Getting free stuff online

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Freebies

ONLINE SHOPPING TIPS

STUFFED
Keep your mailbox clean

So you signed up for a ton of free offers. Unfortunately, that means you can expect plenty of junk e-mail in your mailbox. A simple way around this is to create an e-mail account solely for free junk. You can get free e-mail accounts at a number of Websites including hotmail.com and yahoo.com.

After you create a free account, use that e-mail address on every form you fill out online. That way, you'll still get lots of free products delivered via U.S. mail to your home, but all the e-junk mail will go to your second e-mail account and keep your regular one clean.

Believe it or not, you can get plenty of free stuff online. Just by filling out a few simple forms or answering some surveys, companies will send you all sorts of products and samples. Like what? Well, everything from keyboards to T-shirts to jelly beans! Some sites even offer free e-mail or America Online access just by signing up for their services. Sure, you'll be hard pressed to snag yourself a free TV or refrigerator, but with a bit of patience and persistence, you can actually make out pretty well with all sorts of interesting food, makeup, magazine and even jewelry samples.

If this stuff's so good, why are people giving it away for free?

For any number of reasons. A company may just offer free samples because they're test marketing a new product and they value your opinion. Another company may be promoting a specific item (don't underestimate the value of word-of-mouth!), while someone else may just want to hook you on their Website for good. Whatever the case, always keep in mind that these companies are after something from you, so be careful.

What sort of "traps" should I look for with these freebies?

Always read the fine print before you accept any offer. After all, you don't want to end up paying for something "free" do you? So before submitting any information on a survey, make sure you don't have to purchase any plan or package deal. Also, be aware that some free trial periods only last a month or two, and you're expected to pay the full price afterwards. Most companies will automatically start billing you at the end of the trial period without you even realizing it, so if you don't wish to pay for any service, definitely cancel before the trial period ends. And, as always, if you ever feel uncomfortable about giving these sites certain personal information, then don't do it. No free swag is worth a troubled mind.

To find the best FREE sites on the Net, visit our Free Stuff page.

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