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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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Mar 08, 2013 04:21 PM
13,686 Posts
Joined Dec 2007
heyjupiterMar 08, 2013 04:21 PM
13,686 Posts
Ok maybe this is a dumb question.

When I win an instant prize and there's a limit of one instant win prize, I stop playing the game. Someone told me I can keep playing for the grand prize entries and the "system" will skip me over for any potential future instant wins (if I play at a winning time). Is this true? I question simply because I've seen others post that they won multiple instant prizes (on the same account when there was a limit of one instant prize per person) and the person totally got trashed by everyone else for preventing others from winning because as we all know, instant win times are predetermined and for many games, unclaimed prizes won't be awarded.
Mar 08, 2013 04:29 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeMar 08, 2013 04:29 PM
118,455 Posts
Quote from heyjupiter :
Ok maybe this is a dumb question.

When I win an instant prize and there's a limit of one instant win prize, I stop playing the game. Someone told me I can keep playing for the grand prize entries and the "system" will skip me over for any potential future instant wins (if I play at a winning time). Is this true? I question simply because I've seen others post that they won multiple instant prizes (on the same account when there was a limit of one instant prize per person) and the person totally got trashed by everyone else for preventing others from winning because as we all know, instant win times are predetermined and for many games, unclaimed prizes won't be awarded.
I wish I knew for sure...I usually stop entering after that point. I would hate to win multiple times and have any chance that some of the prizes not be awarded. Doing otherwise would be a disservice to the hard work of others. By grabbing extra prizes you are discouraging others from entering. Thats bad for the community, and bad karma in general. I know not everyone thinks like me, however I believe if you do favors for people they will have your back should you need their help at something they are good at.
Mar 08, 2013 04:50 PM
6,059 Posts
Joined Jul 2012
ChrisB65Mar 08, 2013 04:50 PM
6,059 Posts
Quote from heyjupiter :
Ok maybe this is a dumb question.

When I win an instant prize and there's a limit of one instant win prize, I stop playing the game. Someone told me I can keep playing for the grand prize entries and the "system" will skip me over for any potential future instant wins (if I play at a winning time). Is this true? I question simply because I've seen others post that they won multiple instant prizes (on the same account when there was a limit of one instant prize per person) and the person totally got trashed by everyone else for preventing others from winning because as we all know, instant win times are predetermined and for many games, unclaimed prizes won't be awarded.
Those people who say that they won multiple times on the same account may be be lying about winning on only one account or the may just be trying to stir people up. There are a lot of people who say that "they" won but they were playing for their husband, wife, child, dog, cat etc... I would think that the IWGs are set to only allow you to win the amount of times allowed in the rules. I have had some IWGs that I won a IW prize from give me a message telling me that I already won a IW prize but that I received another entry into the grand prize drawing and to enter again tomorrow. I always continue to enter if there is a sweepstakes drawing combined with a IWG after winning the IWG and have never won the IWG again.
Mar 08, 2013 05:39 PM
732 Posts
Joined Nov 2008
elangomattMar 08, 2013 05:39 PM
732 Posts
Quote from ChrisB65 :
Those people who say that they won multiple times on the same account may be be lying about winning on only one account or the may just be trying to stir people up. There are a lot of people who say that "they" won but they were playing for their husband, wife, child, dog, cat etc... I would think that the IWGs are set to only allow you to win the amount of times allowed in the rules. I have had some IWGs that I won a IW prize from give me a message telling me that I already won a IW prize but that I received another entry into the grand prize drawing and to enter again tomorrow. I always continue to enter if there is a sweepstakes drawing combined with a IWG after winning the IWG and have never won the IWG again.
I wish that more IW games that limited the number of prizes you can win would give that "you've already won an instant prize, but keep entering for the grand prize" message. As a programmer, I consider it poor programming to design a sweep where the user can only win a limited number of prizes but allows them to keep playing for an IW prize even after they've already reached the limit. I've usually only seen good programming in this type of thing on the really big giveaways where there are tons of IW prizes and only a few grand prizes.
Mar 08, 2013 06:38 PM
485 Posts
Joined Oct 2012
erueo139Mar 08, 2013 06:38 PM
485 Posts
For those who've won the $50 ESPN gc from the MTN DEW® KICKSTART™
sweeps, did anyone enter by both text AND online? I've been doing text mostly but I did online once and I think I had to register then...? I figured that it would link my text entries because you had to put your phone number to register but now I'm not so sure... Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
Mar 08, 2013 07:07 PM
1,129 Posts
Joined Dec 2011
amarooMar 08, 2013 07:07 PM
1,129 Posts
GoPro captchas are a little weird. Got these back to back.
Mar 08, 2013 07:10 PM
6,323 Posts
Joined Sep 2006
KMAMar 08, 2013 07:10 PM
6,323 Posts
Quote from amaroo :
GoPro captchas are a little weird. Got these back to back.
Coverlaugh Some of them are quite entertaining.

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Mar 08, 2013 10:28 PM
4,441 Posts
Joined Jun 2007
dgleesonMar 08, 2013 10:28 PM
4,441 Posts
Quote from heyjupiter :
Ok maybe this is a dumb question.

