Contest & Sweepstakes Forum Guide - Please Read
 

• start with searches of key words in the new sweeps name to be sure the sweeps/contest isn't already posted
• THREAD TITLE: enter sweep's official name as the thread title, then the age requirement (examples 6-16 YOs or 18+ ) followed by end date (this makes searches more efficient and the end date allows us to see when bumping of the thread is most likely about the offer because it is still active or about the prizing because the sweeps has ended)
• include in the title if there is some extra requirement like a photo, essay, limited age range, limited states...this allows us to not even have to open the thread if it won't pertain to us
• in the MESSAGE include:
  1. link to entry page
  2. link to Official Rules (this has saved me many times when after the sweeps is over the entry page takes away the rules link - we still have it posted here for reference) many Official Rules are in pop-ups - to find a pop-ps URL, right click on it and then scroll down to "view page info" copy and paste page URL listed in the page info box
  3. beginning and end dates and times
  4. eligibility requirements: age, country, states, and for contests: essays, photos, etc, too - again this allows us to see at a glance if I am old enough to enter, live in a country that is allowed to enter etc.)
  5. Limit to entries from the original rules - (even though the new flags show us this info in a basic form - some sweeps only allow one entry per household, etc...it helps to have that info in the basic info page)
  6. PRIZES and limitation to how many can be won, if that applies (IWGs especially)
  7. any other information that may be helpful to know
• if after submitting, the alert shows up that this may be a repost, please, check it out to be sure it is NOT a repost, before hitting post it anyway.

THANK YOU for considering this when posting new sweeps/contests!

Referrals/Self Promotion

Referrals are not allowed. This includes posting of referral links, asking for a referral, PMing referrals, having a referral link in your signature, or linking to any & all sites that contain referrals.
If you think it's a referral, get a Mods OK first!

A repost is a duplicate post of an offer that has already be posted here within the last 6 months!
* if the same poster reposts the same exact with in or to the day of 6 months, the Moderators can merge those posts together!
* if the Moderators notice a post has been edited the same day/time that a similar post was made in order to still be the OP, the Moderators will not merge the offers!
1) The Global Search.
This search function searches the entire site.

2) The Contest & Sweepstakes Search button.

3) The URL Checker.
Mr. SlickDeals was nice enough to make a program that checks the URL of each link in a new post, before it's posted.
-The URL checker works in Freebies, Magazines, and Contests & Sweepstakes.
- It will not work if the original post (OP) has more than 1 link in the post!
A message will appear when the URL checker has detected the same link in another post:
It is possible that this freebie/deal is a repost. The URL in your post has already been posted in the following Insert Thread Title Here abroad thread. Please verify that your deal is not a repost. If it is not, please submit again.

If you see that warning, please DO NOT ignore it! It's there for a reason.

A personal contest in our definition is a contest where you are giving away an item that you have in your possession at the time of the post. A personal blog-run contest is not "personal contest" and should not be promoted via SlickDeals.net.
Please make sure any contest that you plan to run has been OK'ed by the Moderators, and mention the approval in the post. Any contests that have not be OK'ed by a Contest & Sweepstakes Mod will be deleted.

-Contests requiring any monetary transactions what so ever (charity, paypal, referral, etc.) is not allowed!
-Contests requiring rep points and/or certain number of posts is also not allowed. If post count is a restriction, then screen at your own discretion. No not do it publicly.

Cross Posting

Cross posting a offer between 2 forums is allowed here. If there is a Freebie that has a separate Contest/Sweepstakes, it can be posted in both forums. If the free sample requires an entry into a Contest/Sweepstakes, it should be posted in the Contest & Sweepstakes forum

Thank you,
The Moderating Team

1. Find the original post
2. Go back to the repost and click on the "Mod Alert" icon
3. In the text box, please write something to the effect of "Repost� followed by a copy of the original thread URL
4. Submit the report and move to the next post

Do not Reply to the thread:
"REPOST" or posting the link to the original post.
That doesn't help the Mods, and it makes you look very lazy.

Do not promote lying in order to enter for a contest. That includes, but not limited to, posting answers, coaching others on how to answer, admitting to giving false information, etc. This is a violation of Slickdeals.net TOS as well as the TOS for the contests. If you are found promoting or providing information to falsify a survey, you will be warned. Consider this your first friendly warning!

• SlickDeals FAQ
• Posting Guidelines | Image Guidelines
• Warning System & Points Once you reach warning level 10, you will be banned for 7 days
• Common abbreviations Thanks arjunsr
• AutoForms & Email Addresses Thanks gleed
• ePrize - The Interactive Promotion Agency [eprize.com] Thanks mdowney80
• Official Discussion of Contests/Sweepstakes I have Won!Thanks kel_be
• New User Moderation Period

This post can and should be edited by users like you :)
 

*this content moved*

I'm posting this here because it seems appropriate.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE check the end dates in the subject lines! A lot of dead posts (expired) have been bumped lately. It looks like people are still entering. They're over! If anything has a date earlier than whatever the date is, don't waste your time entering.

