Freebies and free stuff

After making a post about ExpoTV last month, I figure quite a few Hiffers are now signed up with them and earning free prizes in exchange for their reviews. I actually just cashed out an Amazon giftcard with them on Sunday and received an e-mail today with the certificate code! However, I wanted to mention that the letter comes from perks.com and my account actually flagged it as spam. Had I not been looking around in my spam folder, it may have sat there for an extra week or two.

Just thought I’d pass along that info. The full e-mail address of the confirmation letter is OrderConfirmation@perks.com, so you might want to add them to your contacts list if you think you might get a gift certificate through ExpoTV.

Off Topic Sidenote: One of the features Expo has is that it lets you see the first video of anybody you referred to their site. So, I’ve been watching a ton of reviews from Hiffers and they’re all pretty good! It’s nice to see some of the faces of my readers as well

I initially wrote about ExpoTV a little over two years ago when I first discovered it. I was using the site to make some extra cash just for making videos reviewing household objects. I eventually ran out of things to review, but that was a while ago and I decided to have another look at the site. Turns out they recently shifted to a new points format, but the premise is still the same: you set up a camcorder, webcam, or even the video mode of a digital camera and then review any product in your house. In exchange, you earn points that can be redeemed for prizes, giftcards and cash. Kind of like Swagbucks but for video reviews instead of searching. As an example, a $15 Amazon gift certificate costs only 1800 points but you receive 2000 points for uploading your first video!

In addition, they’ve got a new section called Tryology. Basically what this amounts to are free full-sized samples of new products in exchange for promising to make a short video review. Current and recent Tryology product offers include Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs, Honey Bunches of Oats, Herbal Essences, Pantene, Mister Salty Chocolate Pretzels, and more. To find out if you qualify, simply register, fill out your profile, and they will then e-mail you if you qualify.

You won’t make millions with ExpoTV, but it is a fun way to make a little extra cash as well as try out new products for free!

Oh my gosh freebie people! It’s me, Shaynon, your freebie reviewer guru! Remember me? Well I am back and I’ve missed you all so much! I have been MIA for way too long, but you’re not here for that, right? You’re here for a FREEBIE REVIEW! Well, my friends, you are in luck because I am starting off my return with a current freebie that was recently posted – coupons for Dove Go Fresh Body Mists and Dove Cream Oil Body Lotion.

Read more of this freebie review!

If you binged or still are binging on Christmas goodies, like I am, then this healthy freebie review is for you! I figure between now and Valentine’s I will eat nothing but good stuff because once the chocolate candy hits the store shelves…look out! So today I am reviewing Orville Redenbacher’s 100 Calorie Smart Cakes that were on HIF on October 16th.

The cakes were a Walmart freebie, the best kind of course! I got mine on October 30th, so they came pretty fast. Two kinds were offered: Cheese and Caramel. If you’re a smart freebie getter, you just put in two different emails or used your middle name as your first like I did. I received both samples!!

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As 2008 draws to a close, it’s nice to look back at some of the awesome freebies that were offered during the year. I’ll be making a post closer to New Years recapping some of the great freebies I got (we’re even chatting about it on the forums), but in the mean time I’ve got a question for ya. Do you think you’re the biggest freebie addict out there?

I ask because friend of the site Alyssa is holding a Freebie Idol 2008 and is looking for freebie addicts! She’s looking for whoever thinks they are the biggest freebie addict to do anything creative: sing a song about freebies, write a poem, review a sample you have received, take a photo of all of your freebies, or anything else you can think of! Submissions are open until December 31 and prizes will be handed out soon thereafter.

So if you’re snowed in up north or need a little break from all the friends and family that might be swarming around your house right now, get a little creative and have some fun with this! I know I’ll certainly be entering.

Dear Freebie Friends,

If anyone ever tells you chocolate is bad for you, laugh in their face then go on eating your chocolate dream covered/filled/dipped whatever.

Love,
Shaynon

So yes, today we are reviewing something so chocolaty and so yummy I don’t even know where to begin. If you have not received your free Turtle Chex Mix Bar yet, you have my deepest sympathies. If you’ve already signed up for this freebie, you are gonna love it! And if you haven’t, what are you waiting for?!

This sinfully goodness comes from the people over at the Betty Crocker website. You have to sign up for their email newsletter, but if you have in the past before just use a different email address. Now I got this freebie really fast – I signed up for it on November 1st and got it on the 8th. (ed: Hooray for freebies that come fast!) I was very surprised at the quickness.

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Hi my favorite freebie friends! Welcome to another yummy freebie review, this time being a yummy little treat with a funny little name – free Bear Naked Fruit and Nuts granola.

