The Basics
Is free stuff on the Net really free?
Read the firsthand accounts of those who clicked when their screens popped up offers for free iPods, laptops, trips, tickets and software. Here's what they really got and what they learned.
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You've seen the Internet ads: Click here to get your free laptop computer, iPod, trip to Bermuda . . .
Ever wondered what would happen if you tried to claim the freebie?
Generally, you'd end up earning the reward by answering surveys, completing product offers or referring friends.
To find out if the process proved worth the effort, we polled our newsletter readers for a week and asked about their experience with answering ads for free merchandise. Most responded that the freebie turned out to be anything but free.
Here is a sampling of the letters we received.
The free iPod that cost me
"I responded to a free iPod ad. After several requests to sign up for various services, I realized that the free iPod was not free at all. The killing part is, I actually did commit to a few services and have been billed for them, but because I got caught in a loop of pop-up windows and surveys, I became frustrated and did not follow through to get the free iPod.
"I keep saying that I am going contact someone about it, but being the procrastinator that I am, I just haven't gotten around to it yet." -- Rhonda
Free cell phone! What free cell phone?
"Free stuff, what a joke.
"After going through 11 questionnaires and saying no to all, you finally get to the last, and they say you must at least pick two items in order to be able to get whatever they are giving away.
"For instance, I answered a free cell phone ad and went through 11-12 questionnaires and at first it says no obligation to buy anything, but when I got to the last I must at least try magazines for 30 days and they're hoping I will forget to cancel before the 30 days. And the kicker was once I agreed to the free trial of magazines, they never ever mentioned the free cell phone again, and I will be watching and waiting to see what they do to my credit card and if I get the phone, and then that's when I will sue the company for 100 times the amount of the phone and the magazines.
More from MSN Money and Bankrate.com
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Internet scams to watch for in 2007
"By the way, once you give one company your credit card number you get charged $1 to $4.95 on your card, for other items I never heard of before and have to take the time to call them and get them to remove it.
"There should be a law against this thing." -- Bob
Free spam! Act now!
"Yes, they are all scams. There is always a 'short' questionnaire. You always have to answer many, many questions if you want this or that. You always have to give your e-mail address and other information. You always have to check 'yes' for at least one in order to qualify and continue. If you ever get to the end after 45 minutes or so -- yeah, short -- you end up having to buy or sign up for something or your name is put into a lottery for a chance to win. I, in my stupidity, have done this several times. Always thinking maybe this one is legit. Not! I have never gotten the free product or the free gift card, groceries, movie tickets, etc. Then your e-mail is bombarded with hundreds of advertisements that you can never seem to stop unless you change your e-mail address. What a deal. Moral of this story is: Nothing is free." -- Jean
Video: Are 'free' iPods worth the trouble?
"I filled out the questionnaire online for a $50 gift certificate for dinner at a well-known restaurant chain. They ask for your name and the rest of your personal information and e-mail address. Then the questionnaire opens up a new page and asks you if you would be interested in e-mails for specials on items that you could use in your life. You fill that page out then here comes another page with more questions. After about five pages I gave up. It just wouldn't quit. It was like a stupid carrot that they had hanging out there that you could never reach. I turned my computer off and said, 'Forget that!' After that I didn't check my e-mail for about a week and when I did I had over 200 spam messages, even sex ones. I never did get a dinner certificate. I had to close that e-mail account because the spam garbage would not quit. Moral of the story: There is no free lunch on the Internet." -- Sascha
"I have responded twice to freebie ads, using an alternative e-mail address and within 24 hours received hundreds of spam e-mails -- and no free anything. My perception is the purpose is to get folks to reply and then have access to their e-mail addresses." -- Bea
"After I gave my e-mail address and answered all the questions, I was informed that I had to order (buy) one item from several areas in order to receive the freebie. I canceled the 'adventure' and have been inundated with junk mail ever since. Never again. Big scam for addresses to sell, etc." -- Anita
Complete the never-ending survey
"I tried to win a few of those free products, but I am convinced they are the biggest fraud out there. For example, I spent three hours filling out questionnaires only to find out they never end, and the couple of times I got to the end they wanted me to buy something and you know what that means: They are asking for your credit card information.
