Internet Definition Of The Free Offer

by Rick Carbone

When you are first starting your online home business you have a tendency to be drawn to free offers, mostly because of limited cash.  It makes sense, because you want to learn everything you can as quickly as you can as cheaply as possible.  That brings us to the topic at hand, free offers.  Do such things really exist on the Internet?  It depends on your definition of free.  Webster’s  Dictionary ® definition as it pertains to cost is “1  : in a free manner, or    2  : without charge.”  however I have found that there is a broader interpretation as it applies to the Internet. Sometimes free may mean “free for a while,” “free now, pay later,” “it’s not really free, we are just saying that to get you to click on our url” and so on.  There is another definition, “It’s free but it really isn’t very good so we are offering you something much better that you will have to pay for.” 

I could go on and come up with more loosely defined offers around the word free but I think you get the point.  The reason for this article is simple, you must be cautious about anything that is free because there is always a price, somewhere.  I offer a free ebook on starting up an online home business for free.  There are products and services offered in the ebook to point you in the right direction when you are first starting out.  Many of those links are free services or products and many of them are affiliate links where I get paid a commission if you buy the product.  So the question is: “is my free ebook really free?’ I think it is.  It costs absolutely nothing to download it, the are no pre-conditions such as an email address.  You could read the entire ebook and not click on one product url and it will still show you how to start a home business without spending a single penny.  That’s free in my book what about yours? 

I am pointing this out because there has been a rash of so-called free offers that have bordered on fraud.  Something to the effect of, “ We need your credit card information to pay for a small handling charge.”  This turns into a considerable charge at a later date.  I am not saying that everyone that offers a free product has an ulterior motive of charging you later on.  There are many bona-fide free offers from reputable marketers.  So don’t panic, just be careful.  When someone offers you a free product it’s not free if you have to give them your credit card information. 

I write about this stuff all of the time on my blog so stop by and check it out at http://homebusinessresearch.com/WP.