[james_8970]

i'm sry but i think that you are wrong in every which way(dsqrd2). The only thing that i can agree with you here is that they are "free products". Telling 10 people about a product or website is NOT worth a 400$ product. And yes i do believe that a company can run for 5 years anywhere while scamming people. The audience they arre atracting (teenagers) and don't think before they do something on a computer (as most do have to much computer knowledge). If something says free they dive for it, it just seems automatic for most. I do not think its worth the risk nor worth the time, it's pointless and a scam all together! After all how are they going to get thier money back even if they do finally end up giving you something which few do, at what cost will it come on your side? Possibly frying your friends computers for sending them that e-mail to go to such and such URL, or would it be infecting everyone's computer including your own? They have to make the money back some how. And at who's expense? It's not worth it, PERIOD
James

[Advertisements]

This thread has run its course, and is now going to end up just having spam links entered. Closed.

[Kat]

This thread has run its course, and is now going to end up just having spam links entered. Closed.

[dsqrd2]

My last post on this topic was removed and the topic locked to prevent me replying with more spam. Previous ipods thread I apologise if my post sounded like spam or a company employee. I in no way affiliated with either of the company or website mentioned in deleted post. You would have also noted the disguised link did not contain any referal information. I'm an aussie student who has watched all these 'free ipod sites' offer ipods to US residents in the past and am now aware that some offer to Aussies so I would like to post an objective topic to let aussies know whats happening. Here is an edited and ammended version of that post.

***
You are all very cynical of the free ipod offers. Various companies (Names withheld to avoid being tagged as spam) have been operating sites now in the US for over 5 years (and i know this from personal net experience) and have 'given' away over US$XXmillion in gifts (figure withheld so it cannot be linked to forementioned deleted company and post tagged as spam). They now offer various gifts such as PSP, PS3, Xbox360, Laptops, Video Ipods and ipod nanos. There are plenty of piggy back ideas, some scams, some legimate, but do you really think an established name company can con the US population for 5 years on promises of free ipods yet never actually following through? My answer would be yes. If you agree then you are condemning the intelligence of the USA. If you disagree then you are saying that it is possible that there may be some truth to this. Your choice...

Now of course there are catches, you have to sign up for an offer and refer X number of friends to do the same. The offers may range from free to $1 trial subscribtion to depositing $50 or more into online gaming. Its up to the individual to choose which offer they can afford to complete for a 'free' ipod. They should also take full responibility by reading the terms and conditions thoroughly before completing an offer.

Everyone know there is no such thing as a free lunch and that is correct in this situation too. This is a marketing concept where the public is drawn to advertisers with the lure of free stuff. The advertisers pay the 'free stuff site' advertising and referals fees, who in turn provide said free stuff to public and pocket the difference. When a person fails to yield the required number of referals there will be no cash outflow for 'free ipod site'. = greater profit.

****

so..excuse us for being cynical...is a free ipod realy worth the possibility of being infected with loads of virrii and malware? i think not

Previous ipods thread

Yes there is a risk of being infected with Malware, but given the title of this forum, I assume this post is being read by a computer literate sample of the population that have their computer more than adequately protected against this sh!t and also know not to install any potential security threats that a webiste asks.

Another concern is that the company may sell your contact details in violation of the privacy act. I am aware that a new law has been passed or drafted in the US that prevents companies from cold calling potential clients unless a prior business relationship has been established. However by entering into an agreement with "free ipod site" or associated offer site you may be entering into a business arrangement and therefore be subject to junk mail from these companies. Read the fineprint.

If anyone is going to do it then make sure you read up on the company first, there are some scams, there always have been and there always will be. There are also a lot of forums devoted entirely to gaining free stuff. These forums provide lists of repuable sites and also blacklisted scam sites. I'm sure you geeks know how to do a google search, so get involved and get free sh!t.

I've spent my $1 on the offer through (extensive reasearch from what i believe to be ) a reputable site, I avoided the malware and now on my quest for a free ipod. It may take a week, maybe months, maybe not at all and If I remember i'll keep you guys updated.

Edited by dsqrd2, 28 February 2006 - 11:22 PM.

[warriorscot]

Its not at all feasible thats the problem, you have to give out your credit card and personal details to usually more than one company you have to trust that they wont sell it and have adequate security to protect those details.