"They are scam artists." -- Randy
Free (with shipping and handling)
"I purchased some software from a company that advertises if you pay for shipping you get four software titles for free.
"A few weeks later I got a $49 charge on my account. I looked up the company on the Web and none of the links I found went to the company. I tried the phone number that showed up on my statement and they simply tell you they are not available and to try back later before they hang up on you. So dissatisfied, I searched the Internet a little more only to find I wasn't the only one to be scammed. Turns out that they never tell you that you are signing up for a subscription but send you software and you have a short time frame to return it or be charged. Total scam." -- Kendal
Free (with Social Security and credit card numbers)
"I was scammed. The 'free' gift required my participation in at least six 'promotions,' each of which required signing up for a trial membership and/or paying shipping and handling fees for the information. Plus I was asked to provide credit card and Social Security numbers -- too much sensitive, private and personal information.
"The 'free' gift was never realized, and I felt scammed." -- Edward
Free (with purchase)
"Yes, I've answered ads for 'free' products. Please note the quote marks -- they're intentional. Many of the Internet freebies have extremely long forms to fill out, complete with a host of ads you need to reply 'not interested' to or else you'll receive hundreds of solicitations from various companies.
"The 'gift certificates' offered for sometimes hundreds of dollars almost always involve purchasing something, somewhere along the line or becoming a trial member of something. At which point you need to pay for your subscription or membership upfront, with the caveat it's 'fully refundable' within strict parameters. As the saying goes, there's no such thing as a free lunch!
"I do have to say that once I responded to an ad promising a free, expensive pet product in exchange for a 15-question survey. I was pleasantly surprised in its briefness and the fact that the product arrived in less than two weeks and was truly what had been offered -- an item worth about $100 retail! That was the one and only time I can say I was satisfied, and beyond what I expected!" -- Linda
This article was reported and written by Leslie McFadden for Bankrate.com.
Published March 9, 2007http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/ConsumerActionGuide/IsFreeStuffOnTheNetReallyFree.aspx
Showing posts with label Tricks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tricks. Show all posts
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Monday, March 5, 2007
How to Win CNBC's Million
How to Win CNBC's Million-Dollar Challenge
By Bill Barker
February 12, 2007
Driving to work the other day, I was listening to CNBC on my satellite radio, and I heard (for what must be the 40th time this week) that CNBC is sponsoring its "Million-Dollar Portfolio Challenge."
I got to thinking, "Hey, what's the strategy for actually winning this thing, or placing second-best? How can I share the information with as many readers as possible, so that I increase my chances of winding up in some rich person's will?"
So here's the information that I think will help improve your chances of winning (cue the drumroll, pause for effect, and zoom into the face of Dr. Evil) ...
One MILLION dollars!
(Sort of.)
Sort of?
Although this contest is advertised (and it's a pretty advertisement!) as carrying a $1 million prize, the fine print reveals that it will be paid out over 25 years as an annuity. It has a net present value of about $617,000. After taxes, it's probably worth a bit less than half a million. Definitely less if you're paying income taxes in the District of Columbia. Still, let's be sporting and round up to $500,000.
According to Wikipedia, 150,221 people entered last year. Given increased familiarity and more promotion, I'm guessing there should be 200,000 to 250,000 entrants this year. All things being equal, you've got about a 1 in 225,000 chance of winning this lottery.
But all things are definitely not equal in this game. Playing the right way, I think you can increase your odds.
Lessons from last year's winner
To promote the contest on its website, CNBC demands that you ask yourself: "Is Your Investment Strategy Worth $1 Million?" But, as you'll see, this contest has stunningly little to do with "investment strategy," and everything to do with maximum risk-taking.
Consider that last year's winner turned the notional $1,000,000 that a contestant starts with into more than $5 million in a period of only eight weeks.
Now, you might think that the winner must be a heckuva investor, which he might be. But according to MSN Money, his strategy was, after a good initial run of trading his way from the notional $1 million to $2 million, to put his whole "portfolio" into one stock.
Escala, if you can believe it. Yes, the winning "investing strategy" was to go all-in on a scandal-ridden fiasco of a company -- one that has subsequently seen its management group indicted, and the bet (no one would call it an "investing strategy") was made at a perfect moment as the stock recovered a portion of its price -- briefly, as things turned out.
