Gratis Internet
Encyclopedia
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
-based referral marketing
Referral marketing
Referral marketing is a method of promoting products or services to new customers through referrals, usually word of mouth. Such referrals often happen spontaneously but businesses can influence this through appropriate strategies.-Overview:...
company that rewards customers with products of high-demand such as the iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. In 2004 it became a member of the Inc. 500; while in 2005 Gratis broke into the top twenty at eighteen. Its name comes from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word Gratis
Gratis
Gratis is the process of providing goods or services without compensation. It is often referred to in English as "free of charge" or "complimentary"...
, meaning free of charge.
History
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and more recently Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. In August 2005, Gratis Internet's multiple websites including the original FreeCondoms.com and FreeIpods.com were branded under the FreePay name.
Gratis's revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
in 2004 was US
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$20,479,325.00 according to Inc.com. Inc.com also reports that Gratis Internet has only 12 employees.
In March 2006, Gratis Internet announced new terms of service imposing time limits.
Better Business Bureau
Based on Better Business BureauBetter Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau , founded in 1912, is a corporation consisting of several private business franchises of local BBB organizations based in the United States and Canada, which work through their parent corporation, the Council of Better Business Bureaus .The Better Business Bureau, through...
files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to unanswered complaint(s). In 36 months prior to November 2008 Better Business Bureau has processed 848 complaints about Gratis Internet.
FreePay Process
See: Viral MarketingViral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
In order to receive the advertised "free gift" at each of Gratis' websites, a visitor is required to register and complete one affiliate
Affiliate
An affiliate is a commercial entity with a relationship with a peer or a larger entity.- Corporate structure :A corporation may be referred to as an affiliate of another when it is related to it but not strictly controlled by it, as with a subsidiary relationship, or when it is desired to avoid...
offer. Affiliates include AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
, Blockbuster
Blockbuster (movie rental store)
Blockbuster LLC is an American-based provider of home video and video game rental services, originally through video rental shops , later adding DVD-by-mail, streaming video on demand, and kiosks. At its peak in 2009, Blockbuster had up to 60,000 employees. There are around 1700 Blockbuster...
, RealNetworks
RealNetworks
RealNetworks, Inc. is a provider of Internet media delivery software and services based in Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. The company is the creator of RealAudio, a compressed audio format; RealVideo, a compressed video format; RealPlayer, a media player; RealDownloader, a download...
, casino and credit card offers, and others. The affiliate offers typically consist of trial memberships, service subscriptions, credit card applications and the like; some require credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
s during registration, and a few involve payment of some kind, causing critics to claim the "free" label a misnomer.
The visitor is then required to refer a set number of people, which varies by the product (the number required is usually the MSRP
Suggested retail price
The manufacturer's suggested retail price , list price or recommended retail price of a product is the price which the manufacturer recommends that the retailer sell the product. The intention was to help to standardise prices among locations...
of the gift divided
Division (mathematics)
right|thumb|200px|20 \div 4=5In mathematics, especially in elementary arithmetic, division is an arithmetic operation.Specifically, if c times b equals a, written:c \times b = a\,...
by US
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$50). A valid referral is one which has both completed registration via a referral link and signed up for an affiliate offer. Each referral must be a unique user or the account will be "put on hold" during the approval process. Because sponsors must acknowledge the completion of their offer, they are willing to invest more for each referral than they might for other, more traditional forms of advertising.
The advertisers pay Gratis for the referral, between $25 and $90, though the company has not released information as to specific numbers. For example: assuming the MSRP of an iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
is $250, five affiliate signups (the number needed for one user to redeem a free iPod) nets Gratis
Gratis
Gratis is the process of providing goods or services without compensation. It is often referred to in English as "free of charge" or "complimentary"...
between $150 and $540. Per the program's terms, Gratis does not need to deliver an iPod to any member with four or fewer referrals.
Since Gratis Internet was created similar companies have been created offering similar incentives for completed offers. Gratis Internet and its initial service, FreeCondoms.com are credited with creating the incentive marketing industry.