Free samples online - Know the "cost"

On the Internet you can get all kinds of free samples - cosmetics, candy, food, household products, cold remedies, pet food, and more.

Of course, you know why manufacturers do this. They hope that after trying their products, you will continue to buy them.

But there is even more advantage to manufacturers offering free samples online.

Here's why: When you specifically request a sample, you are identifying yourself to the manufacturer as a member of their target market.

They may ask for your age, gender and other demographic information, which will help them focus their marketing efforts later on. And in order to ship the item to you, they get your physical mailing address. They usually ask for your email address as well.

Before giving up your personal information and email address, understand that you may be contacted later by the manufacturers and their "partners" (a euphemism for companies who buy their mailing lists.)


Here are some guidelines when signing up for complimentary samples:

1. Do not use your regular email address, because you may be bombarded with more "offers." Get a free email account at Hotmail or Gmail just for this purpose. Or use a disposable email address such as Mailinator or Pookmail.

2. In all fairness, cooperate with their request for demographic info - e.g., age, etc. In exchange for a free product, your info will help the manufacturer understand its market.

3. Beware of so-called free offers of expensive items, such as brand-name electronic products, pricey leather goods, vacations, etc. If you read the fine print, you may see that you are merely being entered in a drawing for the item. Or, you may have to sign up for several mailing lists in order to see the free offer.

4. On the page where you sign up for the sample, look for an option that says something like, "Please send me more offers." If that option is already checked off for you, uncheck it.


Now that you're an educated consumer, here are some places to get free samples:

dailyedeals.com

all-free-samples.com

freesampleforager.com

nojunkfree.com - includes free samples in Canada and U.K.

For more free samples, use a search engine to search for "free samples". You can also add your country. Thus, if you're looking for free samples in Italy, search for: "free samples" Italy.


Pauline
teachmeinternet.com