Freebie 101 - Getting Started with Freebies Hunting

Welcome to Frugal-Freebies.com!

So you just found out that you could get all sorts of free stuff online!

But now you are feeling overwhelmed before you even get started?

Here are some great pointers for all of our new and even those not-so-new freebie lovers.

Once you feel you have mastered Freebies 101, be sure to explore the rest of Frugal Freebies. You will find lots of great freebies and coupons, as well as more tips to help you get the most out of finding freebies online.

First thing you need to know is...
When I post US in the freebie post title - it means the freebie is only available to United States readers.
When I post CDN in the freebie title - it means the freebie is only available to Canadian readers.
When I post US/CDN in the freebie title - it means the freebie is only available to US and Canadian readers.
When I post ALL in the freebie title - it means the freebie is available worldwide.

I do my best to let you know up front who the offer is good for - and you can do your part by reading before clicking, so you don't waste your time.

Second, you need to know that I am Canadian and I do search for Canadian offers for my fellow Canadian readers. I am sorry that not all offers are available to US readers, but I just find them and have no control over who the company will mail to.

Now, let's get started with some helpful articles:

● Never Miss Another Freebie or Swag Code
● How to Get Freebie Alerts on Your Cell Phone
● How to Use Printable Coupons
● Don't be Greedy With Freebies
● Freebies That Never Arrive
● Who is behind Frugal Freebies?

Not only will you discover how much fun freebies are, but you should also learn about free money!
● SwagBucks - win prizes and money
● Earn Money Online and Still Have a Life?

These easy tips and ideas should get you on your way to getting lots of wonderful freebies.

QUICK FREEBIE TIPS:
1. Create a separate free email account to use for your freebies - so your personal email doesn't get filled with junk emails.

2. Create a separate Facebook account without your personal info, to sign up for Facebook freebies without sharing your info.

3. Create a Facebook and Twitter account to get freebies, even if you only use it for that.

4. Be cautious about where you give out your personal information. Don't provide any more information than you are comfortable with. Personally, I never give out my exact date of birth (you can change the month or date) or telephone number. (555 is a handy area code) Some go as far as getting a P.O. Box for their freebies.

5. Don't request every offer you see. Only request those that really interest you, or will donate to charity.

6. If you don't feel comfortable with an offer, just skip it.

7. Remember that many freebies come with great high-value coupons!

8. When the site asks where you heard about them, say friend/family, not a freebie site. Right-clicking and copying the link location and pasting it in a new browser, rather than clicking the link can help too. Sometimes they won't send if they know you came from a freebie site.

9. Keep an attitude of gratitude. Freebie hunting is more of a game of being at the right place at the right time - if you get the freebie, you won!

10. Don't forget to sign up for free money! Swagbucks are free digital dollars that you can trade for gift cards, Paypal money and other great prizes.

11. Read the fine print on all free stuff offers. Don't sign up if they ask for a required survey, gold card offer, promotion requirements, or your credit card information unless you are absolutely sure it's a legitimate offer.

12. Filling out form after form can be quite tedious. To make this process faster, you can use autofill software. Autofill software remembers information such as your name and address and automatically fills in the blanks for you on forms. Roboform is a great free autofill software download.

13. Sometimes when printing coupons, you can hit back and print it again. Or you can change the number of copies in the pop-up print menu to print more.

14. Get a free online voice mail box at Simple Voice Box, K7 unified messaging system or JConnect. For Canada use Fongo. Some forms will allow you to fill in UL or unlisted. And remember to register your home and cell phone numbers to the National Do Not Call Registry.

15. A freebie isn't a freebie unless it's free! If a website wants you to pay for a freebie, then don't request it. If they ask for shipping cost, you'll have to decide if it's worth it to you.

16. Checking for free sample opportunities every day, or even several times a day, will greatly increase your chances of getting them. Since there are only a certain number of free samples per offer, you'll want to sign up as soon as you can. Free samples are almost always offered on a first come first served basis.

17. Make sure that everything you entered in the form is correct. A wrong address may get the free sample to a neighbor instead of you!

18. It's a great idea to note the date you request a freebie. Most samples arrive 6-8 weeks after you've asked for them, unless it says otherwise on the confirmation page.

19. Freebies generally takes anywhere from 4-16 weeks to arrive, some as long as 5 months - it depends on what you requested.

20. While you are waiting for your freebies to arrive, take advantage of the printable freebies, the printable coupons for local free offers, and local offers that you can pick up.

21. Give us feedback on freebies. When you give feedback, you help other freebie hunters! For example, if you see a freebie listed as available in the USA and Canada, but it's actually only available for the US, or no longer available - leave a comment here or post to the Frugal-Freebies forum and let us know.

22. Please tell your friends about Frugal Freebies! If you spread the word about Frugal Freebies, be it by word-of-mouth, blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, or other means, you'll increase the number of Frugal Freebies users. More users equals more feedback and makes me happy!

