2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
Want freebies? Yes, please!
Website helps users get free stuff online
Issue date: 4/10/07 Section: Entertainment
By Kathleen Ramirez
Ka Leo Staff Reporter
After eating your $5 to $7 lunch on campus, you look into your wallet and find only pieces of lint and a few coins left over. Sound familiar? In a reality where most college students must pinch pennies to survive, a Web site called heyitsfree.net aims to bring freebies to everybody.
Twenty-four-year-old Ryan "Goob" Eubanks is the mastermind behind Hey It's Free. A recent graduate of the University of South Carolina who majored in History and Criminal Justice, Eubanks started this Web site in March 2006 with the intent of helping people find sites that offered company merchandise and samples for absolutely nothing.
Companies give away free samples either to promote new products or stimulate more sales of products that haven't been faring too well. Promotional freebies such as pens, hats and coffee mugs with the company logo stamped on it are also given away. Lastly, there are perks, which are freebies that are given for agreeing to do something simple, such as signing up for a newsletter or taking a short survey.
"I'm sure you've seen those flashing banner ads on Web sites that say 'Click here for a free iPod,' or 'Hit the monkey to win a free Playstation3,'" Eubanks said. "The problem was that they weren't free ... For instance I spent a total of $35 on the iPod offer. That's when I started trolling multiple sites to find legit freebies and I started posting some of my favorite ones everyday on HIF."
Web sites giving away shampoo, lotion, Gillette razors, toothpaste, laundry detergent, T-shirts and even mini-bottles of vodka have been posted on HIF. This can be a godsend for college students who want to save a couple of bucks. In the past, one company gave out "study survival kits" that featured samples of coffee and energy-soda, post-it notes, pens and candy bars.
Unlike other Web sites that require you to fill out multiple sponsor sites and refer your friends to their site, HIF only posts Web sites that ask only once for your mailing address.
Ka Leo Staff Reporter
After eating your $5 to $7 lunch on campus, you look into your wallet and find only pieces of lint and a few coins left over. Sound familiar? In a reality where most college students must pinch pennies to survive, a Web site called heyitsfree.net aims to bring freebies to everybody.
Twenty-four-year-old Ryan "Goob" Eubanks is the mastermind behind Hey It's Free. A recent graduate of the University of South Carolina who majored in History and Criminal Justice, Eubanks started this Web site in March 2006 with the intent of helping people find sites that offered company merchandise and samples for absolutely nothing.
Companies give away free samples either to promote new products or stimulate more sales of products that haven't been faring too well. Promotional freebies such as pens, hats and coffee mugs with the company logo stamped on it are also given away. Lastly, there are perks, which are freebies that are given for agreeing to do something simple, such as signing up for a newsletter or taking a short survey.
"I'm sure you've seen those flashing banner ads on Web sites that say 'Click here for a free iPod,' or 'Hit the monkey to win a free Playstation3,'" Eubanks said. "The problem was that they weren't free ... For instance I spent a total of $35 on the iPod offer. That's when I started trolling multiple sites to find legit freebies and I started posting some of my favorite ones everyday on HIF."
Web sites giving away shampoo, lotion, Gillette razors, toothpaste, laundry detergent, T-shirts and even mini-bottles of vodka have been posted on HIF. This can be a godsend for college students who want to save a couple of bucks. In the past, one company gave out "study survival kits" that featured samples of coffee and energy-soda, post-it notes, pens and candy bars.
Unlike other Web sites that require you to fill out multiple sponsor sites and refer your friends to their site, HIF only posts Web sites that ask only once for your mailing address.
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