Now, taking all of an actual $2 million portfolio and investing in a company embroiled in a Ponzi scheme investigation is reckless stupidity of the highest order. But within the context of an online stock-trading contest, where the winner gets a huge prize and the other couple hundred thousand players get nothing, it's brilliance.
That's because doing anything other than the riskiest thing possible with your play money is just accepting a loss. Somebody out of a couple hundred thousand people is going to at least triple his or her money over the course of the game. There's no real money to lose with a bad bet, and everything to gain by catching lightning in a bottle. Or if not everything....
One MILLION dollars!
(Sort of.)
Where's this year's Escala?
In this game, you really want to be "invested" in one or two stocks at a time. You'll do well fishing around the lowest market cap the game allows ($500 million), seeking stocks with high betas or other indicators of extreme volatility, and prices in or near the single digits. Popular, volatile stocks where emotions run high on both sides -- Rambus (Nasdaq: RMBS), Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), or Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) -- seem like good choices for the game, but really are too big to make the jumps you need. The chance that these three stocks could double quickly is infinitesimal.
Far better companies would be ones like CMGI, with a market cap of $600 million and a share prices less than $2. Sirius Satellite (Nasdaq: SIRI) has the right share price, but the market cap is bigger than I'd like. Ballard Power (Nasdaq: BLDP) is a pretty good choice, but I'm not sure what the definitive catalyst would be over the limited time period that the contest occurs.
I do know of one, though, that is virtually certain to take a violent move up or down during the contest.
All or nothing -- scheduled for March
AtheroGenics (Nasdaq: AGIX) is a stock tailor-made for this game. I learned about it from Charly Travers, our resident Rule Breakers biotech guru. It's a company with essentially all its eggs in one basket -- the drug AGI-1067, a coronary artery disease treatment, is in phase 3 clinical trials in co-development with AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN). According to the company, test results are due out in early March, and there is a huge market opportunity for the drug -- if trial results are successful. According to Charly, after results are announced, the company will either be worth much, much more, or perhaps as much as 70% less -- immediately.
Hey, that's perfect! If the trial results are announced in early March and come in positive, you'll be virtually guaranteed a spot near the top of the pile. And if it misses, you won't have to worry about the rest of the contest. You'll be out of the running quickly, with no real money ever lost.
Now, there are only two drawbacks to using Atherogenics -- at a market cap of $480 million, the company is just shy of qualifying for the game at today's price. Also, the trial news could be released just before the contest starts on March 5.
But even if AtheroGenics releases early, there are other companies in the same vein. So if you hope to compete in CNBC's game, that's my advice to you: Find a small, volatile stock with a potential catalyst coming in the next two months. It's not a good bet in real life, but it's your best bet to win ...
One MILLION dollars!
(Sort of.)
Our Motley Fool CAPS research service might be a good place to hunt for such a stock. Click here to sign up for free.
Bill Barker wants to send a shout-out to CNBC's Mark Haines for his years of professionalism. Bill owns shares of no company mentioned in this article. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/02/12/how-to-win-cnbcs-million-dollar-challenge.aspx
By Bill Barker
February 12, 2007
Driving to work the other day, I was listening to CNBC on my satellite radio, and I heard (for what must be the 40th time this week) that CNBC is sponsoring its "Million-Dollar Portfolio Challenge."
I got to thinking, "Hey, what's the strategy for actually winning this thing, or placing second-best? How can I share the information with as many readers as possible, so that I increase my chances of winding up in some rich person's will?"
So here's the information that I think will help improve your chances of winning (cue the drumroll, pause for effect, and zoom into the face of Dr. Evil) ...
One MILLION dollars!
(Sort of.)
Sort of?
Although this contest is advertised (and it's a pretty advertisement!) as carrying a $1 million prize, the fine print reveals that it will be paid out over 25 years as an annuity. It has a net present value of about $617,000. After taxes, it's probably worth a bit less than half a million. Definitely less if you're paying income taxes in the District of Columbia. Still, let's be sporting and round up to $500,000.
