Freebies! Are you pro or anti?

GreyQueen

Interesting responses, folks.

I've always worked in environments which are light on freebies (the arts, not-for-profit and public sector) and am very unimportant worker, so no one has ever tried to influence me with the more useful freebies like laptop bags etc.

I did take 3 cotton bags for life for free from a police neighbourhood meeting (I use them inside out to disguise the police logo) but, overall, find that food freebies are of things I don't eat/ drink and Thing freebies are tatt. I do live in a city centre, so any Saturday can usually throw up either product marketeers or political canvassers of some stripe trying to give passers-by something.


LameWolf, thanks, was grinning at the idea of Mr LW accelerating your wheelchair dramatically as he headed towards the handout.


Last week, I was doing some shopping for my pal's shop (tea, coffee, bin bags etc) and the most economical way to buy Nescafe in that supermarket on that day was to buy a boxed coffee jar and mug conbo. He has no need for more mugs and no space for them, so it went straight to the chazzer and was turned around for 65p.

Nelski

Sad to say I am a sucker for a freebie. Years ago I worked in medical sales and you wouldn't believe the amount of freebies we would get. Every month a van would unload boxes and boxes of goodies like very posh pens, first aid kits, car wash kits, mugs, post its, tissues, gloves, fire extinguishers (!!) desk tidys, diaries, calendars .......and thats just a selection. I still have boxes of stuff in the garage loft..there was no way we could give it all away. Pens anyone?

So now I dont take pens anymore although my fav one at the moment came through the post with my business name on and is just lovely

Went to a food show a couple of weeks ago and apart from all the free gin samples ....:o...I also came away with loads of those little thin biscuits you get with your tea in a hotel ...it was a big tub we kept walking past, a cow stress toy, a cloth bag, and a mini bottle of gin.

Just thought too I always whizz the toiletries and marmalades in hotels

Freebies I love em :rotfl:

fuddle

Reminds me of MIL's Easter gift to my girls. "the ones with the free mug were cheaper!" yes but you're paying a lot of money for a little bit of chocolate. I now have Toffee Crisp glaring at me on occasion and that's so bad because my downfall is chocolate!

moneyistooshorttomention

Nope - I wouldnt take any freebies unless I could actually use them. No point in taking stuff just because it's free (though an awful lot of people do).

Re taking the mini cosmetics when staying away - they are included in the price (as well as the breakfasts) - so I'll take them if I want them.

Famous incident re people taking them anyway = one of the times I was visiting a very posh farm shop with my parents my mother was walking around taking a food sample from every place they were offered. Cue for us getting to where there were samples of a particular type of cake and she reached out and took one of them as well. Response from me "Mother - you don't like that type of cake". Her response was "I do if it's free:)" and promptly popped it in her mouth.

:rotfl::rotfl:

My own definition of "taking food samples" is that I will try every type of food sample for a food that is vegetarian (because I am) if it's something that I've not tried before. I leave the ones that I'm familiar with. But I am looking for "something new". My definition of "They know me by now for that 'something new please' attitude" at my local health food store - the boss makes sure he tells me about New Things In - and he gives me anything new I've not tried yet that's just reached its expiry date (as he knows I'll duly eat it - as an experiment).

Siebrie

I always take the hotel freebies. If I don't like the smell I will donate them. From experience I know that cleaning staff will usually just throw every item out, even if they are supposed to check the seal and keep the ones that are unopened.

Handed-out frebies? If it's something that may make an interesting snack for dds lunchbox, I might just accept it. That is the intended purpose, right? I let them try it out without having to buy the whole package with unknown content.

Other freebies, especially those with logos: I try to leave them where they are. I cleared my kitchen cupboards of branded items last year (kondo).

Work used to be good with (sponsored) freebies: my first year we all got an ipod for christmas. They stopped after that. I have been told that the year before the ipod, they gave all corporate employees a nespresso machine. That would have felt a poisoned gift to me, having to fork out the money for those cups.

fuddle

Ah money they free if DH's company are footing the bill for the overnight stay

Litha

I work at a lot of community events, where freebies abound. I used to accept everything given to me without thinking of how I could use it. However, since becoming more Kondo minded, I only take a few pens as I will definitely use them.
Linda x

Callie22

I don't really work in an environment where we get many freebies, but occasionally I might go to a meeting or event where we get things like pens. Those I do always take, because I use them at work - the ones in our stationery cupboard are the cheapest of the cheap and the freebie ones are usually a bit more hardwearing. Ditto highlighters. I wouldn't usually take any kind of freebie for use at home just because I have what I need and I don't want more, and also I'm rarely ever offered anything that I'd actually use.

Liz3yy

I'm a sucker for freebies, to the point that we now have a pot full of branded ballpoint pens that never get touched, I can't bring myself to throw them out though

GreyQueen

Some of the freebies which I declined in the past five years;

A three inch tall yellow rubber humanoid, provided by an external training provider. I left mine behind in the room where we had our training but was in a minority of one - wretched rubber people cluttered up our office for a couple of years.

I also managed to pass on a keyring and some balloons from my union, and a diary of a type and shape I don't use (and know I wouldn't use, from experience).

My pal with the shop is on the mailing list from a company called N@tional Pen. They occasionally send him rather superior biros. He gives them to me, and I have to fight to keep hold of them as others who borrow them briefly also find them rather superior, too (our office also has those ultra cheap biros in it, I usually use a pencil at work, but one does need a working pen in case one needs to sign a letter/ look like a grown-up).