How I Get Laptops and Plasma TVs for Free

1. Tom March 6, 2007 6:00 am

   Hmm, I’m either lucky, or not lucky at all, because I don’t receive any of these offers in my inbox to try out. Any links to various offers?

   The only time I tried this was to get an iPod a few years back, but it required referrals. I stalled at around 3 of 5 referrals and never got around to finishing it.

2. Clever Dude March 6, 2007 1:47 pm

   Recently, I haven’t been receiving many of these offers via email, and the ones I do get are for smaller gift cards, but some more bigger ticket items are coming through now.

   I’ve found it difficult to find direct site links for these offers, but you can try http://www.producttestpanel.com to get a taste. I balked at their “Page 3″ offers (see end of article above), so I’m not confident the offers would be any better for their other promotions. But they do change, so give it a shot.

3. Tight Fisted Miser March 6, 2007 3:36 pm

   I always assumed these deals were scams. I tried one of these a couple years ago for a $75 gift card and never received it.

4. saving advice March 7, 2007 8:20 am

   Probably the most complete and best how to post I’ve come across on these. Nicely done.

5. morphiussys March 7, 2007 9:27 am

   Interesting enough, if the company is legit and doesn’t get you what they promise, you can take it up with the BBB. They will give you a case number and argue what you think you should get. I wouldn’t ask for too much … someone I know got their credit account closed with a zero balance. I wouldn’t try it too often but it worked with them.

6. saving advice March 7, 2007 9:36 am

   Oh, and you have been dugg

7. Blake March 7, 2007 5:42 pm

   I work for RewardsGateway.com, the site listed in the sample spreadsheet. I dont know how you get around the car loans that you HAVE TO have financed to you (we get proof from eloans / roadloans). If you somehow do, congrats. Although, our terms and conditions state that you may only do this once per household so you’re kind of bending the rules and I’m sure something legally could be pursued.

8. Clever Dude March 7, 2007 5:51 pm

   Hey Blake! I had worked with you on the free Plasma TV (the one exchanged for a gift card) last year. You were helping me with the cookies problem where my browser wasn’t displaying the same stuff anymore.

   Do you have any insight to add to the process?

9. seanc March 7, 2007 5:52 pm

   i would absolutely pay you to get me an lcd tv

10. Chad March 7, 2007 5:53 pm

    Very nice! I have received an Ipod Shuffle and a Nintendo DS for free but still had a hard time convincing people to try it out….

    Any chance you could list links to the sites you used?

11. Clever Dude March 7, 2007 5:56 pm

    Blake, not sure if you’re referring to me about an auto loan requirement or not. I didn’t choose an offer for an auto loan when I completed my deal, and I’ve only done 1 deal with Rewards Gateway. So, I didn’t have to get around any auto loan because there were other options for offers.

    Anyway, I’m actually recommending doing these offers if you can find one that fits your needs. If you need an auto loan at the time, then go for it. I didn’t need it, but I did pick up a case of wine for $10 a bottle.

12. guelah75 March 7, 2007 5:58 pm

    Walking people threw this process is considered fraud if I am not mistaken.

    So thanks for screwing everyone else.

    Just for the record I can also verify that these sites do send out gifts

    thanks for nothing
    guelah75

13. Brandon Hopkins March 7, 2007 5:58 pm

    I’ve always assumed they were all scams. I’m looking forward to one that isn’t a scam that I can try.

14. Clever Dude March 7, 2007 6:06 pm

    Yeah, explain to me how it’s fraud. I am educating the consumer on how to be able to finish one of these promotions while still sticking to the terms and conditions of the offering site.

    These sites state very clearly what the requirement for each offer is before you sign up. For credit cards, you generally need to receive it and make a purchase or balance transfer. For trial offers, if they don’t say that you need to keep it for more than the trial period, then you’re free to cancel, right?

    Prove me wrong and I’ll say I’m sorry. And go look up the definition of fraud. Who am I defrauding? The promotional sites? They get their advertiser dollars. The advertisers? You’re completing their offers per their terms, or else they won’t report you as completing the offer. Everyone gets what they want out of this and the system works for legitimate sites.

