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forum threadFreebiesRGreat posted Jun 03, 2008 02:50 AM
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forum threadFreebiesRGreat posted Jun 03, 2008 02:50 AM

Contests & Sweepstakes Tips, Advice, and Questions

Sears
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The intent of this thread is for users, both new and not-so-new, to ask questions, and help with tips/advice. This is not by any means the "gospel". Please feel free to add your words of wisdom, and if you have questions, just ask! If you have a tip that will make sweeping easier for folks, please feel free to share. This is a community effort. We all will benefit in some way.


The Basic Advice/Tips for the new-to-sweeping folks.
Enter for the items you want/need. If you have no interest in trips, avoid the sweeps where the only prize is a trip. If you know you can't afford the tax on a new vehicle, avoid entering for those.

Set up folders in your bookmark/favorites. Create a separate one for each month, and file any sweeps you are interested in into the folder corresponding with when it ends. Then, if you have a day where you're pressed for time, enter at least the ones ending that day.

Play the instant win games.

Follow the rules! If a sweep is restricted to only females, a certain age group, certain states, etc, make sure you fit the criteria! If you don't, move on to another sweep that you do qualify for. Do not create a bunch of email addresses so you can enter something more than once, or so you can play an Instant win game more. The Sponsors can tell, and will DQ you. You're better off playing by the rules than cheating and getting disqualified and having NO entries.

Don't immediately dismiss essay required sweeps (or recipes, photos, etc)....well, unless you know you don't want to write something. A lot of people pass on them, so you might have a better shot at winning something.

Don't expect this to be lucrative enough to become a job. Yes, a lot of us win, and often, but not nearly enough to quit a job!

Expect things to go slow at first. It takes a while for the wins to roll in. But once they do...look out!

Expect to occasionally hit a dry spell. It happens to ALL of us.

DEFINITELY USE YOUR REAL INFO! If you use a fake phone number, and a sponsor is calling to notify people of wins, you'll never know what you missed out on. I, and many others, have been doing this for a long time, and we have no problems with sales calls. Also, use your real name. If your name is Robert or Catherine, using Bob or Cathy is ok, as they are known acceptable shorter versions of that name. if your name is Matilda, and you go by Fluffy, don't use Fluffy. Looking at your ID to get an affy notarized, they may reject it because the names don't match. The sponsor may also say "Fluffy won, not Matilda". So stick with using your real name, or something close to it.

Most of all, HAVE FUN! And don't be afraid to ask questions. We were all new to this at one time. Any one of us would be happy to answer questions.


For easy form filling, check out Roboform [roboform.com]. Google Tool bar and the autofill feature on IE also work well.

For Mac users, the best form filler is 1Password: http://agilewebsolutions.com/products/1Password (thanks javaFlower!)

FireFox Form Filler browser extensions: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/...ll&cat=all

To set up the autofill feature in IE: Click on Tools, then internet options, then choose 'content'. When that pops up, click on "Autocomplete", and make sure to check the boxes for forms and passwords on forms. This is not a good idea if you are on a shared/public computer!

February 17, 2009, 3:10 am: System Notice: This thread has been automatically renewed after reaching a post limit. Most of its content has been moved to this thread for reference purposes.

July 12, 2010, 3:23 pm: System Notice: This thread has been automatically renewed after reaching a post limit. Most of its content has been moved to this thread for reference purposes.
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
The intent of this thread is for users, both new and not-so-new, to ask questions, and help with tips/advice. This is not by any means the "gospel". Please feel free to add your words of wisdom, and if you have questions, just ask! If you have a tip that will make sweeping easier for folks, please feel free to share. This is a community effort. We all will benefit in some way.


The Basic Advice/Tips for the new-to-sweeping folks.
Enter for the items you want/need. If you have no interest in trips, avoid the sweeps where the only prize is a trip. If you know you can't afford the tax on a new vehicle, avoid entering for those.

Set up folders in your bookmark/favorites. Create a separate one for each month, and file any sweeps you are interested in into the folder corresponding with when it ends. Then, if you have a day where you're pressed for time, enter at least the ones ending that day.

Play the instant win games.

Follow the rules! If a sweep is restricted to only females, a certain age group, certain states, etc, make sure you fit the criteria! If you don't, move on to another sweep that you do qualify for. Do not create a bunch of email addresses so you can enter something more than once, or so you can play an Instant win game more. The Sponsors can tell, and will DQ you. You're better off playing by the rules than cheating and getting disqualified and having NO entries.

