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

Contests & Sweepstakes Tips, Advice, and Questions

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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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Dec 08, 2012 12:52 PM
6,323 Posts
Joined Sep 2006
KMADec 08, 2012 12:52 PM
6,323 Posts
Quote from BattleCry :
Do you guys check your junk mail for these sweepstakes?
Yes and for wins.
Dec 08, 2012 09:57 PM
173 Posts
Joined Apr 2007
WuvsnoopyDec 08, 2012 09:57 PM
173 Posts
Quote from Jang :
Instants are good for instant gratification but they can also have a disappointing effect and turn you off if you keep getting too many "Sorry, you didn't win this time." messages.
Oh goodness.... you nailed that one LOL ~~~ it can get depressing
Dec 09, 2012 01:09 AM
1,377 Posts
Joined Nov 2012
RebootSequenceDec 09, 2012 01:09 AM
1,377 Posts
Question about the Facebook contests, since a ton of them seem to be through Facebook:
Almost all of them require you to "like" the page. Will unliking the pages disqualify you from the sweeps? I'm using my real Facebook and really hate having a million random facebook pages in my likes...
Dec 09, 2012 01:54 AM
6,323 Posts
Joined Sep 2006
KMADec 09, 2012 01:54 AM
6,323 Posts
Quote from justinmyser :
Question about the Facebook contests, since a ton of them seem to be through Facebook:
Almost all of them require you to "like" the page. Will unliking the pages disqualify you from the sweeps? I'm using my real Facebook and really hate having a million random facebook pages in my likes...
You don't need to unsubscribe - just remove them from your feed. To do that:
1. Hover over the name of the page
2. Move your mouse over to the right and hover over the "like" box; a drop-down menu should appear.
2. Un-check "show in news feed."
Dec 09, 2012 02:34 AM
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
JangDec 09, 2012 02:34 AM
1,844 Posts
Quote from justinmyser :
Question about the Facebook contests, since a ton of them seem to be through Facebook:
Almost all of them require you to "like" the page. Will unliking the pages disqualify you from the sweeps? I'm using my real Facebook and really hate having a million random facebook pages in my likes...
Lots of times they require you to be a fan/like the page at the time of the drawing.
Dec 09, 2012 03:26 AM
1,377 Posts
Joined Nov 2012
RebootSequenceDec 09, 2012 03:26 AM
1,377 Posts
Quote from KMA :
You don't need to unsubscribe - just remove them from your feed. To do that:
1. Hover over the name of the page
2. Move your mouse over to the right and hover over the "like" box; a drop-down menu should appear.
2. Un-check "show in news feed."
Yeah, that's what I've been doing... but still, it's kinda annoying. I don't like having them "liked" when I don't actually like them... haha.

Quote from Jang :
Lots of times they require you to be a fan/like the page at the time of the drawing.
That's what I figured... seems like it would take forever to figure out which ones are safe to remove.
Dec 09, 2012 05:26 AM
485 Posts
Joined Oct 2012
erueo139Dec 09, 2012 05:26 AM
485 Posts
Quote from justinmyser :
Question about the Facebook contests, since a ton of them seem to be through Facebook:
Almost all of them require you to "like" the page. Will unliking the pages disqualify you from the sweeps? I'm using my real Facebook and really hate having a million random facebook pages in my likes...
You can also hide ALL of your likes from your facebook. To do this:
1) Go to your fb main page by clicking your name up top.
2) Go down to your likes, click "see all".
3) Hover your mouse within the likes area and an "edit" button will show up. Click it.
4) Scroll down to the bottom of your "favorite" likes area to where it says "other pages you like", change setting to "only me".

*You can also keep certain likes, for personality or whatever lol, in the favorites up above, like music.

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Dec 09, 2012 09:07 PM
1,377 Posts
Joined Nov 2012
RebootSequenceDec 09, 2012 09:07 PM
1,377 Posts
Quote from maimaimai :
You can also hide ALL of your likes from your facebook. To do this:
1) Go to your fb main page by clicking your name up top.
2) Go down to your likes, click "see all".
3) Hover your mouse within the likes area and an "edit" button will show up. Click it.
4) Scroll down to the bottom of your "favorite" likes area to where it says "other pages you like", change setting to "only me".

*You can also keep certain likes, for personality or whatever lol, in the favorites up above, like music.
Thanks for the tip!
Dec 10, 2012 01:40 AM
1,133 Posts
Joined Nov 2007
chuckecheezDec 10, 2012 01:40 AM
1,133 Posts
Quote from maimaimai :
You can also hide ALL of your likes from your facebook. To do this:
1) Go to your fb main page by clicking your name up top.
2) Go down to your likes, click "see all".
3) Hover your mouse within the likes area and an "edit" button will show up. Click it.
4) Scroll down to the bottom of your "favorite" likes area to where it says "other pages you like", change setting to "only me".

*You can also keep certain likes, for personality or whatever lol, in the favorites up above, like music.
I wouldn't recommend doing that if you are entering sweeps, as they won't have a way to confirm your "like". What I tend to do is just let all the likes pile up and then go back about once a month and unlike anything from a sweeps older than 3 months ago. I do the same for apps; figure anything older than 3 months should have already picked and notified winners so not much risk. That keeps the backlog manageable without risking DQ's.
Dec 10, 2012 03:30 AM
485 Posts
Joined Oct 2012
erueo139Dec 10, 2012 03:30 AM
485 Posts
Quote from chuckecheez :
I wouldn't recommend doing that if you are entering sweeps, as they won't have a way to confirm your "like". What I tend to do is just let all the likes pile up and then go back about once a month and unlike anything from a sweeps older than 3 months ago. I do the same for apps; figure anything older than 3 months should have already picked and notified winners so not much risk. That keeps the backlog manageable without risking DQ's.
I'm pretty sure a page can see everyone who likes them (it shows up on as list like friends do), well the page admins can at least.
Dec 10, 2012 03:58 AM
14,593 Posts
Joined Jun 2007
JessibellDec 10, 2012 03:58 AM
14,593 Posts
Is anybody else having issues with the Firefox Roboform add-on? Mine stopped working the other day (there may have been a Firefox update, not sure), and I still haven't been able to log back in even after reinstalling it.
Dec 10, 2012 04:02 PM
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
JangDec 10, 2012 04:02 PM
1,844 Posts
Quote from maimaimai :
I'm pretty sure a page can see everyone who likes them (it shows up on as list like friends do), well the page admins can at least.
I agree with you on this but can anyone else confirm?
Dec 10, 2012 04:40 PM
36 Posts
Joined Dec 2009
DamianMomDec 10, 2012 04:40 PM
36 Posts
I've been wanting to try Twitter contests, but having a hard time finding them. How do you find Twitter contests to enter? Thanks!
Dec 10, 2012 04:53 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeDec 10, 2012 04:53 PM
118,455 Posts
Quote from DamianMom :
I've been wanting to try Twitter contests, but having a hard time finding them. How do you find Twitter contests to enter? Thanks!
Search Contest/Sweeps forum with "Twitter" as search term??? Seems pretty straight forward to me.

Or find a contest which is twitter...click theme/category tags to get to this page:
http://slickdeals.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?&tagid=159991&f=25

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Dec 10, 2012 05:30 PM
271 Posts
Joined Dec 2010
dspringfieldDec 10, 2012 05:30 PM
271 Posts
I just won a pair of Weird Al concert tickets from my local radio station. It's been a few weeks since I won anything, so I'm feeling pretty good about this one.

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