To those who have seen online offers for a free iPod, the truth of such claims seems implausible. But freshman in LAS, Eric Giesing, says he’s proof of the offering Web site’s legitimacy.

“I know a lot of friends that have (signed up) since they saw that it worked for me,” he said. “So why not get something for free? There were no catches whatsoever.”

A new wave of online affiliate marketing has launched freeipods.com, a site where visitors can not only obtain a free iPod, but also get a free trial for any number of products.

Freeipods.com is one of many Web sites operated by Gratis Internet, a “customer acquisition” company based out of Washington, D.C. Owned by Peter Martin and Rob Jewell, the company promises a free iPod or $250 gift certificate to those who sign up for one of 10 different online promotions after convincing five other people to do so as well. Most of the promotions are free and can even be canceled after the trial-period ends.

“Yeah, there’s no such thing as a free lunch,” said Terry Banks, Gratis spokesman. “But this is for real. There’s no catch. It’s not a scam.”

In fact, according to Banks, Gratis Internet has shipped nearly $2.5 million worth of free merchandise since the onset of freeipods.com in June. The company gives out at least $500 worth in iPods per week, every week. Along with the iPods, the company sends out CDs, DVDs, video games and flat screen televisions.

Like Giesing, Jessica Lam, senior in engineering, had a similar experience. After signing up for a free AOL trial, she later canceled it and received her free iPod less than two months later.

“It was cool (getting the free iPod),” she said. “I mean it’s a promotion for (Apple) too, even though it’s free.”

Lam knows two other people who have also received iPods through the online offer.

In fact, the company plans to give away as much as $50 million worth of free iPods before the promotion ends, claiming they would be able to keep up with popular demand.

“We’re not going to stop (giving away free iPods) as long as people still want them,” Banks said. “We’re not in the free iPod business, we just give away great, cool things that people want.”

Gratis has already developed a new site for the increasingly popular photo iPods at freephotoipods.com. According to Banks, the marketing company tries to “stay abreast of trends and what people are interested in.”

However, phony names and addressees will not allow users to complete the offers.

“When people supply fake information, it’s not a quality lead,” Banks said. “So we can’t use it. We do have to be careful of fraud issues.”

However, false names and addresses haven’t really been a problem, he said. Once people started hearing from friends and neighbors about the legitimacy of the offer, they supplied correct information in the hopes of obtaining free merchandise as well. The whole process takes about six to eight weeks after completion.

Gratis Internet doesn’t lose out on giving away so many free iPods, Banks said. The company gets paid $40 to $60 for sending users to their customers’ sites, such as AOL, eBay or Blockbuster. Gratis then uses those funds to help pay for the free merchandise they give away.

Compared to larger markets where companies are spending millions of dollars on advertising that doesn’t guarantee customers, Gratis Internet is pleased with the number of people who continue with the free trials. Many customers cancel the free trial immediately following its termination. However, many do not, which makes the marketing strategy work.

Inc. Magazine recently named Gratis Internet the 95th fastest growing company in the United States. Revenues reached $15 million this year, which are up from $4.9 million in 2000.

Banks denied any allegations that the company has a catch.

“Your interest as a customer is worth money to us,” Banks said. “So why not give something to the customer in return? You could apply for a Visa and get nothing. Here, we give you a free iPod.”