So you just found out that you could get all sorts of free stuff online! But now you are feeling overwhelmed before you even get started?
Here are some great pointers for all of our new and even those not-so-new freebie lovers.
Once you feel you have mastered Free Stuff 101, be sure to explore the rest of
Freebiester Amy. You will find lots of great freebies and coupons, as well as more tips to help you get the most out of finding freebies online.
I do my best to let you know up front who the offer is good for - and you can do your part by reading before clicking, so you don't waste your time.
Not only will you discover how much fun freebies are, but you should also learn about free money!
FREEBIE Or Free Stuff 101
These easy tips and ideas should get you on your way to getting lots of wonderful freebies.
QUICK FREEBIE TIPS:
1. Create a separate free email account to use for your freebies - so your personal email doesn't get filled with junk emails.
2. Create a separate Facebook account without your personal info, to sign up for Facebook freebies without sharing your info.
3. Create a Facebook and Twitter account to get freebies, even if you only use it for that.
4. Be cautious about where you give out your personal information. Don't provide any more information than you are comfortable with. Personally, I never give out my exact date of birth (you can change the month or date) or telephone number. (555 is a handy area code) Some go as far as getting a P.O. Box for their freebies.
5. Don't request every offer you see. Only request those that really interest you, or will donate to charity.
6. If you don't feel comfortable with an offer, just skip it.
7. Remember that many freebies come with great high-value coupons!
8. When the site asks where you heard about them, say friend/family, not a freebie site. Right-clicking and copying the link location & pasting it in a new browser, rather than clicking the link can help too. Sometimes they won't send if they know you came from a freebie site.
9. Keep an attitude of gratitude. Freebie hunting is more of a game of being at the right place at the right time - if you get the freebie, you won!
10. Read the fine print on all free stuff offers. Don't sign up if they ask for a required survey, gold card offer, promotion requirements, or your credit card information unless you are absolutely sure it's a legitimate offer.
11. Filling out form after form can be quite tedious. To make this process faster, you can use auto fill software. Auto fill software remembers information such as your name and address and automatically fills in the blanks for you on forms.
Roboform is a great free auto fill software. The
Google toolbar has an auto fill function and Firefox offers a free
Autofill Form Add On for their browser.
12.A freebie isn't a freebie unless it's free! If a website wants you to pay for a freebie, then don't request it. If they ask for shipping cost, you'll have to decide if it's worth it to you.
13.Checking for free sample opportunities every day, or even several times a day, will greatly increase your chances of getting them. Since there are only a certain number of free samples per offer, you'll want to sign up as soon as you can. Free samples are almost always offered on a first come first served basis.To get free stuff as soon as they are available follow me on the blog and
facebook to get immediate updates and notifications.
14.Make sure that everything you entered in the form is correct. A wrong address may get the free sample to a neighbor instead of you!
15. It's a great idea to note the date you request a freebie. Most samples arrive 6-8 weeks after you've asked for them, unless it says otherwise on the confirmation page.
16. Freebies generally takes anywhere from 4-16 weeks to arrive, some as long as 5 months - it depends on what you requested.
17. While you are waiting for your freebies to arrive, take advantage of the printable freebies, the printable coupons for local free offers, and local offers that you can pick up.
18. Give us feedback on free stuff you got . When you give feedback, you help other freebie hunters! For example, if you see a freebie listed as available in the USA and Canada, but it's actually only available for the US, or no longer available - leave a comment here or post to the
FreebiesterAmy and let us know.
19. Please tell your friends about FreebiesterAmy! If you spread the word about FreebiesterAmy, be it by word-of-mouth, blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, or other means, you'll increase the number of FreebiesterAmy users. More users equals more feedback and makes me happy and motivated!
20. Have realistic expectations: While I try very hard to only provide links to legitimate offers, sometimes the freebies still don't arrive. This could be because the company did not have a large enough supply to cover the response they got. It is also possible that a spammer has set up a site to gather email addresses (another important reason to use an alternate email account) and never intended to send you a freebie at all. Be aware that this can happen and although I do my best to avoid such sites, it is a part of getting freebies over the Internet.
21. If you really like a freebie you received, think about emailing the company. Sometimes they respond by mailing you high-value coupons for their product... yet another freebie!
22.Check to see if there is an opt out or opt in check box. You don’t need to sign up for extra email. Uncheck that box unless you really do want more email from that company.
23. If a freebie limited to only the first 1,000 participants - you may not be in that group and the site may just be collecting your information.
24. One reader doesn't like using her real name, so she has her dog apply for all the freebies. She uses her last name so the mail will get there. She knows when a spam phone call comes in because they ask for the dog.
25. Some don't use their last name when requesting freebies - to foil the telemarketers who take your name and address and look up your phone number to call you. To avoid these nuisance calls, they use only their first and middle name, or change some of the letters in their last name. Another benefit is that way you can track where the junk mail came from.
26. When a freebie offer asks for sensitive information like your social security number or a bank account number, you want to leave that freebie site right away!
27. Whenever you receive a freebie that leaks all over your mail - you should email the company and tell them. You might even get a full-size bottle of their product in compensation!
28. If you need an email address (or lots of addresses!) you can go to
mail.com and create another one just for signing up for freebies.
29. ALWAYS email companies when you have a problem, because you might just get something for your time! But don't forget to ALWAYS send them your positive feedback as well, because they might reward you for taking the time to offer a compliment.
30. Printer failed to print your coupon? Don't have a printer? Look for a Help/Contact link or button on the page and tell them the printer failed and they will often send you a coupon in the mail.
31. Make sure to check the email address you used for freebie hunting daily to see if you need to click on a confirmation link to receive your sample.
32.Is that coupon real or fake? Fraudulent coupons hurt us all! If you received a printable coupon that looks too good to be true; it may be! Free product coupons that can be printed more than once should set off a red flag for you, unless the coupon can be found on the manufacturer's website. You can visit the
Coupon Information Center to verify the authenticity of any coupon.
So I hope that it's clearer now! Do you have any great tips to share? I would be glad to add them to our list.
If you have any question
contact me : freebiesteramy@gmail.com
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