Commercial Freebies

Free Stuff might be labeled as “commercial freebies” when the products or services are offered by businesses with the end goal of making more sales. This is different from community freebies, government freebies or classifications of freebies which each have their own drive and motivations. This much detail is being explained because it can be important to identify why a freebie when it is given, which is part of the process of determining if the freebie is actually free.

There are at least three different categories of commercial freebies: marketing promotions, exchange for marketing services, and market research.

Marketing Promotions include any sale or promotion where the word “free” is used in the marketing copy or the sale has a similar implication to the word “free”. Examples of marketing promotions that would use the word “free” include, “buy one get one free”, “kids eat free”, “free after rewards” and “free shipping”, none of which are actually free. Yet, there are cases where marketing promotions can produce freebies that are actually free. These include Free Samples, Free After Rebate, Sweepstakes and others. Each of these have caveats that are described in detail on their own pages.

Businesses will give free products in exchange for marketing services. If you’re interested in obtaining this type of freebie, then one of your objectives will be to grow your following so that you can become an influencer. The greater your influence, the higher your marketing value will be to the company making the exchange. Possible marketing services include Blogging, Vlog or YouTube video reviews, human billboard advertising and car wrap advertising. While the company will send influencers products that are free of charge, it could very well take time and even monetary costs to become an influencer.

Market Research Freebies are incentives that businesses give to people who participate in market research. In this case the business does not necessarily want publicity for their products, they want information on how to improve their products before the products are released on the market. You could potentially participate in market research by doing surveys, product testing, or mystery shopping.

While many freebies that are actually free will require no monetary commitment, they are not all convenient. Hunting for freebies can be a fun hobby or it can a practice that helps your personal finances. Whether any particular freebie is worth obtaining, even if it’s actually free, will be up to you.

A list of commercial freebies is available on the Free Stuff page. Start there for more information.