• Grocery stores often have toll-free numbers."080402 shopping cart cupholders" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: Dan4th (Dan4th Nicholas) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
  
  

Function

• Check packaging for toll-free numbers"The Grocery Shrink Ray: It's magic!" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: blue_j (James LeVeque) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
  
  Giving free stuff to consumers has a simple goal: use the sample or free item as bait to encourage future purchases. In the early 1900s, manufacturers began offering housewives free dishes with purchases, or stamps with purchases that could be saved and exchanged for goods, and fabric in the form of product packaging. Today, companies often offer a phone number or website to entice shoppers with free goods. If you use a product, check the manufacturer's website for phone numbers for free offers and coupons.
  
  

Types

• Free stuff!"The [still] life of a Single Graduate Student" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: Ingorrr (Ingrid) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
  
  There are usually two types of offers: entirely free or proof of purchase. Proof of purchase offers require a UPC code or some other form of product identification to prove that you bought it. Entirely free offers ask for nothing but your name and address. Manufacturer websites and product packaging are good places to find toll-free numbers offering samples and trials.
  
  

Time Frame

• Grocery stores have toll-free numbers."Empty Store" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: whoohoo120 under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
  
  Most offers for free items are for a limited time and expire either on the expiration date or when supplies of the free items are exhausted. Packages contain phone numbers to call for customer service. Calling these numbers will place you on mailing lists to receive coupons and mailed or emailed information and offers. Always follow the instructions for an offer and respond before the expiration date.
  
  

Considerations

• Toll-free numbers have expiration dates."red, ripe and ready - VoxEfx" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: ¡Ìo...?'x? (Vox Efx) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
  
  Calling a toll-free number found on packages or websites to obtain a free item will usually place you on mailing lists which are then sold to other companies. You will most likely receive a lot of junk mail in your mailbox and junk or spam in your email inbox. On the other hand, you will probably receive other samples and high dollar coupons unsolicited because you are on these lists.
  
  

Benefits

• Popular cereals are frequently featured in marketing giveaways."Free Loopy Colorful Background Wallpaper Creative Commons" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: Pink Sherbet Photography (D. Sharon Pruitt) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
  
  Subscribing to refund clubs and toll-free lists will allow you to find many free samples to stretch your household budget. Cereals, cleaning supplies, snacks, and other non-perishables are often sent via the mail. High dollar coupons that can't be obtained anywhere else are often sent straight from the manufacturer. Check your grocery store bulletin boards for offers with toll-free phone numbers sent from companies to the store and then displayed for shoppers. Often these boards will also have high dollar coupons posted too.