15. Jake Greene March 7, 2007 6:45 pm

    So,

    I’m curious. If, in fact you get something other than say a 1000 visa card, do you still have to claim?

    

    Also, these are normally REAL businesses? Or some guy with a bunch of extra product with a website.

16. luke March 7, 2007 6:45 pm

    @guelah75

    If they are legit offers by legit companies, how can a walkthrough be fraud? How is it any different than Consumer Reports magazine outlining their purchase experiences?

    It sounds like you are just bitter because you don’t want people honing in on your little niche.

    @cleverdude, thanks for the guide. All these offers sounded too good to be true to me as well. It sounds like the catch is that it takes a certain amount of effort and at least somewhat of an investment as well. It also sounds like the trick to making it work is organization. Anyway, I appreciate the help.

17. Brandie March 7, 2007 6:57 pm

    I see these on Craigslist all the time. I’ve thought about trying them before, but I don’t know who’s reliable and who isn’t …

18. Guy N Cognito March 7, 2007 6:59 pm

    I’m curious what would happen if you completed these offers with say one of those visa gift cards that only has X amount of dollars on it (say 5 or 10 ) if you would be able to get the free stuff easily that way

19. Clever Dude March 7, 2007 7:07 pm

    @Jake - Do you mean claim them as taxable income? Yes. But you’re going to be paying less than half of what you would have bought the product for.

    To your second question, there’s probably both out there, but it takes a well organized person to create the type of site the professional companies use (unless there’s some template out there). Look them up on BBB.org to be sure though.

    @Guy - The advertisers won’t say you completed the offer if they can’t charge you for whatever you signed up for. I never got any “free” product without ensuring I complete everything.

    However, it’s also good to use a credit card that you wouldn’t mind canceling if you need to. DO NOT USE A DEBIT CARD. I definitely should have put that as a BIG tip. I’ve gotten billed by Lean Life PM numerous times even though I’ve canceled my account with them long ago. I eventually got a new card number.

20. jw March 7, 2007 7:43 pm

    Blake, it’s fraud because the gift companies say so. They say that posting walk-throughs on blogs, forums and websites constitutes fraudulently helping someone else get their gift. If, and it’s a pretty big if, they catch you, both parties will be DQ’ed. It happens, I know it happens.

    And as for who is getting frauded by this, do you really think that the advertisers pay these sites that much that you could get your laptop and everyone make money here? IDK how much that laptop is worth but let’s say $1000 divided by the six offers is $167. That’s what each advertiser would have to pay out for the gift site to break even. Obviously the advertisers don’t pay that much. Though in the past a couple have paid just over $100, most pay around $10-25. Gift sites defend on bleedage, so when you walk someone through their fulfillment rates go up and they start to lose money.

    Just think for a second. If everyone on digg follwed your advice and signed up, how long would the gift companies stay afloat? I would imagine not very long. Of course NT has changed some of their policies which makes doing their sites impossible so it really is a moot point anyway.

    It’s a shame for all these people to get the advice now since the scene is on it’s deathbed. I’ve been doing it for 18 mos. and it’s been fun, but the party is over.

21. tomarocco March 7, 2007 8:25 pm

    I don’t know why people are relying on the BBB. The BBB is supported by the businesses that pay to be BBB members, and the BBB will be VERY relectant to publish negative information about a member in good standing. It is a private club, not a consumer advocacy group. The public has been duped by the BBB for years. Caveat Emptor.

22. Mark March 7, 2007 9:45 pm

    hey hey hey, everyone just calllm down. I’m sure “blog walk-throughs” have been done dozens or hundreds of times in the last couple of years. The industry will continue to thrive because people will still sign up, and forget to cancel. I know I did. And it’s no secret to tell people to remember to cancel- that’s what eveyone has in mind anyways when they are signing up.

    I’ve received an iPod and 360. But I ended up paying more than I would have liked, as well (I’m a procrastinator with these kinds of things).

