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Inside the Free iPod Offer
jonathanhowell writes "David Lazarus, The SF Chronicle's tech guy, has an article in today's paper with an interesting investigation into the work you have to do to get a "free" (as in beer) iPod. I'm trying not to call it a scam, because it appears completely legal, if ethically challenged." From the article: "What it doesn't say is that the offer terms will expose you to reams of spam and marketing solicitations, that the user survey is actually a lengthy marketing ploy, and that the sponsor offers needed to qualify for that free music player will almost certainly cost you money."
Duh, anybody thinking anything is "free" today doesn't value their time, other people's time, or their sanity.
I'm glad I won't have to worry about falling for those stupid "Free iPod" scams. As soon as my Nigerian friend returns my savings "fiffty fould" I can buy as many iPods as I want!
Cool, eh?
people offering free expensive things are usually lying!
Join my Folding@HOME Google Toolbar team
And I dissected the bastards' EULA at length.
Read, if you're interested.
Striking fear in the authors of godawful fanfiction, I am here, appearing in darkness, Tuxedo Jack!
TiVo has a TiVo rewards program. Sign up for a credit card and you get points with your purchases that you can use to get an iPod. If you pay the thing off every month, your iPod is free.
Besides the iPod, they also have Bose noise cancelling headphones, a Nikon digital camera, a couple types of new TiVo units, and some other lesser things.
Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
For an uninformed or disconected soul, the "chance" for a free iPod is well worth selling out your vital statistics. I'm always amazed at how easy it is to convice someone to sign on the dotted line, and it's offten only for a T-Shirt.
This organization simply raized the reward, and thereby made the hoops you must jump through more elaborate.
Plain and simple. Same with all the other Free deals.
Whether you consider the Pyramid Scheme a scam, is up to you.
iPod Shuffle: $99
iPod Photo: $349
wasting your time, money, and creating a new e-mail address because you got r00ked by a net dot scam: PRICELESS
"For everything else, there's legitimate commerce."
-- often wrong; never in doubt
From the SlashDot article:
I'm trying not to call it a scam, because it appears completely legal, if ethically challenged.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but if a person has to buy something, even from another company, to get a "free iPod", then advertising the iPod as "free" is false advertising, no? That makes me not so sure about that "completely legal" part.
please mod this STORY down as "this is not news - just plain obvious"
Comment removed based on user account deletion
The doctors wrote software that integrates the ipod.. And had their employers buy them ipods..
Pure Geuinus..
article 1
article news.com.com
From the tech specs page, the iPod can play MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Music Store, M4A, M4B, M4P), Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4) and WAV.
The majority of these formats are not encumbered. I really don't understand why so many people think the iPod can play only iTunes Music Store songs.
7. You helped perpetuate the spamming, pyramid scheme insanity.
I mean, even the "freecreditreports.com" is a scam that is not free. Duh, why would they pay for an ad on TV for free stuff?
FWIW, I foe everyone that has free crap in their sigs on slashdot. This is simply something that is driven by greed, for what? A toy that any working person could buy. They are only what, $400. For the six months and bothering some unknown pyramid amount of people you could have simply saved $67 a month and just bought the thing. Poor people suck. Go ask Kenny.
There is some degree of merit for working to obtain what one wants in life. Then there is apparently some kind of merit for those that feel the need to exert annoyance on people and exploit people to get what they want in life.
There is no such thing as a free lunch. There is no such thing as a free iPod. For the $400 they paid you, think about how many of your beloved greedy referrers and their referrers and their referrers were somehow affected by this scheme. Lets be conservative and say it was 128 people total from you that participated, and odds are none of them got iPods. Thats as whopping $3 to "market" to each of them (with results!). Its cheaper, and I imagine more effective than any other form of "marketing".
The good side, is that it will not last. People will be over the scam in 6 months to a year.
I've seen those consumer incentive places and they look pretty sleezy to me, but I DID get an ipod for free from freeipods.com. And it really was free.... with the possible exception of some junk mail to my house (easy enough to throw away) and some spam to an email account I don't use, and some telemarketing to a phone number that isn't really mine (When forced, I give out numbers that are a few digits off).
Seriously people I don't get the "They're going to spam me under" argument. Who doesn't have access to a 'spam account' now a days? If not, get a free one from google. As to the 'deals' they make you do, if you're careful you and your friends won't have to pay a dime. The key is be CAREFUL...
oh and avoid that consumer incentive one... but just looking at that site should be evidence enough
The point of free ipod is to offer you something that costs essentially only time, as opposed to mountains of cash. That, to the vast majority of people out there, is valuable. I've got a pal who paid people to sign up for the orders for him and collected his ipod for about $50 bucks. Saved a boatload of money.
Read jack phelps dot net
I think Slashdot should loose the bad grammer.
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
Bzzt.
I ain't sure if you're joking, but Check here just in case.
However, their was a mistake in the grandparent, in the spelling of "sentence." So it goes.
Quick, name a non-DRM format the iPod does not play. Hmmm... oh! I know! It doesn't support FLAC, I think... though, you could convert that FLAC to an AIFF or WAV and you'd be in business, i guess...
Just curious, why do you think iPods play only DRM formats??? Only Sony would try to do something so crazy as make a player that doesn't support at least MP3... and even they would figure it out after the it failed to sell...
You mean all I have to do is tell them I'm 12" by 2" and they give me a free iPod?! Cool.
I might drop a hint about all my ex's calling me "Rammstein" and see if they throw in a free iTMS voucher.
First of all, the company profiled, Incentive Reward Center, is not the freeiPod company. They aren't even on the radar. Gratis Internet operates the most well known freeiPod site, while OfferCentric comes in second. Both are reputable companies that have good track records shipping products and providing customer service. Secondly, the author compains about spam. Both Gratis and Offercentric do not spam your email addresses. I have had over twenty people do referrals under me with these two corporations and have had no trouble. Finally, there is the issue of paying for offers. This is a total non starter because you know the terms of each offer before you choose to complete it! There are several free offers, including the easy eFax, which even allows cancellations within the 14 day trial to be done online. I can confirm eFax does not spam either. Is getting free stuff from these sites difficult? Yes. Is it feasible? Definately. Don't let this poorly researched article scare you away if you're dedicated.