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“They Eventually Stopped Answering My Calls And Blocked Me”: ‘Lifetime Supply’ Winners Are Sharing How Things Are Working Out For Them
Time to time, I imagine what it would be like to win a lifetime supply of things. I am probably not the only one.
Think of chocolate chip cookies, your favorite magazine subscription, lavender soap bars, super soft toilet paper, and even something random like paper clips. The idea that these things may come to you freely and openly for the rest of your existence is beyond exciting.
So in order to find out exactly what it feels like to win a lifetime supply of something, we looked at this recent Ask Reddit thread. People are not only sharing the supply they won, but also revealing how long it actually lasted, so we may put an end to the never-ending question of whether a lifetime really means forever.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
When I was a kid, I won a lifetime supply of meat from a large butcher shop in my hometown. My dad put my name in one day and a few weeks later we get a call telling us we won a custom bbq pit, and a monthly supply of meat and supplies for life.
We got the pit a few days later and every month we’d get a foam ice chest of various beef cuts, sausages, and steaks, a couple dozen sodas, a bag of charcoal, lighter fluid, and a bag of whatever veggies they had around or something.
We were really poor at the time, so this was exactly something that could help the family out in enormous ways. My dad would have a bbq every weekend, sometimes several times a week. I remember sometime afterwards realizing that I hadn’t felt hunger in days or even weeks, and that was so unusual for me.
For years we continued to get the monthly supply. There was even one point where the amount of meat and sodas we got doubled. We were having a hard time keeping up, but that’s a good problem to have. I remember near the time I was going to high school we got notified that the butcher shop got bought out by a larger national chain and the parent company just wanted to cut us a check to end it all. We gladly accepted. The check was for like $10k or something like that. By that time, my parents had gone to school and got their degrees and got better paying jobs, so the free supply of food was just bonus.
Looking back, that win helped us out a lot when we were poor. I can imagine the savings my parents gained from not having to buy as much food which was scarce as it was. We became happier and a little fatter as well.
#2
I won the Cash 4 Life 1000$ a week lottery about 10 years ago. Every year I send them proof i'm still alive, and they send me a check for 52,000$ in the mail.
#3
My dad won a lifetime supply of cat food, but a) they delivered it all at once, and b) our cats didn’t like that flavour (of course)
We donated it all to a local animal shelter who were super pleased!
#4
I won free chocolate for life from our local manufacturer. It is a maximum of 14kg per year, which essentially means I get a bar of chocolate per day. And yes I get to choose the flavour.
This has been this way for 20 years now.
#5
18 years ago we won a lifetime of vet visits for my cat. They expected to give it to someone with an old pet, not a new kitten. The cat’s still alive. The Vet Clinic has moved and rebranded 4 or 5 times, but they’re still honouring the award.
Edit: lifetime of routine checkups. Treatments and operations still had to be covered by us
#6
I clicked on one of those ads in the old internet circa 2000 and filled out a survey during computer class in the 6th grade. Now every month since then I receive 31 snack sized Cheetos bags in a box straight from frito-lay. I got two week suspension for clicking it. Worth it, f**k authority.
#7
When I was a kid 30 years ago, my dad said he'd won free pizza coupons (I think it was Dominos?), and he had a massive stack of these little business cards, each for a free large pizza. My dad said we had to be careful using them, though, so we would only use them occasionally, and I remember my dad sometimes making me order the pizza, and answer the door to get the free pizza, even though I was only like, 9.
Looking back, my dad worked for a commercial printing company and was not exactly an upstanding citizen. I'm pretty sure he didn't win those cards....
#8
Down on the eastern shore of Maryland there was a legendary food place called Tubbys. It was totally stoners paradise. Free cheese curls at 4:20 type of place. Well an old hippy dude in line behind me asked if I knew what band was playing on the speakers. I said “Grateful Dead my guy” so he takes me over to the counter, gets a piece of paper and wrote “Free food for DingoDanAmiibo and the gang” and signed it. Turns out he was the owner. It was the best like 2 years ever until they closed.