23. germ March 7, 2007 10:12 pm

    Very cool article. Thanks for posting. I’d like to get your thoughts on some of the offers that mention in the fine print something along the lines of:

    “We reserve the right to substitute your prize with a similar prize if your requested prize is not available”

    They way I read that is that they can stretch the word “similar” into anything, and any prize can become unavailable if they want to make more $$$ off you. If the laptop isn’t available, or they don’t have the funds to get you that laptop, they will claim its not available, and give you a 3 year old nearly obsolete desktop computer or something like that.

    Am I just being paranoid, or could (and do) they really do that?

24. Clever Dude March 7, 2007 10:19 pm

    Well, I can’t speak for all sites, just from my own experience.

    With Rewards Gateway (see Blake’s comments above), I was offered a choice of three gifts. A 42″ LCD Panasonic or a Sony, or a $1000 gift card. They emailed me a link to the site where they would order the TV, so I saw how much they would pay, and how much shipping was. I chose the gift card and lost out on $500 extra “value”, but we (i.e. my wife) wanted some stuff other than a TV, so we got some household items (grill, pressure washer, curio cabinet).

    Another story: My coworker (who I mentioned in the article) really got 1 Xbox and qualified for a second. However, they ran out of the XBox and offered him $250 cash instead. He took the check.

25. Ben March 7, 2007 10:26 pm

    I’m glad to hear someone made out on these type of offers. I started one once, got all the way to the end and discovered I had to shell out some big bucks so I jumped ship. The only good thing that came of it was I opened an account on eBay and started making money selling there. Thanks for the nice how-to guide, maybe I’ll try it again.

26. So-U-Say-I-Say March 7, 2007 10:39 pm

    Yo JW, hate to break it to ya but they, the “gift companies”, don’t get to determine what is or is not fraud. Further more I HIGHLY doubt you’ve looked at the TOS of ever one of these offers so such a blanket statement is inaccurate. In addition there are plenty of reasons you could argue against it being fraud. Freed of Speech and Press, contesting the validity of any Internet TOS as a legal document, ect. In addition if the companies don’t make money its really nobody’s fault/problem but there own. Sorry to further any argument on the Internet, I really am, but I hate to see people say they KNOW what the law is or what is morally correct. The law is so subjective and contradictory that in many cases there are legal gray areas and even if JW happens to be a legal professional even lawyers disagree. Sorry again but sometimes you just have to voice your opinion.

27. Raelee March 7, 2007 10:57 pm

    THANK YOU VERY MUCH, this is a great article. I have been scammed a few times but I will give your way of doing things a shot.

    Thanks Again:o)

28. Freebiest March 7, 2007 10:59 pm

    I have used http://forum.freeipodguide.com/newbie.php to get everything. All of the sites are rated there, and the users discuss which ones are legitimate.

    If you decide to pursue refferal-based sites, they have a trading module that allows you to efficiently complete the requirements by finding other people ready and willing to sign up under your links. Some people only complete one or two offers themselves and pay others to sign up under them; they might invest $100, but, like CleverDude, they end up gettting at least a 3x return on that investment.

29. Scammed and to Scam March 8, 2007 12:01 am

    I personally refuse to do any of these, they’re so ripe with fraudulent claims and most are generally scams. They’ll put you through crap before you even get your item, to the point that it’s not worth it.

30. buddyandstuff March 8, 2007 1:09 am

    does the donation page on the freeipodguide.com thing wokr, i see the site hasnt been updated since like 2006..?

31. NewsFlashMusic March 8, 2007 1:10 am

    Nice post. Thanks a lot for this.

32. Juan Millón March 8, 2007 1:55 am

    Wow Clever. This is a bit of a stretch.. lol

    You actually have a vaio and flat panel from this?

    Hmm how about posting some pics.

    I don’t believe it ^_^

33. Jonathan March 8, 2007 3:08 am

    That’s pretty good, these companies always seem so scammy though, and it’s so easy for them to disappear. Good job getting what was promised!

34. xichigox March 8, 2007 3:28 am

    I’ve tried the iPod deals as well. The referrals are so frustrating to complete. On my 5th referral, they didn’t give me credit, although it showed on my friends account. I messaged with their slow help center and they said they would investigate. My time ran out, and they gave me an extension, but never completed their ‘investigation’. Bummer.