Thank you.

When posting contests would you please include the year in the date...See post - Mods could you leave this for a little while so people can see it please!
 

If people could read the forum rules they would know this! :)

since this is here...please include the end date with year in your thread title.

If it is not there, someone else has to find it...
then Mod Alert it,
then a Mod adds it.

C&S posting guidelines

Remember to check thread start dates when/if you search. If there is no year in the end date. It's unlikely that a contest posted as a thread dated in March of 2008 would have expired in July of 2007.

Seems appropriate to put this here...

Since we now archive threads that are old, a regular search won't produce a repost warning. Recently, many OLD and archived sweeps that are already posted have been reposted and people are DQ'ng themselves by re-entering.

For all you wonderful people who are posting sweeps, PLEASE check the rules of the sweep. If it started a LONG time ago, chances are that it has already been posted here. Then you can search the archives to see if it's been posted. Make a LARGE note at the top of your post that it is a repost and include the link to the archived thread. Many people keep track of which sweeps they have entered by commenting in the thread. With the included link, they can then easily check to see if they already entered. THANK YOU! :hug2:

peoples should read forum rules.

agreed...you as well :rolleye:

is it within the forum rules ?

If you see an expired contest should we do a mod alert or just leave it alone??

An expired contest in the forum is not generally a reason to Mod Alert,
unless it has alot of discussion long after the end date, then it can be MAd to be moved to Deal Discussion.
Some SDers don't really like that to happen, tho'.

Otherwise, a sweeps with an expired date will eventually fall off the back page and then into archives, as long as no one else posts to the thread. They age out naturally, when there is no activity in the thread.

Thanks. It all makes sense now.

Thanks People should read it before posting

How to post a contest
 

Hello,

I wanted to post an update to a contest, (I know where the contest link is) and I understand the format it needs to be in, but I can't find where to click to do the actual update. Please help! :confused:

Am I supposed to post contests here? I read the rules for posting and it jumps from "check search box" to "put the title of your contest/sweepstakes in the threadbox". I don't know how to get to the threadbox unless the title box on this page is it!

This is the forum guide thread, so you do not want to be here.
If you are trying to create a new contest thread, go to the forum home page and click "New Thread"

If you are looking to update an existing contest, open that thread,and then reply

thanks

Thank you. I followed all guide lines!

Cost Plus World Market Titanic Sweepstakes
 

Hey everyone ,

I found this entry for Cost Plus World Market’s Titanic Sweepstakes check it out:

Enter World Market’s Titanic Sweepstakes by April 7th, 2012 for your chance to win a trip for two to London, England to see the Titanic 3D premiere and a $1,000 World Market Gift Card!! The trip includes standard hotel accommodations for five (5) nights in one (1) room, double occupancy, ground transportation and two (2) tickets to the premiere!! The Grand Prize is valued at $9,000. First prize (3 first prize winners total) wins a $500 World Market Gift Card, and a private movie screening of Titanic 3D for winner and up to 99 friends! To enter, visit www.facebook.com/worldmarket and become a fan of the page, click on the promotion tab and complete the online entry form or visit www.worldmarketsweepstakes.com and follow the provided instructions. Valid entry dates are: 2/25/12– 4/7/12.

Just an FYI, this is the Forum Guide. If you want to post a contest, go to the C&S Forum http://slickdeals.net/forums/foru...y.php?f=25, search to make sure it hasn't already been posted, and, if not, click the New Thread button & post it.
This particular sweeps has already been posted: http://slickdeals.net/f/3992504-W...kes-4-7-12

thanks sorry about that

Sorry, not sure if this is the right place, but how do I rep somebody? Is there someplace where that is posted?

Addendum:
FORGET IT, got it now--guess I needed 20 rep points

I have read the rules and am informed now!

I highly recommend you read some if not all of the tips/advice thread. You can learn even more from reading that.

Am on some tips/advice threads now. Thanks

Hi all, I have a question about Facebook promotions. Let's say a family member has a business page & wants users to "Like" their page as an entry to their product giveaway. Would this be valid to post here?

Any support with this matter would be greatly appreciated. I get nothing from this promotion. Just want to help out.

Looking forward to a response! =) Thank you!

No, self promotion is strictly against the rules here.

If there is no personal gain I don't see where it's any different than any other facebook sweeps posted here or others that post up their own sweepstakes. It's just another sweepstakes, right?

How do you separate people from saying a personal business is a family business? This is a slippery slope. Its best to separate this site from issues of personal interest. People have had such posts removed in the past, hence my answer.

