COVER STORY
It's Free
Online giveaways can be a good deal, but what are you giving away in return?
By Bonny L. Georgia
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Sounds like I'm headed to the grocery store, but actually, this is just a partial list of samples and full-size products I've received for free using the Internet.
There are a lot more where those came from if you know where to look.
Bonnie Malone, 41, of Boyce, La., has been scouting for free stuff online for two years. She is a virtual hunter and gatherer.
"Going to the mailbox is like Christmas some days," Malone says. "I have a lot of ugly fridge magnets and some really useless stickers," she says with a laugh. "But I have also received products I never tried before that I ended up deciding I couldn't live without."
Malone often shares the wealth by making gift baskets out of free goodies for friends' birthdays and for new mothers.
Sharon Shryock, 24, of Roanoke, Ill., has been nabbing free products and services online ever since typing the word "Free" into a search engine one afternoon on a lark. "I could not believe all the freebie sites they had listed. I have been hooked ever since," Shryock says. "I have gotten free books from Borders, free film, free samples, free recipe books, and the list goes on and on."
Freebie jackpot
Most of us have heard of freeware and shareware, and maybe even free e-mail accounts, free Internet access, or free PCs. Skeptics take note—that's just the tip of the free-stuff iceberg.
Freebie Web sites such as About.com's Freebies ( freebies.about.com ) and Weekly Freebie Compilation ( www.weeklyfreebie.com ) house a jackpot of goods and services that won't cost you a cent. They're populated with links to penny-pinching deals ferreted out by other freebie-hunting Web surfers or the owners of the sites themselves. By contrast, sites such as FreeShop.com ( www.freeshop.com ) and Free2Try.com ( www.free2try.com ) are collections of free and trial offers sponsored directly by advertising partners.
Cruise through the sites and you'll find valuable services like free voice-mail boxes and faxing, long-distance phone cards and even backup space for your important files. Hundreds of free product samples also are yours for the asking, from trial magazine subscriptions to herbal tea. The size and quality of samples can vary, however. Says Lee Seats, moderator of About.com's Freebies area, "I once received a single broken breath mint in an envelope."
Some of the most valuable freebies are premiums offered when new Web sites launch or as sign-up bonuses for trying a service. These include familiar tchotchkes such as mouse pads, coffee mugs, T-shirts, baseball caps and other items emblazoned with a corporate logo.
Last but not least are companies that reward your Web-surfing habits with free items. FreeRide.com ( www.freeride.com ) and MyPoints.com ( www.mypoints.com ) are frequent flyer-esque incentive programs. Clicking on ad banners and purchasing items from their affiliates earn points that can be redeemed later for free CDs, movie tickets, software and gift certificates for national retailers such as Eddie Bauer and Macy's. Cybergold ( www.cybergold.com ) pays cash bounties for similar Web surfing and shopping activities. Other sites with such programs include ClickRewards ( www.clickrewards.com ), MyPoints ( www.mypoints.com ) and eTour ( www.etour.com ) (for more sites, see box above).
What's in it for them?
"Businesses generally have a new product and believe if consumers try it, they will like it," says Innate Mak, editor of the Weekly Freebie Compilation newsletter and Web site. Other companies that give away free stuff are trying to generate some kind of publicity or site traffic. One way to do that, Mak says, "is offer freebies or run some sort of sweepstakes."
Alex Peder is president of X10.com, a home-automation tools manufacturer that has given away more than 150,000 of its FireCracker home control kits since May. Peder calls free stuff giveaways "straight-up deals," and says that their ultimate purpose is to acquire new customers. "Why would we give away $73 worth of product for $5.90 [the cost of shipping]?" he asks. "We couldn't do it if people didn't like it and come back and buy more from us."
Michael Barach, president of MotherNature.com ( www.mothernature.com ), used a similar strategy that was aimed at lowering the cost of capturing new customers—a promotion offering $20 off a first-time purchase. "The cost of advertising to get a new customer was becoming outrageous," he says. "We decided to give this money to customers to try our [products] instead. It was extremely successful."
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Many freebies come with no strings attached—just give your name and mailing address and then wait a few weeks. A few, like X10.com's FireCracker offer, require postage or nominal shipping and handling charges. Most freebie offers require making a trade—you get the good stuff in exchange for providing personal information that can be used for future marketing efforts. This is especially true of big-ticket freebies such as Internet access and PCs.
The kind of information you'll be asked to divulge depends on the type of freebie and the vendors' needs. For example, one may want you to fill out a lengthy questionnaire about your purchasing habits before giving you a free sample of soap. Another may only request permission to send you occasional special offers and promotions.
"Personal data has a tremendous amount of value. You should only give your personal info [to a marketer] if you feel you're getting equal or greater value for that info and feel that your privacy is being respected," says Dave Steer, spokesperson for TRUSTe ( www.truste.org ), a nonprofit organization devoted to protecting consumer privacy online.
Before you sign up for any freebie, Steer recommends looking for the site's privacy statement and reading it thoroughly. Sites that display the TRUSTe seal have met or exceeded the organization's strict "fair information practices," he says.
TRUSTe-endorsed sites must prominently display a link to the company's privacy statement. The statement must be written in plain English and disclose what is collected by the site, what the company does with the data and with whom it shares your information. Consumers must also have access to their personal information profile. If there are any inaccuracies, there must be an opportunity to make corrections. Lastly, the site must provide a way to opt out of the dissemination of personal data.
If you don't want to take the time to check each site's policy or if the legalese becomes too daunting, the Enonymous Advisor ( www.enonymous.com ) will do it for you. This Windows utility monitors your use of Web forms and notifies you of a site's privacy rating.
Lee Seats of About.com's Freebies forum offers additional tips for
keeping your personal information safe:
• Never use your primary e-mail address for freebies. Sign up for a
free e-mail address that you can dispose of if it collects too much
junk.
• Never volunteer more information than necessary. If a site asks for
information that seems unreasonable, leave questions blank or pass on the
offer altogether.
• Giving out your phone number is a no-no. Use a fake 555 number or try
putting "unlisted" instead.
• Just say no. "Many registration forms have a check box that allows
you to indicate if you don't (or do) want e-mail sent to you," he
says.
Overall, if a site doesn't have a clear privacy policy or you're unfamiliar with the company, use good judgment. "Don't just sign up for everything because it's free," Seats says. "If you don't feel comfortable filling out the form, don't. There will always be another offer."
BONNY L. GEORGIA is a freelance technology writer based in Massachusetts.
