Free stuff?

[lost_within]

Has anyone on this site ever used one of the "free stuff" websites? The ones where you more or less do a bunch of free trials and get a "free" gift. IE: Ps3, wii, dsi, so forth so on.

I checked a craigslist ad that showed several dsi systems sitting on the floor, brand new, for 90$ of course they were all sold out, but they actually sent me the link for where they had gotten them from. They always seemed kinda sketchy to me and I know of a few people that have had great luck with them, I just want to know of more than 2 people that can back up that it works.

So...anyone?

[gtmtnbiker]

Those are scams. The old adage about if it's too good to be true, it probably is applies to these things.

[lost_within]

Those are scams. The old adage about if it's too good to be true, it probably is applies to these things.

Well I know one person that got a free ipod and another forum I know of a guy had gotten a tv and I want to say a console of some sort. I am just curious if anyone here has

[gtmtnbiker]

Do a google search "scam to get a free ipod" and just read the articles. Here's one:

http://members.shaw.ca/fakesandisk/ipod.html

Nothing is ever free, so wheres the catch?
The catch is, you need to sign up for an online service (e.g. DVD rentals, etc). Many of these services have a free trial period and can be cancelled without incurring any charges. Furthermore, you need 5 friends to the same for you as well. The company giving away free ipods is a marketing company - their sponsors (online services) pay them for each new legitimate referral they get. The reality is, only the minority ever follow thru in getting enough referrals to be eligible for their free iPod. This allows the marketing company to remain profitable (i.e., obtain more incomplete than completed referrals).

Sounds easy, but it is harder than it sounds. Why?
The #1 major deterrent for many is to sign up for an online service, you need to use your credit card. Now if you're a seasoned online-shopper then this is not a big deal, as long as you know you're dealing with a secure and reputable site. But if you've never shopped online before, then this is an obvious setback and its something you'll likely think twice about, even if it doesn't cost a penny.

To play it safe, my recommendation is to stick with large and well known sponsors (e.g. Columbia House, Ebay, etc.). Such retailers are not new to online shopping, and you can likely feel comfortable in dealing with them.

If you've managed to get past #3, good luck in finding 5 friends that will do the same as your referral.
Likely they will fall into one or more of the following categories:

a) They're a skeptic. That, and they want to see YOU get it first before they will sign up.
An obvious chicken & egg problem - you can't "get it first" without their support!

b) They're hesitant to use their credit card online.

c) It's too much of a hassle for them.
d) They know that a 30GB iPod Video retails for $250USD, and they can't wait to sign up for you!

[lost_within]

See, doesnt say scam all over it just says more of a pain in the ass. Also that was one of the older ones that required 5 people to do the same as you, what I have seen now is not 3 choices, but 6, and no one else has to sign up but you. Yes I know its not FREE normally it costs about 30$, but still 30 bones for 160$+ items? I guess no one on here has tried anythough.

[terrin707]

I once tried one of these sites. I believe it was yourfreeipod.com and yourfreedvr.com a long time ago, and I made over $1000 in cash. All I had to do was sign up for like 13 services, most of which were free for each $500 (x2) that I received. The other ones were easily canceled.

[lost_within]

anyone else?

[gtmtnbiker]

I once tried one of these sites. I believe it was yourfreeipod.com and yourfreedvr.com a long time ago, and I made over $1000 in cash. All I had to do was sign up for like 13 services, most of which were free for each $500 (x2) that I received. The other ones were easily canceled.

Rightly so, I'm very skeptical of your claim. $1000?? What was in it for the companies to get their $1000 worth of value from you? Is it worth violating your data privacy for this? lost_within, I suggest reading the articles from a google search, especially the negative ones. If it's so good to you, why don't you go ahead and try it? Why do you need confirmation from other users? What are your concerns?

n fact, Eliot Spitzer, the fireball New York Attorney General has recently filed suit against Gratis Internet, the parent company of sites Freeipods.com, FreeCDs.com, FreeDVDs.com, and FreeVideoGames.com (just an aside - "gratis" means "free" in Spanish).

The suit alleges that Gratis:

"... sold personal information obtained from millions of consumers under a strict promise of confidentiality.
From 2000 through 2004 Gratis made numerous explicit promises to the users of its web sites about protecting personal information. Among the promises the company made were:
'We will never give out, sell or lend your name or information to anyone';
'We will never lend, sell or give out for any reason your email address or personal information';
'We at [Gratis web site] respect your privacy and do not sell, rent or loan any personally identifiable information regarding our customers to any third party'; and
'Please note that we do not provide your E-mail address to our business partners.'
Even on its sign-up pages, Gratis promised consumers that it 'does not . . . sell/rent emails.'
However, the Attorney General’s investigation confirmed that Gratis’s owners, Peter Martin and Robert Jewell, repeatedly violated these promises during 2004 and 2005 by selling access to lists of millions of Gratis’s customers to three independent email marketers. The marketers then sent hundreds of millions of email solicitations to those users, on behalf of their own customers. In each of these deals, Gratis wrongfully shared between one and seven million confidential user records.
This is believed to be the largest deliberate breach of a privacy policy ever discovered by U.S. law enforcement.

[Hobie-wan]

You'd better read any terms for everything 5 times. There might be some stuff you have to sign up for that will not let you cancel until its been a year.

[Lokkenjawnz]

There have been several reports done on these websites, and for the most part they're "legit." "Legit" as in they do give you a prize for whatever it is you have to do, but it really is a ridiculous pain in the ass, and in the end isn't really worth it. You have to bother pretty much everyone you know to get referrals, and there's so many different offers that it's very easy to get one that's not so easily cancelled. There are a few forums dedicated specifically to these types of offers that can explain things much better.

Basically, I wouldn't recommend it. It's way too much work, and in the end it's probably easier to just get a job, you'll probably make more for less work.