Very often I see offers from bands or stores that say something like, "you get (insert item A here) free when you buy (insert item B here)." Obviously I have a problem with this or I wouldn't be blogging about it. But here's the problem I have...if you have to buy something to get the "free" stuff, then the stuff isn't actually free, is it? Regardless of what you paid for the entire package, you are still paying for it!

The wording in offers like this is simply semantics -- you aren't actually getting anything free, you are simply getting it for a reduced rate. It's the same with offers such as, "buy one, get one half off," or "buy two, get the third free." In both cases you are simply paying less for more -- but you are still paying for all of it.

"Wait, how does that work?!"

Well, duh...

In order for something to be truly free, you would have to not spend any money to actually get it. So, when a band tells you that you get,

"FREE POSTER when you purchase the Sepultura T-SHIRT + ALBUM PACK or the DOUBLE VINYL of KAIROS at: http://bit.ly/sepnbusa,"

then you know that you are paying for the poster because, in order to get it, you have to buy the other stuff. Simple as that. What these offers are is actually cleverly worded false advertising because nothing you're getting is actually free.

A good example of something that is actually free is the free samples you get in grocery stores. Those are free because you don't have to buy anything to get it. And as my dad says, "if it's free, take three."

So, for all you out there who like to give away free stuff...don't call it free unless it actually is.