About Free Samples & Products

My focus for this article is to help people who are interested in freebies, free samples, free products & free coupons to see how to sort through all those freebies with out wasting their time.

First & foremost freebies come in all shapes & sizes; from a free coupon to a free tee shirt to this week a free used appliance in better shape then my own lol. All the freebies I find are from people I have never met & have no association with at all. I have had so many people ask me, "How do you find a good freebie?" I hope this article will help to enlighten the people who truly would like to explore the freebie world.

The first lesson I learned was that not all freebies are free. Most legitimate companies have no problem stating up front what freebie they are offering & most have a simple sign up page with a mailing address requests to send you their free offer, are very direct & straight to the point. When a freebie is a bait & switch page as they are sometimes called you go to the page & do not see any information about the offered freebie, how ever you can find empty promises of giving you the moon if you take a long survey, answer a long questionnaire, sign up for 6 month at your nearest fitness gym or even enter to win $1 million dollar shopping spree at your nearest department store if you agree to pay a fee lol Just kidding you get the idea. If it is too good to be true then chances are it isn't.

A free sample of shampoo is hardly going to break a company & may just gain them a loyal customer so give the benefit of doubt where it is due & don't where it's not. Obviously a company can not afford to give everyone a free car but an air freshener is not to far of a stretch when a company is trying to drum up new customers for their great new product.

I rarely spend more then a minute on a free sample sign up page. If you go on a page & have a really hard time finding the sign up information then chances are you have just been lured on to a page for either giving you alternative information or gathering your information. By the way do not underestimate the power of your traffic, some pages simply need you to come onto the page and possibly get you to click an add or two or three. There are also programs to track your web page activity & report back to a mother site these can be found on any web site you visit at any time. I will discuss in further detail browser attachments & tracking cookies in a later article.

The second lesson I learned was that when I want a freebie I have to give out my mailing address so they can send it to me. I can give out a P. O. Box or my home address it's really up to me. I have given out both & never had any problem associated with either one so this is your choice completely. Do what you feel comfortable with. I even have a friend who wants me to send off for her freebies & she never feels out the forms herself because she is offline, she gets the freebies none the less & loves it.

The third lesson I learned was that it is easy to spot a bad deal the minute it changes from free to well you have to be obligated for this or that. Meaning you have to agree to something to get the freebie, some are honest feedback requests to learn more about what consumers think of the product, that in my opinion is just good business research some people may feel as though trying the product is enough for the company & they shouldn't ask for any more then that. I feel it is harmless so I help out with that when & where I can. Set your own standards & go with what makes you feel comfortable, some have to feel they have more control & only do printable coupons or in store offers, others still will do surveys because they feel they have their pros & cons & have a place, they serve their purpose. I how ever do not do surveys I have no patience for that lol yet here I sit typing the irony I know.

The forth lesson I learned was that if there is an item or product you want to try that freebie is most likely out there. Whether you want to change laundry soap or deodorant that freebie is out there just waiting to be found. It's a lot of fun to find some thing you want to try for free.

The fifth lesson I learned was that friends & contacts can be very helpful in the freebie world but you have to make your own if that makes any sense at all. Most freebie people I have met are free spirits & are not predictable, myself included. Most of the people I have met love change; I myself included there also & explore new sites all the time. Meeting new people is a lot of fun & I do not have to settle for anything less then my greatest expectations. I share my freebies with my friends they share with me. Freebie hunters are very generous I have never met a stingy one. If anything it is the opposite they are very friendly, out going, helpful bunch of people.

The sixth lesson I learned was that freebies are every where, from the grocery store, fast food restaurants all the way to the dentist office to the net they are every where you look once you begin to look. Freebie hunting is addictive to say the least; it's the thrill of the hunt of course but also the rush of the pay off. From a car wash that offers a free vacuum to a restaurant that offers a buy one get one free deal to "bogo" buy one get one- deals on shoes & clothing, free products are great & save me a lot of money. When you have to have service on your car or when you have to buy an unexpected product be sure to ask about deals & savings where ever you go you may be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

The last lesson I have learned is that most people who protest freebies are people who really want them but fear them. Fear is a controlling factor in so many peoples lives I simply refuse to give in to that. I check out who is offering what & decide from there if it sounds like it is legitimate or not. If I don't think it is legitimate I don't do it. If I do give my mailing information out what do I think the worst effect I will suffer, honestly the idea they may sale my information for spam that's about it. My information is listed in the online white pages as well as the local phone book & chances are so is yours so I really don't mind that it is out there because it's there either way. Try to Google yourself as they say & your address it is most likely there. I hope this helps answer some questions but if not feel free to ask. For the skeptics & people who say it is a bad idea I say to each his own I understand where you are coming from because I use to be in your shoes as well. If free samples are not your thing then they are not your thing. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Thanks for reading & have a great day!

I have received free samples for many years and know there are companies out there that are reputable. Below I will list a few of my favorite products I have received free product samples from through out the years.

Betty Crocker®

Jergens®

Pledge®

Kotex®

TAMPAX®

Crest®

Arm & Hammer®