’t qualify.
In spite of all this negative stuff I have received several Contest News subscriber emails thanking me for the information, which means that some people get their free stuff and are happy with it. If you are interested in the goodies offered, you might try one or two of these offers to see if they are worth the effort. Again BE SURE you get a free throw away email account and use it only for your freebie offers.
What do you have to do for this category of freebies?
LOTS. If you understand that these companies are not going to give you a $1000 or even a $50 product for nothing … you’ve got the idea. You will also find yourself on dozens of lists and will get loads of junk mail. Many of these companies pay for the “freebies” by selling your name, information and e-mail address to dozens of other companies.
My preference INSTEAD of this category of freebies is to join one or more of the “mystery shopper” companies that actually PAY you for filling out their consumer surveys. You won’t get a quarter of the junk mail … and you’ll get paid in goodies or hard cash.
In all, I have been thrilled with my freebie experiences. I have had an opportunity to try loads of great products without any risk on my end. I think that the value I have received for the money I spent has been MORE than worth it.
If you have never tried sending for freebies before today, my advice is to start with the first category — free and easy and if you are happy with the results, give the other categories a try as well.
Melanie Rockett
Contest Guru
PS ... my ALL TIME FAVORITE freebie offer is the FREE SOUP offer. You get enough soup mix to make a VAT of soup! I'm not kidding. My favorite is the Chicken Soup Mix ... it is a thousand times better than Lipton's or Campbell's and I make it even better by adding a few fresh veggies. It is available in Canada and the US. You just pay the shipping, which barely covers their costs. You do not get ANY junk mail from this company ... just great service and good soup.
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR SAMPLE NOW.
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