When I win an instant prize and there's a limit of one instant win prize, I stop playing the game. Someone told me I can keep playing for the grand prize entries and the "system" will skip me over for any potential future instant wins (if I play at a winning time). Is this true? I question simply because I've seen others post that they won multiple instant prizes (on the same account when there was a limit of one instant prize per person) and the person totally got trashed by everyone else for preventing others from winning because as we all know, instant win times are predetermined and for many games, unclaimed prizes won't be awarded.
Not a dumb question at all. Have been debating that myself with the current Oreo game, with the $100,000 Grand Prize, after winning all the instant levels.
Mar 08, 2013 11:13 PM
13,686 Posts
Joined Dec 2007
heyjupiterMar 08, 2013 11:13 PM
13,686 Posts
Quote from implode :
I wish I knew for sure...I usually stop entering after that point. I would hate to win multiple times and have any chance that some of the prizes not be awarded. Doing otherwise would be a disservice to the hard work of others. By grabbing extra prizes you are discouraging others from entering. Thats bad for the community, and bad karma in general. I know not everyone thinks like me, however I believe if you do favors for people they will have your back should you need their help at something they are good at.
I tend to think like you. And, I am not currently entering daily sweeps as I don't have the time, so I don't see it as being worth it to enter after I've won my quota of instant prizes. Yeah, for some games it's no big deal, oh I won a second coupon. But in others, the instant prizes can be huge. (My biggest win so far was in an instant game). I'd feel pretty bad if I won another big prize and couldn't claim it, as the rules state unclaimed prizes won't be awarded.

Quote from dgleeson :
Not a dumb question at all. Have been debating that myself with the current Oreo game, with the $100,000 Grand Prize, after winning all the instant levels.
I haven't won anything yet on that one! Lol. And I play in the wee hours of the night much of the time.
Mar 09, 2013 12:01 AM
2,208 Posts
Joined Dec 2010
Virago06Mar 09, 2013 12:01 AM
2,208 Posts
Quote from maimaimai :
For those who've won the $50 ESPN gc from the MTN DEW® KICKSTART™sweeps, did anyone enter by both text AND online? I've been doing text mostly but I did online once and I think I had to register then...? I figured that it would link my text entries because you had to put your phone number to register but now I'm not so sure... Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
I enter both ways. 1st week rec'd a text that I had won, then this week I rec'd an email that I won. I only enter one text per day, the other 4 on line. (Limited text plan). I hope to keep winning to stack them up. With 68 per day, there are plenty of chances for everyone.
Last edited by Virago06 March 8, 2013 at 06:09 PM.
Mar 09, 2013 12:42 AM
485 Posts
Joined Oct 2012
erueo139Mar 09, 2013 12:42 AM
485 Posts
Quote from Virago06 :
I enter both ways. 1st week rec'd a text that I had won, then this week I rec'd an email that I won. I only enter one text per day, the other 4 on line. (Limited text plan). I hope to keep winning to stack them up. With 68 per day, there are plenty of chances for everyone.

Hmm, I have NO idea why my question showed up like that oh well. And thanks for the information, I haven't won yet so I was getting a little paranoid. Congrats on your prizes though !Smilie
Mar 09, 2013 10:57 PM
976 Posts
Joined Oct 2008
miggy82Mar 09, 2013 10:57 PM
976 Posts
Here is something I found to make it easier to find reposts from a list of websites before posting. When I find a good sweepstakes I leave it on my tab. After I have a good amount I use an add on called send tab urls for firefox. I send the tabs to my clipboard. I then open excel, paste, then organize by alphabet. I then delete everything except http (websites) items. So now I have a list and I'm ready to post on slickdeals but it would take me a long time to check the repost for each one. I found that you can check reposts with
PHP Code:
http://slickdeals.net/newsearch.php#forumchoice%5B%5D=25&q= 
So what I do next is go into notepad paste my list then replace http with
PHP Code:
http://slickdeals.net/newsearch.php#forumchoice%5B%5D=25&q=http 
Now I have a list to check for reposts. Then use your favorite method to launch a list of webpages. It will launch each search for you. Then if something comes up I delete it from my excel list to know not to post that sweepstakes because it has already been posted. It's not perfect because sometimes sweepstakes differ in web addresses but it helps you eliminate some if you have a good amount on your list. If anybody else knows of any tips or tricks to find sweeps, find reposts, post sweeps faster, or post with better format please let me know. I'm still learning and new at this. Thanks.
Mar 10, 2013 05:22 AM
6,323 Posts
Joined Sep 2006
KMAMar 10, 2013 05:22 AM
6,323 Posts
What's the average price you pay for a notary? My mother was a notary for many years and now in her 80s she's no longer one - she misunderstood something and cancelled her insurance/didn't renew her license (got the info second-hand from my dad, so I'm not sure). Never had to pay for one before until now. Wanting to know if I overpaid or underpaid or got a good deal. Thanks.
Mar 10, 2013 05:29 AM
6,059 Posts
Joined Jul 2012
ChrisB65Mar 10, 2013 05:29 AM
6,059 Posts
Quote from KMA :
What's the average price you pay for a notary? My mother was a notary for many years and now in her 80s she's no longer one - she misunderstood something and cancelled her insurance/didn't renew her license (got the info second-hand from my dad, so I'm not sure). Never had to pay for one before until now. Wanting to know if I overpaid or underpaid or got a good deal. Thanks.
I always go to my bank and they do it for free as long as you have an account there.

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Mar 10, 2013 05:36 AM
976 Posts
Joined Oct 2008
miggy82Mar 10, 2013 05:36 AM
976 Posts
Quote from KMA :
What's the average price you pay for a notary? My mother was a notary for many years and now in her 80s she's no longer one - she misunderstood something and cancelled her insurance/didn't renew her license (got the info second-hand from my dad, so I'm not sure). Never had to pay for one before until now. Wanting to know if I overpaid or underpaid or got a good deal. Thanks.
In California by law the max a notary can charge (for a signature for these regular affidavits) is $10. UPS charges the max fee. I don't know about other states. I do know that some sponsors require that the notary have a record journal and a stamp. I think in some states you can have something notarized through electronic means. In California you can't. In California, if a notary charges you more than $10 you can report them and their license will be taken away.
Last edited by miggy82 March 9, 2013 at 09:40 PM.

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