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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 20, 2017 8:33 PM
119K Comments
Joined May 2006
implodeDec 20, 2017 8:33 PM
119K Comments
NOT sure where to drop this....away from home visiting family. My older 6 year laptop is slow as hell, and doing a single page of sweeps (30) takes over an hour. roboform doesn't work, so no passwords. XP won't update. Memory issues. On outdated slow internet. Totally screwed for the two weeks I'm hear in terms of work I can do or sweeps.

Was going to stream TV, but no...again slow internet. Bored out of my mind. Wondering if tethering my phone might be a expensive solution.

I miss everyone here, and hope your holiday is going well.

The good news is way able to get into amazon, and redeem MCR code for $5. Also like I said above, got TJX mail for $20 GC, assuming I won something at sometime...and its not a scam.
Dec 20, 2017 9:26 PM
5K Comments
Joined Sep 2009
iamnotaduckDec 20, 2017 9:26 PM
5K Comments
Quote from implode View quoted comment :
On outdated slow internet.
Sorry your internet is slow. Merry Christmas Girly
Here's a lil story for ya.
Coffee
Computerpunch
Grumpy
Lightning
Surrender
Dec 21, 2017 12:41 AM
6.9K Comments
Joined Dec 2009
magwheelsDec 21, 2017 12:41 AM
6.9K Comments
Advice (or commiseration) or something.

I won a prize. It was delivered today according to FedEx at 1:30 this afternoon. (The prize company didn't require a signature.) However, when my husband came home at 2:30, there was nothing. I contacted FedEx who has a trace on it. I contacted the prize company and informed them. Is there anything else I should do? This was a substantial (to me) prize and is kind of big/heavy so it isn't something that fell behind the bushes. I've never had anything taken from in front of our house before but this is the season...

Am I SOL? I've never won something like this before and I don't know what I should expect. I was so excited and now I am totally bummed. Thanks in advance.
Dec 21, 2017 1:07 AM
6.9K Comments
Joined Dec 2009
magwheelsDec 21, 2017 1:07 AM
6.9K Comments
Applause Update: Back to euphoria! Bike just showed up! Thumbsup woot

FedEx delivered to the next street over (-- sort of sounds like our street if you aren't looking carefully.) I am grateful to the guy who dragged this thing over.

Woot Jump
Dec 21, 2017 2:01 AM
5K Comments
Joined Sep 2009
iamnotaduckDec 21, 2017 2:01 AM
5K Comments
Quote from magwheels View quoted comment :
Applause Update: Back to euphoria! Bike just showed up! Thumbsup woot

FedEx delivered to the next street over (-- sort of sounds like our street if you aren't looking carefully.) I am grateful to the guy who dragged this thing over.

Woot Jump
Congrats and I am happy for your happy ending.
Dec 21, 2017 7:10 AM
19 Comments
Joined Jan 2014
hwnhrt808Dec 21, 2017 7:10 AM
19 Comments
Quote from implode View quoted comment :
Just got email with $20 TJX GC code, any idea which promo this is from...remember $12;000 one and $100 Prize ones,,,is it legit? Website appears to be cashstar.

Found this on another board I visit...
"Happy Holidays! Thanks for your submission in our Gift My Gathering contest! Although you didn't win, we want to say thanks by sending a $20 gift card. We hope this helps with your last minute holiday shopping!"

Good Luck with your sweeps!
Dec 21, 2017 1:04 PM
846 Comments
Joined Nov 2005
UppyDec 21, 2017 1:04 PM
846 Comments
I'm in the same boat. Have not really entered anything other than text to win sweeps since I left home Tuesday. Then I called my mobile provider. One month trial, or so I told them and added using my phone as a hot spot for one month. Thanks for being a long time customer... Merry Christmas... no charge until the end of January billing period unless I cancel. I have unlimited data no slow down so it has worked well. Might be worth a try.

Quote from implode View quoted comment :
NOT sure where to drop this....away from home visiting family. My older 6 year laptop is slow as hell, and doing a single page of sweeps (30) takes over an hour. roboform doesn't work, so no passwords. XP won't update. Memory issues. On outdated slow internet. Totally screwed for the two weeks I'm hear in terms of work I can do or sweeps.