35. Alison Minestrone March 8, 2007 7:27 am

    I may be paranoid, but I think this mea gulpa is too del.icio.us ! Perhaps the blog entry is an ingenious stealth-marketing effort to help smooth-out other paranoids just in time for the mass-mailing roll out of a new “free” offer.

    The poster’s story and presentation is way too professional, too articulate, too smart. The only thing that will change my mind is an uploaded video diary complete with all those faxes, screen shots, pdf’s and a photo with the UPS driver delivering the laptop. Even then, I’d need his badge number and tracking # for the item.

    Sorry if this bursts anyone’s bubble, but the internet made me this way.

36. Clever Dude March 8, 2007 9:03 am

    Alison, I can assure you I am not a marketer. Look through my content and see I’m just a regular personal finance blogger. If you want the marketer, see Blake’s responses above. He works for the company I got the $1000 gift card from.

    But I really do thank you for the compliments on my writing. I wrote this article in about 2 hours, and I was actually going to post some PDFs I captured of the offer screens, but it has my personal data included. Plus, I don’t know if Product Test Panel would be too happy with that.

    I can take a picture of the laptops. Heck, I can take a picture of the grill, pressure washer, and curio cabinet, but what will that tell you?

37. Skip Johnson March 8, 2007 10:12 am

    Great article, thanks but I think my time is more valuable than the freebies, also one slip and no gift. I have done many, many rebate offers and have still slipped up on a couple which can be very annoying.

38. James F March 8, 2007 10:37 am

    There are many forums that are dedicated to these offers, and thousands of people doing this. If you look around, you’ll probably find them. I’ve seen plenty of folks posting pictures of visa cards and products, etc.

    I’ve thought about doing them myself, but I am the kind of person to forget to cancel offers and I can’t afford that! lol.

39. all about linux March 8, 2007 10:37 am

    You must be really lucky to get a plasma tv for free from such promotional offers. But in my opinion, a majority of them are scams and not worth the effort pursuing.

40. FreebieKing March 8, 2007 10:33 pm

    It’s funny because I do referral sites and have always thought the type of sites your talking about were the scams, lol. I’ve been doing referral sites for 1 month now and have gotten $599, $250 and $350 in PayPal. I also just submitted a site for approval to get a 20.1″ Dell UltraSharp LCD. And I need 1 more ref for a free iPod Nano. It’s easy to get the referrals if you know how and where to get them.

41. Tim Elfelt March 8, 2007 11:55 pm

    I can verify that this does work, although I have not had as much success as you have, I have received smaller checks, and am currently working on 10 referral sites. I am almost done with two!

42. Flabbergasted March 9, 2007 1:00 am

    Quote; Walking people threw this process is considered fraud if I am not mistaken.

    So thanks for screwing everyone else.

    Just for the record I can also verify that these sites do send out gifts

    thanks for nothing
    guelah75/quote

    Im confused with you Guelah75
    Exactly how is this concidered fraudulent ? Do you understand the meaning I mean, I could probably assume that you dont because of
    the fact that, you can’t even use the correct word THROUGH (since you know, you said THREW .. I didnt even know you could Walk THREW anything!). And then you throw the whole comment into a different direction saying you could vouch for these sites that do give free gifts..
    AND THEN in another turn of events, you say “Thanks for nothing”

    I mean really …

    WHAT?

43. Punk March 10, 2007 10:51 pm

    What! How I Get Laptops and Plasma TVs for Free YOU said “Total Cost = $425. For about $3600 worth of stuff, not a bad deal. However, these deals count as gift income and you’ll be required to pay income taxes on the retail value. However, not all promotion sites follow through with the paperwork. Read into that as you wish…”
    For $425.00 Dollars in not free, plus your going to report income. Only thing that is free in this world is the air we breathe. SUCKER! Show us some pic’s or video of the stuff and maybe you can say it was good deal.

44. Clever Dude March 12, 2007 9:52 am

    Punk, yes I did pay taxes on the gifts. As someone mentioned before (or on the Digg comments), these gifts can be considered free because I paid $425 on the offers. One of those offers was a case of wine. I paid for that, not the laptop. You can either say I paid $425 for the gifts and got the offers for free or vice versa.

