Slickdeals is community-supported.  We may get paid by brands for deals, including promoted items.
forum thread Posted by FreebiesRGreat • Jun 3, 2008
forum thread Posted by FreebiesRGreat • Jun 3, 2008

Contests & Sweepstakes Tips, Advice, and Questions

Sears
9,749 Comments 2,229,274 Views
See Deal
Good Deal
Save
Share
Deal Details
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.

Community Voting

Deal Score
+94
Good Deal
See Deal
Leave a Comment
To participate in the comments, please log in.

9,749 Comments

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Oct 6, 2011
1,397 Posts
Joined Sep 2010
Oct 6, 2011
mj025
Oct 6, 2011
1,397 Posts
Quote from Jang :
Does anyone allow the apps on Facebook that request to post as you? It's a little disappointing to have to pass on those sweepstakes and contests.
I do, from what I've seen, it isn't that they are posting as you at random times, just when you say to share when entering or something. You can check your profile to see if they posted anything in your name... I have never seen anything posted from any time other than when I'm entering... Ok, I'd avoid Joe's Market Research Firm of Pango Pango having that access, but something like Nestle or such? I'm fine with it... And you can revoke the app after the giveaway ends...

-MJ
Oct 6, 2011
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
Oct 6, 2011
Jang
Oct 6, 2011
1,844 Posts
Quote from mj025 :
I do, from what I've seen, it isn't that they are posting as you at random times, just when you say to share when entering or something. You can check your profile to see if they posted anything in your name... I have never seen anything posted from any time other than when I'm entering... Ok, I'd avoid Joe's Market Research Firm of Pango Pango having that access, but something like Nestle or such? I'm fine with it... And you can revoke the app after the giveaway ends...

-MJ

Thanks for the information. I'll try some.
Oct 6, 2011
6 Posts
Joined Oct 2011
Oct 6, 2011
Scoobyfan1
Oct 6, 2011
6 Posts
Just started entering contests and sweepstakes a lot in the last few months. Hopefully i'll win something I need; at the moment I really want a new video game system(my current Playstation 2 might be on its last legs, as I just got a new power cord for it, and I got it in like 2003 or 2004).

That, and probably a new laptop(as my current one has had so many problems, plus its screen flickers every so often as well). Of course gift cards are always good too; I am curious about this repping thing though as well.
Oct 6, 2011
26,018 Posts
Joined Dec 2010
Oct 6, 2011
User1144648
Oct 6, 2011
26,018 Posts
Quote from Scoobyfan1 :
I am curious about this repping thing though as well.
For info on the rep system, and other features on SlickDeals, see the User Guide, it's quite helpful. http://slickdeals.net/forums/faq.php?faq=sd_faq_item#faq_slickdeals_20_beta_faq To rep someone, just click on the little box under their user name, next to their rep count.

What are reputation points and what are those green boxes under my username?
Accumulating reputation points
Every user starts with 10 reputation points. You can give other users rep points if you feel that the post has been helpful. Reputation points can only be given in the deal, freebie or help forums. The best way to accumulate rep points is by posting a good deal.

You can view the last 5 reputation points you have received in your usercp. The ones with green boxes count towards your score, while the gray ones are not. The points that count usually come from seasoned users.

If you have less then 50 posts you can rep others but it will not count towards their reputation points. Instead of showing up green under their user CP function, it will be grey.

Negative rep points are not allowed due to abuse but certain privileged users are able to give negative rep.

Regarding reputation abuse
Rep points are a way of saying thank you, gain a rank and maybe get recognition. There's no tangible value for reps and never will be. However, it is a metric that can be used to determine how helpful the user is to the community. Thusly, to keep the reputation points meaningful, we have general guidelines on how how reps should be handed out. The premise is, if it is used as a form of "thank you" for a user who did something helpful to the community, it's ok.

