Oh No, the “Free iPad” Offers Are Here!

By  |  Monday, February 1, 2010 at 12:00 am

What’s the surest sign that the iPad is the world’s hottest tech product right now? It may not be Steve Jobs telling us it’s magical and revolutionary, or the avalanche of coverage on tech blogs. Maybe it’s the arrival of cheesy ads that dangle free iPads in front of people–almost two months before the gizmo even goes on sale.

Earlier today, I was on Facebook, and saw this ad:


Free iPods for 45-year-old males? I’m 45! I’m male! What a happy coincidence! What a rare opportunity!

I clicked on the link and saw this page:

Then I got suspicious–in part because the ad talks about the iPad being “just released!” when the one it talks about giving away is the 3G model that won’t be available for almost three months. I asked a couple of friends to check their Facebook account, and miracle of miracles–the offer was also available to 43-year-old females and 43-year-old males!

Then I also discovered that tweaking the URL on Online Reward Center’s site allowed me to extend the offer to other…demographic groups:

So what’s the deal? I clicked through and found a little fine print about having to complete eight “offers” to receive an iPad:

There was also a lot more fine print at this address. Plus another page which seems to say that you have to have documents notarized as part of the process.

I started to click through the offers, which kept claiming to be “surveys,” although most seemed to be things like credit card offers and sweepstakes and free trials for various services, all of which wanted personal information from me (including, sometimes, my credit card info).

You don’t need to be a marketing guru to figure out that the business model behind the “free iPad” is convincing you to sign up for offers that pay a bounty (aka a referral fee) to those that send business their way.

I eventually reached this page:

Scanning through this, my head hurt, and I gave up on stepping through the deal.

Who’s behind this “Free iPad” offer? It’s not all that easy to figure out. The Facebook ad leads to a site called ThanksMucho.com, which McAfee Site Advisor says has potential security risks. It handed me off to something called “Online Reward Center.”  It’s got some impressive-looking seals that don’t link anywhere (I especially like the “We Care” award):

And claims to be sponsored by three name brands: BMG, Discover, and the ever-laudable Video Professor:

But I couldn’t find any prominent mention of who Online Reward Center’s parent company is. Eventually, I found mention on the site of something called “Net Radiance.” By Googling around, I learned that Net Radiance is part of a Florida company, World Avenue, which got into trouble in the past with Florida and Texas for “free” offers and ended up paying those states a total of $1.8 million to settle. According to the Florida Attorney General’s office, World Avenue has done business under dozens of names:

A few years ago, the company attracted its attention for its “free iPod” offers–here’s a San Francisco Chronicle story that, among other things, charges that it paid one of the people quoted as giving it a customer testimonial.

World Avenue’s news page, incidentally, is entirely devoted to the company’s philanthropic activities. That reminds me of Vertrue, the marketing company I accidentally agreed to pay $25 a month to a couple of months back.

I’m curious whether Facebook has any policy about these “free offer” ads–and even more so about whether it has any policy about how an ad can use information it receives from Facebook, such as my gender and age. (Such as: Can it seem to claim I’m getting a special offer because I’m a 45-year-old male whether or not the offer has anything to do with my age and gender?) I’m contacting Facebook about all this and will let you know what I hear.

The ad I followed to the Online Reward Center isn’t the only “free iPad” one on Facebook. I chuckled at this one–which seems to be from a different company and which shows the world’s fattest iPad:

A friend who happens to be 33 and male saw an ad looking for iPad testers who are 33 and male:

…and when I Googled for “Free iPad,” I got ads that led to offers from both World Avenue and other companies:

(That last ad’s offer of a thousand bucks towards the purchase of an iPad is particularly generous given that the top-of-the-line iPad lists for $829.)

I’m also, um, fond of this ad, which not only says the iPad sells for $1,000 but shows an imaginary Mac-like widescreen model with an optical drive:

That’s a lot of opportunities to get a free iPad. Anyone want to hazard any guessses about how many free iPads will indeed be doled out?

 
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151 Comments For This Post

  1. Harvey Says:

    Most of them sites look like scams but there are some legit sites. I’m from the UK and we have a forum called eXceem, (exceem.co.uk/forums) it is a forum dedicated to freebie hunting, have a read around and you’ll see there are quite a few people who have recieved some free stuff.
    It is possible to receive gadgets like an iPad for free but it does require a lot of effort. It is a an affiliate marketing scheme, let me explain it in 3 steps.

    1. You sign upto a ‘freebie network’
    2. Complete one sponsored offer
    3. Get some friends to sign up and complete a sponsored offer as well.

    Every time an offer is completed the ‘freebie network’ get paid a commission. This then goes towards your free gift. The amount of friends that need to be referred and complete an offer varies for what gadget you want.

    I’m not here to promote my sites but here to show you that not all these ads are scams! Best to do your homework before signing up to any!

  2. Ben Dover Says:

    so,,,they are pyramid schemes?

  3. Rufus T. Firefly Says:

    Uh, Harry, I think you missed the requirement that to get an iPad you must also accept a free six-month stay at Achebaworld, the state of the art casino resort in Abijan. Attendance would be taken.

  4. John Says:

    Whenever someone submits their email to those websites, the affiliate (the person promoting the offer on Facebook) will received $1-$1.50

    If tens of thousands of people see the ad everyday, and a fraction of them clicks on them, and a fraction of that fraction fills in their email, then you're talking about at least $100/day. And that's JUST from Facebook. (There's Google, Yahoo!, MSN, etc.)

    People that don't know any better call these "free" offers a scam, but they're nothing of that sort. You really can and WILL get a free iPad when it launches, but ONLY if you complete the specified number of offers.

    Many people immediately pass it on as a scam, but these comapnies really do send out free iPods, iPads, laptops, and gift cards. As for the offers you're signing up to, most of them are free trial offers that only charge your credit card the next month if you don't cancel. Most people forget to cancel (which is their problem) and that is where these companies make money.

