How to find free stuff in Second Life

You do not need Linden dollars (L$) to dress well or furnish a home in Second Life. Stores give away a lot of things to bring visitors in, and many residents build whole wardrobes from free items. This guide shows where free things come from and how to collect them without trouble.

The main kinds of free items

Freebies. Items any visitor can take for L$0, often from a "free" or "gift" box near a store's entrance.
Group gifts. Items for members of a store's group. Joining is sometimes free and sometimes costs a one-time fee in L$. See our group gifts guide.
Lucky chairs and lucky boards. A board shows a letter that changes every few minutes. When the letter matches the first letter of your avatar name, you sit or click and the prize is yours.
Midnight Mania boards. A board needs a set number of clicks before midnight SLT. If enough residents click it in time, everyone who clicked can claim the prize the next day.
Hunts. Stores hide a small object and you find it to get an item, usually free or for L$1. See our hunts guide.
L$0 and L$1 Marketplace items. On the Second Life Marketplace you can sort or filter by price and find items for L$0 or L$1.
Your Library. Every account has a Library folder in the inventory with free clothes, hair, furniture and gestures from Linden Lab.

Where to look

The Marketplace. Search for what you want, then sort by price from low to high. Read the description and check the pictures: some L$0 items are demos.
Store landing points. Many stores have a gift area right where you arrive. Look around the entrance first.
Group notices. Once you are in a store group, gifts often arrive as notice attachments. You can also open older notices from the group profile.
Event weekends. Shopping events and hunts bring many gifts at once.
WhatSL. The freebies, group gifts and hunts pages list what stores send us, each with a teleport link.

Opening what you get

Most items come packed in a box. To open one:

Take it to land where you can rez objects (your own land, a friend's land or a public sandbox), put the box on the ground, click it and choose to open it, then copy the contents to your inventory.
Many boxes can also be "worn" to unpack them without land. Check the box description or the folder that appears after you wear it.
New items usually go into a folder with the store name. Use the inventory search to find them.

Stay safe with free items

Never give a free item permission to take money. A script that asks to "take Linden dollars (L$) from you" has no reason to do so for a gift. Click Deny and delete the object.
Be careful with "free L$" offers. Second Life does not hand out money through boxes or chat links.
Keep an eye on group slots. Every group you join uses a slot. Leave groups you no longer need.
Read the terms. Some gifts are only for group members who wear the group tag, and some are only available for a few days.

Make it a habit

Pick a few stores you like, join their groups and check their gift areas once a week. Combined with the daily Midnight Mania boards and an occasional hunt, you will soon have more items than you can wear.

Frequently asked questions

Are freebies in Second Life really free?

Yes. Freebies cost L$0. Group gifts may need a group join fee, and some hunt items cost L$1, but nothing should ask for more money after you take it.

Why can't I open a gift box?

You may be on land where you cannot rez objects. Go to a sandbox or your own land, or try wearing the box to unpack it.

Do I need a Premium account for freebies?

No. Basic accounts can take freebies, join groups and do hunts. Premium accounts mainly get more group slots and other extras.