If it were easy and doable it would be a true scam as it wouldnt be cost effective the only way it works is that its difficult to do, because fat luck trying to get 10 of your mates to sign up to a bunch of crap possibly costing them money only to get you an ipod and you cant then reregister and do the same for them. The only way to do it fairly is to commit a crime yourself by holding multiple identities and credit cards under those identities.

And yes people from the US are idiots, so are people from the UK and the EU and all over the world, because people for the most part are idiots in one way or another in there own special way and for most that seems to involve he word free, nothing in life is free and neither are these ipods.

Dude this really really sounds like a sales pitch.

[dsqrd2]

sorry Kat - last two posts in http://www.geekstogo...showtopic=98273 weren't listed - for some unknown reason - when i posted this new thread, not realising why thread was locked. feel free to close this post and delete it only if you feel that my post contains spam. Otherwise I would like the information to remain for all to read.

[dsqrd2]

Dude this really really sounds like a sales pitch.

Maybe it is a sales pitch, but only selling an idea, not a company or nor am i benefitting from this post in anyway. For me to do that I would have to post my referal links.

However this is only my perspective on the issue. One person. Anyone even remotely considering this idea should definately read as much as possible on forums and blogs all over the web from 1.1.1.1 to 999.999.999.999 (feel free to slam me on the technical IP details there) and form their own opinion. The negative posts may be cynics or the very harsh truth from people who really have been scammed. The positive posts may be company employees/spammers posing with their free gifts or they may be true stories. If you only find postive threads on a specifc company, keep looking, try other forums.
There are many potential risks, credit card fraud, identity fraud, spam, malware and viruses. Read up good and take everything with a grain of salt.

And yes people from the US are idiots, so are people from the UK and the EU and all over the world,

Yes we have lots of idiots in Australia. And morons too.

.. for most that seems to involve he word free, nothing in life is free and neither are these ipods.

Exactly... there is no such thing as a free lunch. Even if that free lunch is being provided by your school or workplace, you or someone else will be paying for it in an indirect manner, through time or labour that could be better used somewhere else. These are not free ipods, you have to devote time and effort and in a lot of cases money to pay for an offer. as mentioned in previous post from $0 to greater than $50 dollars for you and your X friends (where X is a 'free ipod site'-specific variable). At that cost it is more of a subsidised ipod. But no one would buy into the pitch "get your subsidised ipod today!!!"
As with referals, that topic is dealt with on many pure free sh!t forums. It is possible to do it and not commit fraud I won't even mention the method as that will open a whole other debate with both positive and negatives.

Edited by dsqrd2, 28 February 2006 - 11:25 PM.

[Kat]

I think I will leave this open. It could turn in to a pretty good debate. Everyone just remember to NOT be name calling. Let's keep it friendly, and on topic.

Also moving this to the Coffee Shop, where debates and such belong.

[ScHwErV]

Threads merged.

[fleamailman]

Me, I am not an ipod fan, think they are overpriced for their capacity, perfer spliting it between a 40gb external harddrive for storage and a mp3 player, not because of the strings that ipod place on their music but simply that the loss of mp3 player through an accident or theif is not such a big deal.

[ScHwErV]

Me, I am not an ipod fan, think they are overpriced for their capacity, perfer spliting it between a 40gb external harddrive for storage and a mp3 player, not because of the strings that ipod place on their music but simply that the loss of mp3 player through an accident or theif is not such a big deal.

What does this have to do with the topic?

[warriorscot]

ScHwErV its fleamailman you should know by now going off topic is his calling.
And in the theme of OT.
I also am not an ipod fan, i prefer sony or creative, the creative players are almost always technically better players, but people buy ipods cause they are pretty really and its easy to start off with, mind you my NWA walkman looks much better than any ipod and it can take a beating and it has battery life, nothing worse than listening to your tunes and they cut out when youre on the train home.

Holy crap ScHwErV i just noticed itll be your 1 year anniversary of g2g tommorow.

[james_8970]

dear dsqrd2,
don't know why you are so convinced that you are really going to get anything but here i go....again.
1. If the privacy act was going to stop anything on the web we wouldn't have malware.
2. When it comes to the computer 99% of the population arn't what i'd call compuer literate, they're just waiting for an accident to happen.
3. Let me know when that ipod arrives in the mail and at what cost it comes at.
4. Malware rarely askes for your premission to go on to your computer just a few(very few) programs.
5. Free services like this support forum is a compleatly different thing compared to free products. The differences are time donated and giving something to someone that has a real value.
6. When or if they ask you for some personal information such as home address and credit card number they are pretty well getting all the information they need to redirect you mail traffic to another loaction for fraud.
7. There are criminals in this world and there arn't going to warn you before they do something...keep that in mind!
8. And telling friends about the site or whatever you're refuring to up there i would have to say is not worth 400$ to the person that would be "paying" for this.
James

Edited by james_8970, 01 March 2006 - 05:12 PM.