The following kinds of comments/usage are generally not allowed:
"Give me rep!"
"I'll rep you, you rep me"
"User XYZ is almost bold"
"Let's make User XYZ bold"
"Let's get User XYZ to X number of reps"

Threads/post where the user offers rep points for help or favors (not disguised as trading or trivial questions) are ok. However, rep points given for contests/games or trading for value items are not allowed since it doesn't follow the "thank you" premise. Examples:
"Answer 1+1 and get rep from me" not allowed
"Do something trivial and get rep" not allowed
"Beat me in game XYZ, get rep" not allowed
"Help me find a deal on X, get rep" ok
"Help me find a rebate form, will rep" ok
Oct 7, 2011
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
Oct 7, 2011
Jang
Oct 7, 2011
1,844 Posts
I have another question since I'm bored. How do you guys separate your bookmarks? At first I had them all in one folder and just remembered which ones were weekly and monthly since there weren't that many. Eventually I made folders for weekly and monthly. I also made a folder for instant ones since some days I don't have the patience and time to enter 300+ dailies and I can do the instant ones in a shorter amount of time.
Oct 7, 2011
25,256 Posts
Joined Dec 2005
Oct 7, 2011
javaFlower
Oct 7, 2011
25,256 Posts
Quote from Jang :
I have another question since I'm bored. How do you guys separate your bookmarks? At first I had them all in one folder and just remembered which ones were weekly and monthly since there weren't that many. Eventually I made folders for weekly and monthly. I also made a folder for instant ones since some days I don't have the patience and time to enter 300+ dailies and I can do the instant ones in a shorter amount of time.
I have:

Daily
Weekly
Monthly

I add the end date to each, so that I can move them out to an expired folder later

and "IWG" to the instants, so that I can search for IWG on days when I don't have enough time to do all of the entries.
Oct 7, 2011
1,397 Posts
Joined Sep 2010
Oct 7, 2011
mj025
Oct 7, 2011
1,397 Posts
Quote from Jang :
I have another question since I'm bored. How do you guys separate your bookmarks? At first I had them all in one folder and just remembered which ones were weekly and monthly since there weren't that many. Eventually I made folders for weekly and monthly. I also made a folder for instant ones since some days I don't have the patience and time to enter 300+ dailies and I can do the instant ones in a shorter amount of time.
I listed my way back in this thread, http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=1026521&p=33148501#post33148501

-MJ

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Oct 7, 2011
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
Oct 7, 2011
Jang
Oct 7, 2011
1,844 Posts
Thanks for the replies.
Oct 7, 2011
4,442 Posts
Joined Jun 2007
Oct 7, 2011
dgleeson
Oct 7, 2011
4,442 Posts
Fall into Relaxation with TBS & TNT

One sweeps or Two?

Rules Pages:

http://www.tbs.com/sweepstakes/sw...74,00.html
http://www.tnt.tv/sweepstakes_alt...ntId=34799
Oct 11, 2011
1,297 Posts
Joined Oct 2008
Oct 11, 2011
jenious
Oct 11, 2011
1,297 Posts
So I just got my computer set up back at home and Im back into contests after moving back from Alaska.

This time I have switched to doing only IWG and I have found it to be much more satisfying. So far I have won a Fast 5 dvd, a cottonelle tp roll cover, and a $25 dollar macys gift card (all in the last week).

Does anyone have advice for prioritizing my sweepstakes? I was figuring to get in all the IWG games and have a bookmark folder for those.

Then should I do daily/weekly/montly or 1 entry? Or do you think that just doing IWG is the way to go?
Oct 11, 2011
67 Posts
Joined Nov 2007
Oct 11, 2011
nyctckid
Oct 11, 2011
67 Posts
Hey guys so I got an email stating that I won in this contest.
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3265780
I have never won a contest ever before and I was wondering if you guys can give me any tips. They are asking me to fill out a W9 and a release form. I just want to make sure this is not a scam.
Oct 11, 2011
6 Posts
Joined Oct 2011
Oct 11, 2011
Scoobyfan1
Oct 11, 2011
6 Posts
Quote from MLx3 :
For info on the rep system, and other features on SlickDeals, see the User Guide, it's quite helpful. http://slickdeals.net/forums/faq.php?faq=sd_faq_item#faq_slickdeals_20_beta_faq To rep someone, just click on the little box under their user name, next to their rep count.

What are reputation points and what are those green boxes under my username?
Accumulating reputation points
Every user starts with 10 reputation points. You can give other users rep points if you feel that the post has been helpful. Reputation points can only be given in the deal, freebie or help forums. The best way to accumulate rep points is by posting a good deal.

You can view the last 5 reputation points you have received in your usercp. The ones with green boxes count towards your score, while the gray ones are not. The points that count usually come from seasoned users.

If you have less then 50 posts you can rep others but it will not count towards their reputation points. Instead of showing up green under their user CP function, it will be grey.

