About Free Product Samples

Free product samples are a growing trend and hobby in our society. Every kind of project imaginable has been available as a free sample. The samples can be found online or in stores, in magazines, radio shows and fairs. People have different reasons why they like free samples but no matter the reason, it can be a thrill to say "It was free."

Function

The main purpose of a free sample is to introduce you to a new product. Companies give them out hoping you will try the product and then keep buying it. Some people use their free samples in other ways, too, particularly if they send for a lot of samples. They save them up and donate them to homeless shelters and other charities. For example, food samples like small boxes of cereal or granola bars can be given to a food pantry. Another great way to use saved samples is to sort them by what kind they are and put them in gift baskets to make unique personalized gifts. Free coffee and tea samples are especially good for this, as are health and beauty product samples.

How To Find Free Product Samples

There are all kinds of free product samples and many ways to get them. A popular way is to look for free product samples online. There are groups in Yahoo! Groups that will send emails to your email address listing samples you can get. You can also hunt for them yourself by going to websites for the companies whose products you would like to try. If they are not offering a sample and it's something you really would like to try, then email them. Ask if you can have a free sample of the product. Many companies will send one when asked. They can be sent in the form of an actual free product sample or a coupon good for a free product.

Sometimes you can find free product samples in stores, at fairs and other places where crowds are expected. That person at your grocery store passing out little cups of cereal or small pieces of pizza is offering free product samples to shoppers. The company is hoping you like the product enough to buy it right then and there. Regular advertising can also alert you to free product samples if you listen closely. Recently, a major cereal company offered a free product sample which consumers could get by calling a toll free number. One rarer way to get free samples, often full-sized samples, of a product is to sign up with marketing companies to become a product tester.

Benefits

Many companies send coupons along with the free product sample. One or two samples may not save much money but when free product samples are a hobby, all the samples can add up. A mailbox stuffed with samples is like a daily little treat to look forward to.

Expert Insight

I confess I have been sending for free product samples for years. Here are a few tips to make finding and getting samples or freebies easier. Most companies will want your phone number and email address. To avoid giving this out you can get free phone numbers and email addresses online. Companies say they don't sell your contact info but some do. Another tip that will save you a lot of typing is to get a free form filler. The one I use is Roboform. There is a paid version but the free one lets you save a limited number of passwords. The best thing it does is to fill out all the free product sample forms with one click and no typing. I highly recommend it if you plan on sending for a lot of free samples.

Warning

Most companies are upfront and honest in offering samples. However once in a while, spammers will put up fake pages to get your information. So the sample never comes but the email you use suddenly gets more spam. Try to be sure each free sample site or offer you ask for is a real offer. Never give out credit card information. A true free offer of product samples will never ask for it. They will also usually not ask for shipping charges. Occasionally an offer will ask for shipping if it is a very popular ongoing free sample. For example, Jelly Belly jellybeans used to send a totally free sample but recently started asking a small shipping amount to offset costs on sending this popular free sample to hundreds of people. Another thing to be aware of is the expiration date on a sample or a recall. So when there is a recall on brands make sure you don't have a free sample of that product.

Resources

• RoboForm
• Free Product Samples Website
• Free Product Samples and Coupons Website