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forum threadFreebiesRGreat posted Jun 03, 2008 02:50 AM
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forum threadFreebiesRGreat posted Jun 03, 2008 02:50 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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Jul 07, 2012 04:50 PM
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
JangJul 07, 2012 04:50 PM
1,844 Posts
Quote from bittripfan :
oh yeah I know it won't fix it in the Firefox I just meant I could use it Chromo for a while
A quick looked showed it possibly being a windows file error and it says to reload to a previous backup. Ouch. I'm sure there's an easier solution.
Jul 07, 2012 05:16 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeJul 07, 2012 05:16 PM
118,455 Posts
[QUOTE=Jang;51487686]I hope it's going well by now. Maybe at least get some good wine to taste. Smilie


The delivery notice I received said my package would be delivered on Thursday. UPS still says it'll be delivered Thursday...two days ago. And it just says:

A UPS shipping label has been created. Once the shipment arrives at our facility, the tracking status--including the scheduled delivery date--will be updated.

When before it had more information.

Weird.[/QUOTE

Sadly I encountered the worst part of my trip thus far at checkout this morning. My credit card was charged ~$600...the credit card for judging agency, wasn't authorized. Pretty ticked about having to charge my own room. BOGUS! I know it isn't the hotels problem, they just want to get paid, but why didn't they clue in the person who made the reservation. I'm VERY scared I'm out $600.

As I posted earlier in the wins thread, the wine tasting was excellent. Tried a bunch of $100 bottles...wine tasting is expensive, but you get a good variety on the various wine tours. I'm not a huge wine guy, but much of it was very good.
Jul 09, 2012 11:41 PM
561 Posts
Joined Aug 2011
maxximilianJul 09, 2012 11:41 PM
561 Posts
Bit of a puzzler here today. Got a fiber optic audio cable from 1dealaday.com. No explanation, and since I don't have anything that is optical cable driven....would have never bought it. I did notice that many of the Slickdeals giveaways include offers from 1dealaday.com, but don't recall ever entering a sweep from them directly.....

Weird....anyone else ever get a mystery shipment like this?
Last edited by maxximilian July 9, 2012 at 04:44 PM.
Jul 09, 2012 11:44 PM
200 Posts
Joined Dec 2011
wc0904Jul 09, 2012 11:44 PM
200 Posts
Quote from maxximilian :
Bit of a puzzler here today. Got a fiber optic audio cable from 1dealaday.com. No explanation, and since I don't have anything that is optical cable driven....would have never bought it. I did notice that many of the Slickdeals contests include offers from 1dealaday.com, but don't recall ever entering a sweep from them directly.....

Weird....anyone else ever get a mystery shipment like this?
There were a couple mentions of this either in this thread or in the Sweeps I've won thread. Seems like a lot of people have received one.
Jul 09, 2012 11:53 PM
561 Posts
Joined Aug 2011
maxximilianJul 09, 2012 11:53 PM
561 Posts
Quote from mynameskatie :
There were a couple mentions of this either in this thread or in the Sweeps I've won thread. Seems like a lot of people have received one.
Thanks....I will go look.....
Jul 10, 2012 03:44 AM
1,018 Posts
Joined Oct 2011
carriec1132Jul 10, 2012 03:44 AM
1,018 Posts
i was reading the email i got from win gadgets about the ipad winner notification and to check your emails (everyone is talking about it on the "what I won" thread). in the email it says "the winner will be notified by email as its demanded by fb contest terms". im confused. people were just talking about this a couple pages back about how to search to see if you were named a winner on fb. can anyone clarify?
Jul 10, 2012 01:01 PM
200 Posts
Joined Dec 2011
wc0904Jul 10, 2012 01:01 PM
200 Posts
Quote from carriec1132 :
i was reading the email i got from win gadgets about the ipad winner notification and to check your emails (everyone is talking about it on the "what I won" thread). in the email it says "the winner will be notified by email as its demanded by fb contest terms". im confused. people were just talking about this a couple pages back about how to search to see if you were named a winner on fb. can anyone clarify?
In this particular contest everyone who entered got that stupid email. But as far as the search it is clarified a few pages back. Basically if your name was John Smith you would enter "john smith" winner into Google. I have a few variations of my name saved in Google Alerts (which you can use if you have Gmail, it basically just searches for you each day and then alerts to your email). So you could also do "john smith" facebook winner, "john smith" congratulations, etc etc

