FreeLunchRoom - The #1 Freebie Trading Forum on the Internet! » Getting Down to Business » Member Tutorials

[MicMarino]

Preparing To Trade
* Preparing your mind
You have made a great decision to join us here at the FLR forum. It is one that you will not regret! BUT, you have to begin your endeavor with the right mind set.

Even though you can make some great money freebie trading, you have to understand two very important things; this is not a get rich quick scheme and you will have to put some honest effort into it.

At first you may feel overwhelmed, this is normal, but it will pass quickly. Just like anything different you do, it takes some getting used to. Give it time to sink in, do not let your frustrations get the best of you. Take your time and if you don’t understand something ASK FOR HELP!

Before you even think about taking on the task of trading read the RULES OF THE FORUM first. If you don’t know the rules it may be easy to break one. There are consequences when you break the rules; being new and not knowing the rules is not an excuse. The rules are set to protect the members of FLR, so take the time to learn them.

*Learn the basics
There are many great TUTORIALS in the forum. You will also learn a great amount by reading through the LUNCH PACKING ASSISTANCE forum. This is where people post their questions that they cannot find the answers to. More likely than not; someone has had the same question as you in the past. Do not be afraid or embarrassed to ask your Mentor or Trade partner for help!!

* Your computer settings
You need to adjust some of the security settings on your computer BEFORE you begin a freebie site. The reason for this is so your computer and the computers of the sponsors/freebies sites can “communicate” with each other. Other wise you will not get proper credit and all your hard work will be for nothing.
- set your computer to accept all COOKIES
- turn off any and all pop-up blockers
- if your anti-virus software or your firewall has a built in pop-up blocker you will also need to disable them.

*PayPal Verification
Being PayPal verified is very important. Not only because this is the method that you will get paid by your trader, but many of the freebie sites will not approve your green if you are not PayPal verified. This is another source of protection from fraud in the freebie world. If you are not verified it is a very simple process and can be completed at the PayPal web site.

*Record Keeping System
It is very important to implement a record keeping system. You must keep impeccable records of your trading. This enables you not only to keep track of what freebie sites you are completing and who for; but also your offers you have completed. I suggest creating a spreadsheet with pertinent information. This information should include the trader you are working with, the freebie site, the offer, date offer completed, IF you are considering cancelling the offer when you must do by in order not to incur extra charges, and anything else you that will make tracking easier for you.

*Picking a trader/mentor
When you pick a trader/mentor you want to choose someone that has experience and knows what they are doing.

You can tell how much experience a trader has by their iTrader. This is the number you see under every trader’s avatar. Yours looks like this right now (or should if you haven’t completed any trades) 0/0. The first number will represent the number of positive feedbacks the trader has received; that is if they have had NO negative. Each negative feedback will offset that number by one (decrease it). The second number is the positive percentage of feedback that trader has received. In my personal opinion, any one with a iTrader number over 20, should be fine to work with. By the time a trader completes 20 trades in the freebie world, they pretty much know what they are doing; granted, as with many businesses, you learned as you go and could run into a new issues on any given day.

You don’t want to stop there. If you click on the traders feedback number you will be able to see the actual feedback that has been left for them. I recommend reading some of them!!

Another suggestion is to check out the “Lunch Theft” forum. I do this on a daily basis and recommend that every one should. This forum will give you the heads up on which traders to watch out for; it’s not just for newbies!!!

Instant Messenger Service
It is a good idea to have an instant messenger service. They make it much easier to communicate with your mentor/trader instead of waiting on answers via PM. Most have AIM and/or YIM

GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY TRADING!

[vipervma]

Good Post Very informative.

[CouldBFree]

Very good Mic! Thank you for posting this for us!

[MicMarino]

Thanks guys... It's Chapter 1.. lol

[lieraonig]

Great post MicMarino!
Getting your mind set is great advice.
Being patient is also recommended!
Thanks for taking the time.

[catsquakers]

Great Information. I love the way you have written it.

[paymrsw]

Great job my friend! Well done.

[joeys1976]

Nicely put together

[aminajackson]

This is a real kicker. Good for all starting out traders. Thanks for all the work

[greensunited]

You give a lot of good advice...you also did a nice job of organizing the information so that it is easy to read and understand.