Companies Now Offer A Free Playstation 3 As A Marketing Ploy

by Allan Scott

Costing upwards of £400, the Sony PS3 is certainly a much anticipated beast, and many are willing to part with their hard earned cash in order to own one. For those who cannot meet the price tag, many companies have seized upon an opportunity to capitalise on the demand for these machines, and offer the Playstation 3 as a free gift in return for participation in what many regard as a pyramid scheme.

Websites owned by companies such as the Giveaway Network, Gratis Network and Real Incentives (to name but a few), fund their free gift schemes through the promotion of affiliate partners featured on their website. Those who wish to obtain a free Playstation 3 must first complete an offer on behalf of the affiliate partner, then refer others to the free gift website by promoting their unique referral link. Each person who is referred must go on to complete an affiliate offer, and once a prescribed number of people have done so, the original referrer can claim their free Playstation 3.

For each person who signs up and completes an affiliate offer through a free gifts website, the website earns a sum of money. Therefore, by encouraging people to sign up and refer others to do so by offering a free Playstation 3 as an incentive, the free gifts website earns enough money to cover the cost of the gift, and to turn a profit in the process.

Such schemes have proven to be hugely popular in the US, and a number of these sites are now cropping up in the UK. The promise of receiving a highly sought after item for free seems quite divisive; to some people, it is a highly appealing, and to others it seems too good to be true. For those who do subscribe to such sites, there is the further problem of logistics - in theory referring 13 people to the website to complete an affiliate offer may seem like a piece of cake, however in practice, it can often be a difficult and time consuming exercise. Many people subscribe to a free gifts site, refer a few friends, then find that they are unable to meet their quota in order to receive their gift and leave empty handed.

In response to the popularity of these schemes, a number of websites have appeared to address many of the issues surrounding free gifts websites. Forums, such as Exceem, provide a community base for free gifts enthusiasts to discuss each of the websites, and to describe their experiences of the free gifts scene.

Other websites, such as Gimme4free.co.uk take the concept a step further by providing services to those involved with free gifts sites, allowing members to gain referrals by advertising and trading referral links on the website. The popularity of such sites emphasises the marketing power the prospect of receiving a free gift can have on the general public.

The free gifts scene seems to be a phenomenon which is here to stay. Many of the websites appear to be legitimate, meaning in theory it is possible to obtain a free Playstation 3. Whether or not the scheme is realistic for some people is another matter however, as referring 13 people (or more) to complete an affiliate offer may not be an attainable goal. With the emergence of new websites, such as Gimme4free, the process may be made a whole lot easier, so perhaps in the future obtaining a Playstation 3 for free will be a more achievable prospect.

Comprehensive reviews and guides of the websites mentioned in this article can be found at Gimme4free - Get a free PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, HDTV and more!

Allan Scott graduated at the University of Edinburgh in 2002 and now works as a web journalist for Totalpda LTD, the UKs leading distributor of PDA and GPS solutions.