    And no, I wouldn’t have completed these offers (except Blockbuster online) had I not been trying to get the offer.

    And as for taxes, you’re right that nothing is allowed to be free by US tax law. But what do you say to people who win money on game shows? Are they fools for being on the game show because now they have to pay taxes on their winnings? Would you forgo a $340,000,000 prize because you have to pay 30-40% or more in taxes?

    These deals aren’t for everyone, and this article is to show my own experiences. I had my own hassles to overcome with the promotional sites, and I did have to pay some taxes, but I got a sweet laptop for my wife when she needed a new one (I gave her the bigger one since I needed a portable one), and even after taxes, I paid half what the laptop could be purchased for online.

    I don’t go for little prizes like iPods because they’re not worth my time. I go for the big ones like TVs, laptops, and Vespa Scooters (I thought about it, but didn’t do it) because if I’m going to spend my time doing these deals, I want to get something worthwhile for my time.

    Thanks for replying about it though. I accept all points of views (unless they’re abusive or include swear words). By the way, you owe 50 cents to the Clever Dude swear jar for your original name (Punk***, not Punk). I had to edit it.

45. basscleff March 13, 2007 4:37 pm

    very nice article thank you. I posted a similar article, from my similar experiences. I was not as thorough as you, but did use a spreadsheet.
    cancelling the offers is key!

    thx

46. Ben March 13, 2007 9:27 pm

    Hi,

    I successfully completed a Plasma TV offer from Online Reward Center. I learning more about this by going to scam.com and looking at the internet scam forums. Once I fulfilled the requirements, I received the TV as promised. However, I read on scam.com recently that Online Reward Center changed their policies, and now it is much harder to get items at minimal expense.

47. jason March 18, 2007 5:06 pm

    great walkthrough i only found it because i was so mad at seeing another “free ipod” which isnt in the slightest free and was looking if anythings being done about it. But from the sort of cost you paid out it,s not a bad deal at all. you could of course just sue the company for false advertisement as the item is never free, small claims court all the way and maybe you really then get it free. or not. In regards to blake you are a joker with the meager threats of law and what could happen to cleverdude. To be honest as its never free im guessing that 80% of chatters here would not give a flying monkey whether its unlawful or not. Once again cleverdude thanks for the guide i will see if it,s cost effective and blake. get a life

48. guelah75 March 28, 2007 2:27 am

    @Flabbergasted

    didn’t know the grammar police were watching this blog.

    As for the fraud check the TOS for most/any of these sites DIY or referral you will find

    The YourGiftsFree Network does not tolerate “walking through” a referral. If by any means we think a user “walked through” a referral they will be put on hold. Examples of a “walk through” include, but are not limited to, when all of a member’s referrals complete the same offer, all referrals completed offers at one time, etc.

    just as an example, this kind of stuff is not permitted.

    Take your chances if you want.

    I have gotten “gifts” from many of these sites, but instead of breaking their TOS, I did my OWN research by reading the TOS of the site I was interested in completing. There are also many forums that will answer many questions you may have short of “walking you threw” –that one’s for you

    Many of the site owners even post answers and are active on the forums.

    Again thanks for the grammar lesson, don’t think I could have made it threw life without your help.

    sites to check out

    yourgiftsfree.com
    zeropricetag.com
    freepay.com
    bigwin.com

    forums to check out

    forum.freeipodguide.com
    anything4free.com

    hope this clears things up

    here is one point from the TOS of one of the sites that the Clever Dude lists

    Consumer incentive products

    Posting information on a website, forum, or auction that has to do with “canceling the offers” included, but not limited to, cancellation phone numbers, cancellation time frames, and any encouragement or direction to cancel the offers after signing up with them, is strictly prohibited and constitutes grounds for termination of account and disqualification from receiving any gifts. Users that are found to have fraudulently created orders on advertisers’ sites solely for the purpose of receiving credit towards a gift will be disqualified from receiving a gift. For purposes of participation in this program a user will be deemed to be Fraudulent if the user signs up for advertiser’s offers and subsequently cancels three (3) or more of those offers for which a purchase has been made within a 90 day time period from the date of signing up for the offer. Additionally, any user that is deemed to be Fraudulent will not be given credit for any other offers that were previously completed and will be banned forever from participating in the company’s programs.

