I recently got a Wii and a Wii Fit delivered via FedEx to my doorstep. I paid just $36.34 out of pocket for them! It may seem unbelievable but it's true. I clicked on a banner, the kind you've probably see every day on the Internet - advertising a $500 giftcard or in my case, a Wii and a Wii Fit. You probably haven't clicked on these as they scream scam! They aren't - they're actually legit and with some careful reading and close directions following, you can receive the prize you select in about 8 weeks!Here are 5 sample offers (I chose the first):Wii and Wii Fit
Choose your prize (the higher the value the more offers you will have to complete) and enter your email address (I do a new one for each one of these that I do) and then register your information. I keep a spreadsheet with all of my information - you should copy and paste the terms and conditions from the first page into the spreadsheet. Make sure you know how many offers you need to do in each category to qualify for the prize. Skip to the last page where it says "platinum offers" and start there since there are the fewest (and most expensive) offers on that page.
Complete the required number of offers, making sure to copy and paste each offer's terms and conditions into your spreadsheet. Please note that you cannot do more than one offer from the same parent company and this may require some research. You may want to get a Visa giftcard from your bank to use for these offers. You could also use a virtual credit card number - check your credit card's website to see if they offer this service. My Citibank and Discover do!
On the spreadsheet, document the following information about each offer: name, website, price of trial, length of trial, price of monthly membership, number to call to cancel, copy and paste the entire terms and conditions. This spreadsheet will come in handy should you want to cancel any of the trials.
Do the required number of offers in 1 sitting and give yourself 2-3 hours to get them all done. Make sure all offers you did show as "pending" when you log back in on the main page to "check gift status". If all offers haven't changed from "pending" to "approved" by day 13 you may need to do some replacement offers. Replacement offers credit within a few days. Once all offers have approved, you will be able to print a redemption certificate and a W-9 to mail to the company. You should mail these documents with delivery confirmation (not signature confirmation or certified mail) and wait for your status to change to "processed". If this doesn't happen within 2 weeks of the postal service's website showing the company received your documents, send them an email. Once processed, just sit back and wait for your prize. I did my offers on December 29 and had my prize February 20. It took me 3 hours total and cost $36.34 for my Wii and Wii Fit.
For more detailed information, please check out the post on my blog here.
40 comments:
Do you have to give your Social Security # on the W-9? If so, that would make me very uneasy.
Seems like alot of work. You'd have to quit your job!
I did one of these and received a $500 gift card. You can also check out moneysavingmethods.blogspot.com she is pretty much an expert on "online offers." I want to do another few more and have extra $$ for christmas gifts. That $500 target card looks good. It's really simple to do as long as you are organized and yes Janis you do need to give your SSN if the prize is over $500 but that is for tax reporting purposes.
I agree --- a LOT of work!
Hi everyone - This is Nicole (the author of the guest post). It really isn't a lot of work - about 3 hours total from start to finish for everything! 3 hours for $500 is a pretty good return on your time and money I think. Most of us don't earn $166.67 per hour right?
I did one of these recently and it sounded A LOT harder than it was. It's really simple, really!
I question if it would only cost you three hours of your time. How much time will it take to track those offers, deal with customer service to cancel or amend any subscriptions? What about dealing with telemarketers who will be calling as a result to "follow-up?" I could potentially see it taking longer than 3 hours when all is said and done.
That being said, I appreciate hearing from someone that has actually participated in such offers! It's nice to know that there actually IS a prize at the end of all that work! And I appreciate your honesty as to how much work is involved to get the deal. Great score on the Fit, BTW.
I'm with Janis , I'd be really uneasy with giving my S.S.# out! There is so much identity theft going on!! Did you have to give it for the Wi deal? How much did it cost you out of pocket to do the "deals"? Thanks!
I have done 10 or more of these offers where it has been just complete one offer and get a $25.00 gift card, they always send me a $25.00 check instead of gift card, I really like the cash over the gift card so I never asked them why they do this. It is very simple and they do send the prize. As for the follow up canceling of the products and tracking the offers being credited I just keep the info by my computer and work on it a few minutes a day when I am doing my computer stuff. I have never had a problem as long as I read/ followed the rules and did timely canceling.I just did the Wii & wii fit one and am really looking forward to giving this to my DH.
Sounds great! The only offers we've seen/received required that two independent households (that you refer) must also complete the offer in order to get your prize. I wasn't willing to drag anyone else into the process.
What offers do you complete to get it for $36.34?
