The Free iPod Social Experiment *

IN THE NAME OF PUBLIC SERVICE, and, frankly, because I wanted to see what happened if I tried this, I have signed up for one of those “Free iPod!” scams that float about the top of Google searches and the junk mail folder.

The company that sponsors the giveaway that I used is called Product Test Panel. Based in South Carolina, this company purports to ship products to everyday consumers to try out and test for a specific period of time. At the end of the trial period, the selected testers are asked to fill out a survey. And, as a show of thanks, the testers are allowed to keep the products they have tested.

Perhaps to fill up the ranks of people who want to be one of these testers (heh. sure.), the good people at Product Test Panel have put out the following Google Ad:

Free iPod Giveaway
Enter your zip code and
Get a Free Apple iPod.
ProductTestPanel.com

Nice. Seems reasonable, no? All you have to do is put in a zip code, and you get an iPod! Wow!

Anyone with a pulse, however, is probably going to guess one has to do something more than key five digits. Additionally, one might guess that a company that is supposedly in place to give people free stuff to test is unlikely to be short of volunteers. What few are probably expecting, however, is the number of steps, how difficult it will be to achieve, and how expensive this “free iPod!’ really is.

Though, as promised, the first thing one does is put in your zip code. I live in Burbank and fortunately (whew!) the Product Test Panel gods have decided there is need for an additional test applicant. However, at this point, one is told that you need to sign up for two of their “Top” advertiser offers to get any further. I chose a Spanish language course and a coffee club. (Both claim to have special offers that turn into rather expensive propositions if you don’t cancel nearly immediately.)

I also signed up for a “bonus” offer, giving me the right to get a laptop if I signed up for Netflix. I signed up for the trial offer, and immediately canceled. (Donna and I had Netflix for awhile, but never watched the damn things. Good selection, though.)

At this point, I was taken to the actual member homepage, where I was shown a bevy of products that I might try to test. Any attempt to click on these product, though, give the following message (this was one for some web cameras):

Thank you for applying to test from our Electronics Premium Test Panel. Unfortunately you were not selected as a product tester for the Electronics Premium Test Panel today. Please come back to Product Test Panel frequently and reapply to test the items you are interested in.

Odd, eh? It’s not entirely clear how one, exactly, gets chosen to be on the Premium Test Panel. I suspect that few, if any, people actually EVER get these test products, and that the site exists solely to drive traffic for coffee clubs, Spanish language class tape makers and Netflix.

Now, the PTP people do state that all members will be given at least three products to test within 90 days. And, true to their word, there are five products available to test in the “General Testing Program” area. All of these products, however, are plug in programs for third-tier search engines, two-year old popup defenders, and the like.

Frankly, the programs are sketchy enough to give a person with an average amount of skepticism a bit of the willies. Download “Privacy Butler 1.0” to my desktop. Oh, hell no. Since I use a Mac, most of these things wouldn’t work on my computer anyhow… Bullet dodged. I guess.

BUT ANYHOW, one of the most interesting aspects of this is that testing products is not what will get you your free iPod. To get it, you have to fulfill the following chores:

Complete two offers from the Top Advertiser category
Complete two offers from the Prime Advertiser category
Complete two offers from the Premium Advertiser category

All of these offers have to be completed within 90 days of signing up. However, I’m guessing the timeframe is more like 30 days, as the site rather prominently states that it takes between 30 and 60 days for the advertisers to notify the PTP peeps that a member (i.e. me) has completed the hoops.

Somewhat more amusing (and potentially flowing into bait-and-switch land) is what these offers require one to do. The offers in the Top and Prime categories often require signing up for a club (from which you can cancel) or a small purchase, usually between $25 and $50. No big deal, really. Heck, if you’re getting an iPod out of it, why not?

However, the Premium category requires members to make purchases that range between $499 and $2000, minimum, to receive credit for completing the offer. And, mind you, these are very specific offers: European rail travel, children’s bedroom sets, strange (and very expensive) carved wood boxes.

Aha! The catch. I’m going to guess that PTP gives away very few iPods. Maybe they never have. Of course, for the privilege of signing up, I had to give them an email address and a shipping address. Hello SPAM!

Of course, since I have a .Mac account, I can create and delete email aliases at a few clicks of a button… The email address used is an alias, one that will be destroyed if my inbox gets too ugly.

In any event, I have decided, that, for the heck of it, I’m going to send this to the Federal Trade Commission and the California Department of Consumer Affairs. Might be worth checking into. I am a government employee, after all… Maybe I should have some trust in the man.

**** Update July 31, 2006 ****

Alas, my faith in The Man has again been shaken. The FTC makes it pretty clear in their complaint form that they only refer complaints -- and then, only if a particular law enforcement agency requests it. Now, I work in a law enforcement agency myself (well, quasi law enforcement), and I know damn well no one in government service requests more work. The best a law-abiding taxpayer can hope for is that the agency in question doesn’t duck the work.

I ran into a similar roadblock with the Calf. Dept of Consumer Affairs. Because it is not a California company, they have no ability to help me. As I discovered from my complaint with Party Pop, even if it was based in California, there is no agency tasked with overseeing Internet commerce. So, I can file with the Calif. Attorney General, or the Better Business Bureau. Sigh.