    Affiliate drives traffic to offer $$$ gets paid $$$ > Merchant (one giving away the free iPad) uses the email to promote other things and gets $$$$ from driving sales to the company (like Netflix) > user gets free iPad.

    If you really want to get a free laptop, iPad, or whatever, here's what I'd recommend you do. (Yes, you will get lots of spam and a bunch of telephone calls from telemarketers, so here's why you need to do the following.)

    1. Make a new email account and use that to participate in the offer

    2. Get a prepaid cellphone and use that as your number

    3. Make an Excel file with the offers joined and when you have to cancel so you don't get billed

    4. Enjoy your free iPad/laptop/whatever

    Wow, sorry for the long comment, just wanted to give you an idea of what's going on.

  5. Greg Says:

    Have you actually done one of these offers before and gotten a free gift out of it? If so, what website was it and what gift?

    -Curious

  6. Guest Says:

    Bull^&^&. I did everything required and I never received the iPad. These ARE scams. One masqueraded as a survey about my experience at Nordstrom and was triggered by my browsing nordstrom.com. I thought this was sponsored by Nordstrom. That's criminal — and if I find the people responsible I will personally cut off their heads with a rusty hacksaw.

  7. Kevin Says:

    “If you are bankrupt and dead…”

    Nice one!

  8. THe GeoRgiAn! Says:

    this one is dumb as hell but funny

  9. Tom Says:

    Although you seem to have stumbled across a perhaps, less than believable, offer here – the concept is a good and perfectly legitimate one. Many sites that offer free iPads or other gadgets make it almost impossible to fulfil the requirements to be eligible to actually receive what you are being offered – but there are also some excellent sites out there that really do provide these items for ‘free’ -in return for completing a sponsored offer and referring a number of others to do the same. I myself have received over £5000 worth of electronics in this way, but from a UK based site called freebiejeebies. Check out http://www.freebiejeebiesgadgets.com/free-ipad and feel free to review this related type of scheme and compare the pros and cons with this facebook based advertising you have seen. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

  10. Ziyod Says:

    Hey, I really appreciate your research. Although I am not one of those easy believers I am glad that somebody is helping people to save some time and headache.

  11. Serafin Says:

    Very well done research and very accurate and to the point. Wouldn’t it be lovely if there was a law that states ALL advertisements MUST present what they’re selling / doing in full clear plain bold letters and ALL downsides MUST be in bigger and bold print than upsides?

    I don’t know about John but I consider ANYTHING that makes you jump through hoops, ‘eventually’ pay money (somewhere someway if you have less moeny in your bank account by the time your HOLDING the product IN YOUR OWN HANDS than before) then its a scam.

    E.G Burger King is not a scam. You hand them money, and they hand you a burger, and before you even considered making the purchase they told you up-front what your going to expect to pay for that burger. SALES TAX IS A SCAM it hides how much your going to have to pay making you calculate it yourself.

    Vector Services (Knife selling company) is a scam. They promise to pay you money but you spend more money getting the knives to sell to people than you ever make.

    YES I agree you can make TONS of money, but its NOT GUARANTEED and anything not guaranteed is a scam.

    That’s what I consider a scam. Non-upfront about MONEY.

    Anyone else out there agree these are all scams? If all these bad things were PROHIBITED by law then the world would be MUCH better place. Companies make more money because customers are more confident in what they’re purchasing. Less returns, less lawsuits. Consumers more happy because DUH you know what your getting now and know how much your paying for it.

  12. ledfrog Says:

    "Anything not guaranteed is a scam."?? So if your car is not guaranteed forever, then that means the auto-maker scammed you? How about if you lost your job tomorrow because nobody guaranteed you'd have it for any length of time? Was it all a scam?

    I think you, and anyone who agrees with you, need to re-evaluate what the definition of 'scam' is. It means something that is designed to cheat or defraud you.

    Some examples of scams:

    1. You buy something on eBay and pay for it, but the seller never ships you anything.
    2. Someone asks you to give them your credit card number over the phone to donate to a non-existant charity and they use your account number to purchase all sorts of items for themselves.
    3. A buyer of something you're selling sends you a fake cashier's check for an amount over the price you agreed on and then asks you to refund the difference with a real check thereby stealing the product and money difference from you.

    Examples of NON-scams:

    1. A credit card company offers you a deal for a 0% APR credit card and then 6 months later, they increase the APR to 19%.
    2. You fill up your gas tank for $3.20 a gallon last week and this week it costs $3.50.
    3. A company asks you to sign up for promotional offers and sends you an iPad after completing the entire process.

    Are you starting to see the difference? Just because something is difficult, time-consuming or simply not your cup of tea, doesn't mean it's a scam. The difference is that they are not lying to you. They tell you from the very beginning what is required to get the gift.

    If I went to you and said I'll give you a million dollars to walk across the United States in less than 10 days, how is that a scam? It might be impossible, but I told you the terms up front. It only becomes a scam if you did do it in less than 10 days and I refused to give you the money.

    Get it?

  13. Amy from Free iPad Says:

    I’d love to know why all you people are calling these advertising methods scams! They simply aren’t!

    FreebieJeebies are a UK based company whose sponsors include HSBC, Alliance and Leicester, Sky, BT, The AA, Asda, Carephone Warehouse and loads more. DO you think that these companies would sponsor a scam?

    These ‘free ipad’ sites are simply a middle man putting you in touch with one of these companies, and although some offers require payment, the majority have terms like ‘open a current account’ which requires no money, the big banks just want you to try their product over someone elses. For this privilege, they pay FreebieJeebies ~£20. You then recommend friends. This money is used to pay for your gift. Simple as. No scam, no money.

    It’s simply clever advertising by global companies. You get a free iPad and they get however many new customers.

    For goodness sake people, make up your own mind.

