Welcome to spokanevalleymarketing.com
|
Yes, Freebies are Real!
If you tell someone that something is free, they immediately start looking for the catch. After all, the words of wisdom “there is no such thing as a free lunch” have usually been proven true for people time and again throughout life, and so a healthy cynicism towards free stuff usually springs up with good reason. If you are one of these skeptical types, however, you may be missing out on some really great stuff. The truth is that you CAN get free things that are really and truly free, and yes, actually worth having. You just have to know where to look.
OK, here is where the caveat comes in. The definition of “free” often depends on the definition of “cost.” As any economist can tell you, cost really doesn’t only come down to how much money you have to hand over to get something. There are additional costs, like inconvenience and time spent doing something. And true, some freebies have these “non monetary” kinds of costs associated with them. You have to balance all of the costs with the value of the free stuff you are getting and decide if it is worth it to you. The two biggest costs associated with freebies? Time and convenience are at the top of the list.
Time is a big factor in many free offers. Companies want a bit of your time in exchange for their free products. Indeed, some companies literally want hours of your time. Have you ever taken advantage of one of those “free weekend vacation” offers in which you received free accommodation in a beach house or condo for a weekend in exchange for suffering through a long presentation and intense sales pitch? For some people, they can handle the presentation and have no qualms about refusing to buy anything and the free vacation more than makes up for it. Other people would rather pay any price to avoid having to listen to one of these spiels. So, while these weekends are freebies, for some people, they cost too much.
More often, a company wants your time in a less obvious way – they want you to spend time filling out forms. These forms may simply be your name, address and email address, or they may be very lengthy, quizzing you about buying habits and the like. The reason the companies want you to do these forms is often for market research, and they are more than happy to give you a freebie in exchange for this. Many people find the time spent filling out these forms will worth it to get a great free product.
Convenience is the other cost involved with many freebies. Time and convenience go hand in hand in some cases – after all, it may not be especially convenient to fill out form after form simply because it is time consuming, but convenience takes another hit from freebies in the form of spam email. Often, signing up for a freebie can land you on a spam email list, and for some people, getting tons of spam is so inconvenient that they would rather pay full price.
The truth about all of these costs of freebies is that the freebie is in the eye of the beholder. You have to decide what you are willing to put up with in order to get a free product. Once you know the limits to your freebie costs, than you can cash in on some really great products that don’t cost you a dime. When you spend five minutes filling out a form and get rewarded with a free DVD player that you have been wanting, you will realize that there are free things out there to be had.
Craigslist a Great Place to Find Free Stuff – While Exercising Caution of Course Craig Newmark of San Francisco founded Craigslist in 1999. Craigslist is a web page that offers anybody to sell or by articles virtually free of charge. Some of the categories such as job ads in some of the major cities have a charge, which is the funding for all the other private, free ads on Craigslist. Currently the web page is available in approximately 450 cities all over the world. IT serves more than nine billion viewers per months and therefore gives the web page a ninth place in the rankings for most frequently used web sites in the United States. The web sites offer over thirty million new postings and classifieds each month. Categories for classifieds and advertisement range from job and housing postings over traditional buy and sell classifieds all the way to community events and personal ads. Since Craigslist offers so many different ads and classifieds each month, it is also a great place to find free stuff. Many people that are about to move or have top give up a hobby due to whatever reason often times offer things for free on this web page. Generally ads and classifieds are divided by categories and then listed on the pages depending on the proximity to a major city. Many major cities in the United States have their own Craigslist. Classifieds that are posted on a city site generally are from somewhere in the proximity of the city. Often time’s sellers expect the buyer to pick up the merchandise. Therefore, it is not unusual to find car ads, fitness equipment, baby clothing and items, furniture and more on the web site. Posting is for most classifieds free and there are also no fees for anything else. In contrast to some other pages, posting a used children’s toy, a piece of furniture or similar as well as