Patrick

Has anyone else amassed a whole pile of free crap since they arrived? I was cleaning out a room today I found free hats, t shirts, fridge magnets, pencils - you name it, that I have got since I moved here.

I never got this much free crap in the UK, but everywhere I go someone seems to give me free crap.

List of stuff I have been given

NFL poster
Ying Ling Tee Shirt
Miller Light Tee Shirt
6 fridge magnets (including Dominos, Progress Energy and local Crisis Center)
Builders first source baseball cap
Hawaiian Tropics Hat
Numerous Pencils
rubber ball
VisionAir bag
Local radio Mug
Plastic drink cups

I got a shredder as well, but I think I bought something and it was a freebie with product (although I didn't know until I bought it and they wheeled it out)

There is a whole lot more that I have either thrown or given away.

Is it just me or has everyone else managed to pick up a whole bunch of free yet almost useless stuff?

Patrick

Pulaski

Mostly I have avoided it, though it is very easy to acculate "free stuff".

Back in May when the big race festivities are in town, they close to traffic the main street through the center of Charlotte and turn it into what looks like a cross between a motor track paddock and a trade fair.

One lunch time a couple of my co-workers came up to me and asked if I was coming with them to get some "free stuff". YEah they said come with us.

Half an hour later I had a fist full of plastic promo-bags containing hats, shirts, posters, breakfast bars, cereal and a bowl, more coupons than you shake a stick at, ..... and a kazoo. The total cost of this impressive haul? ..... Zero - all freebies.

robclews

Only yesterday on a trip to my bank i left with a letter opener, tape measure insulated cup and a lolly pop ..........all free, why is life so good. Wont use any of them will give them to the kids for Christmas presents....only kidding.

Rob

PS: I forgot, the bulldog clip as well.

Rockgurl

I was actually looking forward to accumulating free medical crap, as we never get anything cool in England but in the US they're forever getting groovy pens and t-shirts and stuff at my girlfriend's hospital, and she keeps passing it on to me. But now I realize that's quite sad and I need to get a life.

robclews

Why, the rest of us haven't, well Patrick anyway, but he was sad to start with.

Rob

Patrick

I see no reason to hide the fact at 36

Patrick

Yorkieabroad

Came home form teh Houston Kite and Boomerang festival today with a free Boomerang. Both my 2 year old so and I think its pretty cool (and we both had about as much success throwing it).

But apart from that, most of it has been the usual semiuseless stuff like you said - fridge magnets, pens etc. Although our local Randalls did go thru a stage of giving us free loaves of bread. Why? My first thought was it was past its sell-by date (but it wasn't). Then I thought they were taking pity on us as, me being a stay at home dad, they thought we couldn't afford a loaf of bread. Then I realised other people were getting them as well. I asked a few people, and no-one, including the checkout girl, knew why. Quite bizarre. Then it stopped. And we never found out why.....

Pimpbot

The only freebie I have picked up so far, is a T-shirt from the Go Kart track. I did have a baseball cap also, but I put it down before a race and some bugger walked off with it!. Easy come, easy go I guess.

Stumpyguy

Technology industry trade shows are the worst for this sort of thing. I find it rather depressing actually, walking past booths without number loaded down with plastic rubbish that I know will end up in a landfill somewhere.

Edited by Stumpy:

Sorry expaticos, I didn't mean to come across as such a threadf*rt. I just think this sort of thing is a little wasteful.

Jxab12

Cam back from the Oysterfest on Long Island this weekend with freebies galore - from the banks, the insurance companies, the mortgage companies etc........and it was supposed to be a celebration of the humble Oyster - commercialism is rife on the Island!

Yorkieabroad

No arguments there - most of them are a waste of resources, environmentally unfriendly, and at the end of the day, someone pays the $$ for them. Guess who!