[Kat]

6. When or if they ask you for some personal information such as home address and credit card number they are pretty well getting all the information they need to redirect you mail traffic to another loaction for fraud.

This is the reason I would never participate in such scams..and SCAM is the word I use for it. Sure, you may actually get an ipod, or dvd player, or whatever...but at what cost? Selling your personal information? Selling out your family and friends? No thanks.

[dsqrd2]

dear dsqrd2,
don't know why you are so convinced that you are really going to get anything but here i go....again.
1. If the privacy act was going to stop anything on the web we wouldn't have malware.
2. When it comes to the computer 99% of the population arn't what i'd call compuer literate, they're just waiting for an accident to happen.
3. Let me know when that ipod arrives in the mail and at what cost it comes at.
4. Malware rarely askes for your premission to go on to your computer just a few(very few) programs.
5. Free services like this support forum is a compleatly different thing compared to free products. The differences are time donated and giving something to someone that has a real value.
6. When or if they ask you for some personal information such as home address and credit card number they are pretty well getting all the information they need to redirect you mail traffic to another loaction for fraud.
7. There are criminals in this world and there arn't going to warn you before they do something...keep that in mind!
8. And telling friends about the site or whatever you're refuring to up there i would have to say is not worth 400$ to the person that would be "paying" for this.
James

Back to you James

1&4. We both agree that malware and viruses are a very real threat to all computer users.

Yes there is a risk of being infected with Malware

2. I also agree that if most of the computer using population drove their car like they run their computer then the road would be a very unsafe place. I'm not sure about the figure 99% because I know from a very reliable source that 73% of all statistics are made up. Actually I found your source - nice work ScHwErV

About 99% of computer problems sit in front of the monitor

3. Will let you know if, when and how the iPod arrives. - if- It’s a risk I have taken.

5. In no way did I compare this site to a 'free iPod site' and in other words have already stated in economic terms that nothing is free -

there is no such thing as a free lunch

This forum provides a 'free' service, other sites provide 'free' iPods + many other 'free' sites from wallpapers, [bleep] & mp3s. While I'm not questioning the value, a dollar amount cannot be placed on the intangible service this forum provides. Based on the assumption that 'free iPod site' is legitimate, a dollar value can be placed on iPod and postage. Back to the first sentence, nothing is free, there is always cost involved to someone, somewhere, whether that be monetary cost or time cost.

6. From my experience, I gave my details not c/card, to 'free iPod site'. The offer I completed was a new trial service for movies on demand through Australia's largest Telco and internet supplier. So I am confident my details will be safe. Offers involved are through large banks, worldwide video chains and music distribution services. That said there are also a lot of offers involved with online gambling and other potentially untrustworthy sites. Which offer an individual takes depends on the personal preference on who they feel safe giving there details to. If a name brand offer (sometimes the case), is not available then a greater risk will be taken IF the individual goes ahead.

7. already acknowledged

there are some scams, there always have been and there always will be

8.This point is based on the assumption that the 'free iPod site' is legitimate.
I have no idea on advertising or referral costs, this is my view and open to correction.
‘free iPod site’ receives a fee for advertising and additional fees each referral that completes an offer. I think we can all agree on this.
‘free iPod site’ has been around for years, generating thousands if not millions of hits worldwide. Can probably agree on that.
The amount of traffic generated would allow the site to charge a higher advertising fee than sites with less traffic.
Legitimate advertiser offers credit card application, cheap DVDs ect, with the hope that Customer will return for repeat business. Does not necessarily happen but there is a chance the customer may have ‘needed’ the service but didn’t previously realise it.
Potentially dodgy advertisers may offer trial subscriptions or trial free products (pay P&H). Both of these styles of offer will roll over into a full subscription (~$30 month give or take $X) at the end of trial period with no action necessary by customer. These sites benefit by customers forgetting to cancel subscription or finding it difficult to cancel subscription or the possibility that the customer may choose to stay on. I also spent $1 on one of these dodgy offers and although I did cancel my subscription, it took a few minutes to find out exactly how to do it. I have not been billed since.
In terms of referral costs, maybe completely irrelevant to internet referral costs – (that is a referral who completes an offer, not a redirection to a site) I have met people at uni who work as those annoying people in airports and shopping centres offering you credit cards. For every legitimately completed form, not accepted client – they receive $30. Different people but still direct sales - For converting a household from one electricity provider to another with no lock in contract they receive $30. Based on that I assume that ‘free iPod site’ would receive similar referral fees. However that is only $240 for 8 referrals. A 30gB iPod retails at $299 is the US. That’s a loss of $59 per iPod. So how do these sites make money? Their terms are – you must sign up, complete an offer, and refer 8 friends to sign up and complete the offer using your referral link. and one point that I didn’t initially read is all referrals and offers must be completed in 90 days
It should be easy to see where they make money but I’ll give a few examples.
• Person sign up, complete offer but only gets 7 friends to sign up - $210 income
• Person sign up, complete offer and forget it - $30 income
• Friend signs up but doesn’t use correct referral link, first person has to find extra referral.
• Once signed up a person cannot become a friends referral which was already noted

