Contests & Sweepstakes Tips, Advice, and Questions

I have a question about twitter, I completely new to it, how do you show a sponsor you tweeted?
I see people giving links like this- http://twitter.com/username/status/00000000000

Quote from funeral_phantom : I have a question about twitter, I completely new to it, how do you show a sponsor you tweeted? I see people giving links like this- http://twitter.com/username/status/00000000000

below your message you click on where it say "..minute ago". Then you just copy and paste in the URL

Question. Today hubby listened to voicemail that said something about UPS delivering a package on 6-17-2010. Someone needs to be home between 8am and 7pm to receive package or a notice will be left on door. He thinks it said a package from T-Mobile. He DID NOT write down the tracking number and then promptly deleted it before letting me listen. Soooo...no package and no notice on the door. I have searched for "t-mobile" but can't figure out which sweep it might have been. Anyone else get something today from a tmobile sweep - haha? Also - any possibility I can get a tracking number from UPS? I called and the agent said no, but have other people had success? I guess I have to wait and see if they deliver it again...

Bah!

Hi all. I am new to sweepstakes and contests. I was in a car accident on April 27th and thought this would be a nice way to pass the time. I wanted to thank you all for all the great posts and.............. I won something!! Not big, but it was soo exciting to see a win!!!
I won a free jar of Pace today and $10 Best Buy Rewards from McDonalds. YAY!!!!!!!!

i'm not seeing any winnings and i've been entering everyday for the last two weeks, i feel like giving up on sweeping. my question is how many sweeps do you enter each day or week and out of that how many times do you win?

i enter like 70 iwg a day give or take. some months are better then others. sometimes i go a a couple of months not winning anything worth while and other times i can win something good once or twice a week.

play the SoBe IWG cause no one ever loses that lol

Quote from superhippie2000 : i enter like 70 iwg a day give or take. some months are better then others. sometimes i go a a couple of months not winning anything worth while and other times i can win something good once or twice a week. play the SoBe IWG cause no one ever loses that lol

Touche, I haven't won yet...have been on vacation and only attempted twice--got bogo coupons both times.

Quote from implode : Touche, I haven't won yet...have been on vacation and only attempted twice--got bogo coupons both times.

Ummm, per the rules, the BOGO is a win............

You are so helpful to all of us I know you just haven't had the time to check out those pesky rules.

Now off to Target when they open to get more Sobe (hopefully with WIN codes and not "YOU LOSE"-last batch, had 4 of the game caps and only one winner.)

Quote from pohto9 : Just a few quick questions for anyone who doesn't mind answering. I started into the sweepstakes/instant win game thing a few weeks ago. I probably do about 200-300 contests a day in my spare time around work and the kids. I know it will be several months or even more before I see a big one (if I even see one at all.) My main question is about IWG's. When do most of you play them? I have heard that you should play at like 2-3 AM if you want any chance of winning, but that is just not something I can do everyday. Is it possible to win at other times of the day and if so what times are second best? Thanks in advance to anyone who can help. I know this must be an annoying question and I apologize.

I'm an old pro at this... Master of none and so on though.
There ARE folks who will tell you the best time to play IWG's is at early morning hours & there may be some truth to that in some cases.

HOWEVER, I have won many, many valuable instant wins- playing during more reasonable hours. I've won from many large companies- everything from electronics to vacations on IWGs and I can tell 'ya I don't do much sweeping after midnight because that's my personal cut off.

People will constantly barage (sp police step in) you with tips and tricks they may swear by or that work for them consistently. Don't fall for it- you have 2 factors to consider, 1- if they KNEW how to win 'em all, do you really think they'd give out THAT to a complete stranger? I mean I'm a nice person- but, it's a Me world in my house! 2. EVERY sweeps is operated by different individuals, businesses, marketing agencies, promo agencies and so on. As such- each methodology for each sweep, can also be just as different. It is more of a numbers game than anything else... The more you enter- the more chances you have to win, however- there is also a human factor because most newer sweepers typically don't read the rules, which you will see written to do time and time again. Rules vary constantly, get changed or can just be read differently by different folks. Entering more than once on the blue moon, second week, 3rd monday of every month that has said circumstance could void your entry if they wanted only for you to mention the blue moon.

Find a method or system that works for YOU- don't try to take advice from strangers. Again, if they knew the secret to winning them all- they wouldn't tell you. (don't worry- I don't & believe most others don't either!) You will find often- the masses can be severely wrong- which helps greatly when YOU make choices on your own. Don't always trust them to tell you the truth or know it if they see it. I heard forever Readers digest is a scam, they will spam you- blah, blah, blah... Um, my shiny new car in my driveway came from them & not a lick of mail, phone calls (other than the win) or spam has come before, during or since I got that.

Try to filter for businesses whose names or agencies you do know, and work from there in a method that is reasonable and comfortable for you. I say this because if you don't do it that way- you will quickly lose interest during dry spells. It's hard to stay into it when you get a tshirt & pad of paper after a year or so... But, if you can stick with it- You will get a reward down the line if you do it long enough. The sun shines on a dogs behind & all... Eventually, it just has to happen.

I have a question for those who have experienced something like this.

A few weeks ago I won a fliphd video camera from hostess:
http://slickdeals.net/forums/show...&t=2007256
However, it came via ups requiring a signature while I was on vacation for two weeks and I just got back to find that the 5 day waiting period has expired and that it has already been shipped back but is still in transit. I didn't get a email for the win so I don't have anywhere/anyone to contact. Any advice/ideas on what I should do? The rules say that if the prize is returned undeliverable it may be void.

you should probably email the contest people and explain you were away. they may resend but might wind up charging you postage or something not sure. or depending on where the "in transit" is if its still in your state maybe you can call UPS and see if they can send it back.

You can look at the contest rules to see who the judging agency is and then go to their website and use the "contact us" link. HTH

I have been contesting since 1995 and my daughter started about a year ago, She has done pretty well but has run into a snag with Bauer Publishing contests. She won 2 contests off one of their sites, a movie projector and a Gossip girl tour. They were won in Jan and Feb of this year. The wins were confirmed by Bauer at the time but 20 plus emails or so later nothing was received.
Does anyone have any contacts other than the published ones on the companies web site or the magazines site???

I sure feel weird being in a twitter party. It's all women talking about gal stuff and I'm just there playing along LOL