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Four ways to get free things online
By Leah
Gliniewicz and Myra Cristobal • Bankrate.com
Who would have thought that wandering eyeballs are
worth so much? On the Internet your precious peepers will earn all
sorts of free deals. So, let's sharpen our cheapskate skills.
1. Fill out surveys.
Volition.com
is almost like a search engine for companies
that would give you free samples in exchange for demographic information.
Other sites, such as SurveySavvy.com
and American
Consumer Opinion, pay you to fill out surveys.
After passing their client's screening process, SurveySavvy will
let you continue take the paid survey per survey and also offers
a percentage when you refer others. American Consumer Opinion also
gives away gifts and chances to win cash prizes. Its rewards range
in value from $4 to $25, and members of online focus groups get
at least $25.
2. Join a Net-incentive site.
Sites such as
YourFreeDVDs.com,
MyPoints.com
and Memolink.com,
work on a point-reward program. Points are typically earned by signing
up for free site membership, following links on the site, clicking
on ads or referring friends. When you earn a certain amount of points,
you can redeem them. For example, MyPoints.com offers discounts
on travel, fine dining and department stores.
3. Sign up for a free-stuff newsletter
Never skip a freebie-beat by reading online newsletters
that update you on the latest deals. Newsletter sites typically
have links to other free sites, and they frequently have a new freebie
offer section. Weeklyfreebie.com's
newsletter publishes top picks, new freebies, sweepstakes and expiring
sweepstakes for the week. Free.com
lists poll results and user comments with its links.
4. Look for free samples
Gary Foreman, publisher of the Dollar
Stretcher Web site in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., says one of its
writers compared free offers by what was promised and what was delivered.
About half did what they said they would do. He says typically the
bigger the company name, the more likely customers were to get the
item promised.
Here's the catch
Remember the old saying, "There's no such thing
as a free lunch?" Well, in the world of online freebies, the payment
you make is information. Many companies that offer free deals require
you to submit personal data, even if it's only your name, address
and phone number.
"I think people need to be careful about
what information they put out," Foreman says. "Once the data is
out, you can't put the genie back in the bottle again.
"Ultimately, they will know far more about you than
they've ever known before."
-- Updated: May 1, 2003
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