StartSampling

If you enjoy receiving free samples of products in the mail and trying something new, sign up for startsampling.com. This site is absolutely free and will not release your personal information to telemarketers or anyone trying to sell you anything. They do not pay cash, but participants, in addition to receiving free products delivered to their home, accumulate points redeemable for gifts.

Signing up for the site is easy. You simply fill out a questionnaire and submit answers to the site. The questionnaire screens you for which type of products you can try. The trick is to answer “yes” to most of the questions they ask, this way, you can receive the most products and gain the most points.

Upon signing up for the site, depending upon your answers to the questionnaire, you’ll be directed to various websites where you will give your name and address so they can send you the sample product. Some sites offer more than just “samples” and give you a full sized product to sample.

The products participants can try for free include household items, personal hygiene items, pet supplies, beauty products and even music CDs. After you receive the product and try it, you simply fill out a short survey that takes about 10 minutes and give your opinion of the product. You never have to pay a shipping fee or send anything back to the company.

About twice a week, startsampling.com offers contests participants enter. About 20 winners each week collect 50 “Frequent Tryer Miles” points in their account. You can enter as many contests as you like and most people win at least once. When you win a contest, the site notifies you via e-mail. You can accumulate your points

Participants earn points simply for visiting the recommended sites and additional points for sampling the product. Some of the gifts they offer include gift cards, travel items, household products and other merchandise.

The best thing about this site is the “no pressure” sales. Startsampling.com does not attempt to sell you any products. There are no “elaborate” prizes, but gifts a normal person would expect to receive for doing a minimal amount of work.

Another thing I like about this site is the opportunity to sample different products I might not otherwise try. Unlike some sampling survey companies, you know what the product is and if you enjoy using it, you can purchase it in the store.

Probably my favorite thing about this site is that it doesn’t represent magazine subscription houses, insurance companies or online education companies. In my foray into the online survey world, I’ve found that these appear to be the main “hard sell” items most companies push. Since signing up for the site, the only e-mails I’ve received relating to startsampling com have been from their site; I have not received any unsolicited telemarketing calls related to this site. They keep their word when they say they will maintain your privacy.

The downside is that while the prizes and gifts are nice, there is no cash involved for participating in this site. But it’s fun, easy and takes only a small portion of your time.

Startsampling.com is a legitimate online survey/sampling company. You have nothing to fear if you decide to sign up to participate in this site and will have a lot of fun sampling their products.