It is a lot of work. I tried to complete the one for the $500 Target gift card and I didn't finish it. It took a while (I called and cancelled each one as soon as I finished signing up). A lot of the offers are very detailed and difficult. If you have a good credit score, don't bother. Who knows who will be getting my info now. I have a feeling I will be receiving a lot of junk mail now. It wasn't worth my time!
this sounds like a ton of work. I never take these offers up, so once again I'll be passing on this one.
Please come back hiptosave; I don't know what to do with myself when I don't have your great posts to skim through
Thanks, Nicole! My hubby and I have both been dying for a Wii, and this is a great way to get one!
PS - If you wouldn't mind listing what offers you did, that would be super-duper helpful, to make sure to keep our OOP as low as yours was.
You rock!
:)
Thanks, Elizabeth!
I wanted to address everyone's concerns. First of all, the 3 hours is total time - time to complete offers, receive packages, send back packages if I cancelled the offer, and cancel offers if I decided to cancel them. It really only took 3 hours and I have not had any telemarketer calls. I do get spam in the email inbox that I use for these offers but I expected that. I've had the Wii and Wii Fit for over a month now and have incurred no additional time.
Yes, I had to give my social for tax purposes so the company could issue me a 1099 for the income received. I also worry about identity theft but have to give my social to affiliate companies I am signed up with as a blogger and also mystery shop companies who pay me. When you are asking someone to pay you and they want to do it legally, they need your social to issue the 1099.
It cost me $36.34 out of pocket to complete all deals. The companies don't want you to discuss the offers too specifically and I have heard of others being banned from doing other offers by disclosing too much. What I can recommend is reading each offer's terms and conditions carefully. There are many FREE offers on there with fairly long trials. Choose wisely, just don't choose two companies from the same parent company.
Rhonda: There are many referral offers out there. The ones I posted are all "DIY" offers and do not require referrals.
Shelly: I'm sorry you didn't feel it wasn't worth your time. I don't see how your credit could be ruined by doing these offers, though. These offers are just like the smaller denomination gift card offers Collin posted about last month, only bigger amounts and more offers.
If anyone wants to email me privately (nicolesnickels@gmail.com) or post another comment, I'll check back and answer them. Thank you for reading my post!
Thanks for your response! I'll look further into the DIY offers. I mostly looked at the ones that showed up in my e-mail box. I didn't realize there were variations on this theme.
Rhonda
Very interesting. Thanks for the details and clear instructions!
Melissa
http://savingwithmelissa.blogspot.com
I'm not so sure about these... They get you in under the impression that you only have to do2-4 offers, which is relativly easy, but then you get to the next page and you have to do even more. 8 offers total, and almost all of them cost something to begin with. I just wasted 8.99 completing the first two offers and now I get nothing... bummer! (the only 2 worth doing for me were the net flix and video game subscriptions, -- both offers were easy to cancel, but the one was a "pre-pay").
Anonymous: The amount of offers you need to complete is on the very first page where you enter your email address. it's not hidden at all provided you read the "Summary of Program Requirements" prior to submitting your email. If you choose a $500 giftcard or a gift valued at $500 8 offers is standard. Read through the offers carefully - some are free and some have a very nominal fee (i.e. 1 or 2 dollars). Isn't the Netflix offer free?
Interesting. I will have to look into this! I would love a FREE Wii!
shoppingwithcents.blogspot.com
Nicole Do you have a blank spreadsheet you could email to show how you organize all your deals? Thanks!
I've noticed that some of these programs offer free (or very cheap) 7 or 14 day trials. Is this enough time to get credit for completing the program, or do you have to pay for a month or two in order to get credit towards the big reward?
Anonymous: The program requirements do not require anything beyond completion of the offer. You have completed the offer once you sign-up for it. Generally offers credit in between 2-14 days. Hope that helps!
Ana: Send me an email (nicolesnickels@gmail.com) and I'll email you the table I use.
O.K. I'm not very computer literate I guess becasue I don't know how to copy things to a spread sheet. Can I just hit the print button on my computer or take extra time and hand write it? Have you ever had a problem with not recieving an item you were promised? I'd love a Wii!!! I think my husband will tell me I can't do it when he finds out you have to put the s.s. # in though! Any advice?
O.K. I'm not very computer literate I guess becasue I don't know how to copy things to a spread sheet. Can I just hit the print button on my computer or take extra time and hand write it? Have you ever had a problem with not recieving an item you were promised? I'd love a Wii!!! I think my husband will tell me I can't do it when he finds out you have to put the s.s. # in though! Any advice?
HI! I was wondering if the page where you put your S.S. no. was a secure page. Did it say https:// ?
Did you use a credit card? thank you!
