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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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Jan 12, 2013 11:47 PM
6,323 Posts
Joined Sep 2006
KMAJan 12, 2013 11:47 PM
6,323 Posts
Quote from implode :
I mean it wasn't just one person, it was multiple thumbs downs...I'm dumbfounded by it.
Someone saw what someone else did and figured it was okay to do it - sorta like the gang mentality.
Jan 13, 2013 01:23 AM
26,018 Posts
Joined Dec 2010
User1144648Jan 13, 2013 01:23 AM
26,018 Posts
Quote from KMA :
It's very rude to thumb down a post, unless there's a good reason - like if it's spam. Not every sweeps is for everybody, so in those cases you just move along. It's very kind of posters to give of their time and effort to post here for others, when there's obviously no benefit to them, so at the very least we need to show respect. I think the ones who give a thumb-down are the ones who never post - if they did, then they'd never think of behaving like that; those are the ones who come to receive, but never to give. When I see a sweeps I post it, even if it's something I don't want (like the ones where you have to create you own recipe). I would find it insulting to see a thumb down on a post I took time to read rules for and enter all the pertinent info - and I would be reluctant to post again.
Couldn't agree with you more! Unfortunately, TDs happen all the time, and not just on limited-states sweeps.

A few months ago there were several mutant TDers running rampant on SD. A couple of us even identified one in particular. It was so bad for awhile, at least two SDers who post sweeps regularly (myself included) quit sharing all our finds with the community.

Then, we decided that the mutants were the minority, not worth getting upset over, and started sharing again. Now, I try not to let the ingrates (who seem to get their rocks off clicking the TD button) get to me.

Oh, and thanks for all YOUR posts.....your time & effort are appreciated!
Jan 13, 2013 04:35 PM
6,323 Posts
Joined Sep 2006
KMAJan 13, 2013 04:35 PM
6,323 Posts
Is anyone else having problems with the LHJ - Daily Sweepstakes? It's been giving me problems for days and when I try to request a new password, I get an additional error. Here's the link for reference. http://win.lhj.com/

ETA: similar problem with Better Recipes - Daily Sweepstakes; it lets me enter the code, but it never advances to the next screen (doesn't complete the submission).
Last edited by KMA January 13, 2013 at 08:42 AM.
Jan 13, 2013 04:46 PM
465 Posts
Joined Jun 2004
elloryJan 13, 2013 04:46 PM
465 Posts
Quote from KMA :
Is anyone else having problems with the LHJ - Daily Sweepstakes? It's been giving me problems for days and when I try to request a new password, I get an additional error. Here's the link for reference. http://win.lhj.com/

ETA: similar problem with Better Recipes - Daily Sweepstakes; it lets me enter the code, but it never advances to the next screen (doesn't complete the submission).
nope, no issues. Works fine for me

Have you tried with a different browser?
Jan 13, 2013 05:13 PM
6,323 Posts
Joined Sep 2006
KMAJan 13, 2013 05:13 PM
6,323 Posts
Quote from ellory :
nope, no issues. Works fine for me

Have you tried with a different browser?
No, I hadn't. All the other dailies in that same group were working fine, so I hadn't thought about it; thanks for the reminder. I was able to enter through Firefox (as opposed to my usual Chrome), but neither asked for captcha codes.
Jan 13, 2013 05:41 PM
465 Posts
Joined Jun 2004
elloryJan 13, 2013 05:41 PM
465 Posts
Quote from KMA :
No, I hadn't. All the other dailies in that same group were working fine, so I hadn't thought about it; thanks for the reminder. I was able to enter through Firefox (as opposed to my usual Chrome), but neither asked for captcha codes.
Could be an issue of corrupt cookies
Jan 13, 2013 06:57 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeJan 13, 2013 06:57 PM
118,455 Posts
Quote from ellory :
Could be an issue of corrupt cookies
My thought as well, as recently had cookie issue with Rachel Ray ones.

