Your Take On Free Samples..Er, NOT Urine!

@Janey1966 (24170)
Carlisle, England
August 16, 2010 7:35pm CST
You know the type of thing..free samples requested online that you get through the post a few days later. I am not like "normal" people. By that I mean I don't order girlie make-up samples. Oh no! I order samples of wallpaper and carpet! Seriously, I do! When Mum was here we visited a well-known, family-run furniture shop called Vaseys, here in Carlisle. It's a great shop to browse around as the salespeople don't accost anyone, which is a welcome relief. It really is a fabulous shop, full of both modern and more traditional furniture, depending on taste. Anyway, I was surprised to see a load of carpets on show so I couldn't resist looking through a few samples as I've got a "thing" about red at the moment. I am convinced that a bright red carpet is the ONLY carpet that will brighten up this house..then I saw it. My heart missed a beat I was sooo excited! It is a carpet made by Ryalux (a wonderful British carpet manufacturer) and it's called RED CABOCHON! The image of this carpet was tattoed in my brain so I wrote the name down on a piece of paper as I wanted to order a free sample of it myself from Ryalux. How satisfying to see it come flying through my letterbox. In a bag of course but I knew immediately what it was. I opened the bag and the cute little carpet sample is in its own folder. You should see it, it's ace. What did I think of the colour? Well, as I'd seen it before I knew what to expect but to have my own free sample of it..what can I say? It is definitely the carpet for most of this house but it will probably be discontinued by the time we can afford it! At least I know the colour now. Bright red. Take a look for yourself. You will either love it or hate it but as I'm an Aries (and our colour is red) I can't get enough of it lol. Any unusual samples sent to you lately? I did have a "thing" about wallpaper up until recently. Can't stand it now..it's gotta be paint instead. Now there's a thought. Gotta take a look at the Dulux website! http://www.ryalux.com/ChooseCarpet/ChooseByColour/1/35 The sample colour on screen (on my computer at least) is actually darker than the real thing, which I'm actually quite pleased about. The brighter the better in my opinion. Can't be doing with beige or cream! By the way, Ryalux is so ace that I was able to return older samples I did not want in a bag they provided, so they can recycle them for me..for free of course. Marvellous!
4 people like this
5 responses
• Canada
18 Aug 10
Oh God, I sure needed a laugh now!! I like the way you can get so excited over some samples and how much you want that red carpet!! Dont worry Im not laughing at you at all but c'mon....wallpaper and carpet samples? hehe, thats so funny. I have to admit that I dont go after samples that much myself but if they offer one, its usually cosmetics, yeah Im one of those gurly gurls!! I used to hate red, it was only black for me before but .....with some fluctuation in hormones....my taste for color was born!! My living room is red......all red and I wont tell you what other colors my other rooms are painted in LOL. I can understand your love of red as Im thinking of painting my kitchen red now (must be my hormones again lol) Anyways, I remember one of my aunt had a red carpet and she hated it. Every tiny white speck will show up on it, so you'll be spending all your time vacuuming Im afraid. Ive solved that problem in my kitchen. I had those cheap tiles down before and hated it. So we bought that fake wood thingy that clips together. Of course at the store they said it couldnt be painted....well fu you I thought. I took a piece home and went to work. I mixed some paint with some glaze and applied it with a cloth, then applied 3 coats of urethane. I have hardwood floors everywhere else in the house and with a dog, you can see some scratches but not on my kitchen floor. Its exactly the color I want and its very durable. Why dont you paint your floor instead of a nice red color if thats what you want. Its cheap and if you dont like it, you can always paint it again lol. My kitchen floor is shiny and so easy to clean (steam mop)and not a scratch on it (its been 5 yrs now). When I get the chance, I'll paint over my hardwood floors in the rest of the house and solve the problem of the scratches from my dog or everyday use wear and tear.
@eagle271 (179)
• Canada
17 Aug 10
Hi, Lucky for you if you got your free samples. I have joined multiple sites about free samples such as free USB key or free Lacoste perfum for men, etc. I haven't received anything yet. It is been like a month that I am waiting and starting to believe that those free samples websites are just another way to scam people. I am not believing in free samples sites anymore, for me it is a big waste of time and they do not send anything. I don't understand why I am not lucky with that. Anyways, I will a bit longer for my orders and I don't receive anything, I will forget about free samples. Good luck for you though,
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
17 Aug 10
Sorry that your free samples haven't arrived yet. Perhaps the sites in question are awaiting new stocks? I wouldn't give up. A well-known toilet-roll manufacturer are giving away free trees! It was ages ago I ordered one and I was about to give up hope when I received an email from them letting me know that the trees will be sent out during the Autumn as that is the best time of year to move trees from one location to another, as they are slowly falling asleep for the winter. No doubt the demand for these trees is high so I'm prepared to wait. I only hope it's not going to be too big, otherwise I shall have to "donate" it to my in-laws or the local Council! Good luck with your freebies.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
17 Aug 10
hi janey I just bought a t shirt the other day of that same gorgeous 'red that you like so much, it almost matches it and I have got some compliments about that shade of red. It should be really magnificent in your home. Its an exciting color but very pretty'too. I am a Scorpio so do not know why I like that particular shade of red but I really do.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
17 Aug 10
Hi Hatley! You could have Aries as your Ascendant or Moon, which may explain your love of red. However, Scorpios are passionate aren't they so that may be another explanation. Which one do you prefer lol. Either way, red is a fab colour whichever way you look at it. One of my £10 tops is bright red and it makes me feel so ALIVE, I can't explain it! I have a bright yellow one too which has the same effect on me. I would love to see your particular top. Same shade as the carpet, eh? FABULOUS! Yes, you are right, a red carpet would look fabulous in this house so long as the walls aren't the same colour lol. It would be like being in a red box. When I showed hubby the carpet sample he went "a bit bright!" which is exactly the response I wanted. Haha!
@Theresaaiza (10487)
• Australia
17 Aug 10
I have never shopped for carpets before except for the occasional window-shopping sprees. But I was thrilled to know that from where you live, shops or companies gave FREE samples. That sounds really cute getting samples. What I got before were samples of perfumes in very small tubes. But since I am not into perfumes (not very appropriate for tropical countries too), I never had any good use for them.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
17 Aug 10
Yes, I know the perfume samples you speak of. We get them in shops but not as often as I would like! I suppose, with carpets, the manufacturers will send free samples to try and lure us into buying carpet instead of laminate flooring. I know that (probably due to the severe winter we had) people are falling in love with carpet again and I am sooo pleased about this because I have always loved carpet. In another shop Mum picked carpet for her bedroom and it had a huge roll of a black carpet with glitter in it. She didn't buy that but I couldn't stop looking at it. I've never seen anything like it! The guy in the shop said that the glitter never comes out when the carpet is hoovered, it stays there permanently. An ideal carpet for a bedroom don't you think? As for Dulux paints, their samples aren't free but are only £1 a 10ml pot I think you get. I will have to concentrate very hard on the colour(s) that take my fancy. It won't be red though as you can have too much of a good thing!
@fpsninja (874)
17 Aug 10
aha, thats quite funny, because the carpent in my room is red too! I once got a free sample of dental wash, "wallet card mints", a dentist in training mug, and millions of pens, and in 2 years time, i am told that if i am still on the course i am doing at uni (i am doing dentistry) i get given a special electric toothbrush with loads of different modes, ossiclating features, times, temperture, the works(RRP £150) from Oral B (apprently the trades people e.g. oral b, listerine etc really want to get students on their side early on). What can i say? I cant wait!
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
17 Aug 10
Haha! I like it! If I were in your shoes I'd be excited too. Fabulous!