I think where your credit is going to take a hit is if you are completing credit card offers. Having companies pull your credit information to complete such an offer will certainly "ding" your credit. However, if they are offers you feel would benefit you, then it may be worth it. But applying for several credit cards at once? I am not so sure what that would do to your credit rating, at least short-term. If you're in the market for a car loan or refi, you might hold off.
Thoughts, Nicole?
BTW, you are doing a GREAT job following-up and answering all these questions! I know some are skeptical (truthfully, I'm one of them), but I have to applaud you for tactfully handling all these! Great job!
Thanks, Angela! I'd have to agree that applying for multiple credit cards at the same time probably isn't the best thing to do. There are many other offers out there so that shouldn't be an issue, though.
As far as the spreadsheet, I just use a table in a word document and yes, you can just highlight the words in the offer and copy and paste them into the document - much easier than handwriting. Quicker and I'd rather have the exact wording from the offer in case I ever need it. You could also print each page if you don't mind all the paper. It's easier for me to have 1 document with all of the information.
Your social security number is not given to any of the offers you do (except a credit card offer or a credit check offer). The only place your social security number goes is to the umbrella company you are doing (i.e. Wii, $50 giftcard). You fill out a paper W-9 and mail it to the company once all your offers have approved and your gift is ready to be redeemed. There is no entry of a social security number on a website, it is done on paper via the mail as it is an official tax document.
that makes me feel better to know that the s.s.# isn't entered online, but on paper! Thanks!
I've never done anything like this, but my friend heard about it and I thought I'd try it. Did you have to do 2 silvers, 2 golds, and 4 plantinums or just one of the following categories? I was under the impression that just had to pick 2 silvers which I figured was ok, but then got really frustrated when I thought I might have to do more. I started doing the golds and a few said my credit info. was not working (weird considering we've got them all paid off and I checked and double checked the info. entered). Anyway, I just moved on and picked another gold instead. Then when I checked the box from rewardsadvantage.com it said 5 were pending in the gold...what!? So, i don't know if they all are going to be "approved" or not, but it freaked me out and I just quit right then and there for fear of scam. Please let me know if you think I qualified by doing just the 2 silvers, because if not I don't think I can bring myself to get back on and do the rest.
Any offer you click on is listed as "pending" - so I wouldn't worry. If you clicked on that many offers (even just to read about them) it will say "pending". You need to keep track of the exact ones you completed. For most offers you'll need to do 2 silvers, 2 golds, and 4 platinums. On the first page of the umbrella offer it will tell you that at the bottom in "program requirements".
If you are doing the Wii offer you need to complete 8 offers total (2 silver, 2 gold, and 4 platinum). If you are doing another offer that I listed (I can only vouch for the ones I listed), check under "program requirements" on the first page where you signed up.
As far as the cards not working, some credit cards will put your card on "hold" if you use it a bunch of times in a row online for small amounts - it raises a red flag. Call your credit card company to see if the issue is on their end or the offer's end. My Citibank card is quick to put card on "hold" status.
I started this and did not finish it. Now I am getting tons of junk e-mail. How do I make it stop?
The email address I use for these offers does get a lot of spam, that's why I recommended getting a new free web-based email address for these offers. Is there an "unsubscribe" feature in the emails you are getting?
I had completed all my offers and was waiting for one of my platinum offers to finally finish from pending when they change the terms on me! Now they say I have to do 8 platinum offers AND refer 2 people who will also complete all the offers! This is very upsetting. DO NOT TRY THIS.
TCita: I'm sorry that you are frustrated with the terms of your offer changing. Many people have a lot of success with these offers. Please contact customer service to see if they can help you resolve the issue. Thanks.
Nicole thanks again for the detailed instructions! I'm trying for the $500 Target GC since the Wii terms changed. I hope it all works out I'm really excited about it!
Hey all - I completed this wii offer back when the terms were a bit easier and got my wii & wii fit - it was awesome. Thanks so much for the info.!!! Recently my sis-in-law went on did all the offers and they were approved only to find she had to refer 2 people who had to complete everything. I was wondering if anyone has gone this far and gotten their system? If so, do those people she refers have to do it all including have 2 more people each do EVERYTHING??? I feel so bad that she spent the money and now it seems like she's out of luck? Thanks for any help.
Morseva: I just now saw your comment - I wish you had emailed me so I could have helped! If your sister in law was basically done with the offer and then the terms just changed on her she could have emailed customer service and they would have fixed the offer for her. It happened to one of my co-workers where she had one more offer to do and then all of a sudden it switched to 4 more platinums and 2 referrals - we emailed customer service and they changed it. I'm not sure if she still has time within her 60 days to try it. You can email me at nicolesnickels@gmail.com (I wrote this guest post) if you have any questions.
...please where can I buy a unicorn?
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