Leo DiCaprio and Titanic Posters.

The FREE Store
by Jessica O'Neill

I have a confession. I’m a freebie fanatic. A sample sleuth. A gratuitous go-getter. If it’s free, I want it. I’m one of those people who buys something just because it offers a rebate. I enjoy grocery shopping for the pure pleasure of taste testing. I’m the idiot who will stop to fill out a form in order to get that free, ugly, way-too-large to ever wear tee-shirt. It’s not about the money. It’s about the challenge. The rush of getting something for nothing, in a world where everything has its price. I usually would never even want the item, but the fact that it’s FREE gives it a whole new appeal. My drawers are filled with key chains, mugs, pens, pencils, magnets, and various other free items of unimportance. I could probably open a store with all of the free items I have received. I would call it "The FREE Store."

It used to be that acquiring free items took some effort. First you had to stumble upon the free offer, which wasn’t always easy (considering there was no master list of free stuff). Then you had to call a 1-800 number or mail away for your free item. This was time consuming, as well as a hassle. If you called a 1-800 number, you would either get stuck listening to a lengthy recorded message about the company, or you had to talk to an operator and answer all of those annoying questions. If you had to mail away for your free item, you not only had to waste an envelope and stamp, but you also had to go through the trouble of hand-writing a request and remembering to drop it in the mailbox. Now, with the wonderful technology of the Internet, obtaining your free item is as easy as clicking a button.

A quick search of "free stuff" on any search engine will provide you with thousands of links to sites that list, well… free stuff. Depending on which site you visit, free items are categorized by type (such as computer, books and videos, food, beauty, etc.), or by ways to obtain the items (online order, 1-800 numbers, mail order, contests, etc.). I tend to stick with the free items that can be ordered online, as this is the fastest and simplest way to get free stuff. Just visit any of the Free Stuff sites, scroll down the list of free items, and find something that sparks your interest. Usually, the restrictions will be listed, such as location (as some offers are only good in certain countries) and what you have to do to receive your free item. Most of the time the company just wants your mailing address for marketing means, but sometimes you’ll have to fill out a more detailed survey. If you decide it’s too much trouble, hit the Back key, and move onto another free item that requires less effort. It’s simple, it’s fun, and it’s free. And just think of how excited you will be to receive your very own free sample of ostrich meat sticks!

Follow these links for some of the best free stuff on the web:

Bubba’s Bazaar
http://www.intro.net/bubba/sample1

Free Stuff Online
http://come.to/free-stuff/

Freebies Chat Room
http://www.goodbs.com/chat/freebies/

Fopa’s Freebie Sites and Links
http://pw1.netcom.com/~fopa/freebies/sites.html

Gabbo’s Free Stuff
http://www.wantree.com.au/~washaw/free/

Totally Free Stuff
http://adhere.on.ca/free/

Permission to reprint this article in its entirety is granted only if all information below this notice, including the WWIO web site link and copyright, is included as it is written.

Brought to you by: World Wide Information Outlet - <http://certificate.net/wwio/>, your only source of FREEWare Content online.

Jessica O'Neill is a freelance writer and editor of Eye on the Web (http://www.eyeontheweb.com). She writes for and about the Internet, both online and print. Jessica also works as a contributing travel editor for Insite Magazine. She can be reached at jessica@intersolutions.com

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