  14. dimples4u Says:

    hey im 13 and i dont have that type of money but when i tried to get a free ipad 2 i would need a cell phone which i dont have and then do offers that i dont want to do cant you just get me one

  15. Bob Says:

    John you ignorant twit (sorry, just like the sound of that…) It is a scam! By the time you jump through all the hoops, you have spent a minimum of 40 hours and several hundred dollars in "compliance."

    Maybe if you are bankrupt and dead, that makes sense! BTW the iPad sells for under $500 USD and if you really jump through all the SPAM (yes John the S word again) you will spend at least $650 USD on offers and the 40 hours at $15 USD = $600 USD… Sheeeeez John, your "FREE" iPad cost you over $1,200 USD… yeppers amigo a real deal and a real steal… from your pocket… Get a life my friend!

  16. Nikki Says:

    I actually did this "scam" and it took about 3 hours and I only spent $95, and that money I spent was on stuff I liked: a subscription to gamefly, netflix, and a book club.

    From the way you talk about these sites, I assume you have never completed an offer. Where are you getting your info?

    So in the end, I got four books, a free month of nexflix, a discounted subscription to gamefly and an iPad for $95. I'm happy!

    I think you might be missing out, Bob.

  17. MelaPeales Says:

    Nikki, can you post the steps you made and the web site you use? how many time takes to receive the actual ipad?

  18. Kim Says:

    I do think it is a scam at the end of everything when it asks you for you cell number read little print and it says a $9:99 monthly charge is going to be on your cell bill.
    and Bob I don't know where you have seen the ipads for under $500 but not in USD

  19. Tina Says:

    Harry, thanks for doing the work on this. I was suspicious too and decided to Google “Online Reward Center Apple iPad”, which is how I got to your posting. Saved me a lot of time and trouble trying to figure it out myself!

  20. EA Says:

    I totally agree with getting a disposable email account and cell phone. If you give that Net Radiance company your email, you’ll be spammed hundreds of times, and putting a block there on your email probably won’t stop the spam. In addition, after some weeks or months your email may make its way to real criminal spammers, prescription drugs, Nigeran, deceptive spam, and some won’t have the addresses, links or valid email paths req by law. They can and have totally violate privacy and let the email address out to many Internet parties, some of whom can’t be trusted, nor does anyone know. You private information wil probably be totaly out of control and to untold numbers of unethical, illegal parties.

  21. dooshe Says:

    #tinfoilhat

  22. Kev Says:

    Great research!! helps a lot of people out

  23. Kev Says:

    This has to be illegal, I finished one page of survey and gave out my information and then stopped and tried to go back on my web browser and then just closed it off and I got a text from a marketer, right after!! Stay away from this!! unbelievable.. I didn’t even finish the survey

  24. Ethan Says:

    You know, I did a “Free Apple iPad” offer, but it asked me to do some OTHER offers which causes a chain reaction of offers but NEVER tells me when the iPad offer was complete… maybe because there was no “Next Page” or “Complete” button… Oh, there was also a survey, but the was a “Skip” button, at least! There was a bonus too, and I chose one, but I had to do a survey and choose some offers again… and in my conclusion, it seems like a HUGE scam… but I don’t know until it comes one day…

  25. kimball Says:

    I gotta admit, I clicked on the same facebook ad which led to run a search and end up here. Rule of thumb, If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Allocate your energies into a real paying gig/job for your ipad.

  26. snappy Says:

    Wow, this has made my day. This is some hilarious stuff. Back in the day, when they originally did these offers I used to hear people actually receiving free ipods etc. Now it’s out of control.

  27. bill Says:

    I did one one of these.
    One of the requirements was to get a mortgage…

  28. gez18 Says:

    HI
    i love it when people are sceptical about these networks without giving it a go. i was sceptical till i tried it, i took the plunge as all the offers were from massive companys likve lovefilm, coral gala bingo, the aa to name but a few.
    try it look at my website for more info http://www.freegadgets360.com for proof pics, hints and how to do it n recieve gifrs.

  29. sue Says:

    only a matter of time lol. just wait for more and more to surface when it launches

    become a fan of the ipad at http://www.facebook.com/pages/AppleR-iPad/276371851393?ref=ts

  30. Dave Says:

    These people that post the affiliate network links make a mint! But why buy facebook adverts? The pages are just as effective, i did the same thing for the nexus one. Not quite the same effect as an apple product though…

  31. It works...sometimes Says:

    So, I used rewards center way back to get an iPod–and they really did send me one. I was careful to follow the rules, chose which trials to sign up for carefully, and it worked. Sure, you buy $100 – $200 worth of crap you don’t need and have to be sure to cancel memberships, etc.

    But it’s worth it to me to get a ~$700 device for around $150 plus a couple hours of time. They make it a pain to complete the requirements–but not that big of a pain. Obviously, the inconvenience is enough for most people such that Rewards Center can expect to not have to actually give so many iPads that their profit on referrals is erased.

    We’ll see if it goes as smoothly this time as the iPod did.

    It may not–so bear in mind that if you aren’t comfortable with writing demand letters, calling states’ attorneys general offices or potentially filing a small claims court action then this might not be a road you want to go down. There’s no doubt that it’s sketchy.

  32. Tom Harding Says:

    While it’s true that these offers are put out there to exploit inocent facebook users and turn them into survey warriors, not all free offer sites are like this. I run the website freeiphoneinitiative.co.uk which operates through FreebieJeebies free offers network to allow people to gain free products from iPhones to HDTVs for signing up to legitimate free offers from REPUTABLE companies such as lovefilm and HSBC, then get a given number of friends to do the same.

    This business model is tried and tested – the offer company get £20-30 every time someone trials a product, of which they take a percentage as commission and pass the rest on towards the free product – 20 friends = a £400 iphone. When I first saw this scheme I thought it must be a scam but after looking into it and discovering that multinational corporations like Sky and HSBC were getting involved, I quickly changed my mind..

