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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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Jun 12, 2013 04:50 PM
5,152 Posts
Joined Oct 2008
SweepaholicJun 12, 2013 04:50 PM
5,152 Posts
Quote from MsDenise :
Thanks Sweepaholic, but the only other sticky on my screen is "Contest & Sweepstakes Forum Guide - Please Read". The winners thread isn't coming up anymore on my computer or my phone. Would you mind linking it in this thread?
http://slickdeals.net/f/762267-Official-Discussion-of-Contests-Sweepstakes-I-have-Won-No-OT?v=1
Jun 12, 2013 06:03 PM
167 Posts
Joined Feb 2012
MsDeniseJun 12, 2013 06:03 PM
167 Posts
Thanks.
Jun 12, 2013 06:05 PM
23,805 Posts
Joined Jan 2010
countylineJun 12, 2013 06:05 PM
23,805 Posts
anyone else having problems accessing FB sweeps?
Jun 12, 2013 06:05 PM
5,164 Posts
Joined Sep 2012
robonero954Jun 12, 2013 06:05 PM
5,164 Posts
My PC did the automatic "Windows Update". Now I can't enter some sweeps in IE, Chrome or Firefox. All I get is a blank page in Facebook

Quote from countyline :
anyone else having problems accessing FB sweeps?
yes, see my post above
Last edited by robonero954 June 12, 2013 at 11:06 AM.
Jun 12, 2013 06:06 PM
639 Posts
Joined Mar 2013
credmondJun 12, 2013 06:06 PM
639 Posts
Quote from countyline :
anyone else having problems accessing FB sweeps?
yes! woobox, ugh!
Jun 12, 2013 06:10 PM
4,441 Posts
Joined Jun 2007
dgleesonJun 12, 2013 06:10 PM
4,441 Posts
Quote from countyline :
anyone else having problems accessing FB sweeps?
Giveaway Tab posted:
All of Facebooks Apps are down, not just Giveaway Tab. There must be a huge Outage!
Like · · Share · 1371 · 3 minutes ago ·
Jun 12, 2013 06:17 PM
23,805 Posts
Joined Jan 2010
countylineJun 12, 2013 06:17 PM
23,805 Posts
thanks everyone, good to know it's not just me

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Jun 12, 2013 06:36 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeJun 12, 2013 06:36 PM
118,455 Posts
I was having issues with FB at of some change at 12:30-1:00 it started...I think they are doing something new today, because I now see both Like and Following on every single FB page. I tried deleting all my FB cookies, and that seemed to fix the issue. You might want to try that.
Jun 12, 2013 06:37 PM
5,164 Posts
Joined Sep 2012
robonero954Jun 12, 2013 06:37 PM
5,164 Posts
Quote from implode :
I was having issues with FB at of some change at 12:30-1:00 it started...I think they are doing something new today, because I now see both Like and Following on every single FB page. I tried deleting all my FB cookies, and that seemed to fix the issue. You might want to try that.
Thank you, I will let you know
Jun 12, 2013 07:23 PM
5,164 Posts
Joined Sep 2012
robonero954Jun 12, 2013 07:23 PM
5,164 Posts
If anybody has an overabundance of Fandango codes to spare let me know. I would love to see Man of Steel in IMAX this weekend. Thanks. I think it 14.00-15.00 for IMAX in my area.
Jun 13, 2013 07:30 AM
1,268 Posts
Joined Dec 2008
melan26Jun 13, 2013 07:30 AM
1,268 Posts
I've often wondered how are miles or points sweepstakes treated when you are issued a 1099, like winning 120,000 thousand miles, for example or winning a trip to Vegas but they'll issue you miles or points instead? Would you be able to list down the value based on the rate for an airline/hotel of where you are traveling to or staying for that particular day(s) or is the value for the miles/points based on how airlines/hotels calculate them? I've never really entered when it comes to miles/points sweepstakes since I find the ARV to be too much.
Jun 13, 2013 02:10 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeJun 13, 2013 02:10 PM
118,455 Posts
Quote from melan26 :
I've often wondered how are miles or points sweepstakes treated when you are issued a 1099, like winning 120,000 thousand miles, for example or winning a trip to Vegas but they'll issue you miles or points instead? Would you be able to list down the value based on the rate for an airline/hotel of where you are traveling to or staying for that particular day(s) or is the value for the miles/points based on how airlines/hotels calculate them? I've never really entered when it comes to miles/points sweepstakes since I find the ARV to be too much.
How airlines value them at the time they are issued, is how they will be valued. This actually creates a bad paradox, because point values will always trend in a downward fashion. I saw someone who won points valued at $10,000 (100,000 airline pts), by the time they were able to use them based on restrictions they were worth more like $2,000. They tried adjusting the value with the IRS. IRS got ticked off and demanded the tax money. Was a huge, huge mess for them, based on what they said I haven't been to eager to win airline/hotel miles.

