The FREE MAC is back.

I heart a new mac
Originally uploaded by ..Sally...

As many of you may remember, I signed up for a free macbook pro this past January... and ALL of you were skeptics. That is, until you saw this photo. I still look at this computer and can't believe I got for about $80.

If you're interested, check out joshclark.com. There is a new twist (conga line), but it's basically the same offer. It takes commitment and organization, but it's well worth it.

It's not too late. You can have a Macbook Pro too!

You're in luck! They have another macbook pro offer listed!

For more info and tips, go to www.joshclark.com or just give me a call.
Good Luck!

*URGENT UPDATE*

The offering company, NuiTech (or maybe they're called Net Radiance), has drastically altered the terms and conditions of their agreement (link here). Apparently, they've had enough of the Josh Clarks of the world, and have deemed the practice of signing up -- or helping others sign up -- for these offers for the sole purpose of getting a gift as "fraudulent."

If you began this process before they issued the new terms and conditions, I have no idea what position the company will take regarding the so-called fraudulent activity. The most prudent course would be to wait and see before completing any more "offers" on the website. For your reading enjoyment, I've pasted the most relevant portion of the amended terms and conditions below:

Posting information on a website, forum, or auction that has to do with "canceling the offers" included, but not limited to, cancellation phone numbers, cancellation time frames, and any encouragement or direction to cancel the offers after signing up with them, is strictly prohibited and constitutes grounds for termination of account and disqualification from receiving any gifts. Users that are found to have fraudulently created orders on advertisers' sites solely for the purpose of receiving credit towards a gift will be disqualified from receiving a gift. For purposes of participation in this program a user will be deemed to be Fraudulent if the user signs up for advertiser’s offers and subsequently cancels three (3) or more of those offers for which a purchase has been made within a 90 day time period from the date of signing up for the offer.

Additionally, any user that is deemed to be Fraudulent will not be given credit for any other offers that were previously completed and will be banned forever from participating in the company’s programs.

Users agree to submit accurate and valid information on all Advertiser offers. Failure to submit accurate information or valid credit card information will be considered Fraudulent and the Company will have no further obligation to provide a gift and the User will lose all credit for previous offers completed towards a gift. Additionally, any user that submits inaccurate information will be forbidden from ever participating in the company’s programs.

A user may not "walk" a prospective member through the creation of an account or any subsequent campaign activity on our sites and give directions on how to make orders on our advertisers' sites and immediately canceling the order after receiving credit. If a user is found to have "walked" a prospective member through the signup and/or offer process with instructions on which offers to complete and then cancel after receiving credit, all involved parties (both the users making the posting and the users signing up through the posting and the canceling their advertiser orders) will have their accounts placed on hold and disqualified from receiving a gift.

Mac Probook has arrived!

In all it's glory...
Originally uploaded by The Gulde Family.

Final cost about $50. You can't beat that. I'm giddy. It feels great to have a new computer. And not just any computer, this thing is my dream computer. A screaming fast Probook. This is actually a little faster than my G4 titanium tower that I do all of my work on. So I suspect this will quickly replace it. It will be so nice to sit and watch a movie and work from the living room instead of being upstairs in the guest room/office.

So for all of you skeptics out there, the proof is right in front of you. And if you were thinking, I'll wait to see if she gets her computer and THEN I'll sign up... sad news, the deal is over. It ended a couple of weeks ago. However, there are a number of other deals for PC laptops and 42" plasmas, etc. I'll post those links when I have some more time. Currently I have two monkeys jumping all around me!

Disclosure: While the final cost of $50 is correct in terms of cash outlay, you should also consider the income tax consequences of participating in these deals. The promotions company, NuiTech, issues an IRS form 1099 for the value of each "gift" that they ship. While it appears that our 1099 might be sent to a non-existent address, we've incurred a tax liability for some percentage of the retail price of a MacBook Pro.

