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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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May 16, 2013 12:18 AM
549 Posts
Joined Oct 2010
JD123May 16, 2013 12:18 AM
549 Posts
The words 'coupon' and 'shopping card' may just be legalese. Do you have a 16 digit number and PIN to check the balance?
https://shop.guess.com/en/GiftCard/Balance/
May 16, 2013 12:58 AM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeMay 16, 2013 12:58 AM
118,455 Posts
Quote from JD123 :
The words 'coupon' and 'shopping card' may just be legalese. Do you have a 16 digit number and PIN to check the balance?
https://shop.guess.com/en/GiftCard/Balance/
16 digit code, no PIN number. Think it's a coupon so it an have a legal expiration date.
May 16, 2013 04:03 PM
71 Posts
Joined Sep 2012
skunkracerMay 16, 2013 04:03 PM
71 Posts
Quote from implode :
Anyone else win Guess 14 days of Sexy here:
http://slickdeals.net/f/5835422-GUESS-14-Days-of-Sexy-Sweepstakes-16-2-14-13?v=1

I tried to redeem my $50 GC online as part of a mothers day gift today and it didn't work. I couldn't order her a nice shirt. Needless to say I was left looking kind of bad. VERY frustrating. I tried my code as both a GC and a coupon code and it didn't work. Back of card says 'shopping card is a coupon'??? It also says it expires in DEC of 2013. I'm totally stumped. Wondering if any other winners had issues.
I'd contact their CS. I had a similar thing happen recently while trying to order online with a GC I'd won (with a different company) that was a coupon/giftcard type, and they didn't have the particular GC/coupon coded in the system properly (or some sort of tech reason), so they instructed me to place the order and then email them the transaction # and my GC #, and they manually refunded me.

Either that or since the GC is a coupon, you might try putting the # in the coupon field on the site during checkout if there is one or in the GC slot if you've already tried that.
May 16, 2013 04:07 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeMay 16, 2013 04:07 PM
118,455 Posts
Quote from skunkracer :
I'd contact their CS. I had a similar thing happen recently while trying to order online with a GC I'd won (with a different company) that was a coupon/giftcard type, and they didn't have the particular GC/coupon coded in the system properly (or some sort of tech reason), so they instructed me to place the order and then email them the transaction # and my GC #, and they manually refunded me.

Either that or since the GC is a coupon, you might try putting the # in the coupon field on the site during checkout if there is one or in the GC slot if you've already tried that.
yeah tried both those things...

So called in today, and found out my coupon card thingy is only good in store. I would have to drive 2 hours away to use it in store. VERY irritating. I'm unsure the next time I will be in the St Louis Area where they have a store. Given validity issues, not sure I want to drive that far...since you can't check the balance on it. Hate to drive all that way and find out it still had issues.
May 17, 2013 11:54 AM
5,164 Posts
Joined Sep 2012
robonero954May 17, 2013 11:54 AM
5,164 Posts
I got a free UPC from
JUST BORN - RETURN OF MIKE AND IKE MOVIE MANIA SWEEPSTAKES and the system REFUSES to accept it
May 17, 2013 10:14 PM
5,164 Posts
Joined Sep 2012
robonero954May 17, 2013 10:14 PM
5,164 Posts
I just read a post here on SD. on another thread where someone classified as a "Grand Master" used 10 different Facebook accounts in order to win a instant-win sweep. This is not right. Sometimes I hate to see sweeps posted on here, because people abuse the system. I've heard of people using multiple e-mail accounts, but 10 Facebook accounts???? No wonder I'm not winning.
May 17, 2013 10:21 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeMay 17, 2013 10:21 PM
118,455 Posts
Quote from robonero954 :
I just read a post here on SD. on another thread where someone classified as a "Grand Master" used 10 different Facebook accounts in order to win a instant-win sweep. This is not right. Sometimes I hate to see sweeps posted on here, because people abuse the system. I've heard of people using multiple e-mail accounts, but 10 Facebook accounts???? No wonder I'm not winning.
Yes, cheating bothers me as well. The best thing I can do is set a good example for newer members and hope it rubs off on them. I've seen entire forums devoted to the development of bots. Disgusting. All I can say its cheaters/botters get caught eventually and getting blacklisted from a major judging agency could kill your chances at winning given how many are run by the same core of judging agencies.