49. mark April 13, 2007 7:40 pm

    Very nice! Congrats. I do this stuff too and people believe it…. it is VERY legit!

50. Juan Millon April 18, 2007 3:07 pm

    Well just to say I am a visual person. let’s see the pics buddy! lol

51. Clever Dude April 24, 2007 10:20 pm

    Ok, to satisfy all of you, I decided to post pictures of the free laptops

52. Dan May 4, 2007 1:15 am

    I did all the work at RewardsGateway and saw that you need a bleeping LOAN at the end. A LOAN?! What? Nothing I can do about this? The purchases I made prior mean nothing?

53. Clever Dude May 4, 2007 3:29 pm

    Dan, you should have read step #3 in my article:

    “I view the offers on ALL the offer pages BEFORE I sign up for anything.”

    Your purchases don’t necessarily mean NOTHING. At least you may have gotten a Blockbuster subscription or some weight loss pills out of it :/

54. gengwall May 23, 2007 1:06 pm

    Great article. I haven’t read all the other comments in detail so I hope I’m not repeating, but I would add two more tips:

    Set up an email dedicated to each program you do because you will get lots of spam.

    Always read the TOS on each offer site as well as the TOS for the program itself. That is where participation requirements for the offer will be spelled out.

    I also like the idea of setting up a separate credit card just for this that you can cancel.

    One new wrinkle that some compaines are putting in now is a cancellation limit. It goes something like this: “you may not cancel more than 2 offer accounts within 60 days of signing up for said offers.” guelah75 referenced that above. But the TOS for such programs refers only to posting information on cancelling offers within their program. They have no control over generic guides on the internet. The limit they place within their own program is their only mechanism to control cancellations.

    My experience - 2 laptops received, 1 substitute of $1000 for a laptop which we turned around and bought a laptop for $400 on ebay with, and 2 more laptops in process. All through separate programs so as not to break the 1 per household/email/ip address rules. Average cost for these 5 total laptops was under $150 with plenty of product to show for our outlay of cash.

    I generally look for programs with 10 offers or less required and which have lots of variety. I generally do not do health product offers because of the high monthly cost if we need to hang on for an extra month and the relatively low need/desire we have for the products. Conversely, we have lots of coffe in the house (lol). We give away a lot to family as gifts.

    My final tip would be to try and always find programs that are just starting out. The requirements are lower and the response quicker because of the flood of participants they are getting. As the flow starts to trickle, you will see the requirements ramp up, the approval for offers drag out, and delays in receiving the gift lengthen. Our first program is a good example (I won’t mention any names here though). When we did it, the requirement was only 6 offers and we had our laptop about 45 days after starting. Now they require 10 offers, their page 3 is limited, and they have that pesky cancellation limitation. They are still a legitimate and good program, but newer ones are generally better and there are plenty out there to choose from. Just remember to be patient and do your research.

    (Note - ofree mentioned and linked to above is a listing of free offers. You can find a similar listing at all-freebie.com. Good luck to all)

55. J2R June 8, 2007 1:18 am

    I used to work on one of these rewards company.
    Yes, we were legit. The problem was that a lot of the tracking wasn’t dont properly. There are a lot of data exchanged between sites. One of the ways of doing this, is by firing “tracking pixels”. The problem is that, by the very nature of tracking pixels, there’s a percentage of them that don’t fire properly.
    So yes, they do work, but is imperative that you do your own tracking, and follow up with these companies.
    I’m not saying all of these companies are legit, but they are not all scams. There are technical issues with them, but if you read their disclaimer, they state that the users are the main responsible party when tracking conversions, registrations and purchases.

56. Edwin Climaco June 21, 2007 9:33 pm

    Those sites really do work. I’ve gotten a fair share of free stuff but you have to watch out for scams

57. mark June 22, 2007 1:09 am

    Edwin is right, there are lot of scam sites out there that take advantage of the popularity of legit sites. Just research the sites before you signup (or ask me lol).

