Gratis Internet

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Gratis Internet is a Washington, D.C.-based referral marketing company that rewards customers with products of high-demand such as the iPod and Playstation 3. As of 2004, it is a member of the Inc. 500; while in 2005 Gratis' name was found sitting at number eighteen in the top twenty. Its name comes from the Latin word Gratis, meaning free of charge.

Based on Better Business Bureau files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to unanswered complaint(s).^[1] In the last 36 months to February 2008 Better Business Bureau has processed 866 complaints about Gratis Internet.^[2]

1 History
2 FreePay Process
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

Gratis Internet was established in 2001. Since July 2004, it has launched a number of websites offering free merchandise, most notably iPods, to users who register and complete membership requirements. Although the word "free" is used prominently, would-be members seeking to complete an offer to qualify for the free merchandise are often given a number of options, some of which involve signing up and paying for a service or subscription. Gratis has launched its websites in the US, UK, Canada, Germany and more recently Australia. In August 2005, Gratis Internet branded its websites as FreePay.

Gratis's revenue in 2004 was US $20,479,325.00 according to Inc.com.^[3] Inc.com also reports that Gratis Internet has only 12 employees.

In March 2006, Gratis Internet announced new terms of service imposing time limits, which have been controversial among users.

[edit] FreePay Process

See: Viral Marketing

In order to receive the advertised "free gift" at each of Gratis' websites, a visitor is expected to register and complete one affiliate offer. Affiliates include AOL, Blockbuster, RealNetworks, 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 cards 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 of the gift divided by US $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.^[4] For example: assuming the MSRP of an iPod is $250, five affiliate signups (the number needed for one user to redeem a free iPod) nets Gratis 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.