Do you sign up for all free samples, even if you'll never use the product?
Well all love free, but let's face it, nothing in life is free.
Companies give out free samples as a way to promote new products, entice you into buying products you ordinarily wouldn't buy and to get your contact information for less than it would cost them to buy it off a mailing list. They aren't giving these away because they are nice...
So why am I so compelled to accept almost anything for free, even if the chances are close to zero that I will ever use it?
Do you simply sign up for freebies b/c they are free?
by
mschauber
asked 4 months ago
No, I have enough useless crap taking up space at my house already.
Yeah, sometimes. But only if I'll use it or if it's particularly cool. Like that Firefly Vodka Mason Jar deal a while back. I signed up for that. Will I ever have any need for a Mason jar? probably not. But it should be pretty cool nonetheless. If nothing else, it'll be a nifty change jar!
I used to grab everything I could though. I'd go to a music festival as a teenage, and fill up my bag with free stuff every day. And I do mean stuff. Like I actually split the seam on a bag from overfilling it haha
Nope, not ones posted here. The last "free" thing here I signed up for was a thing for lung cancer awareness. Not only did I not receive the free wristband or whatever it was (I've never received any of the 3 D.W. samples I signed up for), they spam me almost every day from multiple sites and email addresses that do not seem legitimate. (edit: I mean it was for lung cancer, I didn't feel the need to use a secondary email address. Lesson learned.)
I wish the free sample crap would disappear.
Sorry for the harshness, I just got to work....
We are constantly bombarded with advertisements trying to trick us into buying something we otherwise wouldn't. Getting to use a product for free is a much more considerate way to get me interested in new products. There is no lying or false claims when I get to try a product for free. So, I like free products! But, some that I have signed up for have gotten me a lot of spam.
I used to be addicted to free samples, too. I was into saving as much money as I possibly could. Then I realized what I was giving up for it - far too much space in my tiny apartment, time searching for or redeeming "free" deals, and the time and effort to throw away all the crap I had accumulated.
Now I am much less likely to take advantage of "free" unless it is also useful.
@meh3884: That's pretty fair. I've signed up for a bunch through here a couple years ago, and never got any of them. Then again, I never got any sort of confirmation, so it's entirely possible that I just didnt hit the sample in time.
Then again, those were mostly, if not all, at least somewhat legit. Like from the company itself, not joinusnowfortotallyfreestuff.com/thisisntfake or something.
@benyust2: Very good way of putting it. I'm definitely more likely to buy something if I've had the opportunity to take it for a 'test drive' first.
@kalicat83: At some point I signed up for free samples from Proctor & Gamble. For the last 5 or 6 years I receive a box from them, quarterly, with free samples of their products. Most I toss in the garbage. Ones I can use, I either add to the current container I have of that product or tape to the side of it so it doesn't fall into the black hole that is my closets.
While I sign up for a decent # of free samples, I'm pretty good about either tossing them out when I receive them, if I realize I'm never going to use it, or putting it to use right away so it doesn't just pile up some place.
I live in a NYC apartment, so like yourself, every sq ft is at a premium, but there's something about getting that free sample in my mailbox that I still enjoy. Maybe it's because virtually no one writes me real letters anymore.....
The SPAM issue:
The easiest answer, as some have already mentioned, is to use a 2nd email account for all possible junk mail.
The solution I have found is a combination of two things...
1) I use Google Apps as my email host. Gmail has such a great anti-spam solution built-in that even after having the same email address for 15 years, I rarely receive more than 1 piece of spam in my inbox per day, and often only 1 in a week.
2) Gmail allows you to create different addresses out of your username. You can then use filter(s). For example, you can stick a period (.) anywhere in your username. You can also plus '+' anything onto the end of your username. Some examples that would all be the same account:
username@gmail.com
user.name@gmail.com
u.s.e.r.n.a.m.e@gmail.com
username+junk@gmail.com
u.sername+xyz@gmail.com
The same rules apply for gApps accounts, you just replace gmail.com with your domain name.
Along with filters, using variations is a great way to sort/manage email.
My Astroglide free sample is on the way!!
I get free samples of anything i could ever use, or anything anyone I know would use, like for instance, I dont have a cat, but i sign up for free catfood samples to give to my friends who have cats
No. I'm an anti-hoarder, so I don't go for things I won't use (even if they're free).
Plus, most free offers ask for your address. I don't want to receive junk mail for the rest of my days in exchange for another toilet brush.
Apparently so. I'm 19, and received a free sample of laxatives in the mail a couple weeks ago. That's.. Useful?
not only do i sign up for almost everything that shows up as a freebee, i sign up others for same free stuff. i have no pets of any kind, but i have cat food coming for me and mom so i can give her my cat food. then i have dog food coming to me and her so i can deliver to dad.
plus anything i don't have a use for i can donate to one of the local homeless shelters or charities.
@mschauber: mailinator.com is what I use for spam email. There's no sign up process and messages only stay on the system for 24 hours.
I sign up for just about any freebie I can find.
Most of the product samples I use. The personal care products are great for travel. Small boxes of cereal are great for snacks at work, etc.
Everything else goes into a big box which becomes my white elephant gift exchange present at a Christmas party I go to every year. There are people who will try to figure out which box (or boxes, sometimes I split it up in case someone doesn't bring a gift they can still play) I brought and will steal it from other people.
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