Tips for finding free stuff online
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- If you think there's no such thing as a free lunch, think again. There are lots of products you can get online without having to pay a cent.
Consumer Reports ShopSmart Magazine has found the best freebies -- everything from cosmetics to pet food.
The site Hey it's Free! features free items such as Beneful dog food. Other stuff that ShopSmart found for free included Gevalia Espresso coffee fixings, Emergen-C Vitamins, all kinds of beauty products, even free downloadable movies to keep the family entertained.
Consumer Reports ShopSmart has a lot of tips on how to get tons of free stuff.
"The first thing to do is look at websites that aggregate free offers. We especially liked Freeflys. We got more free stuff from there than any other website," said Jody Rohlena with Consumer Reports ShopSmart.
Some other aggregator sites worth checking out are: Hunt4Freebies, ICraveFreebies, PINCHme and SweetFreeStuff -- that's where ShopSmart got the free movie.
ShopSmart was able to order more than 50 items in a few hours of online searching.
No-shows were a problem though. About half the freebies hadn't arrived 10 weeks after they'd been ordered. Another problem was a flood of email marketing pitches clogging your inbox. So set up a separate email address just for freebie shopping. Another tip: when shopping for freebies, keep your credit card in your wallet.
"Shipping should be free, so there is no reason to give your credit card information. If they ask you to give your card number, don't do it," said Rohlena.
It's also worth looking at manufacturers' sites, such as Pillsbury or Walmart. You can often get coupons for a free full-sized product.
If you have to use your credit card to get something free or to try out a trial size product, you might be signing up for automatic payment withdrawals from your credit card that last at least a year, unless you cancel the deal within 30 days. So make sure you read the fine print on the paperwork that comes with the product.
