Has anyone used one of those free IPod services?

[Xithras]

It's probably a bit late to ask now, but I just completed the requirements for one and it's promising me a 60GB IPod Video for free. Have people actually received their hardware from these types of sites, or did I just fall for some kind of a scam?

[Greyskye]

1. is it something for nothing?

If so, it's good odds that it's a scam. :tinfoilhat:

[Xithras]

2. Not exactly.

It's a business promo thing. The site had about 30 offers on it, and I had to apply for four of them to get the IPod. I ended up registering for a Citi credit monitoring service ($9 after two months), applying for a Discover card, signing up for an online music service ($6 monthly), and requesting $10 worth of vitamins. According to the site, the companies pay them a royalty for new customers, and that royalty pays for the $250 IPod and their profit margin.

It's not something for nothing, it's $250 worth of electronics for $25, with a plausible story as to why it might work. I've seen other variations of this on the Internet where you had to refer other people to their service too, and chose this one because I didn't have to scam my friends and family into joining just to get an IPod.

[Greyskye]

3. Now I'm curious

That seems pretty elaborate for a scam. Did they say how long it would take for you to get the ipod? Is it reconditioned or new?

Hell, I'm the worlds biggest sceptic; but something like that might get me to take a chance. :shrug: I finally got an ipod - I bought a used ipod shuffle from a cow-orker. What can I say, I'm a cheapskate.

[Xithras]

4. It's supposed to be new.

And they're saying that it will be shipped in 6-8 weeks. If you want to check it out, it's at www.gadgetcity.com, but there are similar websites at freeipods.com and a dozen others.

The best I can hope for is that it's legit and I get my free IPod. At the worst, I guess, I'm out a bit of money for a couple of services that I'll actually use anyway.

It doesn't look like anyone here has really tried one of these sites, so I guess this post is kinda moot anyway. I was just wondering whether I should get my hopes up or not :)

[crispini]

5. I've heard that some of them work.

But I don't know which ones.

[distantearlywarning]

6. I think I've heard that some of these places are legit.

I don't have any details though.

[ikojo]

7. This is not an ad but a friend of mine

did use of those services. She told me she had to write a review on four or five places in town. She got a shuffle which costs $100. I asked her how much time she spent on the reviews and such and she said approx four hours. So, it comes out to $25/hour which isn't too shabby.

Read the fine print and be prepared to be inundated with spam. I'd use a different e mail address from your primary one.