I have only had one experience of clicking on a facebook offer. It was to get free samples of an organic nappy and baby wipes. When I went to the link I found that I would only get one nappy and a pack of 25 baby wipes and would still have to pay about £7 (about $12) P&P and I had to sign up to their email newsletter. This is more than I pay for a full pack of nappies AND a pack of baby wipes all on a few samples. Do others think it is worth trying out any of these offers?
A lot of businesses use facebook for exposure; thus, it is not uncommon to find dozens of offers on a daily basis. Most of the offers I see are from restaurants and airlines publishing insanely low rates. But I have yet to see an offer that is truly free. Most offers are only given with a purchase. Either that or they publish a false sale event, showing prices that cost more than the actual price of the item when bought directly from the dealer store. We should always be careful with attractive offers or else we'll just end up paying more and the advertising business earning more.
There is a lot of spam and phishing that goes down via Facebook. I always am very careful before I give my info out for a free sample. I try to see how long the page is up or when it was first made (if it was made when the sample giveaway started, it's a phish), whether they've posted anything else other then their sample offer (If all the posts are the same sample offer over and over, it's also a phish) and to see if anyone has commented or spoken on their pages (If there are no comments, it too is generally a phish). If they check out as legit, then I'll submit my info for the sample. Seeing as I'm insanely careful with my info, and who I give it too, I've only gotten over gotten truly free sample before. I do follow some freebie sites on Twitter that will give me the heads up, and I usually check in the comments on whether the other folks who looked though it was legit or not. I've avoided a couple scams before, because I made sure to check the comments first.
It definitely wouldn't have been worth trying out THAT Facebook offer, as you found out. Many others don't have those sorts of catches, though. Some companies really DO give out free samples. They hope that it means you'll buy their product more in the future or that you'll leave a review that encourages others to buy the product. Not all of them will try to rope you into paying for something during the process.
Usually the only catch I run into is the requirement of liking their page in order to experience the offer. I don't mind doing this because I figure if I am getting some sort of freebie, I should at least give them a facebook like. Nothing bad comes out of it.
I am actually pretty weary of Facebook 'Like' offers. Or rather, Facebook offers in general. They always seem to redirect me to a page, or have me to do 50 million extra things to get their .0001 oz of lotion or something else. There have been some legitimate offers I've come across, but they are rare. And they are usually getting a free song download from an artist or something like that. But if you find out about any good offers or legit ones, definitely let me know. If all I have to do is click "Like" for some worth-while free items, then I definitely won't mind.
I have to agree with the others here, there are a lot of spamming on facebook. There are so many members on the social network, perfect place for a spammer for sure. Just be careful and NEVER give out any personal information regarding yourself or your household. You can also report them to facebook and believe me, they will take action and investigate it throughly.
Not all offers on FB are legit. You'll need to do some research first before signing up for something or actually paying for a product because you're led into believing it's on 'sale.' Make Google your best friend and you won't get burned.
I think there are a lot of legitimate offers on facebook. I have gotten a lot of free samples and enter giveaways through facebook. It is pretty much the same thing as going to the business's website. I'm sure there are still some out there that you should be cautious. Also, if you are not familiar with the company it would probably be a good idea to not give them out your personal information.
Many Facebook offers are too good to be true. However, the worst that can happen from "liking" something is a feed full of rubbish. A company who does this can easily be hidden for good though. With this in mind, I often enter competitions and giveaways but only those which require minimum effort. I have had some great samples and coupons in the past but the amount I have actually received is a lot less than the amount I have actually applied for. Still, if it costs nothing then it's usually worth a try.
You should be very wary of phishing scams via Facebook offers as well as people who sell stolen goods. Facebook gets a lot of exposure so there are a lot of criminals and viruses out there that try to prey on people using this social media. I personally stay away from Facebook due to all of the security issues.
Be careful when using Facebook, a lot of companies use Facebook for exposure and where some companies may gain this exposure by offering good deals others will use Facebook to advertise scams/virus'. Personally I wouldn't recommend actively searching for deals on Facebook but if you see a good deal that isn't too good to be true, go for it!
I think you should indeed be careful when using Facebook, due to the fact that people abuse it. I mean, social media could be both good and bad, but when it comes to a website that might store a lot of your information, you do not know what's going on behind the scenes, who's looking at it, and for what purpose, even if it's set for private and only for friends you know, you just never know because all of it is stored in a database. Be careful and act wisely!
I would just use common sense and usually you can read peoples comments that say whether or not it is legit. I can usually tell if something doesnt look right or if it seems to be real. Also, popular companies or brands are more in likely to be real and not a virus etc.
I too avoid believing in any offer that seems too good to be true. I have liked a few small business that will present coupons and their weekly specials on Facebook because I enjoy having their information on my feed but as soon as I see my feed filling with junk posts and unrealistic offers I go to the drop down box at the corner of the post and mark that I don't wish to see this type of post any more. It works and keeps my Facebook feed enjoyable.
I rarely click on any offers because I know most are scams. If I do see one I go through the proper site instead, but the worst are the sponsored sites which I keep getting rid of. Most are based on the groups you have joined and I loathe them, since I liked some quotes on a site I have a flood of self-help coaches offering courses and downloads. I do hate the intrusion in my feed and even when I click 'stop', they continue with others.
Indeed, most facebook "deals" are just scams, people are looking for your information and they sell it to third parties for more money. Also there are small chances of winning anything.
My experience with Facebook offers has been always the same when clicking on "suggested" posts or directly on ads appearing on the sidebar; most of those offers are misleading, deceptive, and certainly aren't worth the time invested in visiting and trying to get what they promise. Now, when it comes to offers posted on Facebook pages belonging to a company, it's always better go to the main website and check if there is a fine print, string attached or something. In fact, usually those offers appear first on the company's website with a link to Facebook, so it's always better go straight to the point rather than going first to Facebook to find them out.
I can honestly say that I have never used Facebook offers. There hasn't ever been anything that interests me. I have seen ads for Groupon and such, but I don't need Facebook to advertise that as I already have the app on my phone. Are there any truly free offers that are offered by facebook?
When the only catch is liking their page, or having to sign up to their newsletter, I don't mind doing that and will happily take part in the offer. Especially free samples or competitions. However personally I'll never pay for anything that way, including postage. If I'm going to try something for free, or win something, I won't pay to do so.
