When Is Free Better - and when isn't it?
June 5th 2008 01:55
My father was occassionally contradictory in his assessment of 'free'.
"Free is usually worth what you pay for it" was pretty close to the standard response - but every now and then he would muse that even if "free" meant being handed a 'cow pat' - you could at least throw it away and be little the worse for wear.
With search engines and commercial advertising so full of "free offers" - when is 'free' a good thing?
Free quotes, free trial offer, free inside, free with every purchase, free, free free . . .
A fortnight ago a colleague was offered a 'free' subscription to a magazine she would normally have purchased each month - wary - I asked her what the catch was?
"Nothing - as far as I'm aware", was the comeback.
Ouch - no sooner had I gone down the whole 'be sceptical road' than she started receiving unsolicited phone calls from advertisers in the aforementioned magazine, junk mail by the virtual bucket load and requests for donations from charitable organisations.
She even had a home visit from a firm - who just happened to be in the area that day and (as a subscriber to the - insert here magazine) thought that she may be interested in the services they had to offer.
Story goes - that to receive her 'free' subscription she waived her right to any of the regulatory privacy provisions - sorry - bad move.
So - exactly when is free better - and . . . when isn't it?
"Free is usually worth what you pay for it" was pretty close to the standard response - but every now and then he would muse that even if "free" meant being handed a 'cow pat' - you could at least throw it away and be little the worse for wear.
With search engines and commercial advertising so full of "free offers" - when is 'free' a good thing?
Free quotes, free trial offer, free inside, free with every purchase, free, free free . . .
A fortnight ago a colleague was offered a 'free' subscription to a magazine she would normally have purchased each month - wary - I asked her what the catch was?
"Nothing - as far as I'm aware", was the comeback.
Ouch - no sooner had I gone down the whole 'be sceptical road' than she started receiving unsolicited phone calls from advertisers in the aforementioned magazine, junk mail by the virtual bucket load and requests for donations from charitable organisations.
She even had a home visit from a firm - who just happened to be in the area that day and (as a subscriber to the - insert here magazine) thought that she may be interested in the services they had to offer.
Story goes - that to receive her 'free' subscription she waived her right to any of the regulatory privacy provisions - sorry - bad move.
So - exactly when is free better - and . . . when isn't it?
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Comment by tlcorbin
Raven
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
Pop Culturist
Pop Rock Factory
Woodstock had alot going for it.
MNG
Comment by Miswanderlust
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
My dad said the same thing. Wow what a coincidence!
Agape love seems to be all I can come up with too!
Mis
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
Pop Culturist
Pop Rock Factory