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| Courtney Curtis / Scroll Illustration |
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As the old saying goes, there’s no such thing as a free lunch — or iPod for that matter. But thousands of people, including many BYU-Idaho students, are finding out that’s not always the case.
In return for using its Web site, www.freeipods.com has been rewarding its customers with free iPods for over two years now. According to the site, they have shipped over $14 million in the product so far.
Here’s how it works: a user registers an account with www.freeipods.com, completes a trial offer from one of the many companies working with the Web site and then gets five of their friends to complete an offer.
Once all offers have been completed and verified, www.freeipods.com ships the iPod.
The Web site is just one part of a new marketing group called Freepay. Freepay’s real clients are large companies like Blockbuster, Citi-Bank and BMG Music Group.
These clients pay Freepay for directing users toward their Web sites. They then entice them to sign up for trial offers by promising them expensive electronics, like iPods.
Freepay itself is just one part of a larger marketing company called Gratis.
“We’re a marketing firm,” said Rob Jewell, owner of Gratis. “We’re sending these people to our advertisers. We cringe when we hear ‘pyramid’ or ‘scheme.’ We’re more closely associated with viral marketing.”
“After looking into it, talking to friends and reading the terms and conditions carefully, I decided that the business made sense,” said Devan Perona, a junior from Concord, Calif., and Freepay user.
Most users hear about the offer through word of mouth, or respond to pop-up advertisements on the Internet.
“It’s really important people trust us and get their iPods,” Jewell said. “We want people to get their iPods because it helps our legitimacy. We count on our users to validate us.”
Luke Dyer, a junior from Salem, Ore., and Freepay user, found that the hardest part was getting his friends to complete the offers to help him.
“People feel weird signing up for things on the internet, and I felt bad trying to sign up all my friends,” Dyer said.
Many of the trials Freepay offers are free; some require people to use their credit card, like Blockbuster’s online membership that costs $10 a month.
“As long as people read the terms and conditions well and are sure to cancel the offer before it’s too late, there’s no need to be nervous or hesitant,” Perona said.
“A lot of people think it’ll be real easy, but it takes a lot of time and commitment,” Dyer said, who never completed his account to get an iPod. “It’s definitely possible. I’d recommend it to others; you don’t have anything to lose.”
Many users have had troubles with Freepay’s strict rules on completing offers.
“After I finished all my offers, they put a hold on my account because my dad and sister used the same computer.” Perona said. “They thought they were the same person and I was cheating.”
After Perona sent an email explaining the situation, Freepay shipped his iPod.
“I’d definitely recommend the site. If you’re going do it, this is the place,” Perona said.
In addition to iPods, Freepay offers digital cameras, flat screen monitors, designer handbags, laptop computers and video game systems to its users.
