If you live near a major city where daytime TV talk shows are taped, have you considered becoming an audience member in order to pick up some free swag? You probably remember that during her long run on TV, Oprah gave away lots of valuable stuff to to her studio audiences, with the most noteworthy being a free automobile for each and every audience member. Oprah may be off the air, but it appears the tradition of door prizes (far more valuable than something like a free box of soap, as in the old days of live radio shows) is alive and well. Ellen DeGeneres's audiences usually (always?) end up with a free goodie bag; and at the end of the year, Ellen runs her annual "12 Days of GIveaways," Everybody wants tickets to this event, as the giveaways are choice: electronics, mini-vacations, airline points, concert tickets, and more. Meanwhile, shows such as "The Talk" and "The Doctors" tape almost daily from spring through fall, and (as far as I can tell) always give away at least one fairly luxurious gift to every audience member. I think this would be a terrific way to collect a lot of stuff you'd never think of buying for yourself -- and if you really have no need for, say, a $200 jar of wrinkle cream, or three days at a spa resort, these things do have monetary value, and could be sold or even traded (as with gift cards). Plus, TV tapings are a lot of fun! Of course, it helps to live close enough to Los Angeles or New York (or plan to vacation in one of these cities) to make the trip worthwhile, but I would bet that there are still shows (with audience-giveaway potential) that tape outside these two metropolitan hubs. (If I recall correctly, Dr. Phil originally taped out of Chicago, as did his mentor, Oprah.) When I was a child, a lot of local children's shows had daily giveaways, too; such shows might still exist. Beyond showing up in person, of course, you could always enter the daily sweepstakes a lot of shows make available online (I'm thinking of "The Doctors" and "Right This Minute"). But these sweepstakes are just like any other; there's no guarantee you'll win anything. On the other hand, if you attend a taping of a show where you know they give stuff away, that's entirely different. Has anyone made a habit of attending live TV tapings with an eye toward the free swag?
