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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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Dec 03, 2012 06:57 PM
27 Posts
Joined Aug 2011
jazzcsDec 03, 2012 06:57 PM
27 Posts
Quote from implode :
Anyone else win Holiday Inn priority rewards contest twice, and not get your second reward deposit....
Yes, I am in the same boat. As of yet, only one of my two wins has been deposited.

Though, I guess I was never certain the second winning e-mail wasn't a mistake.
Dec 03, 2012 06:59 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeDec 03, 2012 06:59 PM
118,455 Posts
Quote from jazzcs :
Yes, I am in the same boat. As of yet, only one of my two wins has been deposited.

Though, I guess I was never certain the second winning e-mail wasn't a mistake.
Well for me they emailed me once on both wins (can tell because different serial # on each win) asking for info...then again asking for my prirority acct #, on both wins. So I'm dumbfounded both didn't get added to my acct by now.
Dec 03, 2012 08:11 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeDec 03, 2012 08:11 PM
118,455 Posts
I got a weird email from USA Promotional cards...

Quote :
,
The 788 batch are three per household stated both on card and on website. Our pin does say one. Cardholders are inquiring about there cards being denied for 1phv. Please advise.

Thank You,
Sonya
Seems to be from the correct email address from the company...but unsure what the message means. Is someone phishing for acct info from the Miller Hoops promo? Quite odd.
Dec 03, 2012 08:14 PM
1,133 Posts
Joined Nov 2007
chuckecheezDec 03, 2012 08:14 PM
1,133 Posts
Quote from implode :
Well for me they emailed me once on both wins (can tell because different serial # on each win) asking for info...then again asking for my prirority acct #, on both wins. So I'm dumbfounded both didn't get added to my acct by now.
As I recall, the rules stated 1 win per person, so my guess is they did a bad job selecting winners by not filtering out the previous wins, but then caught it during the fulfillment phase. Would be nice of them to at least send an explanation, but considering how long it took to even get the 1st set of points credited, I wouldn't have the most faith in that particular sweeps. Guess you can contact them and see, but in a case like this, I would probably just wait it out and hope for the best.
Dec 03, 2012 10:06 PM
1,268 Posts
Joined Dec 2008
melan26Dec 03, 2012 10:06 PM
1,268 Posts
Quote from chaunceygirl :
Great info! Thank you so much, are you able to create the folders on slickdeals?
No, I bookmark them; saved on my chosen browser.
Dec 04, 2012 08:32 PM
39 Posts
Joined Dec 2009
roma2009Dec 04, 2012 08:32 PM
39 Posts
Quote from melan26 :
One more thing about Ebay, if you want to block off bidders from certain countries or only want to ship to US, you can.
1. Click on "My Ebay" on top of page,
2. under your user name there's "Account" and the drop down will come up, select "Site Preferences,"
3. click "Show" that is across "Shipping Preferences,"
4. click "edit" across "Exclude shipping locations from your listings,"
5. Tick the countries/state you want excluded
6. And apply!
Look at the "Site Preference" to fine tune your account and elsewhere.

That's precaution only; that doesn't mean you're clear. Just be on the lookout, there will always be ways for them to get around into tricking you. Happy selling or bidding, lol.

Also once in a while, Ebay may send an email about listing one or a few items that doesn't have an insertion fee or a final value fee, take advantage of that because that will save you a ton of money, less the shipping as well as having to pay a shipping fee, I know they're ridiculous. You will still pay the Paypal fee, but better considering they take 15% or so from you. This is using their mobile app though.
This is great advice! Get rid of most overseas scammers. I will have to try out Ebay with a small item just to get the hang of it. Thank you all for your awesome tips Big Grin!
Dec 05, 2012 04:25 AM
2,995 Posts
Joined Nov 2009
Rach24Dec 05, 2012 04:25 AM
2,995 Posts
Do you all seem to have better luck at certain type of contest? I only do IWG & feel I may need to start entering other types too...I log in, click Instant & play everything listed on the first 3 pages...which do you all find to be the best (Daily, Instant, etc)?

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Dec 05, 2012 04:38 AM
1,844 Posts
Joined Jun 2009
JangDec 05, 2012 04:38 AM
1,844 Posts
Quote from rach420 :
Do you all seem to have better luck at certain type of contest? I only do IWG & feel I may need to start entering other types too...I log in, click Instant & play everything listed on the first 3 pages...which do you all find to be the best (Daily, Instant, etc)?

