Freebies are products given by companies for free. A freebie is a free sample of a product that is given out by a company in a bid to attract potential customers. Several websites exist for those who wish to apply for fee samples, and many of them are updated from time to time. The application process normally involves filling out survey questionnaires provided by in the web pages.
Some saloon owners in the past used to give out free lunch to their customers with the purchase of at least one drink. The free lunch was often far more expensive than the drink, but the owner usually relied on the hope that the customers would buy more than one drink. They varied from simple foods to quite refined ones.
Gillette, the founder of the famous company that produces blades, found that he needed to deplete his stock of razor blades that were initially very expensive. He did this by selling them at a reduced cost in order to make market for the newer ones. At this time, the competition in the market for the blades was very harsh.
The Standard Oil, a company owned by the famous John D. Rockefeller, at some time enjoyed a monopoly over the American market. When they decided to expand and look for overseas markets, the company sent out representatives to China to make a deal. About eight million kerosene lamps were given out in an attempt to lure over the Chinese.
DVRs are often given out by Comcast, by far the largest mass media company internet service provider in the United States, in an attempt to win over new customers. The cost of one DVR is about $250. If customers pay the company an installation fee of $19.95, and a monthly fee of $13.95, it takes only about 18 months to get back their money, after which the company starts collecting profits.
Manufacturers of printers tend to put in partially filled cartridges in their printers before distributing them. This is a marketing strategy in order to sell the cartridges at a high price, almost equaling the cost of buying the printer again. The printers are further designed in such a way that they are completely disabled if a non-proprietary ink cartridge is put as a replacement. Normally the printer just shows a general error or issues a signal that a non genuine cartridge has been installed.
Giving out of free samples sometimes misfires, like when a company gives out free personal computers that are coupled with expensive relational internet services. The consumer may decide to use the computer in a different way other than subscribe for an internet service. The revenue flow for the company therefore declines and it experiences heavy losses.
Some companies may decide to use the tying method instead. This happens when the consumer is forced to buy a product that they do not really want when purchasing the goods they actually need. A good example is when a company requires a book seller to hold on to an unpopular book before allowing them to purchase the best seller.