    Just my input 😉

    Tom Harding

  33. Lonewaffle Says:

    The websites that require only one or two offers to be completed and then want a bunch of referrals pretty much ARE a scam. Yeah, they’ll send you your product if you finish, but don’t worry, you’ll never find enough friends and family that’ll agree to do it. Everyone feels like it’s a scam, so good luck convincing others to be your referrals.

  34. Nathan Lair Says:

    at exclusivegiftcards.com…when I did my offer I didnt have to do any referrals, just had to complete nearly a dozen offers.

  35. Terry Says:

    I’ve been curious about these offers, wondering how it works and just how scammy they are. Thanks for research and all the comments.

    When I actually clicked on one of the free iPad ads, it wouldn’t let me close the window until it showed several successive popups begging me not to leave without signing up. The tipoff of a scam was they promised that I could have my iPad in 5 days!

  36. Nik-T Says:

    yeah, i seen these ads on facebook. “We are in desperate need of iPad testers. if you are 16, and male, you qualify” Whad ya know? im 16, and male. Im savvy about scams and that unrealistic coincidence signaled an alarm immediatly. i clicked it just for the hell of it, and read that barely visible hazy gray print at the bottom. “must be 18 or older to qualify” i hit the “back” button on my browser to see the initial ad “IF YOU ARE 16, AND MALE, YOU QUALIFY!!!”….”must me 18 or older to qualify”… “IF YOU ARE 16, YOU QUALIFY!!!”

    I dunno if this is a toatal scam or not, but i think that constitutes a blatant false advertising infringment, and if they can decive you with that, they will decive you elsewhere.

  37. Tim Says:

    dont forget http://www.getfreeipad.net !

  38. mj Says:

    *** this is completely true info that is is from a regular person – fa real! lol

    so my roommate decided to sign up for this. i laughed at him so hard, thinkning “what a sucker”. i just couldnt believe that he would fall for that crap.

    well, im the idiot. after about 6-8 weeks, he got a BRAND NEW iPhone 32GB 3GS! i was freakin shocked! i just couldnt believe it… but after his abundant research, this is basically what he said:

    there are some companies out there who appear very skeptical, that i woudnt trust. but i looked around for the omst reliable one. i figured if i document it, then legally, eventually, im covered. i just had to do EXACTLY as they said, and follow every single procedure. He also said that there some of the free offeres he signed up for and then when he cancelled they never sent him confirmation of his cancellation, so he had to take time contacting them and having them send him an email detainling that he did in fact make the purchase, and what he had it for whatever length of time. He then emailed it back to the company hewas getting the free offers from. THIS is where the pain in the butt is.

    over all i asked him how much he spent in money, time, and stress. he said it costs him about $57 and change, he spent a total of about 4 hours back and forth over several days with emails and phone calls, and that it was indeed a bit of a pain keeping EXACT track of everyting. he said is what the company is betting in is human error, of which they see alot of. it is NOT in your favor to be able to be that diligent. so they make out.

    either way the companies for whom you sign up would have to pay for advertising, they merely choose to do it through these offer companies. they might say something like “for evey one person you get to sign up for our blockbuster we’ll give you $10”, which in their eyes is probably worth it based on the revenue form the average customer. then after the offer-comany (the one giving away the free stuff) has totalled up all of these deals (which is why they are categorized, to make them profit) they have made enough money to cover all of their expenses, may whoever else, and buy your electronics. they probably receive them in bulk anyway, and already get a discount who konw.

    LAST, i can say that i, alike many other people, would NEVER have belived it had i not SEEN IT WIHT MY OWN EYES. i dang near crapped myself watching my roommate flash his new iPhone 3GS 32GB in front of me from the box…
    SO it would appear that as long as you ACTUALLY DO EVERY THING THEY TELL YOU, it may take about 4-6 weeks in total to get it and may cost you about $25-$50, but heck, isnt that worth it!? i mean cmon even if you sell the stuff for %50 off its still a HUGE profit! then take the profit and buy it from a place with a warranty heheheheh

    btw, its only a scam if its suuuuuuuuuuuper shady, or your just not diligent enough to go through all the steps. if your not – DONT TRY! youll just end up wasting time and money you didnt want to. im going to try it.

    GOOD LUCK!

  39. Anonymous Says:

    LOOK! People are scamming in the comments!
    **looks at Tom and mj**

  40. Adrian Says:

    http://www.simplyfreeipad.com this is very real… check out the gallery for all the freebies that i have received!

  41. E. Daniel Ayres Says:

    I just got an “invite” which took me into this mess from a friend of mine on facebook. IMHO anything which generates so much keyboard time from so many if the recipient of the “Free” item is to be rewarded is a “hit based” ponzi scheme, and a massive scam.

    My particular experience with these web pages got my cell phone very temporarily subscribed to a for charge messaging service which was legitimate enough that I was able to immediately unsubscribe myself.

  42. brian Says:

    wow… that`s nice

  43. Fail Says:

    Yeah. It hasn’t been released yet. I just got one when I visited this page too 0_0

  44. James Says:

    And to think that Google does “no evil” with its massive network of LIE ADS.

  45. Jay Says:

    of course these offers are scam. i saw a spam comment on one site saying these offers are legit and that the person already got his iPdad. puh-leeze! it didn’t even come out yet!

  46. Lianna Says:

    If only we learned to read the offers before we clicked and signed up. We wouldn’t be left wondering why our spam mails starting spewing “Enlarge your man parts today!” 🙂

  47. Sam T Says:

    These links you’ve posted do look suspicious, but if you read around and find a reputable site it does work. Obviously at this stage you can’t get the iPad as it’s not been released, but these websites have been around for years giving free ipods and stuff.
    And whoever said you’ll never find enough friends, an iPod nano only requires 5 friends to sign up and complete an offer (a free trial such as LoveFilm) If you really can’t find 5 friends who would take part in a free trial I feel sorry for you.
    And btw I’m not here to promote my website or anything, so why would I bother posting this if it wasn’t true?

