So Just How Lucrative Is It?

wannabestudent

Hello,

I wasn't sure where to put this - I've been comping for af ew days - keep doing the 'ending today....' ones on the comp sites and a few others.

I notice loads of people with wins in their sigs and stuff and thought we could have a discussion about it.

Do you find it comes in fits and starts or do you never win/always seem to get something?

Do you enter anything and everything or do you only enter those you want to win the prize form?

Have you ever entered anything with the thought of 'it'd sell well...!' if you won it?

Which ones do you do - is it just the ones ending soon, the regular ones or any at all?

What's your best win?

Do they always turn up when you do win?

Why do you do it? For fun, for prizes? To win presents? To pass time?

Do the places giving the prizes away always contact you or have you ever been surprised to find out that you've won something only when it arrives?!

I'm sure there's loads more! I didn't want to put it in the main forum cos I didn't want it to get in the way so I thought this might be the best place for it - hope it's right.


(If it catches on, please can it be a sticky? Thanks)

Tulip

For me it is a hobby to enter for prizes and its for things I want usually,I will go out of my way to help get friends ticket to an event of which I did recently for Isle of Wight festival and the lady was really grateful to me and sent me thank you card for it as it meant her whole family could go.

Christmas 2007 I was bored stiff and went on Windows live competition and won myself an Asus Laptop and it was on a instant win fruit machine game.

I have won numerous stuff as seen in my signature.

I just do it for the enjoyment and it whiles away a few hours.

I get stages where I win for a while,then a lull and then a win again.Its nice really when I get that winning e-mail saying congratulations you are a winner as that just inspires me to keep going.

Just enjoy,enter as many as you can on the comps forum and see them arrive at your door.

Good Luck!

Katie

Walkinshaw

Do you find it comes in fits and starts or do you never win/always seem to get something?

I'm just like you, I've literally just started and went through UK Competitions and The Prize Finder entering all the competitions I wanted to win that are listed - and I googled for more - I've got the fever! - and ended up here, so hello everyone!

Do you enter anything and everything or do you only enter those you want to win the prize form?

I've only entered the ones I wanted to win - I'm desperate to get an iPhone and/or an iPod Touch but I won't let myself (not that I can afford to!) buy one because I have an iPod and a phone with better specs than the iPhone so it'd be pointless to buy just for the larger screen and aps.

Which ones do you do - is it just the ones ending soon, the regular ones or any at all?

Anything and everything I want to win! I've gone from crosstich kits (I've always wanted to try and be crafty) to iPod touches, iPhones, DVD's, Blueray disks and machines - everything!

What's your best win?

Like I said, I've only just started. I did win some personalised calendars/christmas cards/post cards etc from the Daily Express the Christmas my father died though - was lovely having them done of him all professional like

Why do you do it? For fun, for prizes? To win presents? To pass time?

All of the above!

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Some woman got jailed the other week for having numerous PCs & phone lines in her house & raked in hundreds of thousands by breaking maximum entry rules.

If you spend enough time on it (ie your life) it should earn you a living.

minnie123

Do you find it comes in fits and starts or do you never win/always seem to get something?

Yes Definately sometimes you win nothing for weeks then 3 turn up in one day!!

Do you enter anything and everything or do you only enter those you want to win the prize form?

I enter all those that I want to win myself or that I know a family member or friend would like

Have you ever entered anything with the thought of 'it'd sell well...!' if you won it?

Not really but sometimes things have turned up and I sold them on ebay because I needed the money more than the item at that time.

Which ones do you do - is it just the ones ending soon, the regular ones or any at all?

I do them as they are added to the site and I only really go onto the regular ones if I have time - which usually I don't

What's your best win?

A gaming PC and Game worth £1500 - MTV comp this year

Do they always turn up when you do win?

I am still waiting for a few of mine but they have only been a few weeks, so no definate no shows yet

Why do you do it? For fun, for prizes? To win presents? To pass time?

