You may have heard rumors that it's possible to get paid to drive your car, or in some cases, get a car to use for free. While participation is limited and luck is needed along with living in the right place for a particular campaign, it is possible to get paid to have your car (or a car given to you) turned into a moving advertisement. If you drive 800 miles or more a month along heavily populated routes in your normal driving habits, you may want to check out the companies that offer car wraps.

The concept is fairly simple. Advertising space on billboards along busy roads and highways is limited and in some places not allowed at all. It's possible, however, to reach many of those people another way. Companies advertise on the outside of cars to reach those same people. The problem is that purchasing an entire fleet of cars for an advertising campaign can be overly expensive, so a solution was developed.

Instead of purchasing their own cars, companies will sometimes "rent" space on individual private citizen's cars. In return for letting a company "wrap" your car with their advertisement, they will pay you a monthly fee. The fees can be as high as $400 a month for a full car wrap and lesser amounts for a partial car wrap or a window wrap.

Another option that some of these companies offer in place of car wraps is giving you a free car with advertisements already on it. You usually don't get paid in this deal or get to choose the type of car provided, but you do receive free use of the car for the period of the campaign. Your only costs are gas and insurance meaning that you are getting transportation at a fraction of the cost of owning your own car. There are some rare cases when you can get paid when receiving a free car. Some companies will pay you to drive the free cars along certain, specified routes each day.

So what is the catch? The main one is there are far more drivers wanting the positions than advertising campaigns available. If you don't drive a lot of miles or live in a highly populated area (large college campuses seem to be an ideal location) where the advertisement will be seen by a population the advertisers crave, your chances of being chosen are slim. Most companies require you to drive a minimum of 800 miles a month. Not driving enough miles can negate the contract and most companies utilize global positioning systems (GPS) in your car to track the miles and places you go each month.

Most programs require you to be 18 years of age, have a clean driving record and your own auto insurance. Traffic violations will in most cases prohibit you from being considered. Contracts vary in length and amount paid depending on the type of advertising in the campaign involved. Most companies don't let you pick the advertiser, but will let you bow out if the advertiser goes against your moral values (cigarettes, alcohol and sex).

With the concept there are a growing number of websites that don't actually offer the service of car wrapping, but claim to be a data base for advertisers to find people willing to advertise on their cars. Many offer free sign up, but then encourage you to purchase a "premium package" that is supposed to move your name higher up on the list. The fact is that you are very unlikely to be picked from these services so it isn't worth the time (and definitely not the money) signing up with them.

While the chances of being picked are slim, they are better than playing the lottery. If you meet the requirements and live in an area you believe would be desirable to advertisers, it could be worth the 15 to 30 minutes it takes to fill out the online forms. If you are lucky and do get picked, you will significantly reduce your driving expenses with little effort on your part.

If you are new to purchasing merchandise or services at online auction sites you may not know what to look for before you make a purchase. You want to be sure that you get quality merchandise for a great price from a trustworthy seller. The following are a few tips to remember when you are going to buy at online auction sites.

Tip #1 - Read the Description Thoroughly - If you are going to purchasing a product online at an auction sites you need to make sure that you read the description of the product in its’ entirety. You want to be sure that you know exactly what you are considering and what kinds of terms they have in mind. Reading thoroughly is very important because it will make you aware of payment options, shipping options and more.

Tip #2 - Check the Cost of Shipping - When buying from online auction sites it is also very important that you check out the cost of shipping before you purchase an item. As the buyer, you are responsible for paying the cost of shipping, but various sellers set different rates for shipping costs. Some rates are reasonable, while other sellers drive up the rates until they are totally unreasonable. You want to be sure that you pay no more than you have to in order to receive your item in a timely manner. Also check out which methods of shipping you will get for the money you will have to pay.

Tip #3 - Check the Seller Feedback - Taking a look at the seller feedback is very important if you are going to buy from an online auction. You want to be sure that the seller is trustworthy and see what other people have to say about this seller. If you see that the seller has had a great deal of negative feedback recently, then you may want to try purchasing the product from a seller with better feedback. You may also want to beware of purchasing from seller who have no feedback at all as well.

Tip #4 - Research Prices - Before you go ahead and make a purchase in an online auction, you need to take the time to do your homework. Be sure that you research the prices of the products that you are going to buy. Sometimes you may find that the seller is selling the product for far more than it is worth, and you may be able to get it cheaper from someone else. You should never make a purchase blindly because doing so may result in you getting the bad end of the deal. Doing the needed amount of research on the product will be worth the time you spend in the end.

If you are new to the online auction world, then you need to make sure that you keep these tips in mind. Buying at auction sites can be great, but you need to make sure that you do so only after you are aware of important things to look for. Consider your purchases carefully and the sellers that are selling them, and you will be better able to make the right decision.