  48. nas Says:

    t.carney@comcast.net

  49. mojo Says:

    well http://killerthoughts.com is giving away an ipad just for posting a thought on the website. but im not sure if you can post many times to get more chances to win.

  50. Matt Says:

    I wonder how many of the “this isn’t a scam” comments here are part of people trying to complete an “offer” to get a free iPad… 🙂

  51. marco Says:

    Well, in short:
    1. You can’t really get it for free
    2. You can however get one without paying a dime…for it
    3. But then that will come at a price, you will have to sign up for other paid offers to cover the expenses
    4. If you complete all steps, you do get an iPad or the company giving the offer is risking fraud
    5. cancel your subscriptions.

    enjoy your free product

  52. Dan-Dan Says:

    I have been trying to get an ipad for a while. I have signed up with alot of sites and now myemail has about 500 emails from just them. Most of them are about geting a credit card. I personaly think that these will accualy send you something. Just my opinion. Im reallysuprised that they are pretty much al fromthe same company!

  53. happy Says:

    please remove this article and the comments- I make around $1000-$2500 per day from these type of offers, so its very good money, no point in trying to spoil it

  54. Yulia Olegovna Says:

    Best way to get an Ipad is to buy it with your own money. you’ll save yourself lots of headaches, lots of hours of disclaiming your personal infor and accounts and a certain number of years in jail depending of the person who steals your identity

  55. Charlie Says:

    There is a company called TRAINN that you can sign up for. On completing the offers, you will recieve your “free” iPad or whatever gift you choose. The companies in the offers get more customers this way. They recieve lots of money. They pay TRAINN a hefty amount and TRAINN uses some of the pay to buy your gift for you. All in all, it’s still not free. You need to sign up for a lot of junk that you don’t want to(And if you cancel your sign-ups, you don’t get your “free” gift) and you have to refer a certain amount of people. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to look like an idiot going around asking my friends to sign up. It is indeed free, but it’s not worth the time and effort. It would be easier just to buy one.

  56. Yinka Says:

    Is this comp still running?

  57. ster Says:

    Some of you here are DEFENDING these companies saying they are not “scams”.

    Well, I disagree.

    Technically, they may not be illegal and may send out the products in the end, but they are MISLEADING, NOT HONEST about themselves, incessantly LIE in their advertising and MISREPRESENT what they are doing. They also do not tell people UP FRONT what they have to do. How many people would even bother if they knew.. UP FRONT.. what was required. And no… saying “complete two offers” does not do it — there is more than that, you know it, and the people wanting to complete “two offers” do not know how long and complicated those can be.

    Sure, overcharging people at a car repair shop may not be a scam or illegal because they fixed the problem, but it’s dishonest and bad business. Something I would never be a part of… I have a conscience.

    IF YOU CANNOT MAKE MONEY HONESTLY, PERHAPS YOU DO NOT DESERVE TO MAKE ANY!

  58. ster Says:

    The latest SCAM that is going around is that there is a “glitch” on the website so you get your iPad for free, without having to complete any offers.

    It says HURRY before they find out!

    Searching the ‘net and I’ve found that this has been going around for over a week now.

    And when you get there… yes, you still have to complete offers.

    Again… like I said… LYING in their advertising. = SCAM

  59. Katie Says:

    This one sounds very suspect but there are some real deals out there.

  60. Julie Says:

    that is report is so hilarious, but also so true, i just fell for one of those scams on google and it said that u can get a free ipad if u complete surveys…but i read the fine print and this is what the print said——-1) register with valid information; 2) complete the user survey; 3) complete at least 2 Silver, 2 Gold and 5 Platinum offers. Available offers will vary and some offers may require a purchase to qualify. Receipt of your item requires compliance with offer terms, including: age and residency requirements; registration with valid email address, shipping address and contact phone number; completion of user survey and sponsor promotions; and not canceling your participation in more than two Sponsor Offers within 6 days of your Sponsor Offer Initial Transaction Date (the Cancellation Limitation). SO THIS IS A BUNCH OF BULL!!!! THANK U HARRY FOR EXPOSING THOSE LIERS…I LIKE THE WAY U TWEAKED THE ADS..THAT WAS SOOO FUNNY!

  61. Ian Says:

    Hi all, Just to clear things up for the non believers – and this is the gospel!

    To get any gadget for free you must complete the following steps.

    1. Sign up to the freebie site (your data is completely safe – no spam with the sites that I use – Guaranteed)

    2. Complete ONLY ONE of the sponsored offers – YES ONLY ONE – Some offers are free and some will cost you £10 but complete only one !
    (some of the othere freebie sites want more than one offer completed!)

    3. Get some others/friends to complete step 1 (using your referral link) and step 2 (complete JUST ONE offer)

    It’s as simple as that! Some sites require up to 10 offers and some sites are not legit!!!

    Take a look through my site:

    http://www.free-console.co.uk

    for more info – and yes if you click on a link from my site it will be my referral link!

    Hope this helps out 🙂 (or drop me an email from my site)

    Cheers

    Ian

  62. Craig Says:

    Harry….Why are you allowing all this scam/spam in your comments?

  63. Alexis Faith Says:

    Nice investigation! Haha! But I think not all marketing activities are scam. Most just want to attract customers for legitimate purposes. You can try winning iPads here. Koobits is giving away 4 iPads. 1 for just a simple tweet and 3 for creating something with their software. I tried it and it’s not bad. 3 iPads are enticing. I could use them for my class.

  64. singer11 Says:

    since many of you say that there are many legit sites out there, does any one know of any?? just curious because it would be kind of nice to get my hands on some pricey products for free. any help would be appreciated!

  65. Ian Says:

    @ Craig

    Craig mate, check it out properly for yourself and you will find that there is now scam!

