Look what I got for FREE!
Six months ago I told you all about how I got a free Xbox 360 Elite, iPod Touch and more for free. I try not to blog about this too often because some of you think this is a scam and some of you just get too envious, but for everyone else, twice a year doesn’t feel like too much to keep you updated on the free stuff I earn and information on how you can get these items for free, too.
Since my last post on freebie sites 6 months ago, I’ve earned a free Canon HD video camera, and external microphone for it, and a Macbook for my wife. All for free. Not bad, eh? Here are some proof pictures. (Click an image to see it larger.)
How it works
1. Companies (like Blockbuster, for example) are looking for new potential customers to try out their products and services.
2. Blockbuster goes to the Bonus Network and says, “Hey, we’ll give you $80 for every customer you send our way to try out our online DVD rental service.” (Some advertisers pay Bonus Network $80, some pay them $40.)
3. So Bonus Network comes to you and says, “If you try out Blockbuster’s service and refer other people to try it through us, or one of our other advertising partner’s services, we’ll split the $80 with you for each person you recruit.”
4. You try out Blockbuster’s service and get 6 other people to try it, too (or another product/service offered through Bonus Network’s site) by giving your friends and family a special link that Bonus provides for you to share. (Of course, your friends can then get people to sign-up under their special link so they can work toward a free prize, too, but know that the people they refer have no benefit for you.)
5. After your 6 friends try a product or service, Bonus Network says, “Thanks! We’ll give you $240 ($40/referral x 6 referrals) or an iPod Touch. Which do you want?”
6. About a week later, your prize shows up in the mail, or your money shows up in your PayPal account.
Interview with co-owner of Bonus Network
Last October I interviewed a co-owner of the Bonus Network, Fehz, about his company and how it all works. Watch it below:
List of Bonus Network sites
*The login you create at one Bonus Network site is valid for all the other sites.
| Prizes | Sign-up Link | 100% Legit |
|---|---|---|
 iPod Touch, Nano, Classic, Shuffle, cash |
BonusiPod.com |  |
 iPhone, Apple gift card, cash |
BonusiPhone.com | |
 Wii, Wii Fit, cash |
BonusWii.com | |
 Xbox 360, Halo 3 edition, Xbox 360 Elite, cash |
BonusXbox360.com | |
 PlayStation 3 (40 GB), PlayStation 3 (80 GB), cash |
BonusPS3.com | |
 Laptops from Apple, Sony, HP, Dell, more, cash |
BonusLaptops.com | |
 Plasma TVs from Samsung, Sony, LG, more, cash |
BonusPlasmas.com | |
Common excuses
Most people would love to earn some of these free prizes, but there’s three common excuses:
1. It’s a scam!
2. I’ll get hit with a ton of spam mail.
3. Completing offers costs more than the prize itself!
4. I don’t think I can get others to complete referrals for me.
For #1, check out my story above and the links below. I’ve done it several times and received several prizes, so I know it’s not a scam.
Concerning #2, I have not received one single shred of spam as a result of completing these trial offers or freebie sites, not via email nor postal mail. These companies actually have pretty aggressive privacy statements.
Number 3 also is not true. I’ve paid about a total of $100 out-of-pocket for all these free things combined. The most I ever paid for a single offer was $24.98 for a sheet of photo stamps. Most offers cost between absolutely nothing and $15. Some of the services I stuck with past the trial because I really liked what they offered. Some of them I didn’t like and canceled when the trial period was over. There’s no commitment either way, except that you complete the offer and give it a fair chance.
And about #4, check out this post I wrote that gives 10 ideas for how to earn referrals for your freebie site. They work for me, anyway. It may take some patience and persistence to get the first prize (especially if you’re going for a big one), but after it shows up on your doorstep and you have physical proof for the skeptics, all the other prizes flow in pretty easily. In fact, after I got my Xbox 360 Elite, I tried for the 16 GB iPod Touch and it took only 5 days to get all the referrals I needed!
My other prizes
For almost two years now I’ve been getting free stuff from freebie sites online. The list of prizes I’ve received is too long to name each item individually, but here’s a start:
- FREE Xbox 360 Elite, 12-month Xbox Live Gold subscription, Halo 3
- FREE 16 GB iPod Touch
- FREE 32 GB iPod Touch
- Canon HD video camera, external mic for the video camera, Macbook. See above. (I took cash prizes and purchased these items on my own.)
- and thousands of dollars in cash from the iPhone site, PS3 site, Wii site, and more.