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Jul 10, 2012 01:55 PM
1,018 Posts
Joined Oct 2011
carriec1132Jul 10, 2012 01:55 PM
1,018 Posts
Quote from mynameskatie :
In this particular contest everyone who entered got that stupid email. But as far as the search it is clarified a few pages back. Basically if your name was John Smith you would enter "john smith" winner into Google. I have a few variations of my name saved in Google Alerts (which you can use if you have Gmail, it basically just searches for you each day and then alerts to your email). So you could also do "john smith" facebook winner, "john smith" congratulations, etc etc
thanks for the reply. i think i shoulda worded my post more clearly. do companies have to email winners or can they list them on their fb page and you have to msg them? i was confused by the line in the email stating they had to email the winner according to fb terms.
Jul 10, 2012 07:06 PM
26,018 Posts
Joined Dec 2010
User1144648Jul 10, 2012 07:06 PM
26,018 Posts
Quote from carriec1132 :
thanks for the reply. i think i shoulda worded my post more clearly. do companies have to email winners or can they list them on their fb page and you have to msg them? i was confused by the line in the email stating they had to email the winner according to fb terms.
Technically, companies are supposed to notify winners through email/mail/phone, and not through a post or Facebook message (per Facebook promotion guidelines). But, not all companies adhere to the "rules". https://www.facebook.com/page_gui...guidelines
Jul 10, 2012 07:15 PM
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
JangJul 10, 2012 07:15 PM
1,844 Posts
Quote from MLx3 :
Technically, companies are supposed to notify winners through email/mail/phone, and not through a post or Facebook message (per Facebook promotion guidelines). But, not all companies adhere to the "rules". https://www.facebook.com/page_gui...guidelines

More on this, there are a lot of companies that just announce the winners and tell them to either email them or message their page. I've had to do this several times. I'm sure I've missed a couple of wins before.
Jul 11, 2012 04:05 PM
2,287 Posts
Joined Aug 2009
kllgJul 11, 2012 04:05 PM
2,287 Posts
Quote from maxximilian :
Thanks....I will go look.....


I received one too...
Jul 12, 2012 01:29 PM
1,018 Posts
Joined Oct 2011
carriec1132Jul 12, 2012 01:29 PM
1,018 Posts
Thanks everyone for the clarifications.

Im a possible winner in diet coke and 7-11 txt to win game. They gave away 30 trips to ny w fray concert tix. This is my first trip win. I wont need the airfare since i live a state away (less than 200 miles). So its just hotel and concert tix. The hotel requires a credit card for incidentals. Can i use a debit/prepaid card or does it have to be a credit card? I dont have a credit card but my parents would either let me use theirs or add me to their acct.

The trip is for 2 people. Im hoping my husband can go but my big question is can we bring our kids w us? We would have to see if hotel has babysitting service for them for concert. Just wondering if anyone has done this? Would be nice to all get away but the kids dont necessarially have to go.
Jul 12, 2012 01:49 PM
13 Posts
Joined Jul 2012
AlexA06Jul 12, 2012 01:49 PM
13 Posts
I have started taking part in sweepstakes recently but have no luck and never won a single time. Frown
Jul 12, 2012 02:27 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeJul 12, 2012 02:27 PM
118,455 Posts
Quote from carriec1132 :
Thanks everyone for the clarifications.

Im a possible winner in diet coke and 7-11 txt to win game. They gave away 30 trips to ny w fray concert tix. This is my first trip win. I wont need the airfare since i live a state away (less than 200 miles). So its just hotel and concert tix. The hotel requires a credit card for incidentals. Can i use a debit/prepaid card or does it have to be a credit card? I dont have a credit card but my parents would either let me use theirs or add me to their acct.

The trip is for 2 people. Im hoping my husband can go but my big question is can we bring our kids w us? We would have to see if hotel has babysitting service for them for concert. Just wondering if anyone has done this? Would be nice to all get away but the kids dont necessarially have to go.
I have a debit card myself, and the rules for use highly suggest not using it for anything with hold charges. Gas, Restaurants, and hotels place a hold on the money in excess of the amount of the cost of the charge. I'm told money is held from you for a long period of time, and if a mistake occurs its a lot harder to get it refunded (then that of using a normal credit card). I'm also told certain banks won't let holds exist in the first place since debit card isn't a form of actual credit.

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Jul 12, 2012 03:00 PM
3,592 Posts
Joined Sep 2007
shopgurl101Jul 12, 2012 03:00 PM
3,592 Posts
Im having a hard time understanding these magazine giveaway rules. They have daily giveaways but it seems like when I enter for one the other tell me I have already entered. It doesnt make sense to me because a person might want something from one site but not from the next. Does that mean I enter into all the prizes when I enter one, or is there just a problem with the system

Here is a link to the rules: http://win.betterrecipes.com/#sweeps_rules

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