This freebie was posted on September 17th and said it would come sometime in December. But as I opened the mail today, there it was! So hopefully if you ordered this sample when it was posted you will get yours soon too.

I was so excited and as I was sitting down to inspect the little bag I noticed something. One of the ingredients listed was COCONUT. I am deathly allergic to it, but why should that keep you from a review? And no, before you become concerned that I took one for the team and got all covered with hives while reviewing this, I didn’t! My stand in and friend Chloey is going to give us her thoughts on this freebie.

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EDIT: The original freebie is no longer available, but this freebie review is still a fun read

Hello all my wonderfully fabulous Freebie Friends! I hope the end of your October is going great! Since we are getting on to Halloween in a mere five days, I thought I would spare you another sugary product review. Now we know that too much chocolate or sugar is supposed to cause breakouts. Some people claim it doesn’t, but honestly, I’m gonna eat my chocolate either way. But if you care about your face, which I am hoping you do, you could try this free Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub cleanser. It’s an oil-free acne wash for your face and it’s a great freebie!

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Hi my Freebie Friends! I hope that many of you are very warm today, because here in PA, I am freezing!! I woke up this morning to a 29 degree, wind blowing, and mind numbing cold. It’s October and I usually don’t turn my heat on till November, but today I might have to. What a perfect day for a cup of coffee! I’m going to brew a pot of Seattle’s Best Coffee and use my new free Sun Crystals Sweetener to go with it.

Now in my house I don’t use regular sugar. We use Splenda in everything because my best friend who eats me out of house and home is a diabetic. Plus, it’s healthier for you. So seeing this freebie, I checked it out and saw that it was safe for diabetics to use and ordered my sample. That was on August 25th, 2008 and about 2 weeks later the sample showed up at my door. It came in a little tri-fold heavy paper envelope that contained 2 sample packs. Each sample pack is about a teaspoon. The good thing about this sugar is that it’s only 4 calories! The information included on the envelope says that it is made with raw cane sugar and a zero calorie erythritol sweetener. So far I am liking this. So let’s try it in the coffee!

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Hello Freebie Friends! Welcome to a fitting October freebie. Today I am reviewing the free Quaker Simple Harvest Chewy Bar for you. I ordered this freebie back on September 4th and it came on September 29th, not bad time at all. The flavor of the freebie was Cinnamon Brown Sugar with Apple and Cranberries, which is a long title for such a cute little bar!

The bar itself smells really cinnamony, which duh, I guess is the point or else it would be called something else. It’s mostly natural, which is really great, as it has oats, barley, and wheat in the ingredients. You can see the little cranberries flakes and oats as well. The bar is very chewy; it tastes very brown sugary, not over powering but that is the main flavor I am getting. The cranberries provide that little burst of WOW and while you’re trying to get over the fact that your going wow your nose is just like AHHH with the smell of goodness! I like that it’s not bland like some other bars. There’s nothing worse then a bar that turns out tasting like cardboard. Luckily nothing like that is going on here. Simple Harvest has always provided good stuff, but this…it reminds me of the oatmeal cookies my gram used to bake when I was little. I love how eating something can take you back!

This bar also comes in other flavors, namely: Maple Brown Sugar with Pecans, Apples with Cinnamon and Vanilla, Almond and Honey Bar. I would try any of these. The name Simple Harvest does not do this little bar justice.

My sample also came with a $1 off coupon and just so you don’t feel left out, oh my gosh, I have a link for the coupon for you! It’s a printer coupon, so make sure you have some paper loaded up.

These bars are not very expensive either. They are priced around $3 per box and with your dollar off, well…it just makes sense!!

Rating (1-5):

Happy Day, you freebie people! Today you’re getting Part 2 to the Après Coffee and Tea review that I posted earlier, this part being the tea.

This just wasn’t any tea though, it was a tea infuser. What is that you ask? What is the difference between that and a regular old Lipton tea bag? Let me explain. A tea bag makes one cup per time unless you make a pot in the coffee maker or on the stove. You don’t normally cover your coffee cup either. With a tea infuser, you steep it covered for about 10 minutes. It also makes about 3 cups of tea at one time. My infuser came in Berry Melange flavor. It’s nothing more then a little triangular mesh tea bag with itty bitty little holes in it. The little holes are meant for the flavor to escape, but not the components that make up the tea. So doing this review on my own, minus the amazing Choley, I went into the kitchen and put some water on for my yummy tea.

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Hello my Crazy Freebie Friends!

Welcome to the latest freebie review, which will should call “yummy!” Because that is all I can say about this freebie. Read on my friends.

