Valuable Freebies From Big Companies

You could get freebies every day if you wanted to. Go to any restaurant and chances are high you'll be able to grab matches, toothpicks or mints free of charge. While going out to eat in order to get a free mint seems a bit absurd, there are plenty of other freebies that are much more valuable -- and much more costly for companies to hand out. Used predominantly as a marketing technique, major companies often offer freebies with the hope that they can entice customers away from a competitor or to consider a product that they might not have considered before. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed offers for free goods and services from eight large companies. We defined "free" based on whether a company actually incurred a cost in order to offer the freebie and whether it actually gives the customer a tangible benefit that can be measured in dollars and cents. Below are eight valuable freebies, what it costs companies to offer the deal and how much the customer actually receives in terms of value. Surfing the Web at Starbucks Starbucks SBUX now offers free Wi-Fi in all of its U.S. stores. One of the unusual aspects of the Starbucks offer is that the company does not require anyone to buy coffee or food to use the Wi-Fi connection. It is likely, however, that the deal is encouraging customers to visit the store and increasing sales. Cost to company: Starbucks needs to pay for a router and broadband service from the local cable company or telecom provider and install a wireless device in each store. Starbucks may also be foregoing a portion of the $3.99 fee AT&T charged customers for wireless connectivity at stores. Cost and benefits to consumer: Patrons now have unlimited and free access to the Internet, regardless of whether they buy anything or not. Users also get free access to certain content, such as The Wall Street Journal online, which is typically only available for a fee. What the competition offers: Many independent coffee shops have offered free Wi-Fi for years as have bookstores like Barnes & Nobles and Borders; McDonalds notably added it this year. Toyota Takes Some Sting Out of its Loans The largest car company in the world offers 0% financing for up to 60 months on a number of its most popular models. Typically, automakers make up the difference for such promotions by jacking up the price of the car. But given the highly-competitive auto market and Toyota's TM image problems (thanks to a series of recalls this year), the auto maker isn't raising prices on its vehicles. To read the rest, head over to DailyFinance.com