#9
I won free full body massages for life, which basically just translates to 2 massages a week. It was really good. I got addicted. I knew everyone who worked there and I got to experiment with all of them to see which were the best. Ended up fluctuating between 3 different staff towards the end. They would even train new staff on me for free because I spent so much time over there. Those training massages never cost me anything either or counted towards my 2 free massage a week limit.
When the place closed down I realized just how expensive massages were... I haven't had one in ages and I miss it so bad.
#10
At age 14 I won a lifetime subscription to Rolling Stone magazine in a radio contest. That was 1993. The latest edition arrived just last week. That magazine has followed me through high school, college, marriage, divorce, the birth of my kid, and all through the present day. From Britney to Cardi B.
I sometimes wonder which will last longer: me or Rolling Stone?
#11
My grandparents were gifted a lifetime subscription to Reader's Digest as a wedding gift. They were offered that, or some other magazine that went out of business a decade later so they made the right call. Being a frugal family, that subscription was utilized fully. After grandma & grandpa were done with each issue, it would be passed along to siblings and their kids with this little round robin thing they did (sharing photos and updates of what everyone was up to, passed along in a manilla envelope and when it came back to you, you remove your items and put new ones in). They had been together for 62 years when grandpa died, but RD honored the subscription an extra decade until Grandma passed. I forgot how much was paid for it, but I'm certain the gifter got their money's worth.
OutspokenHBW 1 year ago
It's a good poop book. It fit perfectly on a toilet tank or on the edge of the tub. Before smartphones it was a staple in my family's bathrooms.
#12
As a consolation prize for losing on a tv game show I was given a popcorn popper, a little girl's bicycle and a life-time supply of Dinty-Moore Beef Stew. I gave the popcorn popper as a Christmas present and sold the bicycle. When the beef stew arrived it was one case of 12 cans. After trying the first can I realized that the other 11 would indeed last me a lifetime.
#13
Ryanair (a European budget airline) awarded its millionth passenger "free flights for life". After nine years, they reneged on the deal so she took them to court. The Judge awarded her €60,000 to buy her own flights (Her legal costs were more than 3 times that, but Ryanair had to pay those as well).
Given the relatively low cost of Ryanair flights, €60,000 probably buys her at least 6 flights a year for the next 50 years.
Michael Olsen 1 year ago
Good thing about most European courts is that the loser pays the costs. Stops frivolous law suits and most people can afford to sue.
#14
Back in 1977 when I was 13 years old, I won a contest for a lifetime supply of models from Revell. A semi truck pulled up to our house in a very quiet suburban neighborhood and proceeded to unload 4 pallets of plastic models in the driveway. There were hundreds of models; probably one of everything they offered in their catalog at the time.
I kept about 2 dozen which kept me busy for a year or so. My father helped by finding a local retail hobby store to buy the rest of them at a very favorable price so we could just get rid of them. He put the money into US Savings Bonds for me which I cashed out many years later to use for a down payment on my first new car.
Michelle Reynolds 1 year ago
I was wondering how a company could give away MODELS (like Cindy Crawford and Kate Moss)
#15
My father played a game on teletext back in the days and won a lifetime supply of some beer. However, they cheated him and only sent him a party keg.
My dad was a programmer, so he wrote a program which played for him cards on teletext. If the program was about to lose because of bad cards, it quit the channel and logged in again automatically again for the next run.
The program was playing day and night, and after some weeks, he had won several TV sets, video cameras, cruises, you name it.
Eventually, the organizer of the game locked my father out - which was illegal. So he sued the company which organized the game and reached an agreement: They paid him an amount of about 10k, and he never played again.
So instead of a lifetime supply of beer, he got a lot of stuff and this is why I, as a teenager, had my own video camera (Which, at this time, was so expensive that people had to lease them.)
