One of my major blunders was signing up blindly for `free trials' just because they were free! You know the ones that ask you for your credit card details, saying that "this is for record purposes only and your card will not be charged".

I made a huge mistake once when I signed up for a one-month free trial program. I had expected that when the one-month was up I would get a notification saying that my free-trial period was up and ask me to confirm if I wanted to continue.

But I received no such notification, in fact not even an email confirming that the sum had been charged. Instead it was only when I received my next month's credit card statement that I learnt that I had been charged $99. Now as a newbie just starting out online, I could ill-afford the money, especially as it was to be a monthly recurring payment!

So I frantically looked around for a way to cancel. Being a naïve newbie, I had not read any instructions on cancellation procedures! In fact I had totally forgotten about signing up. I could not remember my username and password.

But somehow after several tries, I managed to log-in to their website and contacted someone at their help desk. When I asked why I had not been notified, the reply was: `It was already stated in the free trial offer you signed up for!'. When I asked to cancel, I was directed to another department, before I finally managed to cancel the subscription!

Costly lesson learned - always read the fine print!

If a program says `one-week free trial', immediately check the fine print to see what happens after the one week is up. How much would you have to pay? Would it be a monthly recurring billing? Would it be automatically charged to your credit card or PayPal? What are the cancellation procedures? And so on.

The above caution also applies to those `$1 Trial' programs.

Note that I am not saying that all these progams are scams or would not work!

A lot of legitimate programs out there are good, but the question is good for whom? They might be wonderful for an internet expert looking to expand his business but be totally unsuitable for a newbie.

As a matter of fact, there are also some programs out there that can be ideal for newbies. These programs do coach the newbie step-by-step in the basics of building an online business.

However the onus is on you, before you purchase or sign up. Remember the phrase `caveat emptor' which means `buyer beware'! You have to be clear about what your intention is when starting your online business. You have to be very focused, very selective and must ask questions such as these:

* Is this what I really need at this moment? Will it help with my just-begun business or would it be useful only at a later stage?

* How much does it cost? One-time payment or monthly?

* How do I cancel?

In conclusion, I am not saying that you must avoid all free trials! Just be more discerning.

If you do find one that is up-front about the cost and is something you really need (like webhosting, auto-responder etc.) by all means do take advantage of the trial period to test-drive the system.