Series: Freebies – Are They Really Free? Part One: The Three Basic Types
We went through the three basic types of people in part one of this series. There is the carefree that don’t care what they have to do to get something for “free” as long as they get it. There is the one that has boundaries with limits to what they sign up for. The last basic type is the close-minded type that believes that there isn’t anything for free in life.
All types have dangers. There are also good points to each type that the other can use to learn from. In this part of the series we want to go over the Carefree type.
The Carefree type can be the most dangerous type. If they are not careful with reading the fine print they will will get a ton of freebies in the mail but they aren’t absolutely free.
Here are a few tools for this type of person. Hopefully this will help with the compulsive freebies.
Know the difference between free and free with a cost. If you are required to sign up for a “silver offer, gold offer, or platinum offer,” then I can go ahead and say that this freebie not only will take a lot of time to get but also it will come with a cost. One specific right now is the ” LifeScript – Free Spring Samples Offer” . I went through this one myself to see what all it entails.
- First you are required to enter your e-mail address before seeing what more is required. (This doesn’t always mean it is a “cost” offer.)
- Once you give them your e-mail address then you will notice that at the end of the page there is the fine print. Also, started with an asterisk. You first saw this asterisk on the banner of the offer.
This is what that end of the page stated:
“*Upon completion of the Program Requirements.
LifeScript.com is not affiliated in any way with the listed products, brands, or merchants. This Free Sample offer is an independent program intended for consumers only. Trademarks, service marks, and/or logos (including individual product names) are the property of their respective owners. Those owners have no association with and have not endorsed the products and services provided by LifeScript.com. LifeScript.com is solely responsible for all Free Sample fulfillment.
This promotion is brought to you by LifeScript.com and is subject to your completion of the Program Requirements. Receipt of the Free Sample requires completion of the following Program Requirements:1) completion of the Member Registration including registration on LifeScript.com with a valid email address; 2) completion of the Member Registration Survey & Questionnaire and 3) acceptance of one of our Sponsor Offers. Access to a Sponsor Offer is dependent upon the answers provided in the Member Registration Survey & Questionnaire. In some instances, the answers provided may not generate a qualifying Sponsor Offer. No purchase is required to qualify for the Free Sample.
Upon satisfactory completion of Program Requirements, Lifescript.com will ship the Free Sample to you, without charge. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery. Samples are available for U.S. residents only. Limit one per household while quantities last. The picture(s) of the product displayed may not be representative of the actual size of the Free Sample.
YOUR PRIVACY IS IMPORTANT TO US. After joining LifeScript.com, you may, at your election, receive emails and/or direct mail containing personalized health content, targeted advertising, opportunities to take surveys, and other free offers from our advertiser partners. In addition, in the case of certain offers that you may select, we will share your personal information with the trusted third parties that are making such offers. By participating in this offer, you are electing to share your information with such third parties. For more information, please click here to review our privacy policy. “
The main part I want to point out is the bold red highlighted words for #3, Acceptance of one of our sponsors offers. Accepting a sponsors offer could be to sign up for Coupons.com(this isn’t a bad offer) but other offers could be trial offer sign ups, or purchase a monthly magazine subscription. This offered mentioned above doesn’t state the “silver, gold, or platinum requirements” , which is a good sign. Most likely this offer will only take up your time and a few extra email offers.
Is The Free Product Worth It? Some may say that the product that they are getting for “free” is with the sign ups for other offers even if they may take time and money to get it. Make sure your time is worth the product or coupon you are wanting. If it is going to take you 30 minutes to sign up for a sample of a dryer sheet, is it worth it?
Use a separate e-mail for these offers. If you decide that you want to go ahead and get the free product with the offers, I would suggest setting up a separate e-mail account to handle all the “free” newsletters and other offers you will be flooded with.
Don’t get me wrong; there are several offers that I have felt was worth it. Especially if I only have to sign up for a newsletter, like them on facebook, or receive more info by mail. I want to make sure that you can be able to tell the difference in these offers. if you feel that they are worth it then you can sign up without regret.
Some of these types of offers are affiliate based which means that we get a small commission for you signing up to these offers. You won’t see these offers very often because even though we may get paid for your sign up, our $.30 commission just isn’t worth the rep.
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