Just as good, if not better, than Free Sample Saturdays at Costco

I love getting free stuff.

In elementary school, I began collecting business cards I picked up from various places: offices I'd visit with my parents, from booths in the sundome at the state fair and while participating in the Tour of Homes. The local library even used my collection as one of its exhibits in the glass box when I was about nine or ten.

When I was in middle school, I used to look through the back of magazines and call the 1-800 numbers to obtain catalogues and such (I love getting mail too - but I'll save that for another post). High quality junk mail would follow 6-8 weeks later and I relished the (fabricated) attention.

In high school, I found myself visiting state websites to get "travel information" and ended up with a shoebox full of brochures attempting to lure me into visiting beautiful West Virginia and sunny New Mexico (which I just discarded after lugging it around from apartment to apartment over the years).

A couple years ago, I signed up for a few survey sites (I really like taking quizzes), mostly to feel as though my opinion was worth something to someone other than myself. The thing with many of these survey sites is that most of the time, you don't get any reward or appreciation for your time.* But the quality sites go even further. One such company** awards points per survey. For instance, if you take a survey and get weeded out, you get a smaller number of points than if you had been qualified to finish the survey. I've already cashed in some of my points to get a free subscription to Budget Travel magazine; just 150 more points until I can "buy" a digital voice recorder.

Another survey site sends me free samples to test and provide feedback. It doesn't happen very often, though. I've received a Logitech webcam (from a site testing a new camera-based chat application), a horrible shampoo/conditioner combination that made my hair feel like straw, and, about three weeks ago, another in-shower sample.

I think I'm prohibited from disclosing the brand name, but whatever. It's too good not to share. It's Pantene Brunette Expressions, another spin on those colour-enhancing products. I never thought I'd say this while using Pantene, but my hair feels fabulous. I keep running my fingers through it, it's so smooth. It was all due to the conditioner; the shampoo was really hard to rinse out. But you heard it here first. When this comes out on the market, go get it!***


*other than an entry into a "random $10,000 drawing!" and an occasional fridge magnet.

**I'd mention the site here, but they give points for referring people. And you should know by now that I can't get enough of those points.

***unless, that is, Pantene decides to sell it for $5.49 a bottle as the survey implied.