This is in context with a movie “Thanks Anyway” (not yet released) [via Guerrilla Innovation]
The free-of-charge service is generally not welcomed by those receiving it. Instead Matthias is - not surprisingly - met with hostility and bureaucratic suspiciousness.
Although the performance is focused on public systems, it exemplifies how we tend to react with mistrust when offered something for free by someone who has no other agenda than being friendly.
Are you in tune with this thought? do you mistrust someone who offers you stuff/service for free?
Personally, I have mistrusted a lot of *free offers* myself. Initially I didn’t believe that people could make *free* money out of credit card arbitrages…it took me quite a while to convince myself that arbitrage really works. I have refused a lot of free subscription offers from newspapers and magazines thinking that there must be some kind of a catch in those offers. When Arbitron sent me 10 crisp $1 bills…my first reaction was to check on the internet if it’s some sort of a scam!
Probably it’s the rogues like the commercial below that make me mistrust free stuff. You must have seen this on TV a thousand times:
Click here if you are not able to play the YouTube video above. This links to another site that runs a Quicktime version of the same commercial
Towards the end, one lady says “They let you try it free? It must be good!”. Do you subscribe to such logic about free stuff? or do you subscribe to “free? there must be a catch”?
Here is a report on Federal Trade Commission’s website against the advertising claims made by the marketers of “Focus Factor”. I am including this link just in case someone really falls for the sales pitch from the guy. 
Don’t laugh…may be you could not digest the Focus Factor’s logic of “if it’s free, it must be good”, but the very fact that the Federal Trade Commission had to intervene in this matter is a testimony to the effect that many people must have been suckered into the getting the product. A Google search for “Focus Factor” will provide you with enough entertaining stories (mostly complaints) for a weekend.
Probably, the mistrust is because of those Amway guys who offer *free over-friendliness* to make you a part of their evil scheme. Or probably, it’s those dudes at the local pizza place who give a free pizza if you sign up for a credit card. Or probably, it’s those *free* $10 checks that Chase sends (and then charges $119.99 on your credit card). Or probably, it’s those free Xbox offers that make you sign up for a million trial offers and refer them to a dozen friends.
What’s your experience with free stuff?
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Generally speaking, yes. I will trust a free offer only if someone else has tried it first, and hasn’t got burnt
During the dotcom boom there was a company that came to our college and offered a $25 amazon gift card for submitting our resume. What was even better was that, if you referred someone, both you and the referee got $25 each (upto some limit). I was so skeptical of this “scam” that I passed up! On the second day, when some of my friends quoted receiving their amazon GC’s by mail, I promptly jumped on the band wagon. Many of my friends were already on board by then and I could not refer many people. Also, that was the last day of the “offer”. I didnt stop kicking myself for a long time, since many of my friends made a LOT of money and bought a LOT of cool stuff.
After that experience did I stop mistrusting the “free offers”? Hell no! I am sure my skepticism has saved me from a lot more scams than the money I lose by not trusting them!
(PS: Couldn’t activate video in Windows Explorer browser)
I just published a post on GiveawayProject.com detailing how the “free ipod” or “free laptop” deals really work. They are never free of course, except for true giveaways that I search the net for and post on my blog. The post is titled “Free = Free? Don’t Fall For This” and is at http://giveawayproject.com/2007/03/29/free-free-dont-fall-for-this/
I got a “free” Transformer when I was young. It cost me something like 30 robot points and $3.50 shipping and handling. The toy? Exclusive to the offer, but couldn’t stand up on its own two feet in robot mode. What was that kid thinking?
I am very cautious about not applying to free stuff. And i must have lost over $300 this way.
I normally go for free stuff given by banks (trusted banks, not chase) on opening checking/savings accts. It makes sense as they put restrictions (direct deposit/minimum monthly balance etc for 3/6 months) on you before sneezing free money.
I’ve kept myself away from those stores who give u free credit card and 20% discounts on all future purchases thru their cred card, especially when i dint have any sort of credit history and was dying to get on board.
P.S. I joined Yodlee last week after reading all ur yodlee posts and I am kind of loving it
I also read ur referbacks @ credit card money transfer. Personally i wud prefer to wait for no transaction fee on balance transfer unless i can transfer really huge money by paying $75-100 e.g $5000-10000. The pblm is my credit limit. i m using about 30% of my credit limit already, so i dont get huge credit line on new offers.
I have gotten MANY things for free.
Here are some of them:
A free IPOD shuffle (the new kind)
GM Travel Coffee Mug
Posters
Various Tshirts, hats.
Blood glucose meters
Calendars, decks of cards, cereal.
Shampoo, conditioner, soaps, lotions, perfumes, pads, tampons, cologne, toothpaste.
Several bags of dog and cat food.
Digital Camera (from Campbells soup)
Now, I wouldn’t enter from something free and give them my bank account # or my social security number.
But I surely enjoy getting the freebies and feel comfotable with the info I do need to give them.
By the way, I would have been VERY skeptical, before I actually received these items.
I’m reminded of “Stranger in a Strange Land” where when Michael asks why he charges money at his church, he basically says that people won’t come if its free.
Free stuff generally falls under “if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is”, but if I think its a marketing ploy, that I can sponge off, then I’m all for it.
Invincible: Yodlee rocks. Hope you have fun using it. Btw, it’s one of the *free* goodies that’s extremely nice.
MSMomsmoney: Wow..that’s a lot of free stuff. Obvious question….how are you getting these? You know, if you could make a list of all the nice places where you got the free stuff from…that would be very valuable.
Plonkee and others:
Do I mistrust free stuff? Naw, I definitely do question it though!
Me - “Wait a minute, so your are just going to give me a toothbrush… for FREE?”
Dentist - “Yup, it is all yours, now just keep coming back and getting your teeth cleaned”
Me - “Ok! Wait a minute… lol”
So much “free” stuff can cost you a lot of money when your aren’t skeptical - you just need to be sure to read the fine print.
I actually found that America is a pretty good place to sign up for free samples. Of course, I try to limit my sign ups from websites of trusted companies (Walmart etc).
The only down side I see is that when I signed up, walmart.com was hacked or something but so far so good.
Amazon.com has an offer for a amazon visa card with a $30 bonus on it. No annual fees but a high APR, about 17%. solution and what I did: signed up, got approved, could use the card instantly since it was online, ordered $25 worth of books, qualified for super saver shipping since the order was $25 or more, got the card after one day (my order took, not surprsingly, longer) and cut it up 30 seconds after getting it. Result: I have $25 dollars worth of books for free. The 30 can be applied toward anything on the site, but its best to pick Amazona endorsed items. Some free things are real. Of course, the majority of it is horse crap, free things that is. I just happened to get the one white whale in the bunch.
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