Don't immediately dismiss essay required sweeps (or recipes, photos, etc)....well, unless you know you don't want to write something. A lot of people pass on them, so you might have a better shot at winning something.

Don't expect this to be lucrative enough to become a job. Yes, a lot of us win, and often, but not nearly enough to quit a job!

Expect things to go slow at first. It takes a while for the wins to roll in. But once they do...look out!

Expect to occasionally hit a dry spell. It happens to ALL of us.

DEFINITELY USE YOUR REAL INFO! If you use a fake phone number, and a sponsor is calling to notify people of wins, you'll never know what you missed out on. I, and many others, have been doing this for a long time, and we have no problems with sales calls. Also, use your real name. If your name is Robert or Catherine, using Bob or Cathy is ok, as they are known acceptable shorter versions of that name. if your name is Matilda, and you go by Fluffy, don't use Fluffy. Looking at your ID to get an affy notarized, they may reject it because the names don't match. The sponsor may also say "Fluffy won, not Matilda". So stick with using your real name, or something close to it.

Most of all, HAVE FUN! And don't be afraid to ask questions. We were all new to this at one time. Any one of us would be happy to answer questions.


For easy form filling, check out Roboform [roboform.com]. Google Tool bar and the autofill feature on IE also work well.

For Mac users, the best form filler is 1Password: http://agilewebsolutions.com/products/1Password (thanks javaFlower!)

FireFox Form Filler browser extensions: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/...ll&cat=all

To set up the autofill feature in IE: Click on Tools, then internet options, then choose 'content'. When that pops up, click on "Autocomplete", and make sure to check the boxes for forms and passwords on forms. This is not a good idea if you are on a shared/public computer!

February 17, 2009, 3:10 am: System Notice: This thread has been automatically renewed after reaching a post limit. Most of its content has been moved to this thread for reference purposes.

July 12, 2010, 3:23 pm: System Notice: This thread has been automatically renewed after reaching a post limit. Most of its content has been moved to this thread for reference purposes.

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Aug 06, 2012 08:46 PM
2,857 Posts
Joined Feb 2008
CatsanovaAug 06, 2012 08:46 PM
2,857 Posts
i just got home and had a call someone named brad from eprize on behalf of bank of america.they didnt say if they would call back or what i won.ive never won anything big really so im wondering does anyone know which contest eprize and bank of america might have?i pretty much do iwg 95% of the sweeps i enter. has anyone gotten a call like that,werent home and they did call back?if its something big they need my signature for,would they call me ahead of time and let me know they are sending paperwork on what i won?.im kinda in shock i might have won something big plus scared i wont get it now since i missed thier call.thanks for any help that anyones dealt with this before.
Aug 06, 2012 08:56 PM
139 Posts
Joined Jan 2012
jpete20Aug 06, 2012 08:56 PM
139 Posts
Been on hiatus from sweeping for a couple months. Just trying to get back into it. Anyone know of any good dailies going on right now that are offering a lot of prizes besides Marlboro? Wanting to get back on the horse with a semi decent probability of a win...even a small one gives me the motivation to put the time into it. Thanks in advance..
Aug 06, 2012 08:56 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeAug 06, 2012 08:56 PM
118,455 Posts
Quote from Catsanova :
i just got home and had a call someone named brad from eprize on behalf of bank of america.they didnt say if they would call back or what i won.ive never won anything big really so im wondering does anyone know which contest eprize and bank of america might have?i pretty much do iwg 95% of the sweeps i enter. has anyone gotten a call like that,werent home and they did call back?if its something big they need my signature for,would they call me ahead of time and let me know they are sending paperwork on what i won?.im kinda in shock i might have won something big plus scared i wont get it now since i missed thier call.thanks for any help that anyones dealt with this before.
I don't remember an eprize contest with BOA at all and I enter most of their contests...so I'm at a loss. If you don't remember entering be careful in making sure its legit. I hope its legit and something good. Sending good vibes your way.
Aug 07, 2012 12:06 AM
200 Posts
Joined Dec 2011
wc0904Aug 07, 2012 12:06 AM
200 Posts
Quote from Catsanova :
i just got home and had a call someone named brad from eprize on behalf of bank of america.they didnt say if they would call back or what i won.ive never won anything big really so im wondering does anyone know which contest eprize and bank of america might have?i pretty much do iwg 95% of the sweeps i enter. has anyone gotten a call like that,werent home and they did call back?if its something big they need my signature for,would they call me ahead of time and let me know they are sending paperwork on what i won?.im kinda in shock i might have won something big plus scared i wont get it now since i missed thier call.thanks for any help that anyones dealt with this before.
I'd be careful if it is something you can't recall entering. I know there was US Bank contest recently (remember because I was excluded bc of my state) but I don't remember anything recent from BOA. If they represented themselves as being from Eprize you could always email or call them at a published number to ask about validity.
Aug 07, 2012 12:08 AM
14,856 Posts
Joined Jan 2012
princess101Aug 07, 2012 12:08 AM
14,856 Posts
Quote from mikemjr :
I have 1 facebook account, it is for sweeps only, no friends, no photos, nothing else
I got this message yesterday when i tried to like pages ,