58. butlimous June 24, 2007 5:11 am

    These kind of sites WORK!! They aren’t scam because there are a lot of testimonials available on each site. Moreover, these sites benefit more than the gift receiver for many reasons. So, there
    is no doubt that these sites really work.

59. Clever Dude June 24, 2007 5:50 pm

    Butlimous - I wouldn’t necessarily trust “testimonials” for ANY product, whether it’s a free laptop, or a laptop direct from Sony. The best way to trust anyone is to perform due diligence, and then do some more. Oh, and you can’t trust anyone

60. mark June 24, 2007 7:43 pm

    When I decided to try out the “freebie world”, I researched a lot of sites, found out how the system worked exactly, and why companies were able to give away “free” stuff. Testimonials can easily be fabricated, but when you speak to people around the net (ie. multiple sources randomly), it looked more real. When it came on news sites, I just felt I had to try it out.

    Glad I did…. it felt very, very good to get so much stuff free/cheap!

61. Garth Engwall July 2, 2007 3:53 pm

    Been laptop crazy lately but I’ve learned something: the DIY forum at freeipodguide (referenced several times in other posts here) is absolutely crucial to understanding the do’s and don’ts of different “free whatever” systems. We would not have 2 of the 3 laptops we are currently working on if it had not been for the insight gained there. Anyone who is thinking of getting a free laptop or other electronics should make joining those forums a must.

62. Eric July 26, 2007 7:10 pm

    Hey Clever Dude,

    I’ve thought about trying this before, but have been hesitant cause I don’t what the offers I have to complete are going to be. Is there any way of knowing what they are before you register for the program? Also, how long does it take from register till you have your prize? I image a couple months right?
    thanks.

63. free iphone July 26, 2007 11:37 pm

    Eric:

    If the site allows you to view the offers, they would usually link to it from the main page. If not, you could try and find someone who signed to the site and ask them what offers are currently on there.

    About the other question, it depends on a couple of variables:
    - how fast the offers credit
    - the company’s policies (some may take a week to verify and perhaps 2 weeks to ship
    - the availability of the reward (some, I heard, let you take a gift certificate, others you gotta wait

    I would say, all in all, perhaps 1-2 months overall.

64. free laptop November 8, 2007 9:24 pm

    this is a great post!

65. Jordan November 18, 2007 11:27 pm

    Could you please post a link to the $1000 visa card please.

66. Clever Dude November 19, 2007 7:42 am

    Jordan, I’m sorry but these offers don’t generally have direct links to share. You just have to be lucky enough to get one of their spam emails or find a reputable site through search.

67. Jerry December 21, 2007 12:28 am

    Testimonials alone aren’t worth anything… anyone can make up a glowing reference for themselves and slap a made-up name on it! However, seeing step-by-step guidance (like this) to lead others through the process tends to offer a bit more insurance that the programs are (or CAN BE) on the up and up! Thank you for taking the time to spell this out, I will look into it further…
    Jerry

68. aviral January 14, 2008 6:06 am

    i really required a laptop and donot have money to buy can any one help to get a free laptop . i am a student in india , studying automotative manufacturing. please help me …………

69. mark January 14, 2008 11:40 am

    @aviral:

    Unfortunately, this is limited to the US residents (and sometimes for Canadians / UK people)

70. don February 19, 2008 12:25 am

    i have invented something new to make the plasma tv’s look beeter but i don’t have a plasma so i can biuld a set-up, take pictures to be able to show these companies when trying to present/sell item. Is the a way to get a complimentry just for that purpose

71. candice March 19, 2008 12:43 am

    I completed one of these offers for a $100 gift card for some music. The offers were mostly free, except for a sign-up for a book club that included a purchase. After several months of badgering the company about getting my gift card, they told me that they would send me a check instead. I got the check… but it was never signed. My bank wouldn’t accept it. It kind of put me off of these offers, but after your article, I have renewed interest.

