Cheap is Good, FREE is Better; Freebies & More

What is FREE? The definition of FREE has become fuzzy and confused by marketers using it to catch a consumer's attention. Is it FREE if you are required to give something in return, like shipping and handling fees or an email address?

Is a eBook, FREE, if you are required to give your email address? You can get a ton of free digital stuff for just giving an email address.

Is something free if you have to pay for shipping and handling? And with shipping and handling fees, they get your name, address, email address and phone number because you charged the fee to your credit card. And don't think that somebody won't telephone you trying to get to you to purchase something else. I know first hand.

What about situations where you know that shipping and handling fees cover the cost of something plus a profit? I have had offers presented to me for a free CD of an eBook or audio for the $8.00 to $10.00 claiming to be shipping and handling fees. I know that you can outsource the creation and fulfillment for the CD, printing and CD case for about $3 - $4. Mailing media through USPS for a CD at this time would be less than $2.50 for the first pound. Therefore everything above the amount of about $6.50 would be profit to the giver (the person with the free offer). I suppose that one could argue that the remaining fees go to things like royalty fees, overhead, handling advertising and the list could go on.

Some food for thought.

What are you willing to give up to get something for free?

Do you need a quick Christmas Gift that most anybody will enjoy?

Almost everybody loves the gift of food. Right now, some (I don't know how many) food joints are giving a $5.00 coupon with a Gift Card purchase of $25. The way this works is you buy a $25 Gift Card and you get a $5.00 off coupon for your next purchase. I have recently purchased these Gift Cards at the Red Robin and Texas Roadhouse and got the related $5.00 off coupon.

Here is a short list I have compiled. There are probably many more that I do not know about.

* Texas Roadhouse gives a $5.00 coupon with a $25 gift card purchase
* Red Robin has a coupon with a $25 git card purchase.
* Keva Juice is another establishment that is giving the gift coupon also.
* Applebees is giving a $10 bonus card with a $50 gift card purchase.
* Buca di Beppo is give a $25 reward card for $100 in gift card purchases.

There are two things you should be aware of. The $5.00 gift coupon may have an expiration date that is quick so you have to plan ahead when you will use it. The Red Robin coupon expires in February. Another thing that occurs is that I purchased the Gift Cards during a visit to these establishments and added them to the meal bill. So... should you included the cost of the gift card when calculating the tip. I wish to submit that you should not include cost in of the calculation of the tip. If you were not going to eat at the establishment and only purchase the Gift Card, you would not normally include a tip at that time. When you purchase a meal with a discount coupon or a Gift Card for that matter, it is normal protocol to calculate the tip of the bill before the discount is applied. Therefore if the tip is applied at the time the gift card is purchase and also consumed, tips could be applied to the gift card twice. That is not normal nor necessary.

Check out this weeks free song download from Wal-Mart.

Click on the Button Below

The are many other places where you can get free stuff. Some of this stuff, you may not want but some peoples trash are other peoples treasures. Some people have stuff they not longer want and do not want to spend the effort to sell it, or donate it, so they attempt to give it away for free. But is it really free. You have to manage someway to transport the stuff to where you want it and store the stuff until you need it.

In some areas, there is a written/unwritten rule/law where anything left on the curb is free for the taking. Some people patrol areas on the trash pick-up day looking for things to acquire. This costs time and gas money but may be worth persuing.

Sunday Morning, a CBS news mixed with human interest show, recently had a clip about our materialistic disposable society. The clip host drives around his neighborhood on trash collection day and is able to find all sorts of still valuable things from electric fans to furniture and computers. The slant of this segment was toward recycling the still useful items. The host commented that many charities will send someone to pickup these types of unwanted goods.

This type of collection behavior has a term "dumpster diving". Some people have written manual or formed groups devoted to dumpster diving and even become full time dumpster diving.

NOTE: A really good place to dumpster dive is college dorms and apartments when school is closing in the spring. College kids will throw stuff out rather than trying to get it home or store it.

A less expensive way to find free stuff is on the internet. In many areas there is a Freecycle.org website where people post about things they are willing to give away. Whether there is a freecycle site for your area is predicated by population and demand.

Some, because I have not seen all, on-line classified ad sites, have a free and wanted sections. Craigslist.com, the largest on-line classified ad site, has some very active free and wanted sections. Craigslist is organized by area and currently has over 300 for the United States. As you can imagine, some areas are more active than others, such as Los Angeles is more active than say El Paso, Texas. You could assume that you would have better luck in Los Angeles than El Paso for obtaining worthwhile free stuff.

What can you do with all this stuff you have found? Use it, Sell it, Donate it, Trash it.

Today, May 17, USA Weekend ran an article "America, Land of the Freebie" travel guide.

http://www.usaweekend.com/09_issues/090517/090517travel-freebies.html

On the list is the Celestial Seasoning factory tour in Boulder Colorado. This is a terrific tour. I would suggest that you not go on the weekend because the factory is not in operation, but then sometimes you can not control those things. Also at Celestial is a well stock factory store. I find factory stores better because they attempt to carry everything whereas you can only find a portion of the offerings in a local retail establishment. They also have a cafe that is open to the public and free tastings of their teas. A first class operation.