A few weeks ago I got a little post card in the mail from Après Teas and Coffees. I was like what? I don’t remember signing up for this. I went to my trusty hif freebie list and lo and behold, back on July 20th I did sign up for this taste club. Almost 3 months for a freebie makes it easy to forget. Okay, so the little card says “Your free samples will be on their way soon!” The next day, there was a box sitting on top of my mail box from Après.

So today we are reviewing Part 1, Organic Mexican Chiapas. I am splitting this in two for you because I noticed I tend to write long reviews sometimes. Besides, what I have to say about the coffee will leave you craving the tea!

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Welcome to September my freebie friends! I hope your Labor Day was awesome. Mine, was okay. When your uncle threatens to deep fry your cousin, you know it’s going to be one of those kinds of days. What I didn’t like about Labor Day, NO MAIL! I know it’s a holiday and all, but really. So when I opened the mailbox the next day, I saw IT. Among the junk, ABC Soaps magazine and my phone bill, there it was a little box of freebie heaven. It is the sample of free Fiber One cereal: honey clusters flavor. If you recall awhile back I did a review of the Caramel Delight flavor, I have to tell you this is even yummier!

Ok, first of all this was a Wal-Mart freebie. I signed up for mine on July 13th, 2008. It came today, September 2. Two months… I really love Wal-Mart samples because they are always in the nice cardboard boxes, less crumbs!! So as I am opening the box that contains the little box of cereal, I get a surprise. There is a Fiber One Chewy Bar also!! It’s oats and chocolate and sounds yummy. I figure, hey….its a mid-day snack so lets sample! First up is the cereal. It’s about a cup serving. It contains little flat flakes and clusters. Smells really good, wheat like and sweet at the same time. Splash on a little milk and yum! It tastes like honey almost. Well, it’s in the ingredients so I guess it’s supposed to taste that way. Over all the cereal is good, it stays crunchy in milk and does not taste like cardboard, which on the box it states “Cardboard no. Delicious yes.” I have to say I agree. Sometimes things that you think won’t be good really are!

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Happy August (Goob: blame me.) Everyone! It’s been a busy month, but in between working and shopping for school supplies, I was able to get a few reviews out to you…this being one of them! Today we are reviewing one of my fave things, coffee! I can’t live without it and this freebie ranks right up there with the Dunkin Donuts and Starburcks.

The product is called Explorer’s Bounty Coffee. (Goob: this freebie sporadically goes up and down.) I signed up for my sample around June 30th, 2008 and it came in the mail on August 1st. The sample they sent me is called “Expedition Inca, Light Peruvian.” It smells amazing…a little nutty with a little spicy thrown in. I have allergies so it might smell different to you! Upon making it, I invited my cousin Amanda and best friend Chloey over to sample it. Sitting down, I had my first cup without anything as not to take away from the coffee itself. Boy I’m glad I didn’t add anything. This flavor is way sweet! Like caramel sweet almost with a little nutmeg. It still has its spiciness but more of a nutty overtone. My coffee panel agreed that it was sweet and spicy also.

Making my second little cup to taste, I added a little cream and it made a difference. It was still sweet, but very mellow tasting. It isn’t strong either, I would say on the medium side. This coffee reminds me of those spring mornings where you have a hint of coolness in the air and the sun is shinning and everything smells very new…lol… This is definitely a good coffee. It falls behind my other favorites but its something I would have again.

This is an organic coffee by the way. You can get it in ground or whole bean and do it up yourself. I checked some local stores, Target and Wal-Mart and they don’t carry it. But some organic shops did, so you might have to shop around or just head over to the website! I have link for you. Click on products and your good to go.

This freebie has long since died on hif and is hanging out in the grave yard (Goob: see edit above.) but if it comes to life again as many do, you will always find it posted up on the forums in the freebies section!

Rating (1-5)

My Dear Freebie Friends,

Hello!! I hope everyone is doing okay! I have a treat for you today. My little sister Abby has once again put together her own version of a freebie review for you. I will get to that in a minute, but wait you probably are thinking, I forgot to tell you what we are reviewing!! We are having our cake and eating it too with a review on these free Betty Crocker Warm Delights Minis. I signed up for these in late May and my sample arrived on June 25th, 2008. Then about a week ago I received a second one…YEA!

I got received the Molten Lava Cake flavor. The directions are easy. Empty your little bag of cake mix into the bowl. Add 1 Tablespoon and 1 Teaspoon water, stir and finally add whatever flavor gel icing/chocolate they include. Microwave for 30 seconds and you have a bowl of warm happiness. People, we have so been missing something. What follows is Abby’s add on review and you are going to love it!! *all spelling mistakes were kept the way Abby wrote it*

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