Was going to stream TV, but no...again slow internet. Bored out of my mind. Wondering if tethering my phone might be a expensive solution.

I miss everyone here, and hope your holiday is going well.

The good news is way able to get into amazon, and redeem MCR code for $5. Also like I said above, got TJX mail for $20 GC, assuming I won something at sometime...and its not a scam.
Last edited by Uppy December 21, 2017 at 05:07 AM.

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Dec 21, 2017 4:50 PM
119K Comments
Joined May 2006
implodeDec 21, 2017 4:50 PM
119K Comments
Quote from Uppy View quoted comment :
I'm in the same boat. Have not really entered anything other than text to win sweeps since I left home Tuesday. Then I called my mobile provider. One month trial, or so I told them and added using my phone as a hot spot for one month. Thanks for being a long time customer... Merry Christmas... no charge until the end of January billing period unless I cancel. I have unlimited data no slow down so it has worked well. Might be worth a try.
Best deal for me is being on my parents family plan still--good locked in rate. but data cap is 5GB. Able to tether in emergencies. But don't want to go over. Think if I opted out it would be $10-15 more a month for same level of service. Checking email/social media really isn't that data intensive in the first place.
Dec 27, 2017 12:40 AM
2.6K Comments
Joined Jan 2009
tupperwaretinDec 27, 2017 12:40 AM
2.6K Comments
Do any of you use a auto filler to fill out entry forms? If so what do you recommend?
Dec 27, 2017 12:44 AM
119K Comments
Joined May 2006
implodeDec 27, 2017 12:44 AM
119K Comments
Quote from tupperwaretin View quoted comment :
Do any of you use a auto filler to fill out entry forms? If so what do you recommend?
Been using Roboform for quite a while, really love it.
Dec 27, 2017 9:43 AM
293 Comments
Joined Jan 2011
Joeucf5969Dec 27, 2017 9:43 AM
293 Comments
My Roboform is causing issues with Firefox. When Roboform is enabled, the remember logins and passwords becomes unselected. Also whenever I open a new window it switches to that webpage even though I have that feature unselected in Firefox preferences. When I disable Roboform it works perfectly. I might need to either switch to a different form filler, or start using Chrome.
Dec 27, 2017 2:49 PM
412 Comments
Joined Nov 2011
dorsy28Dec 27, 2017 2:49 PM
412 Comments
Quote from Joeucf5969 View quoted comment :
My Roboform is causing issues with Firefox. When Roboform is enabled, the remember logins and passwords becomes unselected. Also whenever I open a new window it switches to that webpage even though I have that feature unselected in Firefox preferences. When I disable Roboform it works perfectly. I might need to either switch to a different form filler, or start using Chrome.
I've had problems ever since my Mac operating system Auto-updated. Roboform is working only half of the time, and Dashlane is a mess. Bummer, since I just had another shoulder surgery and can only type with my left hand.
Dec 27, 2017 4:29 PM
27.6K Comments
Joined Dec 2006
suncat77Dec 27, 2017 4:29 PM
27.6K Comments
Quote from dorsy28 View quoted comment :
I've had problems ever since my Mac operating system Auto-updated. Roboform is working only half of the time, and Dashlane is a mess. Bummer, since I just had another shoulder surgery and can only type with my left hand.

I'm a Mac user and was having the same issue with Roboform. I've switched to Last Pass and have been having a lot better luck with that. I read about it in this very thread, ha.
Dec 27, 2017 8:08 PM
554 Comments
Joined Apr 2017
JohnsofxDec 27, 2017 8:08 PM
554 Comments
Just missed a call from Iheartradio. I wonder what prize i missed out on lol

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Dec 28, 2017 1:53 AM
31.5K Comments
Joined Oct 2010
patricia46Dec 28, 2017 1:53 AM
31.5K Comments
Is this a win? or just a glitch? it was the coke rewards contest AMOE. it was about 3 weeks ago this came up never got a confirmation e-mail. Do they send them out right away or after the contest is over.

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