    Cheers

    Ian

    www-console.co.uk

  66. Martha Says:

    I just got a similar offer from a friend in an email. I clicked the link (stupid – better-gifts.net). The first thing I read was the privacy policy which raised HUGE red flags. Then I read the terms, in plain English but so cryptic as to be incomprehensible. From the article above, it looks like the main goal is to get you to sign up for recurring shipments/payments with the teaser of a free trial, which of course must be canceled.

    This may be legal but that doesn't mean it isn't a scam.

  67. Will from Freeapple Says:

    It's amazing how people don't believe in advertising, getting an ipad is just another form of advertising!

  68. iPad Free Says:

    I would just first like to thank you for the research on the free ipad offers but I'm not sure if it is totally legit yet.

  69. Yinka Says:

    No these sites are not scams! Some i agree are. But most are not. It is simply affiliate marketing and how this new marketing phenomenon companies are reverting to as adverts are becoming more expensive. These companies are the ones who pay for gifts such as a free Ps3 or other top of the range gifts. These items are not just coming out from nowhere! And if it was a scam i doubt reputable companies such as LoveFilm would become affiliated with them! Head over to My Free Ps3 for more info about affiliate marketing and it's rewards.

  70. Ian Says:

    I would suggest peeps do a thorough investigation themselves as there are lots of misleading comments on here.
    Free stuff is possible and easily achievable. Check out http://www.free-console.com for more info!

    🙂

  71. get free ipads Says:

    great post about the ipad, i found methos to get them free online

  72. Mr.G Says:

    It's ironic that at the time I was looking at this page (08/10/10), there was an ad for a free ipad, just above the comments. It wasn't a screenshot either, it was an actual ad replete with an "ad.doubleclick.net" link that took you to their website ("best jobs ever" or some such). Apparently nothing is sacred..!

  73. Harry McCracken Says:

    The ad you saw was from Dice, and it's legit…

    Thanks,

    –Harry

  74. Nathan Lair Says:

    I actually did complete an offer at exclusivegiftcards.com and got $500 american visa in the mail yesterday. It took many hours of work and a lot of fine print reading, and rule following but if you get to the end of the maze, Net Radiance DOES pay out…Just depends if you have the patience and following directions EXACTLY.

  75. Nathan Lair Says:

    "american express" not american visa typo lol

  76. linda Says:

    I come from the school anything that sounds too good to be true IS too good to be TRUE.. free my @$$ if you have to fill out anything other than your address they are asking for too much.. no surveys no other offers or email address… IN MY HUMBLE OPINION it boils down to BEWARE>>> and RUNRUNRUN

  77. Freebiejeebies Says:

    Harry, you've had so many hits on this site, why not slap up your own referral link and try it out? Agreed its not the easiest to get these free gifts, but it does work. Its a brilliant way for people who would rather do something constructive (build a website etc) with their evenings over watching crappy eastenders or some other mind killing soap opera.

  78. ledfrog Says:

    As I was typing my comment to address of these concerns of these offers being scams, I decided to create a blog post instead since it was getting kind of long. I'd advise anyone wishing to see another viewpoint on the matter or anyone that still thinks these offers are all scams to check out my post. Hopefully we can put this matter to rest once and for all!

    For those of you who still want to think of these sites as scams, try to remember what "scam" means.
    http://www.ledfrog.com/2010/08/free-ipad-ipod-iph

  79. Ian Says:

    If you want a detailed run down of how a LEGIT site works then have a look at:
    http://www.free-console.co.uk

    there is enough advice on there for you to decide whether it's real or not

    Cheers

  80. Sterrenstages Says:

    Are there still persons who will fall for this kind of "marketing". Sorry for them.

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  83. star Says:

    Hey,

    Check out this new site I found called GiftMonkey.com. They give away free high end Laptops, Video Game Consoles, iPods, Plasma TVs, and they even have GPS Navigation Systems.

    This site is different from all of those others. They don't give you a time limit, and they don't make you signup for 10 sponsors yourself. All you have to do is try one of their sponsored offers like eBay (which doesn't cost anything), refer your friends, and they ship your free gift to your door, also free!

    Follow my link to get started: http://www.GiftMonkey.com/?s=158759

  84. ryan Says:

    I used http://www.YouriPad4free.com/index.php?ref=651330… signed my 10 people up and it worked for me.

  85. Dustin Says:

    lol aLL of them are scams! i scaned all of them and it said that there is 307 infections would be made!!!

  86. Wanda Says:

    wandamcrorie@att.net

  87. Wanda Says:

    facebook ID # 100001585801621

  88. AppleBites Says:

    We should start our own 10 ppl fullfillment trading database.

  89. AppleBites Says:

    Well, it seems that if you are an unemployed lawyer / accountant, that you can actually fullfill the requirements for pennies on the dollar. I will let you know.

  90. astrid Says:

    no coment…………….

  91. Ken Says:

    I got a Wii for around $20 dollars with doing a similar thing and a PS3 for about $60, so they do work and some of them are not scams.

  92. DOnr it before Says:

    It really is possible to get the free items, but also a pain in the behind. When the iTouch came out several years ago, I wanted one, and decided to test out one the "freebie" sites to see how legit it was. I got a prepaid card (many of the sponsors also accept paypal), and used a majicjack number that doesn't ring to me anyway. I searched for an offer that offered other things I've been wanting or didn't mind trying and set a limit on my spending. I think, my limit was $100.

    I was pregant at the time and just moved in to a new home, so I focused on kids' stuff (the Disney DVD club and Dr. Suess book deals). I also targeted things that weren't subscription based (i.e. the Entertainment book, it's a one-time shot and nothing to remember to cancel).

    I also ordered – the Ionic Breez for the babies room ($79.95, free shipping & handling). And mineral makeup. Overall, I spent maybe a hundred dollars and got the iTouch ($299).