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Jan 13, 2013 08:07 PM
465 Posts
Joined Jun 2004
elloryJan 13, 2013 08:07 PM
465 Posts
Quote from implode :
My thought as well, as recently had cookie issue with Rachel Ray ones.
And I recently started having errors because of too many cookies
Jan 13, 2013 08:26 PM
6,323 Posts
Joined Sep 2006
KMAJan 13, 2013 08:26 PM
6,323 Posts
Quote from ellory :
Could be an issue of corrupt cookies
Quote from implode :
My thought as well, as recently had cookie issue with Rachel Ray ones.
Quote from ellory :
And I recently started having errors because of too many cookies
Should I clear all my cookies or can that be done individually?
Jan 13, 2013 08:57 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeJan 13, 2013 08:57 PM
118,455 Posts
Quote from KMA :
Should I clear all my cookies or can that be done individually?
If Firefox:
Tools -> Options -> Prvacy -> Remove individual cookies

Then search by site...and remove those one by one (so other cookies remain set up for other sites).
Jan 13, 2013 09:42 PM
6,323 Posts
Joined Sep 2006
KMAJan 13, 2013 09:42 PM
6,323 Posts
Quote from implode :
If Firefox:
Tools -> Options -> Prvacy -> Remove individual cookies

Then search by site...and remove those one by one (so other cookies remain set up for other sites).
Thank you. I will try to figure it out on Chrome. This might explain why I'm not always able to enter some other dailies like that Landau one on Facebook and the Travel Channel's IWG - usually after i clean up a few things I can enter again.
Jan 13, 2013 10:38 PM
710 Posts
Joined Mar 2009
sandyalipJan 13, 2013 10:38 PM
710 Posts
I won a prize from ABC Family 25 Days of Giveaways Sweepstakes. I e-mailed them back as I was supposed to do. Never heard from them again. Did anyone else win a prize from this sweeps?
Jan 14, 2013 11:58 AM
318 Posts
Joined Dec 2011
bittripfanJan 14, 2013 11:58 AM
318 Posts
Woke up to a UPS alert. GLOBAL FULFILLMENT/YAC, Reference number - 1809986/4932-7001/CS 0.10 LB, UPS Grounds. I've ruled out everything I'm waiting on so I'm stubbed. Any ideas?
Jan 14, 2013 01:43 PM
6,956 Posts
Joined Aug 2007
CoyotezeyeJan 14, 2013 01:43 PM
6,956 Posts
Quote from bittripfan :
Woke up to a UPS alert. GLOBAL FULFILLMENT/YAC, Reference number - 1809986/4932-7001/CS 0.10 LB, UPS Grounds. I've ruled out everything I'm waiting on so I'm stubbed. Any ideas?
I got the same thing...
YAC is Young America aka Pepsi & What not.

Did you happen to win the year supply of Pepsi Max from the Pepsi Max promo last year? I did & I know they sent coupons with very limited expiration dates. They might be sending additional coupons to use because of that. Atleast thats what my thought is.

If you didnt then I dont know but mine will be here tomorrow.

Edit: Just checked that thread & you did win. So Im guessing thats what it is. More Max Coupons.
Last edited by Coyotezeye January 14, 2013 at 05:45 AM.

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Jan 14, 2013 03:05 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeJan 14, 2013 03:05 PM
118,455 Posts
Anyone know what companies are represented by COHN & WOLF, got UPS My Choice alert. Reading webpage they are a public relations firms. 5 Pound Package, so don't think its an affy.

Edit:
Looked further into it--Taco Bell, Mcdonalds, Air New Zealand, Hampton Inn, Nike and Sandisk. All look like companies I've entered stuff for that are clients. Though most recent contest entered was Sandisk...maybe I won a Camera or Tablet? Not a whole lot of weights that match 5lbs
Last edited by implode January 14, 2013 at 07:25 AM.

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