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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

Sears
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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 28, 2012 07:29 AM
105 Posts
Joined Oct 2012
MOSCHUNONov 28, 2012 07:29 AM
105 Posts
Quote from implode :
I enter all my contests directly from Slickdeals website. If I don't bump contests, they fall off the back page of the monthly view. I like the idea that people who may have missed entering also getting a chance to enter. For those saying tough luck to them, remember you will have better odds if you constantly enter something. Really chances or hurtting your odds are in the tens of thousands of a percent if not greater.

Like anything bumping can be taken to an extreme. For example people bumping soon to expire threads. To me that is the exception as it makes the sites organization a lot worse. You definately don't want a thread to hang around 20-30 days extra in the monthly view.

Its important to note Dailies are a lot different then single entry. Single entry you are marking you are done entering to avoid DQs. Dailies you don't need to mark as entered as you can enter them multiple times.
I'm a little confused by this. How can you mark the sweeps you have entered? I am still new to this so I am a little confused and was trying to make my own lists, but I am very unorganized and it gets a bit confusing. Is there a way to mark contests you have entered, or dailies you want to enter every day on SD?

Thanks!worship
Nov 28, 2012 07:55 AM
4,441 Posts
Joined Jun 2007
dgleesonNov 28, 2012 07:55 AM
4,441 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?

They're back up now!
Nov 28, 2012 07:57 AM
2,562 Posts
Joined Aug 2008
lemontart68Nov 28, 2012 07:57 AM
2,562 Posts
Quote from dgleeson :
They're back up now!
Thank you for the update!
Nov 28, 2012 02:50 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeNov 28, 2012 02:50 PM
118,455 Posts
Quote from MOSCHUNO :
I'm a little confused by this. How can you mark the sweeps you have entered? I am still new to this so I am a little confused and was trying to make my own lists, but I am very unorganized and it gets a bit confusing. Is there a way to mark contests you have entered, or dailies you want to enter every day on SD?

Thanks!worship
My point was using a comment to mark threads as entered for the day doesn't work VERY well. Any thread you comment in a pencil icon replaces the normal icon to show you have participated in the conversation. Some people use these to mark threads they have entered. It may work for single entry contests where you only enter once. However for dailies that allow multiple entries all it would do is create a lot of spam. One of the issues on this side of the forums is newer members not understanding this and just going crazy.

Newer members are much better off organizing a spreadsheet with links to the contest they want to enter.
Nov 28, 2012 03:28 PM
18 Posts
Joined May 2009
jchenryNov 28, 2012 03:28 PM
18 Posts
Quote from implode :
My point was using a comment to mark threads as entered for the day doesn't work VERY well. Any thread you comment in a pencil icon replaces the normal icon to show you have participated in the conversation. Some people use these to mark threads they have entered. It may work for single entry contests where you only enter once. However for dailies that allow multiple entries all it would do is create a lot of spam. One of the issues on this side of the forums is newer members not understanding this and just going crazy.

Newer members are much better off organizing a spreadsheet with links to the contest they want to enter.
I sort the SlickDeals threads by Thread Started (http://slickdeals.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25&order=desc&sort=threadstarted). I then go to the last one I entered (it will either be non-bold or bold with a comment for the number of replies) and work up from there. I bookmark the dailies in my browser and prefix them with a date like "12.01.2012 - Some Awesome Contest..." I can then easily sort them by date. I also bookmark weeklies, monthlies, and instant wins the same way, just in their own folders.
I stopped bookmarking single entries because I don't really need to. Most times once the contest is over the facebook page is down or the page isn't updated or comes up 404.
This has worked out well for me as I try to keep my time doing entries to roughly one hour per day (though Monday is busier because I do my weeklies and monthlies then). It seams that leaving a comment in every thread you enter would be time consuming too.
Nov 28, 2012 05:44 PM
105 Posts
Joined Oct 2012
MOSCHUNONov 28, 2012 05:44 PM
105 Posts
Thank you for your help Implode and JCHenry. As always, everyone on SD is extremely helpful!

I tried to rep you Implode, but it said i have to "spread reps around first"..
Nov 28, 2012 07:45 PM
67 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
ITAF3CanNov 28, 2012 07:45 PM
67 Posts
Quote from jchenry :
I sort the SlickDeals threads by Thread Started (http://slickdeals.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25&order=desc&sort=threadstarted). I then go to the last one I entered (it will either be non-bold or bold with a comment for the number of replies) and work up from there. I bookmark the dailies in my browser and prefix them with a date like "12.01.2012 - Some Awesome Contest..." I can then easily sort them by date. I also bookmark weeklies, monthlies, and instant wins the same way, just in their own folders.
I stopped bookmarking single entries because I don't really need to. Most times once the contest is over the facebook page is down or the page isn't updated or comes up 404.
This has worked out well for me as I try to keep my time doing entries to roughly one hour per day (though Monday is busier because I do my weeklies and monthlies then). It seams that leaving a comment in every thread you enter would be time consuming too.
I have the exact same setup. I also organize the bookmarks into folders by the month in which the contest ends (I use Firefox, not sure about other browsers) that allows me to launch many tabs at once. I use separate folders for prizes I really want to win, so if I'm short on time I make sure to at least do those. And separate folders for Instant Wins.

