Monthly Archives: January 2012

All the freebies I didn’t receive

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Do you keep track of the freebies you order and receive?
I use Excel to track which freebies I order, where I order them from, and when I order them.  That may seem excessive, but I assure you it takes very little time.   And keeping a list beats trying to remember anything specific, which seems impossible anymore to a burnout like me.
I admit that I sometimes “forget” to enter the items on my speadsheet as I’m ordering them (for as long as weeks at a time).  Lucky for me, it’s easy to go back to my Facebook page and find the information there.  Even on those occasions (we’re pretty much talking about all the time) when I procrastinate, I always get it done eventually.  (That sounds like it should be my motto:  I always get it done.  Eventually.)
When I receive a freebie (or a few days later), I document it in a post and delete it from the spreadsheet.  I will also delete an item if I determine that it is a fake (in which case I will add it to the fake freebies list and share it with all of you) or if I receive communications canceling the freebie for any reason (this happens once in a while, unfortunately).
Have you ordered any of these freebies that I never received?  I suspect that a good number of them are fake offers.  Some of them I see posted occasionally by other pages.  I have posted all of them at some point.
I’m looking for whatever feedback I can get regarding any and all of the items listed here.  If you have a few minutes (or maybe longer), please consider taking a look at the list and leaving a comment with any information you may have.  Maybe you’ve actually received some of these freebies.  Maybe you’ve given up on some.  If you have any knowledge about an offer being a scam, please let me know.  If you have any freebie offers to share that you haven’t received but aren’t on the list, I’d love if you shared that as well.
  1. Achiva Native Energy  (7/9/11)
  2. Aer 1 Replacement Filter  (9/26/11)
  3. Baby Blanket from Magnolia Organics and advertised on Groupon (7/30/11)
  4. Bottle Opener from High Tech Kitchenware (3/28/11)
  5. Brazilian Peel sample (6/11 and 8/11)
  6. CPR Leather Cleaner (5/26/11)
  7. Cranimals sample (8/6/11)
  8. Dove Calming Night Wash sample (7/5/11)
  9. Dove Daily Glow sample (7/5/11)
  10. Dove Men’s Care on Facebook:  Free Father’s Day Gift Set (6/13/11)
  11. Dr. Tim’s Dog Food sample (8/15/11)
  12. EAS sports sample (3/28/11)
  13. E Boost sample (3/28/11)
  14. Easy Eyes Cleaner Accessory Pad  (3/28/11)
  15. Emeril’s Spice Sample (5/5/11)
  16. EZ Cigars (6/25/11)
  17. Five Movie Viewing Kit from Lifetime (9/5/11)
  18. Fix tea  (5/4/11)
  19. Flanax sample  (6/18/11)
  20. Flexitol Heal Balm (6/11)
  21. Football Card from Unlimited Fantasy Sports (9/19/11)
  22. Jericho Skin Care samples (4/20/11)
  23. “Get Balanced Kit” from Sun Chlorella USA (4/20/11)  A catalog came, but no freebies
  24. Get Right Probiotics sample  (5/25/11)
  25. Google Tote Bag (5/20/11)
  26. Great Canadian Soap- Free soap sample (7/5/11)
  27. Great Stuff Work Wipes  (7/4/11)
  28. Halprin Realty T Shirt  (3/29/11)
  29. Healthy Pet Food Sample from Nature’s Select  (4/25/11)
  30. Humira info kit & ice pack (7/12/11)
  31. Jamun Tea (4/15/11)
  32. Javacid sample (5/27/11)
  33. John Frieda Color Foam (7/29/11)
  34. Juno Baby CD (3/30/11)
  35. K-Otic sample kit (7/15/11)
  36. Lisanetti cheese alternative sample (6/2/11)
  37. Mack’s Earplugs (6/11)
  38. Mist 8 sample (3/29/11)
  39. Mojo Milk sample (5/21/11)
  40. “Mystery Bag” from Oriental Watches (4/18/11)
  41. NicoDerm CQ samples (4/10/11)
  42. NingXia Red sample (3/28/11)
  43. Nivea Touch of Cashmere sample, advertised by All You magazine (6/20/11, 7/19/11)
  44. Now Foods sample (7/19/11)
  45. Organix sample (3/31/11)
  46. Oxygen Botanicals sample (4/19/11)
  47. Paul Mitchell sample (3/31/11)
  48. Paypal hat (4/1/11)
  49. Persimmon Tea sample (3/28/11)
  50. Pillow Scents (4/29/11)
  51. Polar Frost sample (5/22/11)
  52. Poly Bag sample from Saket.com (3/29/11)
  53. Power A T Shirt (4/23/11)
  54. Probiotics from Bio 35 (3/29/11)
  55. Proform energy sample (8/17/11)
  56. Red Monkey Seasoning (7/18/11)
  57. Redakai TCG cards (6/23)
  58. Ring Sizer from Diamonds on the Web (5/26/11)
  59. Rocky Water (4/19/11)
  60. Rouge magazine (3/28/11)
  61. Royal Canin cat food (9/27/11)
  62. Royal Purple T Shirt (3/28/11)
  63. RTC T Shirt (8/30/11)
  64. SBR Sports body wash and shampoo samples (8/6/11)
  65. Smart White Cleaning sample (4/28/11)
  66. SebaMed sample (5/17/11)
  67. Sellars Wipes sample (8/6/11)
  68. Shark Love Sticker  (4/6/11)
  69. Shar’s candle sample (3/28/11)
  70. Shoeshine kit from Foot Source MD (6/7/11)
  71. Signature Scent sample (3/3/11)
  72. Skinner’s Vaporizer Salve sample (8/1/11)
  73. Sleep mask from sleep.com (4/15/11)
  74. Slimple sample (3/29/11)
  75. Smooth Radiance sample (3/28/11)
  76. Snack Chicks sample (7/1/11)
  77. Solar Energy keychain (3/29/11)
  78. Solution Finish sample (7/12/11)
  79. Somme Institute sample (7/29/11)
  80. Stakkd Energy Drink (7/29/11)
  81. Star Chem Labs drink shaker and samples (8/12/11)
  82. Styler’s Icon Styling Creme (9/21/11)
  83. United Discovery T Shirt (8/1/11)
  84. Tape measure from Indochino (6/16/11)
  85. Teasta tea  (3/28/11)
  86. The Nightmare Before Christmas Goody Bag from Disney Movie Rewards  (8/31/11)
  87. Calendar from Thomas Bus (6/29/11)
  88. Thornies texting sample (6/3/11)
  89. Tidy Tots sample (6/17/11)
  90. Tipus Chai Tea (5/21/11)
  91. Tub O’ Towels sample (6/9/11)
  92. Union Pen Company samples (6/11/11)
  93. Water Gel sample (7/20/11)
  94. White’s Premium dog food sample (8/10/11)
  95. Wildflower seeds from Bentley Seeds (3/29/11)
  96. Worx Energy sample (5/13/11)
  97. Xytrel XP sample (8/9/11)
  98. Zippo lighter (4/21/11)

