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forum threadFreebiesRGreat posted Jun 03, 2008 02:50 AM
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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Nov 27, 2012 05:24 PM
2,562 Posts
Joined Aug 2008
lemontart68Nov 27, 2012 05:24 PM
2,562 Posts
Quote from Jang :
Well said implode.

On another note, I love Pinterest sweepstakes and contests. Far less people use the site as compared to Twitter or Facebook and it takes more "work" to enter so even less people bother doing so.
Haha, I do avoid the pinterest sweeps if I don't have enough time to do it so yeah I bet your odds are higher there. On that note...gonna do the pinterest ones more often. Big Grin

Edited to add: I love the essay contests for the same reason and enter those a lot.
Nov 27, 2012 05:30 PM
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
JangNov 27, 2012 05:30 PM
1,844 Posts
Quote from lemontart68 :
Haha, I do avoid the pinterest sweeps if I don't have enough time to do it so yeah I bet your odds are higher there. On that note...gonna do the pinterest ones more often. Big Grin

Edited to add: I love the essay contests for the same reason and enter those a lot.
I debated for a second whether to even mention the Pinterest sweeps but I said if more people get interested in them, oh well.

I try to do essay sweepstakes when I can but either they're something I definitely won't win or something I'd feel too bad making my story extra sappy or sympathetic about.
Nov 27, 2012 05:36 PM
2,562 Posts
Joined Aug 2008
lemontart68Nov 27, 2012 05:36 PM
2,562 Posts
Quote from Jang :
I debated for a second whether to even mention the Pinterest sweeps but I said if more people get interested in them, oh well.

I try to do essay sweepstakes when I can but either they're something I definitely won't win or something I'd feel too bad making my story extra sappy or sympathetic about.
I do see some winners of the essay contests who played the sympathy card, yep. More often though I see the winners who were really creative, humorous and found a clever way to tie in their story to the sponsor's product. That is what I shoot for when I enter. I've won a few over the years but not using the sympathy factor but yeah...I do see that a lot on those sweeps.
Nov 28, 2012 02:35 AM
2,562 Posts
Joined Aug 2008
lemontart68Nov 28, 2012 02:35 AM
2,562 Posts
I have a question about the pizza hut dash for dough gift card. I won and got the gift card via email instantly then today I got another email with the subject "problem solved, here's your new egift card"...huh? So the first one isn't any good? I haven't used either one yet and wondered if anyone else got two emails with two gift card numbers.
Nov 28, 2012 03:18 AM
4,441 Posts
Joined Jun 2007
dgleesonNov 28, 2012 03:18 AM
4,441 Posts
Quote from lemontart68 :
I have a question about the pizza hut dash for dough gift card. I won and got the gift card via email instantly then today I got another email with the subject "problem solved, here's your new egift card"...huh? So the first one isn't any good? I haven't used either one yet and wondered if anyone else got two emails with two gift card numbers.
Yep, got the same.
Nov 28, 2012 03:25 AM
2,562 Posts
Joined Aug 2008
lemontart68Nov 28, 2012 03:25 AM
2,562 Posts
Quote from dgleeson :
Yep, got the same.
Strange huh? So I assume that the one we got today is valid? Guess I won't know until I try to use it. Have you used either one yet?
Nov 28, 2012 04:42 AM
1,018 Posts
Joined Oct 2011
carriec1132Nov 28, 2012 04:42 AM
1,018 Posts
Quote from lemontart68 :
Strange huh? So I assume that the one we got today is valid? Guess I won't know until I try to use it. Have you used either one yet?
You can check the balance on pizzahut.com. look at top of page and click on giftcards.

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Nov 28, 2012 06:02 AM
2,562 Posts
Joined Aug 2008
lemontart68Nov 28, 2012 06:02 AM
2,562 Posts
Quote from carriec1132 :
You can check the balance on pizzahut.com. look at top of page and click on giftcards.
Oh, didn't even think of that, thank you!! Smilie
Nov 28, 2012 07:10 AM
818 Posts
Joined Jul 2012
Jackie227Nov 28, 2012 07:10 AM
818 Posts
Quote from lemontart68 :
UPS alert from Alliance Marketing Dist Inc....any ideas?
i see several ppl saying they are getting UPS Alerts, how do I sign up for this? I have looked on UPS website, and I dont see anything like that
Nov 28, 2012 07:13 AM
2,562 Posts
Joined Aug 2008
lemontart68Nov 28, 2012 07:13 AM
2,562 Posts
Quote from Jackie227 :
i see several ppl saying they are getting UPS Alerts, how do I sign up for this? I have looked on UPS website, and I dont see anything like that
Here you go, it is ups my choice

http://www.ups.com/mychoice/index...CTab_Learn
Nov 28, 2012 07:15 AM
818 Posts
Joined Jul 2012
Jackie227Nov 28, 2012 07:15 AM
818 Posts
Quote from lemontart68 :
Here you go, it is ups my choice

http://www.ups.com/mychoice/index...CTab_Learn
Thank you very much!!
I think I repped you, still not real sure if I have enough post yet to do that, and if I am doing it right,lol
Nov 28, 2012 07:18 AM
2,562 Posts
Joined Aug 2008
lemontart68Nov 28, 2012 07:18 AM
2,562 Posts
Quote from Jackie227 :
Thank you very much!!
I think I repped you, still not real sure if I have enough post yet to do that, and if I am doing it right,lol
You're welcome! Smilie
Nov 28, 2012 07:23 AM
4,441 Posts
Joined Jun 2007
dgleesonNov 28, 2012 07:23 AM
4,441 Posts
Getting error on all eprize games: Service Unavailable

The server is temporarily unable to service your request. Please try again later.
Reference #6.d4c702cc.1354087238.658940f

Anybody else?
Nov 28, 2012 07:24 AM
105 Posts
Joined Oct 2012
MOSCHUNONov 28, 2012 07:24 AM
105 Posts
Quote from Jackie227 :
i see several ppl saying they are getting UPS Alerts, how do I sign up for this? I have looked on UPS website, and I dont see anything like that
Thanks! I was wondering this a while back and signed up for UPS. is there another way to sign up for FedEx alerts?

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Nov 28, 2012 07:28 AM
2,562 Posts
Joined Aug 2008
lemontart68Nov 28, 2012 07:28 AM
2,562 Posts
Quote from dgleeson :
Getting error on all eprize games: Service Unavailable

The server is temporarily unable to service your request. Please try again later.
Reference #6.d4c702cc.1354087238.658940f

Anybody else?
Just tried one and got the same error.

Edit: Make that two and was just going to do some instants, blah.

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