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Jun 3, 2008 2:50 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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9.9K Comments

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Dec 8, 2017 8:53 AM
58 Comments
Joined May 2011
raynekittenDec 8, 2017 8:53 AM
58 Comments
I saw someone say on a contest like forums. Where would one go to find other people to help with likes or votes or what not?
Dec 8, 2017 3:23 PM
17K Comments
Joined Oct 2010
koma50Dec 8, 2017 3:23 PM
17K Comments
anyone have a contact number for Helloworld? I didn't receive a prize for a texting contest from Oct. I sent an email to them and got a response that said the sponsor would be contacting me. The sponsor is coke-cola. I called coke-cola and they said it wasn't one of their contests. It clearly is though. Mad
https://cocacola.promo.eprize.com.../rules.pdf
I won the 2nd prize. which the game is Sunday.
any help would be very appreciated.

UPDATE: Issue has been solved. I received a 125.00 visa gift card because they screwed up. lol
Last edited by koma50 December 8, 2017 at 10:45 AM.
Dec 8, 2017 3:25 PM
119K Comments
Joined May 2006
implodeDec 8, 2017 3:25 PM
119K Comments
Quote from raynekitten View quoted comment :
I saw someone say on a contest like forums. Where would one go to find other people to help with likes or votes or what not?
Referrals/voting requests are not allowed on these forums. Likewise discussing competitors sites. So that kind of kills this conversation.
Dec 8, 2017 5:01 PM
1.2K Comments
Joined Aug 2008
splatteredDec 8, 2017 5:01 PM
1.2K Comments
Strangely I opened a contest last night on my phone that needed the twitter verification... when I completed it I saw a message that said I can return to using my full features within twitter or something like that? Now when I enter the contests on PC again it is working as it's supposed to. So weird ???
Dec 8, 2017 6:04 PM
119K Comments
Joined May 2006
implodeDec 8, 2017 6:04 PM
119K Comments
Anyone having issues logging into MY USPS acct this morning....I get onto main usps page fine, but try logging into my account and it spins infinetly.
Dec 8, 2017 8:27 PM
6.9K Comments
Joined Sep 2006
SwampStomperDec 8, 2017 8:27 PM
6.9K Comments
Quote from implode View quoted comment :
Anyone having issues logging into MY USPS acct this morning....I get onto main usps page fine, but try logging into my account and it spins infinetly.
Just worked fine for me.
Dec 9, 2017 12:05 AM
1.1K Comments
Joined Jan 2009
LowRollerDec 9, 2017 12:05 AM
1.1K Comments
Quote from implode View quoted comment :
Anyone having issues logging into MY USPS acct this morning....I get onto main usps page fine, but try logging into my account and it spins infinetly.

USPS has been in sand out for me all day. Just have to wait a little longer.

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Dec 11, 2017 1:30 PM
775 Comments
Joined Nov 2005
CreepyNurseDec 11, 2017 1:30 PM
775 Comments
Does anyone else have problems with GLEAM contests taking forever to load, and taking forever to open the links for the additional entries (like subscribe to channel, etc).?

This page [sleepopolis.com] took several minutes to load completely. This is an extreme example. Most gleam contests run like this for me.

I've tried a multitude of things to make it run faster. Doesn't seem to matter which browser, either (chrome is my usual, but also same issue with firefox and edge).
Pro
QA
Dec 11, 2017 1:33 PM
3.6K Comments
Joined Feb 2009
rachaelm
Pro
QA
Dec 11, 2017 1:33 PM
3.6K Comments
Quote from CreepyNurse View quoted comment :
Does anyone else have problems with GLEAM contests taking forever to load, and taking forever to open the links for the additional entries (like subscribe to channel, etc).?

This page [sleepopolis.com] took several minutes to load completely. This is an extreme example. Most gleam contests run like this for me.

I've tried a multitude of things to make it run faster. Doesn't seem to matter which browser, either (chrome is my usual, but also same issue with firefox and edge).

I'm not having a problem with gleam.
Dec 11, 2017 2:13 PM
412 Comments
Joined Nov 2011
dorsy28Dec 11, 2017 2:13 PM
412 Comments
Received this message when trying to share on Twitter. I also get it when I log directly into Twitter.com.

We have detected unusual activity on your account. For your security, your account has been locked until you change your password. What can you do: To secure your account, please change your password before logging back in.

Anyone else having this issue?
Dec 11, 2017 11:55 PM
119K Comments
Joined May 2006
implodeDec 11, 2017 11:55 PM
119K Comments
Make it stop...20 emails from George Straight so far (in last 10 mins). Think this sweeps triggered this...
https://slickdeals.net/e/8578854-umg-nashville-george-strait-sweepstakes-11-11-16?v=1
Dec 12, 2017 3:32 AM
1.7K Comments
Joined Sep 2007
starsstripes00Dec 12, 2017 3:32 AM
1.7K Comments
Quote from splattered View quoted comment :
Anyone else experiencing this right now? I'm having issues with twitter verification in general now... any contests I enter that want me to retweet or follow etc I can't do it cause after I complete the user verification it just sits in a white box and doesn't close out and confirm within whatever contest i'm entering.

Super frustrating Mad

I've Noticed a lot more UK contests on twitter than USA ones lately
Dec 12, 2017 4:35 AM
6.9K Comments
Joined Sep 2006
SwampStomperDec 12, 2017 4:35 AM
6.9K Comments
I no longer enter the Amazon sweeps. Seems like they triggered a lot of emails for me, and...... I never win anything.
Dec 12, 2017 8:20 PM
119K Comments
Joined May 2006
implodeDec 12, 2017 8:20 PM
119K Comments
What a bummer, called Marlboro about missing offers they promised to send me...they ended up having no record of the Movie tickets I redeemed from them. Then I moved onto question #2, do they have a record of the music code offer I also redeemed? They actually had that on file, and was able to retrieve my Itunes $25 GC. I guess getting something is better then a total fail.
Last edited by implode December 12, 2017 at 12:54 PM.

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Dec 14, 2017 6:31 AM
6.9K Comments
Joined Sep 2006
SwampStomperDec 14, 2017 6:31 AM
6.9K Comments
Quote from implode View quoted comment :
What a bummer, called Marlboro about missing offers they promised to send me...they ended up having no record of the Movie tickets I redeemed from them. Then I moved onto question #2, do they have a record of the music code offer I also redeemed? They actually had that on file, and was able to retrieve my Itunes $25 GC. I guess getting something is better then a total fail.
I requested the movie code also. I didn't get it though even though it looked like it said I did.

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