If you are in the area, may I also suggest the Coors Brewery Tour in Golden Colorado or the Budwieser Brewery Tour in Fort Collins Colorado, both of these are free and free samples to adults. And if you are into beer, there are a half a dozen micro-breweries along the front range from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs that may have tours or tasting rooms (many have a small fee for a sampling)..

Enjoy

MONOPOLY is the best-selling board game in the world, sold in 103 countries and produced in 37 languages.

That is Mr. Monopoly going to GO on Monopoly Board.

Click Below to learn how to print Monopoly Money.

I just stumbled across the craziest news...

... Derek Gehl, an internet marketing guru is giving
away his $297 "Internet Millionaire's Protege
Bootcamp" DVDs for FREE!

This means you can get 7 hours of professional online
business training in the comfort of your very own home --
and all YOU have to pay is the cost of shipping the
package to your door!

But apparently there are only 121 copies of Derek's
world-class training DVDs left...

...So to claim your free 7-hour DVD training system now,
go to:

Click Here NOW!!!

Google is giving out invite to Google Voice. Like GMail it is currently FREE.

Google Voice is a telephone management system. They will provide you with a phone number. I even got mine in the area code I currently live, unlike some of the previous free voice mail systems I have tried.

The features of Google Voice are quite extensive. The main feature is FREE telephone calls. The premise is that you keep your Google Voice phone number forever and it will forward all telephone calls to you land line, you cell phone, your work phone... wherever. It will also record and transcribe voice mail. I have read that by having Google Voice as a favorite on your T-Mobile, you can do unlimited phone calls.

Click on the image below and check out the video about all the features available.

If you have bought anything from Amazon, you know that Amazon usually has free shipping on orders over $25.00. And if you live or have the purchase delivered to the correct state, you can get the product without having to pay for sales tax.

Well, did you know that Amazon also gives away video games, music and books for ZERO cost. Now the way they can do this is that they are giving away digital products and delivering them electronically over the internet.

As of the time of this writing (November 2009), Amazon is giving away a lot of ebooks (in the Kindle format, more about that later), quite a few music files and two PC video games.

Kindle ebooks can be read on Amazon's Kindle Wireless Reading Device but they can also be read on an iPhone and a PC with the right software which can be downloaded for free from Amazon's Kindle Store.

Below are some samples of the freebies available from Amazon at the time of this writing.

MP3 Downloads

 


Strange Overtones 

by David Byrne and Brian Eno
From the Album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today


Video Games




Big Kahuna Reef [Game Download] for PC


Kindle eBooks





Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Entertaining eBook
(Kindle
Edition)
by Julie Kaufmann
(Author)

YES, now you can download free books on to your Amazon Kindle or Kindle DX ebook reading machine. I was checked the Kindle top sellers and found many of the bestselling digital books selling for $0.00, yes that is free!

Check out this site.

Join the Dairy Queen (DQ) Blizzard Fan Club and get a coupon BOGO (buy one get one free).

REDBOX DVD Rental Kiosks are popping up all over the place. Redbox is an American company that specializes in the vending of DVDs, and possibly Video Games in the near future, via self-service/interactive kiosks.

In my neighborhood, there are REDBOX Kiosks in Wal-Mart, the local supermarket, McDonalds and Walgreens. You can search for locations on their website and for some locations even reserve a movie to be picked up later.

A Little History

Redbox Automated Retail LLC was initially funded by McDonald's Ventures, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of McDonald's Corp. In 2005, Coinstar bought 47 percent of the company. In February 2009, Coinstar paid McDonald's and other shareholders between $169 and $176 million for the rest of the company.

The company passed Blockbuster in 2007 in number of U.S. locations and passed 100 million rentals in February 2008. Competitors include The New Release (aka Moviecube), DVDXpress, DVDplay and Blockbuster. DVD vending companies currently have 19% of the DVD rental market, with 36 percent to rent-by-mail services and 45 percent to traditional stores.

The current rental of a DVD from REDBOX is one dollar per day. If you only rent a couple of movies a month, this is a pretty good deal. For me personally, I have only rented one or two movies during this fall Television season. If you rent more than 10-15 a month, then I would probably say that you should look into Netflix.

There are ways to get a FREE rental sfrom REDBOX.

If you have never use a REDBOX before, you can sign-up on their website (REDBOX Website) and get a free rental coupon code.

I have found on the internet a REDBOX coupon clearing site. The site is Inside REDBOX. You can subscribe by email, RSS, Twitter ... They publish the latest coupon codes. They also list the latest movies releases.

