I was out with some coworkers in the midst of a pretty crappy week, venting some steam. Our bar always has great specials, tonight being $9 imported pitchers. (Seriously - Centennial IPA? $9 from $23. Stone Levitation? $9 from $26.) Good deals, right?
I’m enjoying the IPA, when two poor (hot) college girls arrive at the table to give us some free Sam Adams samples. I’ve grown to appreciate Sam Adams, but not on $9/pitcher night (though that’s still a good deal). They’re wearing ridiculous promotional fedoras and say they’re giving away these nice glass steins for people who buy a pitcher. Hey, Sammy is worth $9/pitcher, right? But I say, “I don’t need a stein, how about a hat?” “Sure! We can get you a hat!”
So a few rounds later, we decide that the other options aren’t as good as my potential hat, so we get some Sam Adams. Next time the girls go by, they notice I ordered a Sam Adams, and say they’ll go grab a hat for me.
They come back with a crappy canvas baseball hat, instead of a fedora. However, I couldn’t be more excited. See, I’m bald(ing) - I wear a lot of hats. I don’t mind wearing through them with sweat stains, sun bleaching, etc. But I definitely need to wear one while doing yard work, and all that piles up in the summer. And as baseball hats go, these are my FAVORITE - canvas(ish) material, cloth strap in the back with a metal clasp, fits tight right on my thin scalp. Now I don’t have to wear a $25 hat in the beating sun anymore, and it cost me having to drink a beer I like at a discount price - nice, right?
As of late, The Doorses and assorted friends/family have been playing pub trivia at a favorite restaurant. Since we’re, well, us, we win a fair amount of the time, to the point where the DJ who hosts the event had to change the rules so no one can win more than two weeks in a row.
Anyway, the prize is usually two tickets to the local minor league baseball team. These are not bleacher seats, either. These are seats that are literally right behind home plate. There is also a nice buffet included with the tickets beforehand with free non-alcoholic drinks, so we don’t have to pay for food unless we want something special. It’s great because it’s two nights out for the price of one.
When we don’t come in first, we come in second or third. Then we get beer T-shirts. They’re nice for cleaning the bathroom.
Giant Eagle supermarket, Buy 1 get one free, didn’t look at receipt closely yet, but about twenty bucks on three (six?) meat items…
loyalty cardholder thread…
Last things I got for free were four tickets to see Rodrigo y Gabriela at Ravinia at the end of August and before that I got four box seat tickets to a Cubs/Cardinals game at Wrigley last month.
My local library has a free book shelf for discards and donated ooks they don’t think anyone would buy. I got a first edition of the Italian Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone.
I write reviews for a local arts 'zine, so – tickets to concerts (Laurie Anderson; Bela Fleck/Edgar Meyer/Zakir Hussain; Jorma Kaukonen/David Bromberg), dance performances, and plays.
Of course, I have to write a review* after, so they’re not completely free – but, still, greatest scam evah!
A few years ago, my wife and I went to catch a Royals baseball game. I was on my way to the ticket booth to purchase tickets when a young girl came up to me and asked, “Need tickets?” I didn’t quite hear her and actually thought she was scalping tickets, so I said, “No … I’ll buy mine over there.”
She said again, “I have 2 free tickets … do you want them?”
Turns out she was attending a Sports Journalism class and she had 4 tickets, but was only using 2 of them.
I agree that the sale prices are a fine deal, but I have NEVER heard of a place that can get away with normally charging $23 or $26 for a pitcher of any beer.
(I have drank many pitchers of beer, in many places around the globe, and 25 bucks seems like an extravagant price even in the most expensive cities I have visited)
That said, I love getting freebie beer-logo glasses, bottle openers, hats or other swag—I have a nice little collection form my travels, which reminds me of happier, better times while I am still stuck here in Salt Lake drinking 3.2% Pabst Blue Ribbon…
I think I may have spoken too quickly. I think they cap out at $21 for the fancy microbrews. Still too high, but it’s punishment for ignoring their daily specials. (There’s always a beer and a liquor special every night.)
In other news, I hit up Rock Bottom for their monthly tapping after work. (Happy Pils - sweet name!) The beer wasn’t great, but it was free. So was dinner. And the rest of the beer that my friends didn’t drink because they didn’t like it. There’s also a raffle every time - none of us won anything this time, but two times ago I won two tickets to the Winter Beer Fest ($35/ticket), which was awesome.
I like the way you think—I enjoy almost all beers (of course I enjoy some much more than others) so I always ask about any daily specials when trying out a new place, as in addition to saving a bit of $$$, it also allows me to try something different once in a while…
I have a ton of t shirts from indie touring bands, and a bunch of CD’s. My boyfriend is a promoter, and we get stuff like that fairly frequently. My boyfriend regularly gets swag (t shirts, hats, lighters, shopping bags, pens) from the first nations cigarette companies, because he buys (cheaper) Reserve brand cigarettes. I wont wear them or use the loot.
My favourite free swag lately has been this travel purse my parents got for booking their trip. It has pockets and gagets and a passport case, all kinds of funky things. Mom didn’t want it, but it works for me.
The end of June, I get a call from a work client of mine. She says she likes the work I’ve done for her, and asks if I’d like 4 tickets to a concert on July 3.
Row 6 center tickets for Eric Clapton, wsg Roger Daltry!
Went with my two teenage sons (huge classic/blues rock fans) and my wife to a great show with the best seats I’ll ever have!
Maybe not exactly free, but the best reward I’ve ever gotten for doing my job!
I won two free tickets to see Michael Buble from the local radio station about a year back. They were great seats (about 10 rows back, just off of center). Loved it!
I forgot where I first found this, but years ago I signed up with a website that gives away free magazine subscriptions, among other things. I received *Spin *for years for free. Now I get *Maxim * and Time absolutely free. I also got a 2 GB flash drive. These offers usually don’t arrive until 6-8 weeks later, but I have never paid for anything from these guys.
