Free samples don’t just come from the internet, some shops are happy to give you free samples of their products too. Obviously we’re not talking clothes shops or furniture shops, but there are lots of places who are selling things which they want you to buy where they are competing with so many other places that by offering you a sample of their product, they can try to persuade you that theirs is best.

Many stores that sell perfumes will have samples of their fragrances to give away. Some of these will be on going, while others will be because they’re trying to promote a particular scent at that time, so they’ll have samples of that one available. Generally it will be counters for a particular brand, and perfume counters within department stores who will offer this rather than shops that specifically sell just perfumes.

Another area within the shops where there are often freebies to be had is within facial skincare. Many brands such as Clinique, Lancome, Clarins etc. have samples available to give away. You’ll generally need to go through a question and answer form with someone to get these, but that’s merely so that they can make sure that the samples they’re offering you will be suitable for your skin type.

These days, it’s not just the women’s skincare and fragrance where there are samples available either. Many companies are pushing their men’s skincare ranges quite hard at the moment, and so have samples of things from shaving balm to moisturiser available for you to take home for your fella to try.

Food and drink is another area where free samples can often be available particularly for new products. Some supermarkets will have stands in them on certain days where they will offer you tasters of one product or another, so that you can try the cereal bar, drink, or yoghurt when you’re there doing your shopping. However, many of these supermarkets will also allow you to try a taste of a product on their deli counter before you buy it too which can be an excellent way to try new cheeses or cold meat products without wasting money on something you’re not sure if you’ll like when you get it home.

Other places such as coffee shops, shops that sell hand made sweets and biscuits etc. are also good places to try asking for samples. For example, if you had a party to cater for, you could ask in a bakery if it would be possible to try a sample of two different cakes before you decided which one to order.