#16
I had a roommate who won a lifetime supply of taco bell. He had this card that got $10 a day every day. Back then, $10 in taco bell went a long way and he was a starving student, so he ate at taco bell every day for years. He knew every single thing on the menu. He also was happy to loan it out to people. It was actually a really good deal.
I also got a coupon for $5 large pizza from pappa johns when I moved into the dorms. Every week, I would order, give a good tip, and not give them the coupon. Win/Win. I loved that stuff; I still have a thing for cheap papa johns pizza. But all good things end - I let my stupid a*s little brother visit one time and he gave the coupon to the driver. And that's how I became an only child.
#17
My Uncle gets free Ben & Jerrys for life. He's been Friends with the actual Ben and Jerry since before they opened the first shop. He has a card that says free ice cream for life and he can get pints or cones at any scoop shop (at least locally). He also gets decks of free pint coupons that he can use at grocery stores and gas stations. When Unilever bought them out they tired to buy back all the "free Ice Cream for life cards" I guess it was a fairly generous offer because my uncle is one of only a few that chose to keep the card.
#18
I didn't 'Win" persay, but new hire at a chain coffee shop gave me 3 million reward points rather than the 300 I was supposed to get for buying $300 worth of gift cards (Christmas gifts for mail man, amazon drivers etc). I tried to get the kid to fix it but he said don't worry about it. Still getting free drinks and pastries as often as I want and haven't even dinted that number.
#19
This happened in the late '90s. A local bar ran a wet t-shirt contest where the girl who won would win a lifetime of free bar drinks at the bar. They also had cash prizes for 2nd and 3rd place. I don't remember how much, but it was a lot at the time.
The result was a packed bar, tons of girls entered, and tons of guys spent money. My friend's girlfriend at the time now his wife won first place. She was stoked. He was excited. Within a couple of weeks, the building was condemned and torn down.
Turns out the owners of the bar knew that the building was going to be condemned and just wanted to have one last party.
Susan Robinson 1 year ago
I once won tickets to a a Black Sabbath reunion concert in my 20s by biting the head off a (chocolate) bat!
#20
Late to the party here but when I was a little kid, my family and I happened to move to a new city, and the first or second night there we decided to try a new Chinese restaurant nearby. We didn’t realize it was the inaugural evening, but there weren’t very many costumers.
Yet the owner of the table waited on us himself and he was very sweet and friendly. Had just immigrated from China recently. He gave my family a free voucher to eat there for free for life since we were one of the few people actually to show up at all that night. (I remember it was a big golden ticket like W***y Wonka.)
Sadly, the restaurant closed within a year. I always wonder how he’s doing. My family was very poor back then and we would go there every month, which felt special. I’m sure it wasn’t the greatest Chinese food in the world, but I still remember how the Orange Chicken tasted.
#21
I won free groceries for "life" at my local grocery store in a raffle. They give me a digital $100 gift card once a month, which is wonderful, however it doesn't even cover a week of groceries.
It will end when the total given has reached $10,000. I've got about $4000 left.
#22
I got free multi-room DVR and HBO for life from my cable company.
Little did i know that any little change including replacing an 8 year old broken router would remove it from my account and make it “impossible” to add back. F**k Time Warner and their f****d up businesses practices.
#23
At the Big 12 championships in I believe 2007, Chik-Fil-A sponsored a giveaway for a “lifetime supply” of chicken sandwiches under 12 seats in the Alamodome in San Antonio. I was lucky enough to sit in one of those seats, and the prize included a folder with 52 coupons for a free chicken sandwich meal. So less lifetime supply, and more of a “once a week for a year” supply, but I really wasn’t about to complain about the technicality. 52 free sandwich combos was still worth about 400 bucks at the time, I still consider it one of my luckiest moments, and at 14 years old it was pretty mind-blowing!