Quiznos has $4 Torpedo Sandwiches

T.G.I. Fridays has nine new salads and sandwiches for $6 - $11

Chili's is not to be left out with 10 deals for under $7

Subway continues to have it $5 Footling Sub, which was about the price of a 6 inch sandwich

McDonald's is pushing it's premium coffee which is cheaper than Starbucks along with it's well known Dollar Menu

Starbucks is countering with its recent roll out of "Breakfast Pairings" - Coffee plus sandwich/oatmeal/pastry for $3.95

Taco Bell breaks through the $1 barrier with its Volcano Menus

Wendy's is not to be left out with 99 cent sandwiches, Frosty Coffee Treats

Domino's has $5 subs when packaged with other sandwiches or medium pizzas

Golden Corral is touting its 7-Day Dinner Cruise priced "around $10"

A lot of restaurants and fast food chains have websites. The information on these web sites can run the whole gambit from store locations, to menu items, special menu items, and employment opportunities.

Many of these web sites also allow you to give them information so that they can stay in contact with you. Texas Roadhouse several years ago had a free drawing for a Barbeque. To enter, you filled out a form with your email address. Since then, about every other month, I get an email coupon good for a free Cactus Blossom appetizer with a 2-dinner meal purchase.

UPDATE

I just found a site that has a very complete list of BIRTHDAY FREEBIES. And these freebies are not limited to just RESTRAUNTS, but include places like Disney World, and free movies or bowling.

Check it out!!!

Hey, It's Free! Click HERE

Below is a list of places I have complied. Some ask for a birth dates and will send you a coupon for various items as a birthday gift.

So here is the start of a list that will get you free food. Ad your own discoveries.

The PocketMod is a way to keep yourself organized. Lets face it, PDAs are expensive and cumbersome, and organizers are bulky and hard to carry around. Nothing beats a folded up piece of paper. That is until now. With the PocketMod, you can carry around the days notes, keep them organized in any way you wish, then easily transfer the notes to your PDA, spreadsheet, or planner.

Many things make this little personal organizer special, here is a list.

1. It fits easily in your back pocket or purse.
2. It's as cheap as one piece of paper (Because that's all it is!)
3. It opens like a book. Leading to easier to find, more organized notes.
4. The first page has a pouch, big enough to carry a business card!
5. Customizable with "Mods" tailored to your needs.
6. It's free and fun!

Here are a couple of instructables for you to check out.


Pocketmod - The Most Easy Organised Piece of Paper You Will Ever Make !!!


Duct tape PocketMod Wallet/Cover

Check it out here:

100 Free and Useful Open Courseware Classes for Web Workers

By Alisa Miller

As the title says, Alisa Miller has compiled 100 Open Courseware classes for web worker from various universities around the United States. These are not your local free university given by somebody trying to sell something. They are from MIT and the University of California at Berkley.

Click Here for List

The courses are organized into the following categories:

• Web Design
  
• Comparative Media and Media Arts
  
• Photography and Video
  
• Technology
  
• Writing
  
• Communication
  
• Copyright, Law, and Ethics
  
• Marketing
  
• Entrepreneurship
  

The courses were gleaned from the following universities:

• Utah State University
  
• University of California at Irvine
  
• The Open University
  
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  
• Gresham College
  
• Western Governors University
  
• University of California at Berkeley
  
• Western Governors University
  

Who does not remeber that line that the Disney Corporation paid the winning quarterback of the Super Bowl to say after winning that Championship Game.

Well, now through the end of the year, you can sign up and get into either Disneyland in California or Disney World in Florida for FREE on your birthday.

Yes you can visit the "Happiest Place on Earth". The downside is that you have to get there and you may have to pay for your friends and family to join you.

But here is the link to sign up.

Register Herel

Update:

The Disney website gives you these steps to follow:

* Register your birthday and why not everyone in the family while your at it
* Print the confirmation message you receive after registering
* You will also receive an email reminder which you can also use to redeem your free admission on your birthday, about two weeks prior to your birthday
* Bring proper ID and your confirmation message to the gate at one of the Theme Parks at the Walt Disney World Resort on your birthday in 2009.
* If you are a Passholder or already have a Multi-Day ticket you will use on your birthday, you can register and bring the free admission on Your Birthday confirmation and proper ID to the gate so you can choose another gift from the following:
o A birthday fun card in an amount equal to the price of a 1-day Magic Your Way base ticket for you to use on your birthday for merchandise, recreation or fun activities at select participating locations at Walt Disney World or
o A special birthday FASTPASS® badge+ for certain attractions at the Theme Park you visit on your birthday; or
o A 1-day Magic Your Way base ticket for you to use any time until your next birthday.

I got mine. Go and get Your FREE Customized Disney Map.

In addition to Walt Disney World's offer of a complimentary theme park ticket on your birthday, the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort, a Four Diamond luxury resort ideally located in the heart of Walt Disney World®, is offering the following birthday freebie::

* A complimentary room night on your birthday with a minimum three-night stay*

* PLUS, dine in one of the resort's signature, award-winning restaurants (Todd English's Bluezoo, Shula's Steak House, or Il Mulino New York Trattoria) and receive a complimentary birthday cake prepared by our two-time world champion pastry chef, Laurent Branlard

* A second room may be purchased for an additional $99 per night

Yup, this is the real deal. It really is free with no Gimmicks. They just want to expose you to their merchandise. Only available in the United States.

Free Jewelry!!! No Gimmicks, No Catch, Real Deal

http://ftcdisclosure.blogspot.com