Hey, It’s Free!

The following text was taken from the Predictably / Irrational blog that is written by Dan Ariely. He’s recently written a book titled Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions and I thought the text below was really interesting in relation to our love for freebies. Something interesting to keep in mind and perspective.

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In one of our projects, Kristina Shampanier, Nina Mazar, and I examined whether our reaction to Free! is just a rational reaction to a low price (a very low price) or if it is an irrational overreaction to Free! We carried out a set of experiments in which we measured not only what people chose but also what they gave up in the process. By doing so we were able to show that Free! can tempt us so much that we are willing to forgo a really good deal for a mediocre one simply because it is Free! For now let’s skip the experiments and consider the following thought-experiment:

Consider how long you would be willing to stand in line for a free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cone. Let’s assume that your answer is 20 minutes and that the cost of a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cone is $1.45. Now answer this: would you be willing to stand in line for 20 minutes for $1.45 in cash? No way.

This is exactly what the experiments showed; when something is Free! we get excited and as a consequence we are willing to give up better deals - not to mention our time, money, etc.

This isn’t really a freebie, in fact, it’s not a freebie at all. But I just read this article on Wired.com about how businesses and companies are embracing the concept of giving more and more things away for free and I thought some other freebie fanatics might enjoy reading it as well. It doesn’t focus on the world of freebies as we know it, where we sign up for free samples or swag, but instead looks at how companies like Google, Yahoo, Gillette, and more make billions while still giving most, if not all, of their services away for free.

A while back I got an e-mail that caused quite a bit of laughing in the Goob Household. Luckily for all of you, fellow Hiffer Melissa said it was all right to share with the HIF community as well!

I love your site and wanted to let you know a little something that happened due to my new sample addiction. A bottle of energy drink I had ordered leaked during the shipping (potential bomb threat). The post office contacted the Secret Service and now I and the company that shipped it are being investigated.

Hahahaha. Oh, I love it. Not only do freebies provide a source of money saving and entertainment, but they also can get you in trouble for no good reason! Here’s to hoping the Secret Service soon realizes that all Melissa wanted was a free pick me up drink to help her get through the day.