No, you didn't read that wrong. The single most epic day in SparkFun's history is making its comeback. If you're familiar with SparkFun lore, Free Day involved giving away a whole bunch of SparkFun gift cards to customers. Our best-documented Free Days began in 2010 and continued through 2011 and 2012. Through all of this we learned a lot about ourselves as a company and how passionate people are about free stuff. Check out the comments from past blog posts if you want some solid entertainment. After 2012 we discontinued the annual tradition for a number of reasons, but it's time to give it another go with a different twist!

What is Almost Free Day?

This year we're selling 3,000 items for $0.01 each, thus the "almost" part of Almost Free Day. We've done this for various reasons, but mostly to keep it legal. We'll have 300 each of nine different board types and one mini LilyPad bundle (SKUs 10867, 11364, 10730, 10044). None of these boards have export restrictions, so customers around the world can participate. Here are the products:

What's the catch?

These 10 different products will all be represented as one SKU. That means you won't know which product you get until it arrives. On Almost Free Day you'll just add the "Almost Free" SKU to your cart, and if you make it through checkout before the boards run out, you'll get one of the 3,000 boards.

Is there anything else?

Yes! We'll be offering some special bundles for this day only, as well as having a big sale on the SIK. If you want to get involved in Internet of Things (IoT) or wearables/e-sewing, this is a perfect opportunity with a big discount. The following three bundle options will be $74.99 on Almost Free Day and available on the front page with the one-cent SKU:

IoT Bundle -- Our Most Popular IoT boards at their lowest prices:

Wearables Bundle -- A great place to start with e-sewing:*

*(Bundle includes two each of 11285, 10899, and 11364)

Classic SIK -- You know it, you love it, at its lowest price yet:

When is Almost Free Day?

The one-cent SKU will go live at 10 a.m. MT on 7/20/2016. The above bundles will go live at the same time. The event will last as long as it takes to sell through the 3,000 boards.

What about shipping?

Unfortunately, yes, you will have to pay for shipping, but we've done a few things to help. All domestic orders over $75 will ship free, as usual. If you'd like free shipping, just add enough to your cart before Almost Free Day to hit that $75 threshold. Then, on Almost Free Day, just add the one-cent board and go! If you can't think of $75 worth of stuff you'd like, try one of the one-time-only bundles above.

What should I do before Almost Free Day?

If you don't have a customer account, create one before 7/20/2016

Have your payment information and shipping information ready to get through checkout fast

Be signed in to your account before 10 a.m. MT on 7/20/2016

Have your cart filled with everything you want (except the one-cent board or bundle) prior to 10 a.m. on 7/20/2016

Decide if you want to buy a bundle and be ready to add it to your cart when it goes live

Plan on potential server crashes

Almost Free Day may result in shipping times taking longer than usual

What are the rules and restrictions?

Customer accounts only -- no guests, educators or distributors

Only available for online orders

Sale prices applicable while supplies last

No backorders allowed

All sale prices expire at 11:59 p.m. MT on 7/20/2016

Only one "Almost Free" SKU, one IoT Bundle and one Wearables Bundle allowed per order

Multiple orders on a single account are allowed throughout the day

Thanks for reading. We're excited to participate in another day of madness with you!