My husband is a big fan of Google Alerts. He’s always searching for free stuff such as beer, boats, and backpacks (things that begin with the letter “B” for some reason). Just today he received an alert that he had set up a couple of months ago: a free backpack from Office Max. Here’s the email he received:
Google Alert
FREE Backpack at Office Max and other great deals, Thru 7/30 …
There’s a 3 day sale going on RIGHT NOW at Office Max! You can get 100% back in MaxPerks Bonus rewards on backpacks, messengers, and select totes (limit 2).
How Google Alerts Work
First, you have to have a GMail account. These are pretty easy to sign up for and free, just follow the directions on Google’s homepage. Then, you log into your Gmail account and click on ‘Account Settings.’ Next, you click on the link ‘Alerts’. It will take you to a page where you can type in the search bar for what you’re looking for, then you can drop down and select the type of alerts you would like to receive on that search term (blog posting, email, news article, etc.), how often you want to receive these alerts (daily, as it happens, or once a week), volume (all results or only the best results), and finally you select which email you’d like to receive your alerts. It’s that easy.
How your backpack ends up being free
Last year, Staples had a very similar offer; buy a packback and receive a gift card for the same amount as the value of the backpack. This year, I’ll be purchasing my backpack at Office Max. For those of you who don’t shop at these office stores very often but would still like a “free” backpack, another alternative would be to resell your gift card through Plastic Jungle, Gift Card Granny, or eBay.
It’s a terrible shame that whenever Mr. LH receives an alert for free beer or a free boat, it’s never in our state. Yet, you’d be surprised how much free beer is out there. 😉
Will you be taking advantage of this offer?
8 Comments
I don’t believe I’ll be taking advantage of the free back pack offer, but I am very interested in Google Alerts! I’ll have to sign up for a few of my own interests and see if I can get any good free offers!
@Benjamin – Mr. LH is always getting free beer and a free boat alert, but most of these alerts are in the Southeast of the US. Depending on what you’re looking for, you might luck out on your free stuff. Good luck!
Can’t go wrong with free beer.
@101 Centavos – I agree. Too bad these offers aren’t anywhere near us.
Interesting! I guess the backpack is effectively free, but it looks like you have to come back into the store to redeem the voucher for something else, right?
@MB Hunter – That’s correct, unless you resell your gift card for a few dollars less than what it’s worth.
Interesting post! I didn’t know that Google Alerts offer free something. And I’m looking forward to trying Google Alerts! A free beer would be sufficed to me. Thank you for sharing this post!
Didn’t know about google alerts. Neither of us needs a backpack but free beer is always welcome. I guess 101 centavos and I are kindred spirits 😉