Slickdeals is community-supported.  We may get paid by brands for deals, including promoted items.
forum threadFreebiesRGreat posted Jun 03, 2008 02:50 AM
forum threadFreebiesRGreat posted Jun 03, 2008 02:50 AM

Contests & Sweepstakes Tips, Advice, and Questions

Sears
2,360,054 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
+99
Good Deal
See Deal

Leave a Comment

Unregistered (You)

9,849 Comments

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Jun 22, 2012 01:59 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeJun 22, 2012 01:59 PM
118,455 Posts
I have no idea how to reroute fed ex, think your best bet is to explain your situation when you receive a winning email. UPS/USPS options you chose are logical and the best bet.

I don't think you will get DQed by most placed from changing addresses. Contests you log in to you can change your address in account options generally speaking. You just want to explain the change if you win on an early entry. Maybe have an agreement in place with new owners to ship fed ex packages back to you??? Most people are neighborly and will help you out if you ask nicely.
Jun 25, 2012 01:36 AM
3,592 Posts
Joined Sep 2007
shopgurl101Jun 25, 2012 01:36 AM
3,592 Posts
Is anyone having problems with the good housekeeping giveaways? It goes to a contest page instead of the giveaway page and I cant find the link on the pages either.
Jun 25, 2012 04:25 AM
264 Posts
Joined Nov 2011
DCFreebiesJun 25, 2012 04:25 AM
264 Posts
Quote from Jang :
I'm not the greatest sweeper, so you'd probably get a better answer from someone with more years doing it than I do.

It takes me a couple of hours. I usually do it in parts...I do my instant wins all at the same time. I currently have about 45 of them. Then I split up my dailies, which I have about 160 of right now.

I just put some youtube videos on in the background, open up the links in groups of 20 or so and go at it. Each day is different. Sometimes I do everything at the same time. Sometimes I take breaks if I'm too bored or don't have time to sit there for that long. I use a laptop so sometimes I do it when I'm eating or laying in bed.
How do you remember all the dailies you are entered in?
Jun 25, 2012 04:47 AM
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
JangJun 25, 2012 04:47 AM
1,844 Posts
Quote from DCFreebies :
How do you remember all the dailies you are entered in?
I bookmark the slickdeals threads.
Jun 25, 2012 01:49 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeJun 25, 2012 01:49 PM
118,455 Posts
Quote from DCFreebies :
How do you remember all the dailies you are entered in?
I think the easiest way is bookmark things you want to enter on a regular basis. Maybe set up an excel spreadsheet...

I would use the fields:
Expiration Date | Contest URL | Rules URL | Notes

Then sort by expiration date.This will make it easy to eliminate expired contests from your routine.

If you are a geek you may even code a field that acts as a counter within your spreadsheet. Every time you click a link it increments to keep track of total entries.

shake head I'm NOT a geek so don't ask me Stick Out Tongue

At any rate an unwritten rule that a lot of newer people don't get is bumping threads a lot is a pain in the neck. A lot of people use the site to enter the contests in order, so movement of threads make it hard to enter. Best NOT to bump/move threads with a comment unless they are about to fall off the back page due to inactivity.
Jun 25, 2012 01:57 PM
3,592 Posts
Joined Sep 2007
shopgurl101Jun 25, 2012 01:57 PM
3,592 Posts
I bookmark them by the type of sweep they are: IWG, Daily, Other

And I rename it the expiring date
Jun 25, 2012 02:44 PM
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
JangJun 25, 2012 02:44 PM
1,844 Posts
Quote from shopgurl101 :
I bookmark them by the type of sweep they are: IWG, Daily, Other

And I rename it the expiring date
I like that most people here format the expiration date the same way in the thread title. It makes it easy to search through my bookmarks when I need to.

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Jun 25, 2012 03:38 PM
208 Posts
Joined May 2009
empyreanJun 25, 2012 03:38 PM
208 Posts
Quote from DCFreebies :
How do you remember all the dailies you are entered in?
Easiest way for me is just to bookmark them in Roboform (with type, title, exp date, etc.) and if they expire move them to an expired folder. Way more organized than bookmarks to me. Plus you can always keep a record of what you enter and it is not browser-centric.
Jun 25, 2012 04:46 PM
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
JangJun 25, 2012 04:46 PM
1,844 Posts
Quote from empyrean :
Easiest way for me is just to bookmark them in Roboform (with type, title, exp date, etc.) and if they expire move them to an expired folder. Way more organized than bookmarks to me. Plus you can always keep a record of what you enter and it is not browser-centric.
That's a good idea. I wanted to use Roboform bookmarks but I always get too lazy to transfer them all.
Jun 25, 2012 06:32 PM
394 Posts
Joined Sep 2009
KrisDuttJun 25, 2012 06:32 PM
394 Posts
Just curious if anyone knew a trick on how to redeem the GC from the Camel Birthday IWG? I won the $25 and when I try to redeem it through the 3rd party site it doesn't do anything. I've tried using IE and Firefox and same thing. TIA!

D'oh! I figured it out. I needed to include the full zip code on it. Sheesh. How picky and now I can't delete this, lol. Thanks anyways.
Last edited by KrisDutt June 25, 2012 at 11:35 AM.
Jun 25, 2012 08:01 PM
87 Posts
Joined Jan 2012
dustdivaJun 25, 2012 08:01 PM
87 Posts
I am sure I am not alone in this feeling. I haven't won anything in a few weeks, nada, zip, zilch. Pretty much everything I have won previous has been received. Nothing even to look forward to. Then I look at my emails and the monster of spam I have created and wonder how could I have not won anything in the last few weeks???? jeez Someone else mentioned that once they complain, they win something. OK so I am complaining........ Back to getting rid of this mountain of spam cause I don't want to accidently miss something.
Jun 25, 2012 08:12 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeJun 25, 2012 08:12 PM
118,455 Posts
Quote from dustdiva :
I am sure I am not alone in this feeling. I haven't won anything in a few weeks, nada, zip, zilch. Pretty much everything I have won previous has been received. Nothing even to look forward to. Then I look at my emails and the monster of spam I have created and wonder how could I have not won anything in the last few weeks???? jeez Someone else mentioned that once they complain, they win something. OK so I am complaining........ Back to getting rid of this mountain of spam cause I don't want to accidently miss something.
Everyone has losing streaks, I've entered 500-600 a day and not even won a digital download for 3-4 months before. Can't tell you how depressing that kind of time commitment is.
Jun 25, 2012 08:39 PM
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
JangJun 25, 2012 08:39 PM
1,844 Posts
Wow, that's about double what I do each day. I do about 200 dailies and 50 instant wins.
Jun 25, 2012 09:51 PM
1,018 Posts
Joined Oct 2011
carriec1132Jun 25, 2012 09:51 PM
1,018 Posts
i received my prize from the acura shield ops iwg which was fulfilled be eprize. the prize was $70 scale replica of tony stark's car. the plastic display case is cracked and a tire is broken off. ive never recieved anything that was broken and dont know what to do. take pics? send it back?

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Jun 25, 2012 09:53 PM
200 Posts
Joined Dec 2011
wc0904Jun 25, 2012 09:53 PM
200 Posts
Quote from carriec1132 :
i received my prize from the acura shield ops iwg which was fulfilled be eprize. the prize was $70 scale replica of tony stark's car. the plastic display case is cracked and a tire is broken off. ive never recieved anything that was broken and dont know what to do. take pics? send it back?
Hmm I'm not sure on that. I got the same prize and that thing definitely isn't worth 70 bucks, it has a lot of imperfections.

Leave a Comment

Unregistered (You)

Related Searches

Popular Deals

Trending Deals