Everyone loves freebies - that’s an undeniable fact of life. In these credit crunch times when everyone is tightening their belts, free gifts and free product samples are an especially welcome sight. If you enjoy online shopping, you’ve undoubtedly encountered your fair share of amazing online free gift promotions. As a bargain hunting veteran, here are three guidelines to adhere to whenever you’re signing up for these great deals.
First of all, the vast majority of freebies come with strings attached. Most commonly, you’ll be asked to provide your email address or telephone number so you can receive news about exclusive offers and promotions. Please don’t be so silly as to give out your actual information – unless, of course, you enjoy having loads of annoying advertisements clog up your email inbox and arguing with persistent telemarketers! Instead, use a free email provider such as Gmail to set up an email account that you can use exclusively for these mailing lists. In addition, sign up for a free voice messaging service such as DialMyCalls or k7 which will assign you a phone number that you can use to register for free gift promotions. This way, you can enjoy awesome complimentary gifts with none of the hassle.
When you fill out a store’s form to get freebies, you may get tired of keying in the same information again and again, especially if you’re on a bargain hunting spree. That’s where my second tip comes in! Did you know that such things as “Autofill” programs exist? These programs detect fields you’ve filled in before such as “Name” and Nationality” and automatically fill in the information for you. Google Chrome, a popular web browser, comes with the Autofill feature built in.
Finally, you’d do well to be wary of any free item promotions that require you to input sensitive information like your Social Security Number or credit card number. Although most stores offering these promotions merely want this information for administrative purposes, there are a very small minority of retailers who might be engaged in some kind of fraud. Hence, stick to well-known and reliable sites if you intend to sign up for these deals.
Free gifts and samples are one of the most rewarding parts of online shopping. Follow these handy tips and you’re guaranteed to have a blast!
