Those free iPods ads are everywhere on the net and in your email inbox, but are they for real? They sure don’t look it at first glance. Almost everything about them screams “scam!!!” But only almost. What at first appears to be a “something for nothing” pyramid marketing scheme is nothing of the sort as Wired magazine, CNN, Good Housekeeping, MSNBC, New York Times, and others have reported over the last few months.
In fact, what it boils down to is simply signing up, partaking of a special offer such as freebie DVD rentals or making your first bid on ebay (you don’t even have to win the auction!), or, perish the thought, signing up for an AOL trial, and then persuading a few friends to do the same. You can always cancel the agreement after any minimum period.
Of course, if you’ve got a website, any visitor can become an instant friend if you can both get a free iPod out of that visit. The organizing company Gratis Internet has sent out tens of thousands of ipods and other pricey gadgets already. In return they get a bung from the likes of ebay and AOL who might gain a new customer out of the deal. They don’t sell your name on to mailing list companies so it really is a win-win situation.