*Living off competition wins!!!!*

PixiePie

And there is still the element of luck - I went through a period where I entered comps for several hours a day for a few months (long story) and won one prize of £150, that was it. Now it was a great wonderful prize, but for the amount of time I had put in it was pants - I am very very unlucky (I am one of those people whom never get a single number on the lottery), so I just never win - and whilst general luck might be attributed to attitude, I don't think that winning comps can be when it's purely random for a lot of them.

If you're not doing anything and can fall back on something else, it could work, but as a reliable source of income, if you're anything like me, you would be on the dog food (or worse) very quickly indeed....

glowgirl_2

I think it depends on the type of things you win (if any) and what you do with them obviously cash is best, cars and electrical items can be sold for a good profit, I won £400 worth of web hosting a few months ago and am in the process of setting up a business using this so all being well I am hoping to live off the profits from that, so in a loose way would be living off winnings, I have to say I have been comping for a few months and won a few great things but not life changing (yet) and would also say that I have an alternative income I can rely on already.

millymollymandy2K7

I wpould imagine there are very few (if any) people who could make a living from competitions. I was extremely lucky in 2008 and had a £4000 win, which certainly made life a bit easier, but by no means could I live on that, and although I probably averaged 3 wins a month most were dvds or cds and the likes - not high value prizes. Try this link to a thread on the competitions board which will give you a few opinions on the subject
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1160437

libra10

I've seen this question asked lots of times, and as a comper of several years, would say that the answer is 'no'!

Through the years I've won some very nice prizes, the best being £1000 cooker from Comet, a Warners holiday, Bosch power washer, DVD players, DVDs, vouchers, etc. All great wins and much appreciated. But they definitely wouldn't pay a wage.

The number of people entering competitions is increasing all the time as more and more people gain access to the internet. Therefore odds of winning are reducing.

If you can do lower entry competitions, such as tie-breakers or uploading photos, you stand more chance. But even then, it would be difficult to make enough to live on.

Through the year I enter lots of competitions, but last year won very few prizes. This year has started better, I've won a a hard-drive for my PC and a lady has phoned today to say I have won £30 M & S vouchers in a recent competition. I'm really thrilled with these prizes and they keep me interested in comping.

Good luck

PS It would be great if you could come back in a few months and prove us wrong!

SamP_2

As a student i also enter lots of compo's but never seem to win...is volume the key here or just plain old luck?

libra10

SamP wrote: »

As a student i also enter lots of compo's but never seem to win...is volume the key here or just plain old luck?

A bit of both!

Good luck

mirry

I have been entering over 100 comps a day for the past 10 months and have only won a few prizes , all small wins, mascara, garden plant, nothing big.
So I dont think its possible , unless I am very unlucky.

rrickyuk

I won almost £9,000 in 2008, and certainly didn't enter every competition that I could have done. You could sell a lot of stuff for a profit, but I wouldn't want to rely on it as a sole source of income; it is a form of gambling, after all.

That said, it could be a very lucrative sideline for someone if they entered for everything going that they thought that they could use / sell / give as presents.

Remember that relatively few prizes are cash ones (although they have become more prevalent over the last 2 months or so).

My biggest win was a five star holiday, but I sold the Macbook, the ridiculously expensive bag that came with it, and a few other things.

chriswatts

Very slimly it could have been possible ten years ago but sites like Loquax and to some extent even MoneySavingExpert stopped this. I've won a few prizes in the past but now a days there are far more people entering and where previously one woman perhaps could win all those prizes, now they are spread out widely.

rrickyuk

chriswatts wrote: »

Very slimly it could have been possible ten years ago but sites like Loquax and to some extent even MoneySavingExpert stopped this. I've won a few prizes in the past but now a days there are far more people entering and where previously one woman perhaps could win all those prizes, now they are spread out widely.

These sites do make the comps a lot easier to find, though, so I'd say that that is a moot point.

Do remember that a decade ago you often had to go out and purchase products, magazines, newspapers, etc in order to be able to enter in the first place.

I would say that the credit crunch has made more people look to entering comps, but the dedicated ones who go for everything possible are quite a small group in comparison. This lot stand the best chances of grabbing the big wins.

One more thing: do not discount postal entry comps - my biggest win was from a second class stamp and a free postcard!

http://www.postalcomps.co.uk/newpost.htm

And, of course, the postal thread on the MSE board!!