#24
I won a “lifetime” supply of donuts (up to a dozen per day) at a local bakery, and it lasted 2 years until the original owner died and his a*****e son took over the business
#25
Won a lifetime supply of monster energy drinks, they eventually stopped answering my calls and blocked me after months of saying 'they should be shipped out soon'. Never even got 1 drink.
#26
Not me but a couple years ago my friend won Cedar Points (amusement park) Halloween costume contest and received a life long annual pass. It’s a special gold colored pass and comes with of a bunch of other perks. I am very jealous.
#27
My stepdad won a lifetime supply of WD-40 in the 1990’s. They sent him 4) 16 oz cans. He died in 2019, my mom still has 2 cans.
#28
I won a lifetime supply of cat food.
My cat died a week before the drawing, so they cut me a check for $2,000 instead.
#29
I won a lifetime supply of Oreos. It was actually just one pallet full of Oreos. Probably would last a normal person their whole life. It was like 1000lbs of Oreos.
I gave away so many Oreos! Having a party ? I'll bring a bunch of Oreos. Break room needs snacks? Oreos. I ended up donating like 400lbs of Oreos to a shelter, just to get them out of my garage.
Just for kicks I called to inquire if lifetime meant my lifetime, and that I had finished off the pallet. They said the pallet would last a reasonable person their whole life. So... That was a bummer. But I think that's typically how those things work.
Edit: To those saying to sue for more, the full pallet taking up garage space was more of a burden than the benefit of always having Oreos. I don't need it again.
#30
I had a "lifetime" gym membership that ended after 2 years. I thought it meant my lifetime not theirs...
What do you think ?
DamnBecky 1 year ago (edited)
A girl in my MA program had one of those "Free for Life" cards to Krispy Creme. She was a super fit, Elle Woods type, but she showed up to every small group study session, thesis review, extended lecture like the perfect southern hostess with a massive box of donuts. I dont think I saw her eat a single one ever, but she fed us through graduation.
Kitty Cat 1 year ago
I won a "lifetime" of free basic internet service ages ago. The moment the plan structure changed (on their end) it disappeared and they "couldn't confirm" I'd ever had it. Then a few months later, after they tried overcharging me several times (from the normal rate, not the free lifetime rate), they tried charging me for ALL THE MONTHS of free internet I'd had. They acted pretty confused when I asked how they suddenly confirmed I'd had the free internet. Never paid them a penny of that ridiculousness. They sold the debt and the first collector that tried to call me (and they called my family, the jerks) got absolutely verbally flattened for trying to collect a fraudulent debt. Never heard from them again.
Kitty Cat 1 year ago
Edit- They tried charging me for all the free months as part of my "cancellation fee" for leaving their service. It was like $200 to break the contract and then they wanted thousands more on top of that. Told them where they could shove that bill.
Load More Replies... DamnBecky 1 year ago (edited)
A girl in my MA program had one of those "Free for Life" cards to Krispy Creme. She was a super fit, Elle Woods type, but she showed up to every small group study session, thesis review, extended lecture like the perfect southern hostess with a massive box of donuts. I dont think I saw her eat a single one ever, but she fed us through graduation.
Kitty Cat 1 year ago
I won a "lifetime" of free basic internet service ages ago. The moment the plan structure changed (on their end) it disappeared and they "couldn't confirm" I'd ever had it. Then a few months later, after they tried overcharging me several times (from the normal rate, not the free lifetime rate), they tried charging me for ALL THE MONTHS of free internet I'd had. They acted pretty confused when I asked how they suddenly confirmed I'd had the free internet. Never paid them a penny of that ridiculousness. They sold the debt and the first collector that tried to call me (and they called my family, the jerks) got absolutely verbally flattened for trying to collect a fraudulent debt. Never heard from them again.
Kitty Cat 1 year ago
Edit- They tried charging me for all the free months as part of my "cancellation fee" for leaving their service. It was like $200 to break the contract and then they wanted thousands more on top of that. Told them where they could shove that bill.
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