The problem with some freebie blogs

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I freely admit it:  when I first started my blog and Facebook page, I posted a lot of fake offers.   I was excited to be finding so many great freebies, unfortunately it turned out that many freebie offers are phishing schemes or worse.  I was completely ignorant about fake freebie offers and scams of this nature.  Thankfully, there are knowledgable and friendly people online who showed me how to spot fake freebies (in addition to supportive readers, there are some great freebie blogs who’ve helped me a lot, like this wonderful site and this one and this one and this one…).  I now keep a list of fake freebie offers to inform myself and others.  And, when I see another free sample site promoting a fake offer, I try to gently warn readers.  I care about protecting consumers.

Most of the time, a blogger posts a fake offer because, like I once did, he or she simply doesn’t know it’s a scam.  Once informed, these bloggers typically will remove the offer and no harm is done.  But, disturbingly, some bloggers choose to promote scams.  Some of these bloggers post scams even with complete knowledge that they will only do harm to those who participate.  Some seem to value their own pride more than helping others and choose, after insulting me and my blog, to continue posting known scams.  These type of people think of me, and others who are concerned with protecting consumers from scams, as competition.  These people are called haters, and haters are the problem with some freebie blogs.

Yesterday I found some fake offers on other pages and left simple comments stating that the item was a scam.  One blogger, Married to Savings, chose to ignore my advise.  She kept the fake offers posted on her page and deleted my comment.  She then posted a mean spirited comment, which you can read right here.  It truly speaks for itself.

Correction:  I was just surprised to learn that Married to Savings is a man. The statement “You are not dealing with an idiot lady” misled me into believing I was dealing with an idiot lady, not an idiot man. Not that it matters. Idiots are idiots, regardless of gender. But a great example of the power of commas (and irony).

Recent Freebies 1/10/2012

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Issues of Ski, ESPN, Newsweek, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Shape magazines

Sample of Honey Nut Chex

Sample of Seattle’s Best coffee

Aero Shot energy sample

5 hour energy

Kindle Fire car charger from jdeal.com

Seventh Generation dish soap samples and coupons

Voucher for a free Axe body wash

Amlactin lotion sample and coupon from Walmart

3 Oregon Chai teabags and coupon

Book from readitforward.com

Woolite dark sample and coupon

Silly Bandz from Orangeonions.com

Riceworks House Party kit including 6 bags and 6 vouchers for free bags