College Freebies

For students who are, and who are about to be college students: this blog is for you. You are one of the most marketed-to generations (closely followed, I believe or maybe even tied with, your baby-boomer age parents). This actually means very, very good things for you.

Why? Because companies want you to buy their products. They know you spend money. So how do they get you to do that? By giving you free products!!

When I was working in Student Services I frequently received random boxes of... well... stuff. Anything from shampoo to soap (those were good days) to sewing kits (that one was odd, I'll admit). These were sent to me in hopes that I would distribute them among the student body, and in turn these students would go out and purchase the product after trying it. I read somewhere (and I wish I had the article now to cite it) but something like 80% of college students who get a free sample go on to purchase the product. (College students: is that true for you? After the sample runs out do you buy the product?)

But, if your student services/student life office is out of the current shipment here are a few other sites to try for free stuff:

http://www.sampleaday.com/welcome-to-sampleadaycom
http://collegefreestuff.com/
http://www.mysavings.com/free-product-samples/college-students/
http://www.enterfreestuff.net/

Keep in mind: if you enter your mailing address/email address/phone number they will use this to market to you. If you don't want that, make sure you read the privacy policies to see if you can "opt out" of that and still receive the freebie. (In a way, it's not a freebie... it's a product that they give you in exchange for your contact information rather than money.)

But I've known plenty of college students who were looking for a cheap way to do anything, so this might be an option for you!I also haven't tried these sites myself, so I can't endorse their service one way or another. I just know they're out there.

Do you have other freebie sites you use? Share them with us!!