Get something for nothing - Internet sites offer freebies
MERIDETH PIERCE
Scene Writer
It has long been man's goal to obtain something for nothing. And with the birth of the Internet, we may finally be reaching that goal.
Believe it or not, there are actually thousands of Internet sites that want to give you free stuff.
If you set your mind to it, and point your browser in the right direction, even you can obtain products and offers completely free from the Internet.
In fact many sites are practically begging for you to take their samples or free services.
Granted, there may be often some drawbacks and catches to these freebies.
It is always best to remember that people usually don't give away free stuff out of the goodness of their hearts.
By and large, freebie providers are looking to draw you to their site to drum up business, so they can sell you something else.
All catches and loopholes aside, there are an enormous number of freebies out there for the taking. As long as you are careful and use common sense, you'll be OK.
On many of these Internet sites, you will be required to answer some marketing questions in order to have something sent to you for free.
Other sites simply require you to sign up for one or more mailing lists. And there are a few Web sites which offer free computer downloads that generally require nothing at all.
There are numerous search engines linked with these "freebie" pages, which are an easy way to start your quest for free stuff. On all of the search engine sites you can sign up for a newsletter that will keep you aware of the new freebies being added daily.
If you are looking for free downloads of any type, the best site to visit is TheFreeSite.com.
For those Web surfers who know exactly free stuff they are looking for,
TheFreeSite.com provides a handy subject keyword search. This homepage is also full of categories that you can browse and choose from.
Some of their popular categories include "Free Fonts," "Free Graphics," "Free Internet Access," "Free Software" and "Free Games."
Once you find a topic of interest, all the free offers are listed and described in a concise manner.
Most of the time when searching for downloads, you are linked to another site where you have to download what you are looking for.
TheFreeSite.com is full of popular freebies. One offer links you to NeoPets where you can create your own virtual pet. Another option helps you create your own search engine for a personal Web page.
If you are looking for something new to spice up your computer, you will find what you are looking for here.
TheFreeSite.com also has a listing for free goods. Some of the easy and interesting offers include samples from Physique hair products, free stickers from eSticker.com and a free mouse pad from the aptly named FreeMousepads.com.
Another search engine for freebies is Free-Stuff-Center.com. This site has fewer offers then The-Free-Site.com, but what they do have is more exciting.
The "samples" section at Free-StuffCenter-.com has many enticing offers. These samples range from free makeup and beauty samples to free long distance phone cards.
The page also has a link to Postage-Shop.com, a site which will send you 10 pre-stamped envelopes as well as coupons for postage.
A perk to FreeStuff-Center.com is the category marked "contests."
If you are feeling lucky, this option is for you — with one click you are instantly linked up to win $1 million.
For those of us who like something a little more assured, there is also a category for coupons.
With this option you can print off coupons from CoolSavings.com or have them sent to you from SaveCoupons.com.
If by chance you have any spare time and not enough school-related reading, check out the category of books on FreeStuffCenter.com.
Here, leisure readers can link up to TheBookCart.com where you can get a number of paperback books for no cost at all.
In the book category you can also surf mystery and sci-fi book clubs that have a very low fee.
TheFreebieDirectory.com is yet another of the hundreds of freebie resources on the Internet.
Of the many search directories, this site is the easiest to read and use. What makes this site unique is that once you pick from the wide variety of categories of freebies, it lists them all.
Besides general information about the product or offer, TheFreebieDirectory.com also ranks the freebie, tells you when it was added and how many people have visited it from TheFreebieDirectory.com and allows you to read reviews that other users have written about the freebie.
There are many links on TheFreebieDirectory.com to useful tools for students.
Through these links you can get free samples of Excedrin and Folgers Coffee through these products' Web pages.
Other perks are a free CR-R disk from FileBurner.com. After registering to File-Burner.com and referring others to the site, you can earn even more free disks.
You may also choose to visit GreenTea-Life.com to have a free sample of green tea sent right to your dorm room.
Pantene Pro-V is also a part of TheFreebieDirectory.com and you can have hair product samples sent to you as well as coupons for their products.
Some people, however, might be better off checking out the link to Beano.com. There you can request a sample of the dietary supplement that helps prevent gas and subscribe to Beano's free mailing list.
A very helpful service that TheFreebie-Dir-ect-ory-.com provides is a link to Dial-pad-.com.
This unique service lets you make free unlimited long distance calls via your computer.
Dialpad is Java-powered, so you don't need to download and install software to use the service. This is a freebie you cannot miss out on — you might never have to pay for long distance again.
If all this talk of free stuff peaks your interest, there are hundreds more freebie searches that you can do on the 'Net.
YourFreeStuff.com specializes in name brand item samples. Samplesite.com is another worthwhile engine with links to freebie sites.
Manufacturers of food and small household items are continually sending out coupons and free samples all the time.
So get online and make sure you don't miss out on all that's free for the taking. Who says you can't get something for nothing?
All Scene Stories for Wednesday, February 21, 2001