You're temporarily blocked from using this feature. Sorry for the inconvenience

anyone know what happened. I googled for hours, went to facebook community forums
No luck. Tried 3 different browsers. I am stumped!!
My facebook account was blocked, but it asked me to put in security code, then told me that someone in another state had entered my account..
Aug 08, 2012 12:31 AM
1,133 Posts
Joined Nov 2007
chuckecheezAug 08, 2012 12:31 AM
1,133 Posts
Was going through my list of dailies today and accidentally submitted twice for the same one, where it has a limit of one per person/email per day. I checked the rules and they specifically state more than one per day will be disqualified, but not sure if that means they just throw out the extra entry, throw out the day, or disqualify me from the whole sweeps.

Anybody have experience with this? Would hate to find out I just fubared 2 weeks of entries over a simple mistake, and certainly don't want to waste any more time entering if I'm now ineligible. It's really frustrating; I have noticed that a lot of dailies will alert you when you already entered for the day but quite a few still don't.
Aug 08, 2012 12:45 AM
1,133 Posts
Joined Nov 2007
chuckecheezAug 08, 2012 12:45 AM
1,133 Posts
Another question (sorry, I'm still pretty new to everything but instants): does anyone here use one of the many sweeps listing sites to enter? I browse through slickdeals every day but try to hit a couple of other sites to pick up ones not listed. I have been clicking on links which take me directly to the entry forms, but after reading a few sets of rules, am a little concerned that clicking from those sites may result in disqualification. These aren't the automated entry sites, just listings such as Sweepstakes Advantage, Mr Sweepstakes, etc. But some sweeps rules are pretty specific in their language about macros, scripts, sweeps sites, etc. Since they can see where my link originated, wondering if it would be safer to just copy it into Excel or something and enter from there, versus using the sites link.

Seems like the big sites are pretty popular and I see lots of winner postings so I'm assuming that it's not usually a problem, but curious about people's experiences.

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Aug 08, 2012 02:18 AM
1,145 Posts
Joined Aug 2008
splatteredAug 08, 2012 02:18 AM
1,145 Posts
Does anyone have experience with sweepstakes advantage? I have been pretty much using this site exclusively for contests for years now but saw SweepsAdv through starpulse. I signed up for it and a lot of the contests on there feel like scams to me... dunno
Aug 08, 2012 03:09 AM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeAug 08, 2012 03:09 AM
118,455 Posts
Quote from chuckecheez :
Was going through my list of dailies today and accidentally submitted twice for the same one, where it has a limit of one per person/email per day. I checked the rules and they specifically state more than one per day will be disqualified, but not sure if that means they just throw out the extra entry, throw out the day, or disqualify me from the whole sweeps.

Anybody have experience with this? Would hate to find out I just fubared 2 weeks of entries over a simple mistake, and certainly don't want to waste any more time entering if I'm now ineligible. It's really frustrating; I have noticed that a lot of dailies will alert you when you already entered for the day but quite a few still don't.
I think if they say DQed, your outta luck. Give up, try again with something else. The contests that are forgiving usually state only the first entry in a given day is accepted. This means if you see a contest that says 24 hour entry limit you need to be especially careful. VERY easy to mess that up.

re: sweepstakes entry sites. I would avoid sites that do the following:
1) Enter data for you in any capacity.
2) Open many sites at the same time.

I don't see a problem with big sites, as long as they don't dodge the rules. If a website gains a reputation as harboring a lot of cheaters they might block people associated with it.

