Do you like freebies? Who doesn’t?
But have you ever wondered how can there be something like a freebie at all?
How can somebody give you something for free without asking something in return?
These are logical questions because on the face of it, freebies don't make
sense. It is not economically feasible for anybody to hand out free things for
any length of time. At the same time it is a fact that there are lots of
freebies around on the internet.
So is there some catch? Are there some strings attached to what seems to be
free, after all? What is the truth?
The Surprising Truth About Freebies
Expectedly, most freebies do have strings. They do exact some price from you
which may not be in the terms of dollars or cents. <br>
But what is surprising is that there are lots of freebies which you can call
really free freebies. No cost or obligation or hidden catch at all. Let us have
a look at both.
Freebies With Strings
Some freebies come to you because of third party promotions. You have to look at
some ads for using them. Globe7 is an example of such freebies<br>
Other freebies work on the same principle but in a different way. They promote
their own paid services by giving you a fully functional free version with some
limitations. You can use the utility or software for free as long as you don't
mind the limitations but have to pay if you want to use its full features.<br>
Here the idea is that if a person gets used to the free version, the user is
most likely to pay for it when their needs outgrow the bounds of the free
service.
This works like this: if you have been using a free version of an application
for long you would become familiar with its workings over the time. So naturally
you would be more likely to go for its paid version if you feel that you want
those features which you can’t get with the limited version. This is because you
already know how the software works and as its free version has given you good
results, you would feel that you would get even better results with its full
version. This is subtle selling at its best.
Are Stringed Freebies of Poor Quality?
Not necessarily. Just because such freebies have a sort of hidden agenda, it
does not mean that they are necessarily of lower worth.
On the other hand such goodies generally tend to be of high quality, giving you
excellent service within their stated limitations. The reason is they have to
earn their income by successfully promoting themselves or third party products
which they can't do by handing out worthless products for long.<br>
As far as we freebie lovers are concerned, why to mind a little trumpeting on
their part if we can get a free ride with them.
The Really Free Freebies
These are the goodies that gladden the hearts of the seekers of the ultimate in
freebies. No ads, no up selling, no limited feature versions or obligations of
any kind. All offered on a silver platter for you to use and enjoy.<br>
<br>
Here I am not talking about something like free tools or widgets which you can
get quite freely though they are by no means useless.<br>
Here I am talking about full-fledged complete operating systems like Linux,
fully functional office suites or html-editors like Nvu and other resources
which work as well as, if not better than, the costly paid alternatives on the
market.
Their developers have spent lots of time and money on them and now offer them
free under open general license. Not only that, they maintain web sites so you
can download them and get support when you need it.
So why do they do this? Do they have some mission? Do they have some secret
agenda? Or are they just generous and nothing else?
Perhaps nobody can answer these questions – at least I can’t.
But one thing can be said for sure: Hats off to such freebie providers! May
their tribe increase to give us more and more of what you and I want: something
for nothing!