Single entry for casual sweepers. You can enter and not have to worry about it again. I've found dailies to be much better in terms of odds. Depending on the sweepstakes or contest of course. Instants are good for instant gratification but they can also have a disappointing effect and turn you off if you keep getting too many "Sorry, you didn't win this time." messages.
Dec 05, 2012 04:57 AM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeDec 05, 2012 04:57 AM
118,455 Posts
Quote from Jang :
Single entry for casual sweepers. You can enter and not have to worry about it again. I've found dailies to be much better in terms of odds. Depending on the sweepstakes or contest of course. Instants are good for instant gratification but they can also have a disappointing effect and turn you off if you keep getting too many "Sorry, you didn't win this time." messages.
Think about dailies, they are only as good as ability to eneter them repeatedly...if you don't have the time, your odds go way down vs single entry.
Dec 05, 2012 05:22 AM
2,995 Posts
Joined Nov 2009
Rach24Dec 05, 2012 05:22 AM
2,995 Posts
I have the time at night to enter whatever but I do like the instant gratification, but Jang you are right...just not having any wins for close to a week is making me sad Frown
Dec 05, 2012 05:35 AM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeDec 05, 2012 05:35 AM
118,455 Posts
Quote from rach420 :
I have the time at night to enter whatever but I do like the instant gratification, but Jang you are right...just not having any wins for close to a week is making me sad Frown
I entered 500 sweeps a day for 9 weeks without winning anything...up until a few days ago. Do the math thats likely over 31,000 entries. Really, entering is a game of long term odds vs short term.
Dec 05, 2012 12:50 PM
560 Posts
Joined Sep 2012
stevemzDec 05, 2012 12:50 PM
560 Posts
I've got a question on facebook contests. I don't actually have a facebook, don't want one, so I use my wife's facebook. Should I have her enter these with her info since it's her page? What kind of verification do they do, especially when they require a like to enter?
Dec 05, 2012 03:14 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeDec 05, 2012 03:14 PM
118,455 Posts
Quote from stevemz :
I've got a question on facebook contests. I don't actually have a facebook, don't want one, so I use my wife's facebook. Should I have her enter these with her info since it's her page? What kind of verification do they do, especially when they require a like to enter?
I assume at the VERY least they have access to basic account data...so yeah, info not matching on submission would probably raise a red flag.
Dec 07, 2012 05:36 AM
1,577 Posts
Joined Feb 2008
MarceilleDec 07, 2012 05:36 AM
1,577 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.
Great point. I've skipped pinterests to save time, but it might actually be more valuable. Smilie

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
My routine is 12 at a time with firefox. Then go to each slickdeals contest tab one by one, opening the individual entry page. So that's 24 tabs at once. If it opens a facebook page, I like everything immediately, then click the next sd tab to open the next entry page. Then I enter the contests. Then close all tabs (except the SD Contest thread page), rinse, repeat, until I've done all the new posts. I tried Chrome but for some reason no web pages would render. That was odd, every webpage blank. Firefox can't handle that many tabs, atleast not with the extensions I have installed.

Quote from Funkorama :
Do you guys enter a daily sweepstakes once or more than once?
Also... any spam calls to your phone numbers or weird advertisements showing up at your adressess?
I haven't come up with a system for tracking dailys yet. I've almost considered dropping them altogether to spend time on non-daily's, since I would have a better chance than the ones where many people have multiple submissions. I have only one hour a day to persue sweeps.

Regarding phone calls, I use voip.ms [voip.ms] for my phone provider, and I pay $1/mo for an additional phone number that I use only for sweeps, and I have this going directly to voicemail. I have gotten spam phone calls, ie saying I'm receiving the call because I entered xx contest, and I will be entered into a $30k sweepstakes if I answer a survey. Then they started asking personal profile questions, like rent/own, income, type of work. I lied and hung up. That's when I sent the phone number directly to voicemail. If I win something that requires answering the phone when they call...oh well. I simply can't have these early morning spam calls.

Quote from KMA :
I have a question regarding Roboform. Under 'options' it says, "autofill without asking." I checked this as well as the other two boxes on top of it (offer to autofill web [html] forms and offer to autofill windows dialogs in browsers [basic authentification]). Is this option supposed to fill the page when it loads, without prompting for permission? Because it isn't.
I will have to try this! I'll just have to remember to toggle it off when not doing sweeps. Smilie

Quote from implode :
I entered 500 sweeps a day for 9 weeks without winning anything...up until a few days ago. Do the math thats likely over 31,000 entries. Really, entering is a game of long term odds vs short term.
Wow, that's commitment! I won some nfl tickets within a few weeks of starting, where I was doing about 50 a day. It's been only 7 weeks so far, and with roughly that rate, I've won 4 times so far (the tickets were the most expensive.) But they say, it's not how you start, it's how you finish, and if you're doing that many, you will definitely rock out some really awesome prizes over time! For me, I'd just like to use sweeps to help my poor butt provide some cool things for my wife...and hopefully an ipad or similar for me. Smilie

Btw, where do you find 500 sweeps to do EACH DAY???? EEK! It seems there are 50-100 posted each day on slickdeals.
Last edited by Marceille December 6, 2012 at 09:52 PM.

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Dec 07, 2012 05:56 AM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeDec 07, 2012 05:56 AM
118,455 Posts
Quote from Marceille :
Wow, that's commitment! I wn some nfl tickets within a few weeks of starting, where I was doing about 50 a day. It's been only 7 weeks so far, and with roughly that rate, I've won 4 times so far (the tickets were the most expensive.) But they say, it's not how you start, it's how you finish, and if you're doing that many, you will definitely rock out some really awesome prizes over time! For me, I'd just like to use sweeps to help my poor butt provide some cool things for my wife...and hopefully an ipad or similar for me. Smilie

Btw, where do you find 500 sweeps to do EACH DAY???? EEK! It seems there are 50-100 posted each day on slickdeals.
Probably around 25 pages of dailies in monthly view or roughly 750 active dailies...probably around 4 pages of active instants or 120 of them...probably roughly 3 pages of new single entries or 90 of them...so that's a pool of somewhere around 1,000 things you can enter. Mind you its impossible to enter all of them. You want to trim that list for things you don't need or companies you don't trust as running legit contests.

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