Okay, thank you for the responses! I was just curious because I had read this, "Personal Contests
A personal contest in our definition is a contest where you are giving away an item that you have in your possession at the time of the post. A personal blog-run contest is not "personal contest" and should not be promoted via SlickDeals.net.
Please make sure any contest that you plan to run has been OK'ed by the Moderators, and mention the approval in the post. Any contests that have not be OK'ed by a Contest & Sweepstakes Mod will be deleted.

-Contests requiring any monetary transactions what so ever (charity, paypal, referral, etc.) is not allowed!
-Contests requiring rep points and/or certain number of posts is also not allowed. If post count is a restriction, then screen at your own discretion. No not do it publicly."

..but was not sure if it falls in the same category. The business does have the prizes in-hand currently. It does not require any purchasing & no one is getting paid for the "Likes" on FB.

Other Facebook businesses are doing sweepstakes as well, only difference is this is not a sweepstakes because we don't have people giving up their personal information. *shrugs*

Kind of a complex issue.. Lolz.

I say go for it. I don't see this as being a "personal" contest and no different than others who post sweeps that are on their own sites. It's a sweeps and I personally see no problem with it. If in doubt PM one of the moderators.

Thank you all for your time! Much appreciated. I will hold off for now as I have not received any okays from the moderators. =) Been a member here for a long time. Don't want to change that. =p

Earlier this year, or last year I mentioned to one of the guys from CampingGearTV (on their Facebook page) about our forum and he came over and posted one of their giveaways. They were banned, when I inquired it was pretty much any form of self-promotion wasn't allowed. I was welcome to post it as long as I had absolutely NO affiliation whatsoever with them, other than being a fan.

There have been a few self-promotion giveaways on here over the past couple months, but I don't think it was so much acceptable as none of the mods noticed and no one bothered to flag them. I think like most rules, they just err on a zero tolerance policy so they don't have to judge them on an individual basis. With that, I'd definitely wait for approval before posting.

-MJ

thanks

Earlier I posted a link for one of the 100 Grand Sweepstakes sponsored by Hearst Magazines. While I knew there were multiple links, I didn't know when I'd get around to posting more/finding more and just wanted to post it. So now I'm back and ready to post more. My concern is that others who've already visited the thread, won't be aware of the new links if I post them in the OP and/or the wiki and/or the body of the thread (I'm not one to revisit posts unless I need to check them often for additional info like daily clues). I saw that heyjupiter found some additional links and kindly posted them in that thread, but, would it be better if she made a new post with those links and I made a new post with my new links? I searched and saw that other links for this same 100 Grand Sweepstakes had been posted in November, so having multiple posts of the same sweeps, under different links, isn't unheard of.

Seems to make sense to post in a new thread so that it is easier to see
Thanks for thinking of all of us and Happy New Year

I wouldn't worry about it over much. The Hearst sweeps are a creative presentation. They have about a dozen magazines that will all have sweepstakes for only one prize. I had posted all the different links to the same sweeps in one of the threads ages ago and got blasted here as everyone here says that each different entry should have it's own thread. Whatever. BTW I don't waste my time entering them. They usually last longer than a year, only have one prize, and no matter how hard you try with Hearst you end up accidentally subscribing to one of their magazines even when you know you used the non-subscriptin form.

I am having problems getting 15 additional entries for liking SD on Facebook. It's already set to like and I am still getting the error message "You must like us before you get an entry"

It's the same no matter which browser I use Chrome or IE 9.

Might be an obvious suggestion but try unliking and then liking again.

Yes, I tried that.

Same thing happened to me. I think you now have to link your Facebook account to your SD account to get the extra entries for "liking" them on FB.

Ok. I hope MLx3's suggestion works then.



Once in a while I don't get the points for Twitter. It's so random and uncommon that I don't know what the problem is.

It's not working, I have gotten the 20 entries for linking my FB account to my SD account. It's just the recent days I can't get the 15 entries for liking SD on FB.

Another thing is I can NEVER get any bonus entries for time logged on SD. Any ideas?

You might try posting a thread in the Site Question, Issues or Suggestions forum. http://slickdeals.net/forums/foru...ay.php?f=5

I am wondering if this is a "today" problem. I had the same thing happen today and I've always got the 15 extra points.

Check the contest entry again. I just did, and now all my checks and entries are there.

Okay, I tried unlinking my SD account with FB and relinking so that worked.

I'm still trying to get the time logged bonus entries to register.
EDIT: Never mind, I see that time logged meant time spent browsing the SD site while logged in and I see I'm only at 4 days, 12 hours, 48 minutes, 56 seconds and counting!

When you go to SD are you typically logged in? Surprised you have such a low amount of time considering how long you've been a member. I have 2m 3w 2d 18h 37m 37s logged in since 2010. Granted I usually keep a tab open to SD...

-MJ

Thanks for sharing
 

Thanks for sharinfg this information, really useful and helpful. I do notice that there quite alot of spam here. but its a good thing that this is still quite clean.