Swagbucks Codes = Free Stuff
Written: Mar 29 '10
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If you are on Twitter chances are you have seen a lot of people posting that they have won Swagbucks. Years ago there were similar "reward programs" that rewarded you for surfing using their toolbar; the problem with them was that they could have a massive amount of control over you and your computer without you even knowing it. They could direct you to search results that they benefited from or block out competitor sites if you used them as your only source of online information. But that was before people started to get more user friendly with things; there are still some reputable sites left over from the "make money online" era of the internet but 99% of the companies that were around in the heyday simply folded when the money dried up.
Swagbucks is a reward type site but instead of reading emails like you do with My Points all you have to do is use it as a search engine. Not every search is going to result in winning Swagbucks but you are still getting something for doing nothing – or at the very least getting something for doing something you would have done anyway. Wow, that was pretty wordy. There are other ways to win Swagbucks outside of doing searches but I will get in to those aspects of it in a minute. You aren’t going to be able to quit your day job and live off of Swag Bucks / Swagbucks even if you have a thousand people sign up under you. You can snag some nice stuff if you use the toolbar and don't abuse the system and since it is still a relatively new site there are referral opportunities if you know people who haven't signed up.
How good is the search engine? I have to be honest; it needs some improvement. When you use Google you can often times view the cached version of a page making it easier to find what you are looking for. There are a lot of paid links in the Swagbucks searches but if you can overlook that you can get some interesting results.
I joined less than two weeks ago and have earned 452 Swagbucks. I posted this on Twitter and a fellow Epinions member asked my how I earned so many in a short period of time. Searches were part of it but I downloaded the Swagbucks toolbar and paid attention to the notifications that appear every once in a while. Read them and they could contain codes that you type in the "Enter Yoru Swag code" submission box. I think the most I have ever gotten from a search is 20 Swagbucks but as you can see, it can add up quickly. Occasionally I get Swagbucks when I open my browser or restart it; these are usually one or two SB but again, they do add up. If you are lucky you might be a random 30 minute winner of 100 Swagbucks, you can see who the current winner is when you visit the main page.
The Swagbucks toolbar doesn't take up a lot of space and so far it hasn't given me any problems with crashing or freezing. I like having it there because I can see new notifications from them and with one click I can visit the main page to see what's new. You can also follow them on Twitter and FaceBook if you want to maximixe the points you can earn with random codes that they release. I haven't heard of anyone complaining about Swagbucks canceling accounts but they do have a strict "terms of service" and won't tolerate people who do searches just for the purpose of getting Swagbucks.
So what do you do with Swagbucks? Save them use, use them to enter sweepstakes or trade them in for prizes. You can even convert them to cash via PayPal if you want but you are better off with the gift cards. Some of the things you can get include a Twilight movie poster [700 SB], EcoUsable 33 Ounce Bottle [1,750 SB], $5.00 Amazon E Gift Card [450 SB], Wii Points [2,000 points for 4,000 SB], Apple $300.00 E Gift Card [37,000 SB]. You can also get boxed DVD sets, iPhone wallpaper, clothing, trading cards, CD's, toys, select electronics and more. The stock changes often so if you don't see something you like today, check back tomorrow and hit the "newly added prizes". If you are ordering gift cards make sure you read the description so you will know if it can be used online or if it will be mailed to you so you can use it at a retail store. Ultimately I would love to see them have MasterCard or Visa debit cards that you could use anywhere – even if they cost a little more than regular electronic gift cards it would be nicer to have the option to shop anywhere you want than to have to be limited to one store. They don't have Lego listed there yet but if they do, rest assured I will be blowing my SB on them.
Some of the prizes you can earn are pretty nice but you are going to have to put some effort in to earning the Swagbucks needed to get them. They do have a referral system in place so if you know a lot of people that have not yet signed up for it, strike while the iron is hot and you could be on your way to earning tons of Swagbucks from them. Even though I already own one, they have an 8 gig iPod Touch at the site for 30,000 SB. If I can earn 300 points a week .. well, it will take a long time to get one and there is a chance that they might not have it when I save up that many. Even so, the stock of what they have is sweet and after checking around on message boards people have received what they have ordered with no problems so its pretty obvious that they are not a rip off.
How else can you earn Swagbucks? You are getting greedy huh? If you have old electronics or video games around the house you can go green and swap them for SB. I have a couple of older cell phones that need to get erased and recycled and I checked to see how many Swagbucks I could get for them. I was a little shocked that one of them was only worth 5 SB. Not even worth sending it in if you ask me. Curiosity got the best of me and I looked to see what an old PS2 would be worth. Oddly, there are some items that are worth a lot.
PS2 Instruction Manual = 10 SB
PS2 Power Cord = 10 SB
5 In 1 RF/AV Switch = 20 SB
Sony 8 MB Memory Card = 40 SB
Sony PS2 Dual Shock Pad = 40 SB
If you want to see what your video games or game units and accessories are worth, check it out here:
http://swagbucks.com/?cmd=sb-tradein&action=swapvideo
You can also trade in your cell phones and MP3 players for Swagbucks. I looked up the Apple iPod Touch and it said that it could be worth as much as 1,692 Swagbucks. There's no way I am getting rid of it but I was curious to see what the value of it was. In comparison, my Kyocera Lingo [same as Kyocera Wildcard] is worth as much as 148 Swagbucks. Finding out what your cell phone is worth can be done in three easy steps and it is a non-commitment process. You don't have to agree to sell something just to look up the conversion value of it. Right now the only MP3 players that they are buying are the Apple brand but that could change in the near future.
So far I haven't had any problems with the toolbar or getting around the site. I signed up for their Twitter notifications in case I am one of the 100 Swagbucks random winners that are posted every half hour. Sometimes things sound a little too good to be true, in the case of Swagbucks you aren’t just handed SB but it is nice to get a random amount for doing a search or opening up your browser.
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^V^ © 2010 Freak369 ^V^
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