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Nov 28, 2012 08:22 PM
1,122 Posts
Joined Apr 2011
SlickPickSlimNov 28, 2012 08:22 PM
1,122 Posts
Quote from ITAF3Can :
I have the exact same setup. I also organize the bookmarks into folders by the month in which the contest ends (I use Firefox, not sure about other browsers) that allows me to launch many tabs at once. I use separate folders for prizes I really want to win, so if I'm short on time I make sure to at least do those. And separate folders for Instant Wins.
Just curious how many? I use chrome. What I do is open up 200 at once on my laptop, go make coffee and by the time I get back they are loaded and waiting for me. I thought I was going a bit overboard last year when I got a laptop with 16GB of memory, but I finally found a way to put it to good use Big Grin
Nov 28, 2012 09:02 PM
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
JangNov 28, 2012 09:02 PM
1,844 Posts
Quote from SlickPickSlim :
Just curious how many? I use chrome. What I do is open up 200 at once on my laptop, go make coffee and by the time I get back they are loaded and waiting for me. I thought I was going a bit overboard last year when I got a laptop with 16GB of memory, but I finally found a way to put it to good use Big Grin
Haha, wow. I open like 35 max at a time.
Nov 28, 2012 09:48 PM
3,486 Posts
Joined Dec 2006
jbaby13Nov 28, 2012 09:48 PM
3,486 Posts
Quote from SlickPickSlim :
Just curious how many? I use chrome. What I do is open up 200 at once on my laptop, go make coffee and by the time I get back they are loaded and waiting for me. I thought I was going a bit overboard last year when I got a laptop with 16GB of memory, but I finally found a way to put it to good use Big Grin
I use Chrome as well, and also bookmark my sweeps. But how do you open up 200 at once. Do you click on each individual link or is there a way to mass open them?

Jen
Nov 28, 2012 10:08 PM
1,122 Posts
Joined Apr 2011
SlickPickSlimNov 28, 2012 10:08 PM
1,122 Posts
Quote from jbaby13 :
I use Chrome as well, and also bookmark my sweeps. But how do you open up 200 at once. Do you click on each individual link or is there a way to mass open them?

Jen
Lol, I'd only recommend it if you have a good system that can handle it (I never thought I'd see my i7 cpu get over 50% usage loading the web). Or at least make sure all your work is saved before you try in case it crashes.

But to open several at once, just hover over the bookmark folder you want, right click and choose whether you want to open all tabs in that folder in the same window or a new one.
Last edited by SlickPickSlim November 28, 2012 at 02:15 PM.
Nov 29, 2012 01:04 AM
36 Posts
Joined Dec 2009
DamianMomNov 29, 2012 01:04 AM
36 Posts
I am not used to Twitter. Can someone walk me through how to enter contests on Twitter? And how do I know if I won? I am trying to enter the Wonderful Pistachio contest as I heard there's a lot of winners. I am trying my hand at entering contests, but not feeling it just yet due to no real wins. Thanks for the help!
Nov 29, 2012 01:09 AM
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
JangNov 29, 2012 01:09 AM
1,844 Posts
Quote from DamianMom :
I am not used to Twitter. Can someone walk me through how to enter contests on Twitter? And how do I know if I won? I am trying to enter the Wonderful Pistachio contest as I heard there's a lot of winners. I am trying my hand at entering contests, but not feeling it just yet due to no real wins. Thanks for the help!
Pretty sure that one ended recently but you'd see a tweet of theirs that says RT (Retweet) to win or something like that and you'd just click retweet. After that they'll say you won and either send you a direct message, which is like a message on facebook or they'll mention your name in a tweet and if you have the right alerts set up, it'll notify you that you were mentioned in a tweet by sending you an email.

Some sweeps on twitter will make you tweet a message and include a certain hashtag (something like #contest) in the message.
Nov 29, 2012 01:19 AM
36 Posts
Joined Dec 2009
DamianMomNov 29, 2012 01:19 AM
36 Posts
Quote from Jang :
Pretty sure that one ended recently but you'd see a tweet of theirs that says RT (Retweet) to win or something like that and you'd just click retweet. After that they'll say you won and either send you a direct message, which is like a message on facebook or they'll mention your name in a tweet and if you have the right alerts set up, it'll notify you that you were mentioned in a tweet by sending you an email.

Some sweeps on twitter will make you tweet a message and include a certain hashtag (something like #contest) in the message.

Thank you!

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Nov 29, 2012 01:36 AM
67 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
ITAF3CanNov 29, 2012 01:36 AM
67 Posts
Quote from SlickPickSlim :
Just curious how many? I use chrome. What I do is open up 200 at once on my laptop, go make coffee and by the time I get back they are loaded and waiting for me. I thought I was going a bit overboard last year when I got a laptop with 16GB of memory, but I finally found a way to put it to good use Big Grin
I try and keep mine to about 40. Partially because my system can't handle the load and partially because it mentally helps me get through them.

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