23. Have realistic expectations: While I try very hard to only provide links to legitimate offers, sometimes the freebies still don't arrive. This could be because the company did not having a large enough supply to cover the response they got. It is also possible that a spammer has set up a site to gather email addresses (another important reason to use an alternate email account) and never intended to send you a freebie at all. Be aware that this can happen and although I do my best to avoid such sites, it is a part of getting freebies over the Internet.

24. If you really like a freebie you received, think about emailing the company. Sometime they respond by mailing you high-value coupons for their product... yet another freebie!

25. Here is a website very handy when you have to give a phone number - humorhotlines.com. You get a phone number in your area code and use it whenever they ask for a phone number for a freebie. (US/CDN)

26. Check to see if there is an opt out or opt in check box. You don't need to sign up for extra email. Uncheck that box unless you really do want more email from that company.

27. If a freebie limited to only the first 1,000 participants - you may not be in that group and the site may just be collecting your information.

28. One reader doesn't like using her real name, so she has her dog apply for all the freebies. She uses her last name so the mail will get there. She knows when a spam phone call comes in because they ask for the dog.

29. Remember, Frugal-Freebies.com doesn't give out the freebies, I only post the freebies I find on the net. So to increase your chances of the freebies arriving in your mail, you could stick to the offers from the larger companies (i.e.: Wal-Mart, P+G, Kroegers, Sam's Club, etc.). However, lots of readers post on the Frugal Freebies forum saying they can't believe the amount of free stuff they've received in the mail, even though not every freebie will turn up from the other sites posted.

30. Scam.com is your first choice if you are a true freebie hunter and want to research if some freebie is a valid one. 419eater is an active freebie hunter discussion board.
PLUS: List of freebie hunter sites that are spam, scam or phishing.

31. Yes, sometimes freebies are just for Canadian readers. Sometimes they are just for US readers. Sometimes even just for UK, Australian or European readers. I only find the freebies, I have no control over who the company can ship to. Canada is a different country, and I am Canadian, so that's why I search out and post as many Canadian freebies I can find.

32. All freebies are posted without prejudice. I have no political/religious/personal agenda to promote here, and I may not even agree with the message the freebie is promoting. But freebie censorship is not what this blog is about. If you don't agree with the message a freebie is promoting, just pass on the freebie. The next one I find might be one you do believe in, and someone else might disagree.

33. Don't forget to sign up for free money! Swagbucks are free digital dollars that you can trade for over 100 brand name gift cards.

34. Your freebies not arriving? We really hate to blame the mailman, but a couple of readers who weren't receiving any freebies, put a Hold Request on their mail for 2 weeks and chose "Pick-up", rather than having it delivered. When they went to pick up their mail, they got 2 plastic bags full of freebies!

35. One reader told us that, I thought just because I 'liked' something it meant I was automatically signed up for something. No, sorry, you need to sign up for the freebies by clicking on the links, each freebie separately. Not just sign up for Frugal Freebies on Facebook and that's it.

36. Some don't use their last name when requesting freebies - to foil the telemarketers who take your name and address and look up your phone number to call you. To avoid these nuisance calls, they use only their first and middle name, or change some of the letters in their last name. Another benefit is that way you can track where the junk mail came from.

37. Don't forget to sign up for free money! iRazoo are free digital dollars that you can trade for over 100 brand name gift cards.

38. When a freebie offer asks for sensitive information like your social security number or a bank account number, you want to leave that freebie site right away!

39. Whenever you receive a freebie that leaks all over your mail - you should email the company and tell them. You might even get a full-size bottle of their product in compensation!

40. If you need an email address (or lots of addresses!) you can go to Mail.com and create another one just for signing up for freebies.

41. ALWAYS email companies when you have a problem, because you might just get something for your time! But don't forget to ALWAYS send them your positive feedback as well, because they might reward you for taking the time to offer a compliment.

42. Printer failed to print your coupon? Don't have a printer? Look for a Help/Contact link or button on the page and tell them the printer failed and they will often send you a coupon in the mail.

43. Is that coupon real or fake? Fraudulent coupons hurt us all! If you received a printable coupon that looks too good to be true; it may be! Free product coupons that can be printed more than once should set off a red flag for you, unless the coupon can be found on the manufacturer's website. You can visit the Coupon Information Center to verify the authenticity of any coupon.

44. Reader tip submitted: Not valid in Quebec? Try putting in your postal code, but another province instead of Quebec. It is hit or miss, but she says sometimes she gets the freebie - because the post office sorts by postal code, not province. Let your conscience be your guide on this.

45. Make sure to check the email address you used for freebie hunting daily to see if you need to click on a confirmation link to receive your sample.

46. Don't forget to sign up for free money! GiftHulk are free digital coins that you can trade for over 100 brand name gift cards.

47. FREE BOOKS - Not everyone has a Kindle, but if you're reading this message, you've probably got a smartphone, computer or iPad. Get a free Kindle Reading app and take a break from your world with free books! Available on your iPhone, Android, Blackberry, PC, Mac, iPad or iPod Touch.

So I hope that it's clearer now! Do you have any great tips to share? I would be glad to add them to our list.

- These freebie tips updated by Catherine on January 27, 2018 -

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Category: article, CDN, feature, US, worldwide