Shareware, AKA “try before you buy”, now known as free game demos.

My first one was DOOM on 3.5” floppy disks. I remember my dad asking “What’s this I.D. software you ordered?”

Does marriage count?

/s

Costco samples sometimes. Doesn’t happen often though. I think the last time was this huge bag of popcorn that was actually really good.

Video games, for sure.

It wasn’t a free “sample”, but I got someone’s hand-me-down leggings and they were so comfortable that I bought a new pair when I needed a different size.

I received a “gift with purchase” lip balm. I usually just toss it after discovering how sticky/goopy/fragranced/tingling it is, but this one was really mild/neutral/pleasant so I got the full one when I finished the sample.

Yea, snacks are the most likely culprit for me.

Always buy from the grocery store sample person.

I definitely did at a BBQ place near my old office. If you give me a bite of good BBQ, I’m buying what you’re selling.

Protonmail yes

I was in NYC for Pride the other year and got a sample of a cannabis drink made by a new-at-the-time company Cycling Frog. Flavor is good for a seltzer type drink, and the inebriation level is tailored to be about equal to 1-2 alcoholic beverages, which makes it easy to dose. Hubby and I loved it and bought a couple of cans on the spot. They are now available in dispensaries near us, and we still pick up a case every few months.

• Cracked Minecraft Beta 1.7.3 to full Minecraft Beta 1.9 Prerelease 5. (I don’t like Microsoft and Notch is a Nazi)
• Cheese (before I was vegan. I kinda miss free food sampling)
• Monthly countrywide public transit ticket (well 9€ wasn’t free, but for a net of 39,000 km railway alone plus every other PT except HSR, it basically is). 49€ now, 58€ in 2025 (=> Subsidy regimes are not on parity to motorised individual traffic)
• Library subscription

I don’t go to Costco but every few years and I went hungry with a friend who has membership and bought too many of the samples I had

I played the free demo of Factorio for about 10 hours and got hooked. Waited a bit to see if the price would go down, but it didn’t and I didn’t care. Bought it at full price and sunk a few hundred hours into it, which is some of the best entertainment ROI from a cost/hours perspective. It turned out to be a bad ROI from a general life perspective since I didn’t do much else during that time, so be careful to not get too addicted.

Sometimes when I go into the big booze store for wine. If they have samples of a type I’m looking for and it tastes ok, I might buy. They’re usually sampling wines at very acceptable price points.

I always test drive cars before buying.

I change hobbies like I change my clothes. So to keep from sinking way too much into every new hobby, I try to borrow or rent for a bit before buying to make sure it’s a hobby that I will stick with. Example, I picked up dragonboat racing this summer but declined to buy my own $120 paddle and used the clubs slightly heavier, older, paddles that are a little big for me. If I keep going with the team next year, I might buy a paddle. But first will buy a new PFD so I don’t have to wear one of their “one size fits all but it’s going to ride up halfway to u/Vanth’s ears” lifejackets.