72. Jerry March 21, 2008 1:07 pm

    Testimonials? I would NEVER base a buying/selling decision on something as flimsy as testimonials. That’s just plain silly. You have no insurance that the people on the internet are who they say they are, and you have no guarantee that the people who wrote the testimonials are actually customers. Due diligence is the phrase of the day when on the internet, even more so than in regular business!
    Jerry
    http://www.leads4insurance.com

73. Groovy March 24, 2008 12:42 am

    Thanks for the informative post. I did one of these a year ago for an iPod, but they ran out of them and sent me a $350 check instead. Recently I have been hearing about a dozen radio ads every day touting free laptops, and I think I’ll give it another shot. The fulfillment offers weren’t too bad, I think I signed up for Blockbuster, a Discover card and something else I actually wanted to try. I recall some problems getting things verified (as J2R eluded to in #55), but in the end it was worth waiting for. Apparently, despite some people (albeit legitimately) working the system, it’s an effective business model - otherwise these offers would have ended long ago. The radio ads all mention different web sites, but I’m sure they are all the same outfit, just playing them off as competitors to draw more interest. Lots of great advice here - as with any transaction you enter, be sure to read all the fine print!

74. maryam rostampour April 7, 2008 7:28 am

    hello.I am from Iran.can I get a laptop for free? please guide me.
    thaks

75. jeff smith April 20, 2008 2:03 am

    I dont think walking someone through how to get a gift for free constitutes fraud, at least in a court of law.
    You can make general comments about the industry
    and how to do something as long as you don’t say which offers to do at what company. And they would have to be pretty precise comments.
    Also, a person who has his free gift canceled for this activity could easily take the company to court and win, unless the company had documents supporting their claim.
    You cant have your cake and eat it to. These companies go to great lengths to deny gifts. Everything from long delays hoping people give up to changing the rules mid game to simply going out of business.
    Personally, I have gotten an ipod nano, a 42inch
    plasma tv and 2 2000dollar gift cards.
    Gotten from Trainn,EveryFreeGift and NuiTech.

    EveryFreeGift tried their hardest to help me give up. But I finally got my TV.

    I followed all the rules in all four cases.

    It has gotten significantly harder to do these sites from when I did them about 3 years ago. And forget about 2000 gift cards. 1000 is the max now.

    But these sites are still running and you can still do it but the rules are harder and you have to make sure you read the T&Cs.

76. KAREN May 4, 2008 2:54 am

    I CANT TELL YOU HOW MANY OF THESE SITES I HAVE STARTED TO FILL OUT AND THEN QUIT. SOME OF THEM JUST KEEP GOING ON AND ON WITH MORE OPTIONS.
    IF YOU DONT WANT ANYTHING ON A PAGE AND GO TO “NEXT” THEY WILL TELL YOU THAT YOU HAE TO CHOOSE AT LEAST ONE BOX(CHECKED). SEVERAL OF THEM HAVE TAKEN ME MORE THAN 3 HOURS AND STILL DID NOT COMPLETE. SO I GAVE UP.

    THEY ALRADY HAD ALL MY INFO, AS YOU HAD TO FILL THAT OUT BEFORE YOU COULD ENTER, TO EVEN START THE QUESTIONS. I DONT HAVE THAT KIND OF TIME TO WASTE. IF I FILL OUT ONE AND IT TAKES UP TO 3 HOURS TO DO, I WOULD NEVER GET TO MY MAIL. MAYBE I AM DOING SOMETHING WRONG, BUT IT HASNT WORKED FOR ME.

    O! I FORGOT, IT DID GET ME ONE THING FOR FREE, LOTS OF SCAM EMAILS AND ALSO MORE MAIL AT MY HOME ADDRESS FOR MORE OFFERS. GO FIGURE.

    HOWEVER, I AM NOT TOO COMPUTER SAVVY, AND I AM SO GLAD THAT THIS WORKS FOR SOME OF YU. I REALLY AM . GOD BLESS.

77. mohammad May 4, 2008 10:24 am

    hi.i’m from iran too.how can i get a free laptop? some sites have this service but not for iran.

78. Alex Vorn May 13, 2008 2:44 pm

    Thats great, how do I can get free too?
    

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