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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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Global Mod
May 11, 2013 11:09 PM
4,818 Posts
Joined Jul 2007
SpaceCallahan
Global Mod
May 11, 2013 11:09 PM
4,818 Posts
Quote from countyline :
Did you try the live help? I was having problems registering and got live help to get it done.

yes could i get a link as well i cant find it ..
Last edited by SpaceCallahan May 11, 2013 at 04:12 PM.
May 12, 2013 12:41 AM
23,805 Posts
Joined Jan 2010
countylineMay 12, 2013 12:41 AM
23,805 Posts
Quote from credmond :
Please link me! I was looking for that option on the u.s. site and I can't find it.
Quote from spooerman :
yes could i get a link as well i cant find it ..
Sorry I can't find it now either. Must only be up weekdays during business hours.
Last edited by countyline May 11, 2013 at 05:42 PM.
May 12, 2013 04:49 AM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeMay 12, 2013 04:49 AM
118,455 Posts
is eprize down right now for anyone...having issues redeeming a prize I won from ID.
May 12, 2013 04:56 PM
4,441 Posts
Joined Jun 2007
dgleesonMay 12, 2013 04:56 PM
4,441 Posts
Has MCR changed the IWG's AMOE's recently? Used to be able to get 5 for each game, now seems to be 5 across all (or at least the 2i tried - Mc D's and Powerade)
May 12, 2013 07:49 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeMay 12, 2013 07:49 PM
118,455 Posts
Was wondering what people think of 'Spotify' as a judging agency. I've won a ton of prizes from them, but sadly all 70 prizes are virtual things and not really tangible prizes. Discount codes, virtual coupons, avatars, mp3. etc etc. To me such prizes are simply very frustrating and not useful. Its like an insult to me to award a junk prize. I was wondering if anyone finds virtual prizes or small discounts useful?
May 12, 2013 08:33 PM
976 Posts
Joined Oct 2008
miggy82May 12, 2013 08:33 PM
976 Posts
I'm having a problem with some of the Facebook sweeps. I click on submit and then it will show submitting and then it just freezes. If I refresh the page it will show a server error page. Anybody run into that problem and find a way to fix it?
May 12, 2013 09:02 PM
6,323 Posts
Joined Sep 2006
KMAMay 12, 2013 09:02 PM
6,323 Posts
Quote from miggy82 :
I'm having a problem with some of the Facebook sweeps. I click on submit and then it will show submitting and then it just freezes. If I refresh the page it will show a server error page. Anybody run into that problem and find a way to fix it?
When that happens I use incognito in Chrome. Works fine.

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May 13, 2013 03:44 PM
9 Posts
Joined Mar 2013
SweepsterCoachMay 13, 2013 03:44 PM
9 Posts
Quote from implode :
Was wondering what people think of 'Spotify' as a judging agency. I've won a ton of prizes from them, but sadly all 70 prizes are virtual things and not really tangible prizes. Discount codes, virtual coupons, avatars, mp3. etc etc. To me such prizes are simply very frustrating and not useful. Its like an insult to me to award a junk prize. I was wondering if anyone finds virtual prizes or small discounts useful?
I agree that the virtual prizes are a waste of time - I never redeem them - but I did win a trip to the Grammy nominations concert from a Spotify sweep, so I still enter them!
Pro
QA
May 13, 2013 09:17 PM
3,567 Posts
Joined Feb 2009
rachaelm
Pro
QA
May 13, 2013 09:17 PM
3,567 Posts
Quote from MLx3 :
MYSTERY SOLVED! My FedEx envelope just arrived...3 days early.

Home Depot
Congratulations! You're a winner in our Ultimate Career Assist contest!

A $25 Home Depot gift card was enclosed with the letter.

Congratulations to us all!
Yep, got mine Friday too, $25 Home Depot gift card. woot
May 14, 2013 04:46 PM
639 Posts
Joined Mar 2013
credmondMay 14, 2013 04:46 PM
639 Posts
I just want to vent for a sec. So when that dewalt iwg originally started it let everyone win everytime so I figured they'd take it down and the wins would never count. They did indeed take the game down within minutes and to my surprise they're honoring all the wins. Today, I received an email from them asking for my name and address. The person forgot how to use BCC so all 187 people who won have their email addresses exposed. That doesn't really bother me, but it's going to bother me if all people hit reply all! So far only 1 person has, now 187 have her name, address and email address. If any of you won just make sure to not hit Reply all. Wink
May 14, 2013 05:07 PM
6,323 Posts
Joined Sep 2006
KMAMay 14, 2013 05:07 PM
6,323 Posts
Quote from credmond :
I just want to vent for a sec. So when that dewalt iwg originally started it let everyone win everytime so I figured they'd take it down and the wins would never count. They did indeed take the game down within minutes and to my surprise they're honoring all the wins. Today, I received an email from them asking for my name and address. The person forgot how to use BCC so all 187 people who won have their email addresses exposed. That doesn't really bother me, but it's going to bother me if all people hit reply all! So far only 1 person has, now 187 have her name, address and email address. If any of you won just make sure to not hit Reply all. Wink
Congrats on the win! I hate that some people refuse to use the BCC option - it drives me NUTS. I see it mostly with old people (my dad) and stupid people (my cousin's wife). The cousin's wife sent out a crazy political email to people, including me. She'd NEVER asked for my address, but when my dad included me in mass emails, everyone on his list got my address. Anywho, some angry recipient decided to curse out my cousin's wife and naturally she hit reply to all. I immediately emailed the cousin's wife, explaining how to use BCC. Not only did she NOT reply, she apparently didn't learn, because she did it again. And yes, the same pissed off recipient hit "reply to all" once more. UGH I considered posting on a public forum, her nasty reply with her signature (she worked at a public school), but it was just a thought.
May 15, 2013 01:15 AM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeMay 15, 2013 01:15 AM
118,455 Posts
Anyone else win Guess 14 days of Sexy here:
http://slickdeals.net/f/5835422-GUESS-14-Days-of-Sexy-Sweepstakes-16-2-14-13?v=1

I tried to redeem my $50 GC online as part of a mothers day gift today and it didn't work. I couldn't order her a nice shirt. Needless to say I was left looking kind of bad. VERY frustrating. I tried my code as both a GC and a coupon code and it didn't work. Back of card says 'shopping card is a coupon'??? It also says it expires in DEC of 2013. I'm totally stumped. Wondering if any other winners had issues.
May 15, 2013 10:55 PM
1,998 Posts
Joined Jul 2007
fruitdog69May 15, 2013 10:55 PM
1,998 Posts
Quote from implode :
I tried to redeem my $50 GC online as part of a mothers day gift today and it didn't work.
Dollars to donuts it's a $50 off purchase of $100 or more code.
May 15, 2013 10:58 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeMay 15, 2013 10:58 PM
118,455 Posts
Quote from fruitdog69 :
Dollars to donuts it's a $50 off purchase of $100 or more code.
Why would they mislead people? They were also giving away larger denominations in said contest...

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May 16, 2013 12:00 AM
1,998 Posts
Joined Jul 2007
fruitdog69May 16, 2013 12:00 AM
1,998 Posts
Quote from implode :
Why would they mislead people? They were also giving away larger denominations in said contest...
idk just a guess. It's the only sense I can make of the never before heard term "shopping code".

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