only to get you an iPod and you cant then reregister and do the same for them

Now I believe I have covered most issues quite thoroughly but one of my questions that has not been answered to my liking.

Do you really think an established name company can con the US population for 5 years on promises of free iPods yet never actually following through?

One reply was

yes i do believe that a company can run for 5 years anywhere while scamming people. The audience they are attracting (teenagers) and don't think before they do something on a computer (as most do have to much computer knowledge). If something says free they dive for it, it just seems automatic for most.

But with the US population around 295,734,134 people (http://www.cia.gov/c...r/2119rank.html)
and a ‘free iPod site’ generating millions of hits. Not one free iPod to anyone, a complete scam! Yet not one person out of millions has mentioned this to the authorities leading to an investigation to shut down the company. Do you really think the entire US population is that stupid, gullible, naive. I’ve change my mind and I think not.
As I previously stated, there are a lot of fraudulent sites out there, piggybacking of the success of other legitimate sites. Information and reports of these sites can be found all over the web. <insert generic search engine name here> it! I have said I may be selling an idea. That idea is not for all of you to go out and get a free iPod using my referral links that I haven’t provides anyway. It is the idea that maybe, just maybe there could be some legitimate sites out there that will actually give you an iPod or other gifts if you complete the offers and comply to their terms and conditions. I’ve read reports that it does exist, some far off land where the grass is green and the sun shines all the time. But I’ve had no experience with it myself. So this is my personal mission, I’ve already taken the risks now I have to comply with the terms and conditions and refer friends to do the same. If I succeed in that and fail to receive an iPod, then and only then can I yell SCAM. If I fail to complete everything required then I can only call this a null experiment and I would have lost $1 and some time referring friends. In actual fact I’ve spent more time contributing to this ‘free’ forum.

D²

[james_8970]

Time to get to buisness
1. Where do you get the idea that they make millions of hits? Also a hit doesn't mean 1 visitor.
2. I'm not the only one who has said that they believe that this is a complete scam.
3. I don't think americains are stupid, gullible nor naive, the fact of the matter is that what kind of evidence do you have to support yourself on creating a case, saying that it happend doesn't flow it courts you need hard core evidence
4.

So I am confident my details will be safe.

i wouldn't think that i was safe sending scammers my personal information, how are you even sure that this is getting to the company? even if it is, how do you know that the site isn't viewing it for thier personal gain.
5.

The amount of traffic generated would allow the site to charge a higher advertising fee than sites with less traffic.

still laugh at that one, if they are getting what you think, thats right you think, that wouldn't even come close to paying thier bills.
6. Y are you so convinced that refurals are worth so much to them, if you really think 1 million people have visited the site divide it by 8 because that seems to be your magic little number, or to be fair lets do it by 10. That gives you 100 000 right? then multiply by 30$ that gives you 3 000 000 dollars. Clear your head for a minute here, do you really think that some web site is going to have anywhere near that? And if they do y are the throwing it away? Really think for a moment here they arn't going to have a budget of 3 000 000$ they probably have an anuel budget of 1000$....if that. It makes no sence, it seems that they have you playing thier little game and others shouldn't be draged into it. It's a waste of your time along with the time of others. Also i don't need insurence companies running after me once my account gets drained or credit card gets charged to my account that i never asked for. It's an unessissairy risk for a 400$. Is a 400$ product worth risking your life and the life of others? i think not!
James

Edited by james_8970, 01 March 2006 - 10:51 PM.