Don't let it change how you enter or dissuade you from trying. You will get some wins eventually hang in their.

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May 18, 2013 07:26 AM
549 Posts
Joined Oct 2010
JD123May 18, 2013 07:26 AM
549 Posts
Stopping cheating--mine, yours, theirs--is the ultimate responsibility of the contest maker. I do what I can by informing contest makers of loopholes or problems and not supporting those who allow these things to continue.

Between us avoiding bad sweeps makers and the sweeps makers blacklisting cheaters, I think the 'game' itself is pretty fair.
May 18, 2013 03:21 PM
23,805 Posts
Joined Jan 2010
countylineMay 18, 2013 03:21 PM
23,805 Posts
Quote from robonero954 :
I got a free UPC from
JUST BORN - RETURN OF MIKE AND IKE MOVIE MANIA SWEEPSTAKES and the system REFUSES to accept it
Use one of the codes I posted in the wiki.
May 19, 2013 05:33 AM
23,805 Posts
Joined Jan 2010
countylineMay 19, 2013 05:33 AM
23,805 Posts
This is slightly OT but if there are any AAA members out there I have a question/favor to ask..PM me please...
Last edited by countyline May 18, 2013 at 10:36 PM.
May 19, 2013 01:41 PM
235 Posts
Joined Apr 2013
beepbop88May 19, 2013 01:41 PM
235 Posts
Quote from robonero954 :
I just read a post here on SD. on another thread where someone classified as a "Grand Master" used 10 different Facebook accounts in order to win a instant-win sweep. This is not right. Sometimes I hate to see sweeps posted on here, because people abuse the system. I've heard of people using multiple e-mail accounts, but 10 Facebook accounts???? No wonder I'm not winning.

So true. It takes the fun out of it for us that do it as a hobby...
May 20, 2013 04:02 PM
639 Posts
Joined Mar 2013
credmondMay 20, 2013 04:02 PM
639 Posts
So for two separate sweeps the prizes that I received aren't exactly what I was suppose to get. I won a set of 3 t shirts (arv $45) from 30 days of sponge bob sweeps and chose size XL, I received only 2 shirts 1 XL and 1 small. For this spirit clips sweeps I won a roku 3 hd (arv $99) player and just received a rocku lt (arv $49). Has this happened to anyone? If so, did you say anything to the sponsor? In no ways do I mean to sound ungrateful. But after waiting weeks to receive a prize, I end up feeling slightly let down. Part of me wants to ask the sponsor if this was a mistake, but i feel like that's just rude of me. And I know is some sweeps "sponsor reserves the right to substitute..."
Last edited by credmond May 20, 2013 at 11:47 AM.
May 20, 2013 11:19 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeMay 20, 2013 11:19 PM
118,455 Posts
Got a $20 survey invitation from Grizzly...so I spent some time filling it out, only to find out after 10 mins I didn't qualify. What a rip off. If you get the invitation don't waste your time. They are or someone else imitating them are running some kind rip off. They should be up front if their is some chance they won't award the money promised.
May 21, 2013 12:22 AM
639 Posts
Joined Mar 2013
credmondMay 21, 2013 12:22 AM
639 Posts
Quote from implode :
Got a $20 survey invitation from Grizzly...so I spent some time filling it out, only to find out after 10 mins I didn't qualify. What a rip off. If you get the invitation don't waste your time. They are or someone else imitating them are running some kind rip off. They should be up front if their is some chance they won't award the money promised.
I just did it and successfully completed it. What question do you think made you get disqualified?

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May 21, 2013 12:28 AM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeMay 21, 2013 12:28 AM
118,455 Posts
No clue...could be something as stupid as zip code. Still ticked off, uncool to offer money then tell me tough luck.

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