FREE APPLE PROBOOK!!! I hope.

Where do I begin? I guess I should start with what happened a week ago today.

I'll make it short and sweet. Francis accidently spilled her milk on our relatively new (6 month old) Apple ibook. I tried to save it, but failed. Took it to Apple, paid a lot, and got a call today saying it's ready to be picked up. It sucked. It was expensive. Fortunately they recovered all data. And life goes on... To add to our no good day, Matt and I sat down feeling quite defeated about the laptop and decided to watch a movie. "What? We accidently sent our wedding video to Netflix? Never to be returned?! Ugh!" That day had officially gone from bad to worse. Again, it all worked out. We called our wonderful videographers a few days later and they are providing us with another copy for less than we paid originally. So that's a relief.

Then our brand new minivan didn't start... who knows why. That's still to be determined. Van is going to shop tomorrow.

Just when I thought the Guldes had lost their magic touch, Matt sent me an email with this link.

It's a site that explains how a guy got a FREE 15" APPLE PROBOOK just for signing up for 18 stupid offers - stuff like BMG music, Columbia House DVD and Blockbuster online. And it appears as though it actually freakin' worked. The process is a bit painful (canceling and tracking all your signups), but this guy, Josh Clark, provides a downloadable Excel tracking document that you can edit with your own info. (And hey, for a $2000 dream computer. I can make the 18+ phonecalls to these companies.) In addition to the information he provides, showing everything he did, you can also read the 300+ comments from other people who are at various stages in the process. Very trustworthy sources have confirmed that this offer is not a hoax.

So as you may have already guessed, I did it. After 3-4 hours of carefully and painstakingly reading through all of the comments and "Terms and Conditions," I was finished choosing my 18 offers. Until this evening, I'd been waiting for all of my "credits" to come through, but now it's official. I'm now in the "Verification" stage and soon ... FREE laptop, baby! Well, "free" is not exactly correct. After I cancel the 18 different things I've signed up for and send back every DVD language tape known to man. I estimate my new $2000 Apple laptop will have cost me approx. $50. If you're not a Mac person and want a PC, you're even luckier: I had to sign up for 18 offers, but if you want a PC laptopyou only have to sign up for 10. What a deal.

If you're interested in doing this, keep reading. If not, ignore everything below and begin crossing your fingers for me. I will be sure to update everyone if and when I actually get my hands on this computer.

Alright, Back to business...Here's my formula:

First, read Josh's site. He suggests things like starting a new free email account to use solely for this project. (You'll definitely want to do that!) and like I said, he has an excel document for tracking everything. After you've done that and are ready to take the plunge, read everything below:

Here's what I've learned to get fast/almost immediate credit and get your laptop for about $20, plus the cost of shipping the junk back.

First, make sure you sign up backwards..starting with page 3 then 2 then 1.

Page 3:
Video Professor $6.95
Pitney Bowes $30.00
Onlingo x2 (buy two languages) $6.95 x2
Advantage Language $6.95
Blockbuster $9.95
Sirius Radio Offer (don't use safari) $0
Auction Toolkit $39.95

Total Cost (after refunds)= $9.95 plus cost to ship junk back

Page 2:
Simply You* $1
GreatFun $1
DisneyBooks $3.95 got total refund
ValueMax* $1
Cosmetique $5.95

*In the fine print you also subscribe yourself to a company called Savingsmart. Be sure to cancel that subscription as well. It is also a $1 (x2).

Total Cost (after refunds): $10.95 plus cost to ship junk back

Page 1:
Completehome.com $1
Emusic.com $0
EverydayValuesClub $1

Total Cost (after refunds): $2

If a www.mattandsally.com reader actually decides to do this, 1) I promise nothing. I don't have a computer in my hands so I can't guarantee anything and 2) please call me and I'll walk you through the process. I think I can save you the hours of reading all of the terms and conditions that I had to do.

Good Luck and Enjoy!