Contests & Sweepstakes Tips, Advice, and Questions

Are we allowed to do trades on here?? A couple of days ago I received a win from the Honest Tea promotion. It is a Patagonia Bag ARV $99. It is a laptop bag that I really have no use for as I already have two "girly" ones. It is very well made but obviously "guyish" outdoorsy kind.

Quote from dustdiva : Are we allowed to do trades on here?? A couple of days ago I received a win from the Honest Tea promotion. It is a Patagonia Bag ARV $99. It is a laptop bag that I really have no use for as I already have two "girly" ones. It is very well made but obviously "guyish" outdoorsy kind.

There is an official trading thread in the Freebie forum but trades are limited to $5 of item value. So unfortunately, no you won't be able to trade that here. If you don't need it, your best bet is probably Craigslist or eBay.

Pay attention to taxes:
http://slickdeals.net/f/4174964-M...21-4-30-12

The original winner of this contest posted on another competing website they had won. A week later, they figured out tax responsibility, turns out $40,000 doesn't go all that far. They had to give up on the trip. A new winner is being drawn.

Moral of the story: Always do the math on taxes before entering.

Quote from implode : Pay attention to taxes: http://slickdeals.net/f/4174964-M...21-4-30-12 The original winner of this contest posted on another competing website they had won. A week later, they figured out tax responsibility, turns out $40,000 doesn't go all that far. They had to give up on the trip. A new winner is being drawn. Moral of the story: Always do the math on taxes before entering.

You'd think $40,000 would be enough for the taxes until you realize a second later that you'd have to pay taxes on that $40,000 as well.

How much would the taxes be on that exactly?

Quote from brendo927 : How much would the taxes be on that exactly?

45,000-55,000 range perhaps, meaning 5,000-15,000 out of pocket is a reasonable guess.

So basically you have to pay 5-15 to get the 45-55?

If that was the case why not take a loan to get the 45-55?

Quote from brendo927 : So basically you have to pay 5-15 to get the 45-55? If that was the case why not take a loan to get the 45-55?

Because that is not what I said....you would be taxed 45k to 55k on the total value of the prize (140k). One can't just take the cash portion of the prize and leave the rest behind. Having a private charter jet on standby is expensive.

Quote from brendo927 : How much would the taxes be on that exactly?

Depends on your tax bracket. Could be 28% federal or higher, if in deduction phase out range and AMT

Depending on the state, could be another 10%

Total tax bite could be 45% of prize value

Question is....do you have to pay the taxes right away or at the end of the year?

No penalty will be applied if your current year tax withholding equals or exceeds the tax shown on your prior year tax return (i.e., 110 percent of the prior year tax if your prior year gross income exceeded $150,000) or exceeds 90 percent of your estimated tax for the current year.

Read more: How to Avoid Tax Underpayment Penalties | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2100583_a...z1w6NOLpBW

I just did a google search of my name (how cool am I?) and discovered I had won 4 hockey tickets and a gift card for dinner from a local TV station back in February. The sation never notified me of the winning and obviously (to some) hockey season is over. Should I contact them just as an FYI, ask for a similar prize, or just chalk it up as a lose? Anyone have similar experiences they could share?

Quote from snowgirl2242 : I just did a google search of my name (how cool am I?) and discovered I had won 4 hockey tickets and a gift card for dinner from a local TV station back in February. The sation never notified me of the winning and obviously (to some) hockey season is over. Should I contact them just as an FYI, ask for a similar prize, or just chalk it up as a lose? Anyone have similar experiences they could share?

I would contact them...that kind of stinks.

Sorry for the newb question but... does everyone have a separate Facebook account for entering sweeps on Facebook? Although I have it all pretty locked down, I'm still hesitant to enter nearly all the FB sweeps because of how much it clutters up my FB "likes".

Main questions:

What name do you use for your separate sweeps Facebook account?

Would the fact that you have an alternate Facebook account just for sweeps disqualify you if you won anything using it?

People with existing FB accounts, did you run into any issues creating this seperate FB account just for sweeps?

Thanks all..