Quote from splattered :
Does anyone have experience with sweepstakes advantage? I have been pretty much using this site exclusively for contests for years now but saw SweepsAdv through starpulse. I signed up for it and a lot of the contests on there feel like scams to me... dunno
NOT specifically. Always trust your gut if something feels like a scam never enter it (even here). Ask other people what they think on this site. I try to mostly enter sweeps from well known companies.
Aug 08, 2012 04:39 AM
1,133 Posts
Joined Nov 2007
chuckecheezAug 08, 2012 04:39 AM
1,133 Posts
Implode, thanks for the replies. If you don't mind, one more question. On the dailies which allow 2 per day, 3 per day, etc. do you typically just blast through and get your max in for the day all at once? I don't quite understand the point of allowing multiple entries in a day, but wondering if it makes any difference if you shotgun them through at one time, or if it's better to spread them out.
Aug 08, 2012 02:24 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeAug 08, 2012 02:24 PM
118,455 Posts
Quote from chuckecheez :
Implode, thanks for the replies. If you don't mind, one more question. On the dailies which allow 2 per day, 3 per day, etc. do you typically just blast through and get your max in for the day all at once? I don't quite understand the point of allowing multiple entries in a day, but wondering if it makes any difference if you shotgun them through at one time, or if it's better to spread them out.
From my understanding of how most drawings work, it makes no difference when you put your entries into the box. Generally speaking...At the end of the contest all entries are generated a random number order. Then a random number generator picks numbers to award prizes--from biggest to lowest. If time/resources permit, they reward unclaimed prizes in a secondary drawing.
Aug 08, 2012 04:34 PM
248 Posts
Joined Apr 2008
theviper21Aug 08, 2012 04:34 PM
248 Posts
Quote from splattered :
Does anyone have experience with sweepstakes advantage? I have been pretty much using this site exclusively for contests for years now but saw SweepsAdv through starpulse. I signed up for it and a lot of the contests on there feel like scams to me... dunno
I use it daily and it's been a big help to me. I just have the free account and don't understand why anyone would pay for the premium account. The nice thing about the site is that you can check off a box for each one you enter so that you don't accidentally enter the same single entry contest twice.

There are definitely some scam type contests on there, but you can usually get a good feel for which ones those are. I like how they sort everything by day, so I normally go in once a day and enter all of the new contests for that day and if I have time I'll usually check to see what contests are expiring so I can make sure that I didn't miss anything.

They have quite a few contests that don't show up on SD and the tool to help track whether you've entered something or not, so it makes a nice companion to SD, IMO.
Aug 08, 2012 08:06 PM
200 Posts
Joined Dec 2011
wc0904Aug 08, 2012 08:06 PM
200 Posts
Quote from chuckecheez :
Implode, thanks for the replies. If you don't mind, one more question. On the dailies which allow 2 per day, 3 per day, etc. do you typically just blast through and get your max in for the day all at once? I don't quite understand the point of allowing multiple entries in a day, but wondering if it makes any difference if you shotgun them through at one time, or if it's better to spread them out.
Everything is drawn randomly so ultimately it doesn't increase your chances one way or the other (having them all together or spread apart). Personally I don't even worry about more then one entry per day just because it's simpler. Entering more might give me a slightly better shot, but I'd rather invest my time into entering more sweeps. Unless the prize is really stellar. Then I might go for multiple per day.
Aug 09, 2012 12:11 AM
945 Posts
Joined Jul 2007
sixthr33Aug 09, 2012 12:11 AM
945 Posts
Hello all. I have a question about a recent sweeps since I'm new to this. Would the company ask me to print the affidavit and tax thing and scan and e-mail it? (they did) Also I was contacted by 2 different sponsors or fulfillment companies. Finally they asked for a photo of me using the product. Does any of this seem weird? Thanks for any help

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Aug 09, 2012 01:49 AM
26,018 Posts
Joined Dec 2010
User1144648Aug 09, 2012 01:49 AM
26,018 Posts
Quote from sixthr33 :
Hello all. I have a question about a recent sweeps since I'm new to this. Would the company ask me to print the affidavit and tax thing and scan and e-mail it? (they did) Also I was contacted by 2 different sponsors or fulfillment companies. Finally they asked for a photo of me using the product. Does any of this seem weird? Thanks for any help
The majority of the affys I've received have been through email, which were downloaded, printed, signed/notarized, scanned, then returned via email. This seems to be a pretty standard way of handling affys. I've rec'd a couple via Fedex Overnight, and they came with a return mailing Fedex envelope.

I have been contacted by both the sponsor & prize fulfillment company/administrator. Don't think I've been contacted by 2 different fulfillment companies for one sweeps though.

Personally, I haven't been asked to provide a photo of me using the prize, but don't think it's unheard of for a sponsor to make the request, particularly if the sweeps was promoted on Facebook or another social media site.

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