    I;m considering doing the ipad offer.

  93. josiahstaggs Says:

    These sites can work though. It's already been stated but some companies like freebiejeebies will get you a free ipad if you do one paid offer then refer a few friends to do the same. It's a neat way to do it. http://freeipadgear.com has some offers. It's a pretty legit site, on top of having tips, apps and news about the ipad.

  94. Demetric Nickerson Says:

    i really want a free ipad.

  95. Godan Says:

    Always hoping to have an iPad to play with these days! This device is really awesome, not to mention the functions and features it has. Looking forward to get one for free. I believe in it!

  96. Just_T Says:

    From the above comments, it re-enforces the fact that it is cheaper to buy an ipad from a retailer than to sign up for a MLM scam. Just sayin…

  97. Bob Says:

    http://www.YouriPad4free.com/index.php?ref=676062

    Worked for me, going for number two! Its easy, just do one offer, and refer 10 people to do the same. Follow my link and get started!

  98. Patty Says:

    How did you do it & is it authentic ?

  99. Belinda Says:

    Hi I am in Melbourne Australia and keep hearing on a current affair programs how people really do receive free legitimate free stuff so I signed up to get the emails but every single one of them says complete 2 silver rewards 1 gold etc and it states that some may require activating a credit card, all of which make me exit the offers but some are really good, has anyone done these succesfully and received anything please advise

  100. Dorian Bloom Says:

    OK every one 🙂 I've read like 20 minutes of coments …
    The idea is that is not moral advertising but it is Legal advertising. The Terms of service are clearly stated on the fron page according to the lattest compliance regulations.

    yeah, I agree it is deceptive but it is not more deceptive that regular advertising made to make you want, feel, hope some spectacular changes of your life IF you buy some product. Come on…

    Last but not the least if you are looking for REAL free stuff opportunities I might susgest you this 2 websites :

    1. http://mysocialcoins.com/ – you get free farmville gift cards, cityville , mafia wars gift cards. You DO have to sign up for offers but you get rewarded ONLY for the free steps (as in free beer). For ex. submiting your email to 10 sponsored offers will get you a 10 $ Farmville Gift Card.

    2. http://foropportunities.net/about/ – Giveaway classified ads. the majority of the classified ads there are submited by regular people. Most likely …No, the will not give you a Free Ipad but there wil be a good collection of free stuff.
    there it wil soon be a forum on free offers to discuss and report the fake offers/scams but also to sugest real free offers.

    I hope it helps.

  101. Noah Says:

    what is the link to the fb ad? i'd like to tweak the url too

  102. Yasuko Nein Says:

    Definitely believe that which you stated. Your favorite reason appeared to be on the net the easiest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I definitely get irked while people think about worries that they just don’t know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top as well as defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people can take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thanks

  103. samantha Says:

    I very much enjoyed your rant and warning… delightful .. thanks for making me smile.
    xoxo

  104. Koowie Says:

    When it's too good to be true, it normally is.

  105. sev Says:

    Here in Texas they are even advertising this scam on the radio, it's ridiculous! All these people who are willing to jump through these hoops must be teenagers with lots of time and daddy's credit card :/

  106. raviv Says:

    PYRAMID !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Yes for the first ones it might be a good deal. they spend less than 100$ on this offers and get 500$ IPAD.
    But – they did convince 10 friends to do the same = 100X10 = 1000$ for a 500$ IPAD.

    wait, but your friend can also bring 10 people and win this IPAD.

    some math – 10X10X10 … very soon it's the whole population of the world.
    meanning, along the way, your friend (or thier friends) will not be able to get 10 people to do the same. it means your friends along the way will loose money in order for you to win.

    are you sure you are thier friend ?

    this is why these people try to convince people they do not know on ebay, facebook etc.
    if you do not know someone what do you care if he looses.

    think about it you bustered (or morally-stupid).

  107. Luc from free ipad Says:

    Everyone has a right to their own opinion. What's the point of fighting about it, if we will still believe in our own truths?

    I actually spent a lot of time Googling, looking for ways to get a free ipad in Canada, and it was not easy to find them. I tried them all. From this experience, I can tell you, that entering iPad contests is a much better way to get a free iPad than completing offers for them. At least I wasn't lucky with it.

  108. sylvia Says:

    i have always wanted an ipad but i could not aford it

  109. Ellen Says:

    I HAD SIGNED UP FOR A COUPLE A FEW DAYS AGO AND NOW FEEL GUILTY FOR FALLING FOR A POSSIBLE SCAM. MY IPAD IS NOT HERE YET BUT I'M GIVING IT A MONTH. SO FAR I HAVE NOT GOTTEN ANY CALLS BUT I HAVE GOTTEN EMAIL SPAM, WICH I NEVER CHECKS SO AS FAR AS I KNOW, NO AMAGE

  110. Jennifer Says:

    I haven't tried any of the free ipad offers, but I can tell you that I have received four free (I didn't spend over $30 on the offers to get any of them) ipods over the years from various offers. As everyone else mentions, you do have to follow the instructions to the letter and make sure to cancel the offers you sign up for. It really isn't that hard if you're organized. I wish I could find a legitimate offer for the ipad–I'd for sure try it again.

  111. jatesha Says:

    i so really want a new ipad i hope its not a scam

  112. tbray09 Says:

    Any company using the image of an Apple device is in violation of Apple's trademarks and copyrights. Just report them to Apple 😉

  113. David Says:

    give me the link for the third from the bottom please anybody

  114. Got my free iPad 2 Says:

    If you're from the UK, check here: http://www.thefreeipadsite.co.uk. I signed up 8 weeks ago, got my referrals and my free iPad 2 is in the post! YIPPEE! It is possible to get it for free, with a bit of effort.

  115. Aleighyah Says:

    u guys r awsoe my family could never afford it i dont even have a phone yet.

  116. Don Martin Says:

    Great offers. Thanks for the share.