If you have any questions about the process, I’ve done it many many times, so feel free to ask in the comments below. Fehz, a co-owner of the Bonus Network, will also be around this post in case you have any questions for him, too.
About me: I am married to my beautiful wife, 
From Ministry Questions.com...
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:13 am
hey Tim this is only for US and Canada.
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:24 pm
does it work in Canada?
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:18 am
@pj wong: Yes, it works in Canada too. I have used the bonus network also and they are legit.
Congrats Tim on earning so much!
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Hey, yes we do accept Canadian users as Mark stated! Let me know if anyone has any other questions, i'm here to help!
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:16 pm
So. at the end of this pyramid, there are dozens or hundreds of people who are unable to find referals and are thus left with money spent and nothing to show for it.
correct?
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Umm, no, not really.
1. It's not a pyramid. Hence why I said in the post: (Of course, your friends can then get people to sign-up under their special link so they can work toward a free prize, too, but know that the people they refer have no benefit for you.) For example, I refer you to Bonus and earn 1 credit toward my prize, but the people you refer do not benefit me in any way, only you.
2. Being unable to find referrals seems a bit far-fetched. I strongly doubt that any of us don't know a single person who hasn't tried out Bonus already. I get referrals mostly by talking about it with friends and people I meet when the conversation goes that direction (like, we start talking about iPods or Xboxes or whatever).
3. The risk of the money you spend is pretty minimal. At the worst, you might be out $15 or so, but that's really up to you. If you wanna give up on it after completing your offer requirements and have nothing to show for it, that's up to you. I didn't give up on it. My first prize, the Xbox 360 Elite, too me a couple months to get enough referrals, but my first iPod Touch took only 5 days after I had physical proof for friends that it was legit.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:32 pm
This is not a pyramid scheme – and there is usually “no end” either. Finding referrals is easy – I used to do it myself prior to owning my own (back from 2005-2007) and attained so many free gifts it was awesome! Not many people know about this – and most that do know about it believe it's a scam so they ignore it. There are easily people in the hundreds of millions who have ever even heard of this. So yes, in theory if all of those hundreds of millions of people signed up, there would no longer be anyone till the next generation of kids turned 18. Just kidding about the last part…
If you need any clarification, i’d be glad to help! Our business is far from a “pyramid scheme” as we are 100% sustainable and have shipped almost $1,000,000 worth of free gifts.
June 24th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Alright, so somebody give me a referral link so I can sign up and get them a referral!
June 24th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
My referral links are in the post above. :) Check the chart of Bonus Network sites.
June 24th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Got it.
I think I've given you a new referral.
Does it work when a new user signs up or when a new user completes an offer?
June 24th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
The referral counts when the user completes an offer or two to reach 1 credit. That's when Bonus gets their money from the advertiser so they can split it with the person who referred you.
Once you've met the offer requirements, you then refer other people the same way I referred you. After a couple people sign-up with your link and complete offers, Bonus splits their commission with you and gives you a free gift.
June 25th, 2009 at 12:19 am
Got it. Wish I new as many people as you. Haha.
Thanks
June 25th, 2009 at 2:40 am
It's not that I know a lot of people, it's just that I talk about it when iPods, Xboxes or something related comes up in a conversation with someone. When they want to do the freebie site, I just send them here to my blog to use my referral link.
July 14th, 2009 at 8:21 am
would it work in australia
August 22nd, 2009 at 5:30 am
Love this page, is it updated often? Bookmarked :)
August 26th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
It is a pyramid scheme – The basis behind it is that when everyone in the world joins (which will never happen) than the last person/people will not be able to get a prize because they have noone under them. Good thing though is there are many of these out there.
August 27th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Did you read the comments above? It is absolutely not a pyramid scheme. Anyone I sign-up only benefits me, that's it, not the person who referred me and the person who referred them.
But even if it was a pyramid scheme (which it's not), then I'm fine with that because I've won a lot of really cool stuff through it with very little cost to me (about $100 total is what I've spent on the product trials for about $6,000 worth of stuff I got for free).
September 23rd, 2009 at 5:32 am
Are any of these offers available to south africa?
November 12th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Doed it work in the Pacific? Fiji?
December 10th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Does it work in Nigeria?
January 5th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
Ok boss, here we go. Giving it a try. Enjoy the point. :) What a great way to get cool prizes to give away!!!
January 31st, 2010 at 4:14 am
Does it work in Albania?