According to Wikipedia, 150,221 people entered last year. Given increased familiarity and more promotion, I'm guessing there should be 200,000 to 250,000 entrants this year. All things being equal, you've got about a 1 in 225,000 chance of winning this lottery.
But all things are definitely not equal in this game. Playing the right way, I think you can increase your odds.
Lessons from last year's winner
To promote the contest on its website, CNBC demands that you ask yourself: "Is Your Investment Strategy Worth $1 Million?" But, as you'll see, this contest has stunningly little to do with "investment strategy," and everything to do with maximum risk-taking.
Consider that last year's winner turned the notional $1,000,000 that a contestant starts with into more than $5 million in a period of only eight weeks.
Now, you might think that the winner must be a heckuva investor, which he might be. But according to MSN Money, his strategy was, after a good initial run of trading his way from the notional $1 million to $2 million, to put his whole "portfolio" into one stock.
Escala, if you can believe it. Yes, the winning "investing strategy" was to go all-in on a scandal-ridden fiasco of a company -- one that has subsequently seen its management group indicted, and the bet (no one would call it an "investing strategy") was made at a perfect moment as the stock recovered a portion of its price -- briefly, as things turned out.
Now, taking all of an actual $2 million portfolio and investing in a company embroiled in a Ponzi scheme investigation is reckless stupidity of the highest order. But within the context of an online stock-trading contest, where the winner gets a huge prize and the other couple hundred thousand players get nothing, it's brilliance.
That's because doing anything other than the riskiest thing possible with your play money is just accepting a loss. Somebody out of a couple hundred thousand people is going to at least triple his or her money over the course of the game. There's no real money to lose with a bad bet, and everything to gain by catching lightning in a bottle. Or if not everything....
One MILLION dollars!
(Sort of.)
Where's this year's Escala?
In this game, you really want to be "invested" in one or two stocks at a time. You'll do well fishing around the lowest market cap the game allows ($500 million), seeking stocks with high betas or other indicators of extreme volatility, and prices in or near the single digits. Popular, volatile stocks where emotions run high on both sides -- Rambus (Nasdaq: RMBS), Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), or Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) -- seem like good choices for the game, but really are too big to make the jumps you need. The chance that these three stocks could double quickly is infinitesimal.
Far better companies would be ones like CMGI, with a market cap of $600 million and a share prices less than $2. Sirius Satellite (Nasdaq: SIRI) has the right share price, but the market cap is bigger than I'd like. Ballard Power (Nasdaq: BLDP) is a pretty good choice, but I'm not sure what the definitive catalyst would be over the limited time period that the contest occurs.
I do know of one, though, that is virtually certain to take a violent move up or down during the contest.
All or nothing -- scheduled for March
AtheroGenics (Nasdaq: AGIX) is a stock tailor-made for this game. I learned about it from Charly Travers, our resident Rule Breakers biotech guru. It's a company with essentially all its eggs in one basket -- the drug AGI-1067, a coronary artery disease treatment, is in phase 3 clinical trials in co-development with AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN). According to the company, test results are due out in early March, and there is a huge market opportunity for the drug -- if trial results are successful. According to Charly, after results are announced, the company will either be worth much, much more, or perhaps as much as 70% less -- immediately.
Hey, that's perfect! If the trial results are announced in early March and come in positive, you'll be virtually guaranteed a spot near the top of the pile. And if it misses, you won't have to worry about the rest of the contest. You'll be out of the running quickly, with no real money ever lost.
Now, there are only two drawbacks to using Atherogenics -- at a market cap of $480 million, the company is just shy of qualifying for the game at today's price. Also, the trial news could be released just before the contest starts on March 5.
But even if AtheroGenics releases early, there are other companies in the same vein. So if you hope to compete in CNBC's game, that's my advice to you: Find a small, volatile stock with a potential catalyst coming in the next two months. It's not a good bet in real life, but it's your best bet to win ...
One MILLION dollars!
(Sort of.)
Our Motley Fool CAPS research service might be a good place to hunt for such a stock. Click here to sign up for free.
Bill Barker wants to send a shout-out to CNBC's Mark Haines for his years of professionalism. Bill owns shares of no company mentioned in this article. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/02/12/how-to-win-cnbcs-million-dollar-challenge.aspx
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