The Internet is like a huge city, you can find just about anything for sale and just about every kind of salesperson. And just like in a big city, you have to exercise caution when making a purchase. This is unlike a small community where everyone knows everyone else and you can use a person’s reputation as a way of determining how much caution you need to use when dealing with him or her.
Now if you allow your sense of caution to totally control you, you will miss out on some great deals on some excellent products. One of the best and worst types of offers you can find online are free trial offers. On the one hand they allow you to try a product for free before deciding whether you want to become a customer. You just have to learn how to navigate around the “tricks” the merchant may be using to get your business. But if you are careful you should be able to take advantage of these offers without trouble.
Just like there are some shady merchants, there are also some shady customers who try to get as much for free as possible without having any intention of ever becoming a customer. So in this battle between merchants and consumers here are a few tips to help you “win”.
First, use a calender. Many of these offers will give you a month’s supply of the product but the trial period starts when you place the order and expires after say 2 weeks. If you wait until you actually receive the product to start counting, or if you wait until you have used all of the product before canceling, you will find yourself being billed for the product. This is not dishonest on the merchant’s part – it is simply relying on the explicit terms of the contract with you. Your responsibility is to pay attention and abide by its terms. If you need to cancel within 2 weeks of the order, do so. Otherwise, be prepared for that credit card charge.
If you decide to cancel, be sure to do it the way the merchant said to. That usually means a phone call but it might be an email. I suggest both and document the time and date of the call along with any confirmation number or the name of the person you spoke with. In the unlikely event that you try and simply cannot perform the required cancellation procedure – say you can’t get through despite repeated call – document it and you should have no trouble having any subsequent charges reversed by your credit card institution.
Don’t sweat the small charge for shipping and handling. Some people think that a free product trial should include free shipping. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. read the fine print and make your decision with that in mind. Personally a $5 shipping charge for a free trial of am $80 product sounds like a pretty great deal.
