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The story of my new Mac Mini (yes, you read that correctly).
All right, so we've all gotten those emails telling us that we can get some cool piece of electronic equipment for free.... and we've all deleted them. On April 22nd, I decided that I would not delete this time and would instead put in a valiant effort to see if these things really worked. Stupid, probably, but hey, what else do I have to do?
This particular email was for a Mac Mini, but I know they're out there for all sorts of products. I might try and get an LCD monitor (to go with said Mac Mini) next. Anyhow, I gave my information, completed a survey (which consisted of me answering "no" to a bunch of offers) and then was presented with several different offers to complete. Basically, there were about 10 choices per page, and you had to complete 2 on each page, for a total of 6. My chosen offers were:
One free month of AOL
Columbia House DVD Club (worked for me because I own nearly no DVDs and can use West Wing DVDs towards my required purchases)
BMG Music Club (I've always wanted to do this, though I'm beginning to think Columbia House is a better deal, because shipping is free... but maybe not... on second thought, probably not)
Gourmet Coffee Select sample ($6 for shipping and handling)
Video Professor sample ($7 for shipping and handling)
Some $3 1-day internet subscription
Now, all of these things required (or still require, as the case may be) me to be on top of them - cancelling, sending something back, additional purchases, etc... but all told, it cost me less than $100 to do it all, and the cancelling wasn't a big deal when you consider how much free time I have (err... make) at work.
They still don't make it easy on you to get your free item, even after your offers are completed. There's no email or anything to remind you, so you have to be on top of what site it is (consumerincentivepromotions.com). And, once your offers are completed, you have to print out a voucher and mail it in. After that, they send you your item.
I got my Mac Mini today, and it's adorable (I could have had it as early as Monday if UPS wasn't so damn annoying). It'll be fun to play around with once I get the proper accessories. I already took care of the monitor - buying one off of my current roommate Jamie for $25 (really $13 because I get to subtract Netflix from there for 2 months). Now I just need a mouse and keyboard and I'm all set!
So that's my Mac Mini story. I'm not a good storyteller, but everyone at work was rather impressed that I actually got it, and no pyramid scheme required. I may buy the mouse/keyboard this weekend... I'm going to the mall to see the eye doctor (yeah, I'm caving - the headaches are just too much) so perhaps I will stop into the Apple Store.
That is all.
- Lizzardie, at 10:32 PM
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