This Story was written by David Lazarus for www.sfgate.com. Full story
at
Free iPods Story
i get ENOUGH of these Free iPod emails and never do anything with
them... now i'm actually glad i don't. all nonsense these freebie
offers!
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Free iPod -- um, not really
David Lazarus
From the "No Free Lunch" file, let's take a look one of the more
widespread offers circulating online for a free Apple iPod.
This one is from something called Incentive Reward Center, which is
typically reached via Web-site banner ads and promises a "free*" iPod
that normally sells for $399.
In the asterisked fine print below, the firm says that receiving your
free iPod depends on the following conditions: "completion of offer
terms," "completion of user survey" and "participation in sponsor
offers."
What it doesn't say is that the offer terms will expose you to reams
of spam and marketing solicitations, that the user survey is actually a
lengthy marketing ploy, and that the sponsor offers needed to qualify
for that free music player will almost certainly cost you money.
It also doesn't say that Incentive Reward Center is in fact a Florida
business entity called Theuseful.com, which is in fact a fictitious
business name registered by another Florida business entity called
NiuTech.
As for NiuTech, the Better Business Bureau says the company has an
"unsatisfactory record ... due to unanswered complaints concerning
advertising and delivery issues."
Eddie Anazagasty, a spokesman for the Better Business Bureau, said 177
complaints against NiuTech have been lodged by consumers during the
past three years over difficulties in obtaining promised goods like
iPods and laptop computers.
"That's a lot," he said. "And the company hasn't responded to us.
Those aren't good signs."
No one at NiuTech returned my repeated calls for comment.
But what makes this program especially troubling is that NiuTech has
partnered with some of the biggest names in the business world for the
iPod offer.
Clicking through the labyrinthine promotion (as I've done) turns up
the likes of AOL, Bertelsmann, Blockbuster, Citibank, EarthLink,
General Motors and USA Today, to name just a few.
Here's how it works:
To get the ball rolling you have to provide your name, address, e-mail
address and date of birth. That starts the survey, which is actually
dozens of solicitations, one at a time, page after page, asking whether
you want more info on such things as credit cards, home loans or "a
high-paying job in the construction industry."
Clicking your way past this barrage of come-ons finally gets you to
the meat of the matter. Incentive Reward Center says you have to sign
up for at least two offers from participating firms to get your hands
on that free iPod.
It looks like there might be some freebies here, but most of the
offers are for DVD and music services, credit cards and other such
strings-attached programs.
Then you're presented with another list of marketers from which you
have to sign up for another two pitches.
And then you're presented with yet another list of marketers from
which, yes, two more offers must be accepted. (My favorite: a human
growth hormone from Germany that purports to regenerate "skin, muscle,
hair and bones.")
The final round of offers is virtually impossible to escape without
agreeing to commit some money to a product or service.
I followed the process to the end but didn't sign up for anything. If
I had, Incentive Reward Center says I'd have to remain as a member of
each marketer's plan for about eight weeks to receive proof that I'd
signed up.
Then I'd have to send in the six pieces of evidence to Incentive
Reward Center, a.k.a. Theuseful.com, a.k.a. NiuTech, to claim my free
iPod.
Is it legit? Well, Incentive Reward Center's site includes
testimonials from a number of satisfied customers. Declares Christopher
Alves of Palmdale (Los Angeles County): "IPods rock, and you guys rock
harder! Thanks!!!"
There's no listing in Palmdale or surrounding communities for a
Christopher Alves, so I wasn't able to confirm that iPods and Incentive
Reward Center do indeed rock.
But I was able to reach another testimonial giver, 29-year-old
Benjamin Culbert of Ephrata, Pa., who is pictured online holding his
iPod box and giving a thumbs-up sign.
"Thanks so much for my iPod!" he's quoted as saying. "This was the
easiest free gift and the reps are the nicest to work with. Thanks
again!"
In fact, Culbert told me the testimonial was solicited and paid for by
Incentive Reward Center.
"They said if I sent in a picture of myself with the product, they
would send me a $50 debit card," he said. "So that's what I did."
Meanwhile, a close look at Theuseful.com's "terms & conditions" turns
up some interesting language. For instance:
"Theuseful reserves the right to: a) substitute any gift item with
another of similar functionality (including a working model that has
been used/refurbished), b) substitute any gift item with another of
similar value, c) send a member the cash equivalent of the gift item
(such as via a check)."
A used iPod -- now there's an attractive offer. And what, you have to
wonder, is the cash equivalent of an ostensibly free music player?
Moreover, Theuseful.com's privacy policy says it can share customers'
personal info with its marketing partners "in order to bring you
valuable services."
"Theuseful's trusted partners agree to abide by their respective
privacy policies," it says. (Think about that for a second -- they're
agreeing to follow their own rules, whatever they may be.)
"Theuseful and partners may send you information via various available
channels and segmented lists," the policy says. "When you unsubscribe
from one list, you will not be unsubscribed from all lists."
In other words, you're on your own out there, spamwise, and getting
off the mountain of mailing lists you'll end up on will be a long walk
indeed.
Some offers of free iPods out there may be valid. A Washington, D.C.,
company called Gratis Internet runs a site called FreeiPods.com, which
is similar in most ways to Incentive Reward Center but seems to have
better online buzz.
One big difference: Not only do you have to sign up for a marketing
pitch at FreeiPods.com, but you have to persuade five friends to do the
same before you'll get your player. (If your pals are also chasing
iPods, they too will have to persuade five friends to sign up, and so
on.)
I asked Culbert, who was paid by Incentive Reward Center to gush about
the service, how much his free iPod actually cost him.
He said one of the pitches he was required to sign up for cost about
$150. But Culbert said he got half the money back after he complained
to the merchant, a credit card provider, that he'd been misled.
Would he recommend programs like this to others?
"I wouldn't recommend it to the average person," Culbert replied. "You
really have to know what you're doing, signing up for things and then
canceling them. You have to document everything you do."
But at least he finally got his iPod.
"I ended up selling it on eBay," Culbert said happily. "I got $400 for
it. "
