Investigative Journalism with Topher Welsh

A lot of you have seen ads on Facebook or websites that claim to offer free gifts if you complete offers like iPads, computers, macbooks, HDTVs or whatever. Well, I have always wondered... what if? What if it really does work...so I did some research and this is what I came up with... (more after the jump)

Myself like a lot of you out there always wonder with these things, what if?  What if it is actually real?  I have seen local news reports showing that people have gotten their free gifts from these companies, but you never know if those companies paid them the recievers to represent them, and you have never seen someone document the whole process from the start of them actually signing up to earn one of these.  That is what I am going to do.  I am tired of wondering “WHAT IF?”.  So since I have a little bit of extra money since my tax return, I decided to do something that I have kicked around for a couple years, and put the question to rest.

You might be thinking I am stupid that they are going to take my money, and that you couldn’t be paid to try something like this.  That’s cool with me, you don’t have to help out.  You are the reason I am doing this experiment.  I have checked out my particular site in question on ripoffreport.com, which they have some complaints, but people have gotten gifts; and I couldn’t find anything on The Better Business Bureau.  By the way, their name is TRAINN or Transcedent Innovations.

I am going to be conducting this investigation on YouriPad4Free.com.  If you click through you will be taken to my referral link.  The way this works is this:  They generate trial offers for certain businesses in which sometimes turn into conversions to full paying customers.  It is a pyramid marketing program.  The fact that people such as me are getting others to try out a service, generates income and therefore they can (in theory) provide free iPads or other gifts to people.  Now this is how it is going to work for this experiment.

1. Sign up after clicking through my referral link
2. Next, you have to complete an offer.  The ONLY one I recommend is GameFly.com because I have already tested it.  Navigate to that offer… I believe it is on the third or fourth page.
3. Click through and sign up.  Yes, you do need to enter your credit card information, but I am watching my bank (as should you) to make sure no fraudulent charges are going through.  So far the last three days, I have been safe.   It is only $8.95.
4. Now go to GameFly.com and find a game to put in your queue.  The regulations on YouriPad4Free.com require you to enter a game in your queue to show that you are trying out the service.  You can try out more games to see if it is something you want to continue with too if you so choose.
5. You have to remain a member of GameFly.com for a minimum of 14 days, but I am recommending 15 just in case to receive credit for your contribution.
6. If you have signed up and completed these steps… EMAIL ME I will set a reminder on my calendar 15 days from the time you email me, to email you to see if you are satisfied with the service, and want to choose to continue using it, so you don’t forget and get billed for $16.00 next month.   Also, I will plug whatever you want, website, demo reel, Twitter, Facebook… for helping me out with this experiment.
7. That’s all you have to do!  There are a few things below to keep in mind if you do want to help out though…

• You can’t sign up more than once with multiple emails.  You have to have a different IP Address, Credit Card Information, Name, Address, Phone Number, all those things.
• Try not to sign up at an office, because sometimes all those computers on a network can have the same IP address.
• If you have ever made an account with this site before (YouriPad4Free.com) don’t sign up again.  You will void the chance of your referral working.

Now, to show that I am serious about seeing if this works… in the event that this doesn’t work and turns out to be a scam, I will personally pay each of you that are my referrals underneath me the $9.00 back via Paypal.  I actually really want this to work, because well, I want an iPad, I’m not gonna lie, but I want my curiosity to be settled, and lay that to rest.

Just to be clear, I am not posting this article as a walkthrough on how to cheat the site, or anything like that, I personally believe that this actually does work, just a lot of people are skeptical on if it is real.  I am actually doing this to prove to people that it will work and once you can see that I do have something new, people will be more inclined to actually go ahead with it.  And if I do get ripped off, well… we will know the truth.

Oh, and just to gloat… my Vlog was shot with my new Canon Rebel T2i 50mm f/1.8 lens!  LOVE the DOF!