  117. free iPad 4 kids Says:

    I know giving a child a $500 piece of high tech machinery may seem like
    a crazy idea, but you will be amazed at how the touch screen technology
    makes it so incredibly easy for children to interface with this device.
    At first, letting my 2 year old daughter play with our iPad was just
    something to amuse her for the time being, but we didn’t expect her to
    become so proficient with it so quickly. In no time she was downloading
    apps, and playing games without any supervision.

  118. Daelisa picott Says:

    free i pad is nice for school

  119. Jack Says:

    You can truly get free ipads and other gadgets! It works through affiliate marketing and not!!! pyramid schemes

  120. guest Says:

    a free iPad means you put in your address and they send it to you without question. anything else and they are not being honest with you. sorry it's just not any more complex than that…..if you need to resound to any "free" add you are probably an unemployed lowlife anyway.

  121. lisa Says:

    i suggest you go on quibids and bid for one. I saw a guy bid and he won it for 1 cent.but each time you bid it takes 60 cents of your credit card so he just won it for 60.once i actually did one but i knew it was a scam because it wanted my credit card number and guess what?I dont have a credit card so i put in a fake to test it and it said the credit card number was legit.so the next time it wants your credit card number test it first and if it says its fake then go on and test it some more and i didnt even do ads it just said it will arrive in 2 weeks and 3 weeks past no ipad to be found.

  122. john Says:

    Here's a suggestion. If you're willing to do all the above for an iPad, save yourself the trouble, go to the nearest macstore and BUY one.

  123. sebastian Says:

    i have went thru one that even had the trademark and stuff and it was exactly the same! I'm only 10 but god it's annoying

  124. Trevor Says:

    Giveaway sites are the way to go. Once you know what you're doing, you can get free gadgets on a regular basis, and you won't look back. Check out http://www.thefreeipadsite.com for hints and tips on how to get the most out of it

  125. Roger Brown Says:

    Yes. There are indeed a lot of sites that give away iPads. You should check out http://www.freeipadx.net, in my opinion their method is amazing, I used their method and got my iPad 2 FREE!

  126. Anthony Says:

    Amazing, I thought I was the only who knew http://www.freeipadx.net worked! You guys should check it out. This website works unlinke some others.

  127. Anthony Says:

    Roger and Anthony. Thanks for sharing http://www.freeipadx.net 🙂 Loving the method.

  128. Deitra Pawley Says:

    i signed up to get free laptops,gift cards to restaurants,ipads etc. I don't mind the optional offers,I hate hate hate the Gold ,Silver, Platinum offers,they all require some sort of purchase.If I had money I wouldn't want a free item.

  129. sammy Says:

    If I have to pay even one cent for some offer to get an item, then by definition it was not free. So if you don't call these scams, then at the very least they are very sketchy, unethical business practices.

  130. Steve Says:

    Just got a similar offer for the iPhone 5. They are back at it! As secret as Apple is do you thing they would have me test it? No way!

  131. iPad Says:

    hmm always wondered if these ipads are free or not

  132. samson volant Says:

    i hope you send it …………….

  133. angela Says:

    I used this site as well,… In 2004 i got a $300 visa gift card.. In 2005 I got an ipod, in 2006, I got a hp laptop and a 42 inch samsung plasma… you have to make sure you cancel the trials after being a mamber for 30 days or you will get charged up the wazoo I prob spent $100 for each 'gift' this is legit, just READ THE TERMS and FOLLOW DIRECTIONS. 🙂

  134. Taliyah Says:

    This website is not a scam he tells you what your really dealing with.

  135. khezar Says:

    i dont know how to get this ipad

  136. admin@skatevideoplace.in Says:

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  137. lyssa Says:

    hell is this a scam i tryed going online for free ipads but im to affardt

  138. yeeah Says:

    hello
    this is a scam i sighed up for that and they scammed me there calling me evry 5 mins knocking on my door no joke

  139. goodfucker Says:

    fake!!!!

  140. Iesha Dennis Says:

    How I wish I can have an iPad before 2011 ends? iPad is one of the most innovative products this year and almost all people in the world want it.

  141. Learn French Says:

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  142. Diamond Says:

    i really hate those ads and have to buy something afterwards, y cnt u jus get the free offer and b done with it for participating in it dang. they got other offer too now. they also got receive a free $500 dollar gift cards or $100 dollar gifts cards from walmart or victoria secret. i jus hate these offers and i wish they quit sending it to me. im better off jus buying the things for full price cuz all they want to do is mess up our credit cards scores and i dnt have tyme to b gettin in trouble for scams. well thank for the heads up i kno now wat to do jus CLICK ON THE "X" IN THE RIGHT HAND CORNER AT THE TOP TO EXIT OFF. KML

  143. Eternal Says:

    My boyfriend went through all of the "offers", signed up for them, did all the necessary stuff and never received one, so did I. We were careful, got confirmation it was being sent, and it never showed up. A computer that is. We sent threatening email, phone calls and received nothing back in the way of a response, so those were scams of the marketing world.

  144. Avi K Says:

    I wrote about this at length: http://www.tiedotcafe.com/2012/01/is-it-possible-

  145. Haylee Says:

    I get things saying "you won a free ipad2! choose a color/type, enter your email, phone number,ect……
    My uncle Jeff says "Its a scam honey, they onle want your personal information to do bad things with it"

    my question is,,,
    How do you tell if its a scam. I know the "if its to good to be true it probably is", but this one thing I saw said that they would sell me and ipad for $60 or less on the C2Coffer website and i was wondering if that whole place is a scam too.

  146. Haylee Says:

    i want an ipad soooo bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  147. Russ T Says:

    nice but i bet there scams anything so good wont last they just want your info and creditcard info

  148. shanti_devi Says:

    I've got an idea: why not just ask your 20 friends for $40 dollars each and save them and you the trouble of bogus scams?

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