• CharlesReed@fedia.io
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    1 month ago

    I was addicted to Sam’s Hatch Chile Cheese Flavored Peanuts from the first time I tried them while walking by one of their many sample carts. They were a limited run, so I was very sad when Sam’s stopped carrying them. But, they did start stocking the seasoning itself, so I got that going for me.

    • 200ok@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 month ago

      I get that. That’s how I feel about kettle popcorn. I found a seasoning but it’s not the same as buying it pre-seasoned.

  • bruhSoulz@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    Not once. He- actually at one point i remember getting free oreos, i was an oreo fan before that so i guess the answer is yes cus i kept buying them after

    • 200ok@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 month ago

      Reminds me of a Mitch Hedberg joke: “I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too.”

  • deegeese@sopuli.xyz
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    1 month ago

    Shareware, AKA “try before you buy”, now known as free game demos.

    My first one was DOOM on 3.5” floppy disks. I remember my dad asking “What’s this I.D. software you ordered?”

  • 200ok@lemmy.worldOP
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    1 month ago

    It wasn’t a free “sample”, but I got someone’s hand-me-down leggings and they were so comfortable that I bought a new pair when I needed a different size.

  • JPSound@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Granted this isnt a “Purchase,” but I married my wife. After that first sample, I was hooked and knew I wanted the whole woman forever. 6 years later, I got my best friend and gal of my dreams everyday.

  • MIDItheKID@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Really weird that this question would come up right now because up until yesterday, I would say no. I was at the store with my daughter and there was a person giving away free samples of these frozen dumplings (they were cooked, not cold). My daughter chowed one down and asked for another. Now my daughter is a super picky eater, so I was like “hell yeah, I’m gonna buy a box of these”.

    Well we went home to have dumplings for dinner and she didn’t want to eat them.

    So now I have dumplings.

  • RagingHungryPanda@lemm.ee
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    1 month ago

    I did it with Fulton and Roark’s wax based cologne. It’s great for traveling and they smell nice. I still have the sample pack since I don’t wear cologne often.

    • 200ok@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 month ago

      Neat, I’ve never heard of wax-based cologne. How does it compare to non-wax-based cologne?

      • RagingHungryPanda@lemm.ee
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        1 month ago

        It’s nice. There are different scents. You use your finger to rub just a tiny bit off and apply it. The smells are good. I’d say it’s a bit harder to over-apply. And it’s in a much smaller package, so easier to transport.

  • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
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    1 month ago

    Yeah.

    Mini story.

    Back in the day, me and my best friend got on a mailing list for samples. We didn’t do it intentionally, but it ended up being pretty cool. We’d get all kinds of stuff. Some of it was shit, some was good, the way you’d expect.

    But over the years, those samples worked. Sensodyne, the toothpaste for example. Tried a sample, and since it’s as good as anything else as toothpaste, the fact that I preferred the taste more than most was enough to switch.

    But the cool shit was when they’d ask for feedback. Sometimes you’d get full sized freebies.

    One of those was the candy, take 5. A pretzel with caramel, covered in chocolate. This was before they were for sale. We tried the samples, sent in the little card, and a few weeks later got boxes in the mail full of the samples, asking us to get other people to try it. So, we did, and those people usually sent the cards that came in the box the we gave them.

    Turned out that the little number on the card was our number. So, when people sent in the cards with feedback, they knew it was us doing their marketing for them (that’s what the whole thing is, it wasn’t just them being nice). Well, another month or two passed, and we see them in stores. And we would buy them here and there, because they are insanely good, if a tad too sweet overall.

    Then, we got more boxes from them, packed with the full sized packages, plus a whole booklet of coupons, and a surprisingly nice little form letter of thanks. It ended up being something like fifty free packages, twenty free coupons plus another twenty of half price.

    • 200ok@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 month ago

      What I like about this is it’s sincere… you liked something, got to share it, and it got onto shelves. Now everything feels like a scam.

    • TheOakTree@lemm.ee
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      1 month ago

      Would you say the amount you received in thanks is roughly worth the amount of work you did by marketing and relaying feedback? I’m just curious.

      • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
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        1 month ago

        Honestly, yeah.

        It took next to zero effort, and it was a product I liked enough to have recommended even if the only thing I had gotten was the first sample.

        It’s really the best kind of marketing I’ve ever run across. They made it so that the only work involved was handing something small to someone, plus the original feedback. If the product had sucked, even that effort wasn’t mandatory.

  • HootinNHollerin@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    I don’t go to Costco but every few years and I went hungry with a friend who has membership and bought too many of the samples I had

  • Mothra@mander.xyz
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    1 month ago

    Yes, for a set of skincare products. One of the products was a sebum control serum that just did magic, I’ve never seen anything else like it. No more pimples no more blackheads no excess oil and just in three days. Unfortunately it’s discontinued now 😭 but yeah that’s my bought after the sample story

    • theedqueen@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      I was just about to ask the name of the product and then got to the end of your comment and became immensely depressed. I’m tired of feeling excessively oily and what you described sounded like a dream product.

      • Mothra@mander.xyz
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        1 month ago

        It was the jojoba company brand. They still make the face cleanser with grapefruit, which was pretty good for oil control but the serum was the key product.

        I’m just as sad 😭

        • Noved@lemmy.ca
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          1 month ago

          If the product works too well they can’t sell you other stuff! 🥲

  • 200ok@lemmy.worldOP
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    1 month ago

    I received a “gift with purchase” lip balm. I usually just toss it after discovering how sticky/goopy/fragranced/tingling it is, but this one was really mild/neutral/pleasant so I got the full one when I finished the sample.