That being said, smaller prizes are not too bad. I won 1,000 points valued at $100, and redeemed them for a hotel room. It was really awesome, saved some money on a recent road trip. Priority rewards program had some decent redemption. Nice clean hotel is awesome.
Jun 19, 2013 02:24 PM
8,863 Posts
Joined Aug 2010
crazeeceeJun 19, 2013 02:24 PM
8,863 Posts
Even I am facing the same problem with Camel IWGs where I have won two gift cards, but they have been giving expired message while redeeming at up2urewards website. I had emailed [email protected] on June 11, then again on June 14, and they replied back with the following yesterday on June 18 with ticket # same as the one that I received on June 11.

"Greetings,

We noticed you may be experiencing difficulties redeeming your eCode.

The information you enter must precisely match the information that you used
when you first set up your RJR membership, including your email address and
password (log into your Camel account and review).

Please send us screen shots of "My Camel" Personal Information and up2URewards
Redeem eCode input page in jpeg format only (populated with your information),
complete with any error messages that you are seeing.

Once we receive your screenshots (please include "My Camel Personal Information
and up2URewards Redeem eCode input page) in the jpeg format, we will be able to
assist you further.

Thanks for contacting us,

The Customer Support Team"


I had also called camel customer service on Sunday, but they simply asked me to email up2Urewards at [email protected], which I did on Monday, but no replied back from that yet.

Let's see how early will this get resolved.


Edit: I also had few gift cards from Camel waiting to be used. I tried using them on walmart and amazon, but I am not able to touch the last $5 on them. Anybody else faced the same problem? Any possible solution?
Last edited by crazeecee June 19, 2013 at 07:28 AM.
Jun 19, 2013 02:45 PM
118,455 Posts
Joined May 2006
implodeJun 19, 2013 02:45 PM
118,455 Posts
I'm getting really stressed out lately, and wanted to let you in on why I may disappear without notice sometime soon. I've been having ongoing technical problems with my computer for the last month or so. As time progresses this issue is getting worse. My host process (SVC Host) randomly gets to 100% CPU usage. The computer locks up and I'm forced to reset. I've tried many things to correct this issue including updating drivers, running hardware diagnostics from start up menu, looking at event viewer info, and virus scans. Nothing seems to find the issue. I'm pretty sure my computer may die any day now. Worse, I'm kind of broke right now. Additionally, my 13 year old dog is in declining health adding more stress to my situation. I just wanted to say if for some reason you don't see me for a while in the near future their is a reason for that.

VERY sorry to be off topic. I consider all of you as friends for the most part and just wanted this to be someplace where it would actually be seen by you. If I've been curt, upset, or a bit dismissive lately, that is why.

Additionally, that is another reason collecting my Camel win is frustrating, $100 toward a new computer would be amazing right about now.

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Jun 19, 2013 03:52 PM
27,601 Posts
Joined Dec 2006
suncat77Jun 19, 2013 03:52 PM
27,601 Posts
Quote from implode :
I'm getting really stressed out lately, and wanted to let you in on why I may disappear without notice sometime soon. I've been having ongoing technical problems with my computer for the last month or so. As time progresses this issue is getting worse. My host process (SVC Host) randomly gets to 100% CPU usage. The computer locks up and I'm forced to reset. I've tried many things to correct this issue including updating drivers, running hardware diagnostics from start up menu, looking at event viewer info, and virus scans. Nothing seems to find the issue. I'm pretty sure my computer may die any day now. Worse, I'm kind of broke right now. Additionally, my 13 year old dog is in declining health adding more stress to my situation. I just wanted to say if for some reason you don't see me for a while in the near future their is a reason for that.

VERY sorry to be off topic. I consider all of you as friends for the most part and just wanted this to be someplace where it would actually be seen by you. If I've been curt, upset, or a bit dismissive lately, that is why.

Additionally, that is another reason collecting my Camel win is frustrating, $100 toward a new computer would be amazing right about now.
Sorry you're going through all of that, Implode. I certainly hope you're able to get a new computer, and sending out my well wishes about your dog. I know how attached I am to my pets, and how that can affect a person. hug

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