To do or not to do?  That is the question…

Welcome to Freebie Success.  This is my dumping ground for thoughts as I explore the freebie website business.  I’m a pretty cautious person, HATE losing money, and generally pretty savvy about picking up scams and bad offers.  I also research my tail off.

So, here’s an opportunity to learn with me!  This will probably start off rather train-of-thought and confusing… as I figure things out, I’ll get more organized.  But the important thing for you to know is that I’m just starting out, I’m learning as I go, and I’ll tell you the truth - including if I decide this thing’s a bust.  Why am I calling my website Freebie Success?  Because that’s what I hope for!

Now, down to business.

I decided to bite the bullet – sounds like there’s some risk involved, but a wide variety of people do seem to make a decent bit of money, which is what I’m looking for. I have the capability to be very organized, so I think I can handle it as long as I’m careful.

First, I use as my default email account a Gmail account just for the purpose of PPD. If I wind up getting spammed, I don’t want it going in my personal email account.

Second, I use my home phone number for any phone # inquiries. I use my cell for business and all my calling, and don’t want to get solicitors on my cell line.

Third, I look at what credit card I have available with no balance on it that has good fraud protection. I want something where I can look at a statement each month and know immediately if something’s on there that shouldn’t be. I don’t use my Bank of America Visa for anything anymore except my TiVo subscription, so it’s a good candidate, and their fraud department has been helpful to me in the past.

I wasn’t keen on paying $35 just to make some money – even if it will pay off in the end. I did a little searching and found someone who, after registering their email but not purchasing the program, received coupons for a discounted membership. I figured that would be great – why pay $35 when I can wait a little bit and pay $10? Then, reading through the PPD website, I noticed that I could sign up for free if I completed one of their sponsor offers. Okay, that’s what I’m going to be doing on this website anyway, right?

There’s a wide variety of sponsors to choose from… I see the Netflix offer and wish I hadn’t just reinstated my Netflix subscription, since it’s a service I actually use. But there are other reputable companies as well – and I always checked on Google to see whether or not people have had problems canceling their free trials! I decided RealPlayer would be a good thing to try out, with a 14-day free trial.

That went through pretty quickly. Yay, I’m registered for free! Next is an offer for some training videos for $19.95 (ha) or free if I complete another sponsor offer. Sure thing. I go with FreeCreditReport.com this time – I haven’t looked at my credit score in awhile, so again, something reputable and that I’ll use. (my score is 707! Woohoo!) Confirming my completion of this offer took a little longer. I find the wait rather irritating, since it appears the system won’t let me skip ahead – I either get the videos or I don’t, no second chances (which, really, is probably BS, but if I went to this trouble I’m not going to risk it). Several hours later, I finally gave up and clicked to go ahead anyway.

To keep track of all this stuff, I’ve created an Excel spreadsheet to keep all the information in. I’ll be able to sort it by the date I need to cancel things, so I can always look at it and see what needs to be canceled on a given day. It’ll be where I store every possible bit of information – who and what I ordered, the date I signed up, length of the trial period, order number, etc. I also created fields for customer service reps and cancellation numbers, so if it ever comes to a dispute, I’ve got all the info at my fingertips. Finally, I save my confirmation/receipt webpages into a folder.

I’m looking through the quick tutorials – very clearly written, with (seemingly) relevant info. The Overview of Method 1 video was extremely helpful. This all sounds like a PITA, but like it’ll work. I’m impressed with the forums and the level of accountability – eBay-like checks and balances are set up, with feedback scores and the like, so that trades are conducted transparently.

Interesting… I’ve finished the tutorial, but don’t see links to the forums. Ah, there they are, in Appendix C. And, how interesting, they seem to be independent of Project Payday. So, I could join these forums even without coughing up some $$ for Project Payday – glad I didn’t, then! Though I will say the tutorial was very informative and useful.

FreeLunchRoom.com

It’s straightforward, and yet overwhelming. The idea of all the homework necessary to do things right is rather overwhelming. All this crap, none of which I need, wanting all my info and God knows what else. Hmm. Definitely a PITA. I understand how people get fed up with it and ditch it after awhile. However, as always, you aren’t going to get something for nothing.

There are some very useful threads in the forum regarding quality of products, ease of crediting, reliability of websites. It’s definitely worthwhile to look through them.

With an eye to becoming a Method 2 user, the forum seems rather competitive. Perhaps it’s not as competitive as it looks. But I see offers for 100% payouts, which makes me wonder where they’re making money.

I have a hard time being willing to sign up for anything that’s going to cost me money – even a couple of bucks makes me leery. This is one of my hang-ups.