Negative rep points are not allowed due to abuse but certain privileged users are able to give negative rep.

Regarding reputation abuse
Rep points are a way of saying thank you, gain a rank and maybe get recognition. There's no tangible value for reps and never will be. However, it is a metric that can be used to determine how helpful the user is to the community. Thusly, to keep the reputation points meaningful, we have general guidelines on how how reps should be handed out. The premise is, if it is used as a form of "thank you" for a user who did something helpful to the community, it's ok.

The following kinds of comments/usage are generally not allowed:
"Give me rep!"
"I'll rep you, you rep me"
"User XYZ is almost bold"
"Let's make User XYZ bold"
"Let's get User XYZ to X number of reps"

Threads/post where the user offers rep points for help or favors (not disguised as trading or trivial questions) are ok. However, rep points given for contests/games or trading for value items are not allowed since it doesn't follow the "thank you" premise. Examples:
"Answer 1+1 and get rep from me" not allowed
"Do something trivial and get rep" not allowed
"Beat me in game XYZ, get rep" not allowed
"Help me find a deal on X, get rep" ok
"Help me find a rebate form, will rep" ok
Thanks, that helps a lot.
Oct 11, 2011
6 Posts
Joined Oct 2011
Oct 11, 2011
Scoobyfan1
Oct 11, 2011
6 Posts
I had a question regarding winning contests and taxes that maybe someone could answer.

I live with my parents, and i'm 26 years old(and I don't mind admitting either of those things by the way). Basically I've read that you have to report everything you win in a contest, no matter what the value of the prize is on your taxes.

However, I don't pay taxes because I don't have a paid job, but my parents do. My question though is this: if I win something, because I still live in the same house with my parents, would they still have to report it on their taxes?

I mean I like winning stuff, but I want to make sure on this because I don't want anybody to go to jail or anything over this, or get an audit.
Oct 11, 2011
117,780 Posts
Joined May 2006
Oct 11, 2011
implode
Oct 11, 2011
117,780 Posts
Quote from Scoobyfan1 :
I had a question regarding winning contests and taxes that maybe someone could answer.

I live with my parents, and i'm 26 years old(and I don't mind admitting either of those things by the way). Basically I've read that you have to report everything you win in a contest, no matter what the value of the prize is on your taxes.

However, I don't pay taxes because I don't have a paid job, but my parents do. My question though is this: if I win something, because I still live in the same house with my parents, would they still have to report it on their taxes?

I mean I like winning stuff, but I want to make sure on this because I don't want anybody to go to jail or anything over this, or get an audit.
You would report the income as MISC Income, and toward your own income...weather you have a job or not doesn't matter in regard to taxes. You have to pay them if you have a job or not on all your income. If you don't have a job, I would reconsider entering contests...the IRS will get VERY annoyed if you can't pay your taxes. Its a VERY serious issue.

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Oct 11, 2011
6 Posts
Joined Oct 2011
Oct 11, 2011
Scoobyfan1
Oct 11, 2011
6 Posts
Quote from implode :
You would report the income as MISC Income, and toward your own income...weather you have a job or not doesn't matter in regard to taxes. You have to pay them if you have a job or not on all your income. If you don't have a job, I would reconsider entering contests...the IRS will get VERY annoyed if you can't pay your taxes. Its a VERY serious issue.
Thank you for the info, but I do have a few other things i'm curious about.

First, I qualify for SSI, Food Stamps(which in Washington State is through what's called the Quest Card) and Medical Coupons because my folks both work for a local school district, and because of the income they make every year.

Would qualifying for any of those things affect taxes as far as contest winnings go? In addition(for now) because of everything I mentioned above, I have a volunteer secretary job at a local church. Problem is I get a paying job, even part-time, it might affect the SSI and other benefits I and my family receive.

Also, my dad has heart and knee and a few other smaller medical issues. In addition, I already won tickets to a College Basketball game in December between Washington State and Pepperdine through a contest on the local ESPN Radio affiliate(Seattle)'s website.

My question with that is this: on the tickets, it says comp, for complementary. I looked online, and the value of the tickets if I hadn't won them would have been in the neighborhood of twenty-fourty dollars(I forget the exact value); now, as far as tax purposes go, would the value of the tickets be what you would report come income tax time?

Just curious.

Related Searches

Popular Deals

View All

Trending Deals

View All