anything else is completely free. The seller has the possibility to stay anonymous till shortly before the sale, when the seller decides to hand out his or her telephone number or address for sale purposes only. Of course such classifieds and advertisements can also be cons and need to always be handled carefully. Generally a good judgment of the price and offer helps to prevent from falling for fraudulent classifieds. Even though there are measures from the creators of the website to prevent fraud such as official statements and more, there is no guaranty that a fraudulent add will be taken off in time to prevent any trouble. So whenever buying or selling on Craigslist do it with caution. Craigslist offers classifieds for anything. Community, housing, personals, jobs, for sale, services, gigs and even discussion forums are all part of the web site. On this website anybody can post anything. Therefore it might take some time to find the right ad. It might even be possible that the chosen product cannot be found. Craigslist works like an online yard sale or a flea market. Therefore finding the exact product may be hard. But sometimes getting lucky is all that it takes and then the seeker is united with the product of desire. This web page should be used and supported by anybody and everybody. Whatever there is for sale, it should be put up on Craigslist, so that other people can male good use of a product that might be a good product for someone else for a few more years. Even jobs can be found on Craigslist. In cities such as New York, this web page’s jobs are one of the most important sources for job hunters and therefore are not free of charge for the employers that are posting in some of the bigger cities. Hook Up with Fat Wallet for Free Sweet Deals on the Net Maybe you have heard of fatwallet.com, but you don't know exactly what this site can offer you. Their slogan is "pocket the difference," which sounds good, but what exactly can this do for you? Here is a brief introduction to fatwallet.com, and what it can offer you. Expect to find the best deals and consumer reports in this vibrant web community. Welcome to the Community of FatWallet What is the FatWallet community? The mission of this community is value, knowledge and guidance. The FatWallet community offers its users to share in the deals and knowledge derived from their vibrant and active forums. With almost a million active members and shoppers, the FatWallet forums are places of knowledge and exchanged information. You can save your best money-saving tips and deals in these very free forums. You will find that the FatWallet forums are often addictive and fun. Signing up for these forums is easy and fast, and you will have instant access to the best of what FatWallet has to offer you. How to Join FatWallet If you are new to the community, here are the three fast and easy steps you need to take in order to join FatWallet. First, you just sign up so that the company knows whom to pay. Joining FatWallet is fast and free. Next, just make sure to shop through FatWallet. You will find the best deals from your favorite stores. Whenever you make an online purchase, you will be earning back Cash Back. This money will begin to add up in your FatWallet account. Finally, get paid. You can request your payments to be made via PayPal or via check. If you need any help with FatWallet, you will find that the website offers responsive customer service that can help answer all of your questions and deal with your concerns. Why Should You Join FatWallet? Maybe you are wondering why you should bother signing up with FatWallet. There are many reasons why you might choose to shop through FatWallet. First, shopping through FatWallet allows you to communicate with almost a million shoppers in the FatWallet forums. Find out what's hot and what's not in the FatWallet forums. You can raise your shopper's IQ by reading up on money-saving tips and the latest deals. You will find that the FatWallet forums are what make the site so very special. You will also find that the forums can be very addictive. What Makes FatWallet So Special? Perhaps you are wondering what makes FatWallet so special. FatWallet is one of the most intriguing shopping websites because it is content-driven, and most of the content on the website is created by its users. That means that the majority of the content on the FatWallet website is generate by consumers, specifically for consumers. FatWallet is not just a fun and easy way to save money and make money through online purchases, it is also a great way to find out the latest shopping trends. You can easily find out the latest shopping trends. If you are looking for the best price on an item, chances are that you need only consult the FatWallet forums to find the best and latest deals on whatever you happen to be shopping for. Whether it is a new car, new laptop computer or new pair of shoes, you will be able to find the best deals by checking in with your fellow FatWallet forum members. Enjoy the experience consumer critical mass. When half a million consumers get together, you will be surprised and pleased by how much you can learn about the products and services that are currently available on the market. |