For all those reasons plus it gives me a chance to dream and really helps me out financially - not in a major way but sometimes I think I need an eye cream etc and instead of having to buy it I win one which is great.

xxx

The_Ubiquitous_Mrs_Smith

Do you find it comes in fits and starts or do you never win/always seem to get something?

Hard to say really. I guess I'm quite lucky at the moment but shouldn't imagine that will always be the case.

Do you enter anything and everything or do you only enter those you want to win the prize form?
I only enter comps I want to win or have use for. I don't think it's fair to others who could make use of the prize if I win it and then just have it shoved in the back of the cupboard. Plus I don't like my house to be full of stuff I don't use.

Occassionally it doesn't work that way eg recently I've won a couple of tickets for things and then wasn't actually able to use them. I've never sold them on as I don't think I should profit. I've given them away, mostly on here as it's mostly people on here who point me int he direction of comps and I hate to waste them. I think if I won a big prize that I didn't want to just give away I would probably auction it or something for charity. I wouldn't take the money.

Have you ever entered anything with the thought of 'it'd sell well...!' if you won it?
As above.

Which ones do you do - is it just the ones ending soon, the regular ones or any at all?
The ones I would like to win! I've got a couple of things I would like to win and I prioritise comps with those as prizes.

What's your best win?
I've won a kiln and today I won a trip in a stunt plane which I am stupidly excited about!

Do they always turn up when you do win?
Short and simple - No!

Why do you do it? For fun, for prizes? To win presents? To pass time?
It's quite fun most of the time. If it stops being fun I stop for a while. I like the idea of wining things I couldn't do/have/afford otherwise. I recently won a big hamper from Hotel Chocolate and loved that I could share it out with my family who had wanted to try it but couldn't spend that much on chocolate.

Do the places giving the prizes away always contact you or have you ever been surprised to find out that you've won something only when it arrives?!
I've mainly been told via email or letter but occassionally they just turn up, especially the smaller ones. Sometimes they turn up without any indication of where they came from which can be a bit of a pain when you enter a lot of comps for the same thing.

vicks276

Do you find it comes in fits and starts or do you never win/always seem to get something?
There is no method to the madness, when you win you win lol. I find I get a few little wins every month.

Do you enter anything and everything or do you only enter those you want to win the prize form?
I enter for the things I want, or things that oh/family will use.

Have you ever entered anything with the thought of 'it'd sell well...!' if you won it?
I don't enter to sell things on, but if I need the money more then I will do, but only occasionally.

Which ones do you do - is it just the ones ending soon, the regular ones or any at all?
I do the ones ending soon. I might miss some this way but I still get to enter plenty of comps.

What's your best win?
2 tickets to the WWE wrestling in Feb this year. Not my most valuable prize (have won a TV, psp, vouchers etc) but the one I enjoyed the most.

Do they always turn up when you do win?
So far I have never had to chase up any prizes, touch wood.

Why do you do it? For fun, for prizes? To win presents? To pass time?
I enjoy comping, it is a fun, free hobby. I don't expect to win everything but when you get wins it is a nice reward.

Do the places giving the prizes away always contact you or have you ever been surprised to find out that you've won something only when it arrives?!
For most of the prizes I have won I received emails or a letter (never had a phone call yet!!) but a couple of little ones have just turned up in the post. The best surprise win I had was a flatscreen hd tv a few months ago. I was quizzing the postman as I signed for it as I had no idea what it was!!

You just have to keep going and keep entering as many comps as you can. Don't expect to make a living out of it, but persevere and the wins will eventually come.

Vicks xx

jaxdia

Do you find it comes in fits and starts or do you never win/always seem to get something?

It really depends on fate/luck, you can't say when you'll win a prize. I've gone the past few months without a sniff of anything but won a Sony LCD TV and a year's Sky+HD a couple of weeks ago. During last December and January I was winning prizes left right and centre.



Do you enter anything and everything or do you only enter those you want to win the prize form?

I only enter competitions for prizes I'd like to win, or another family member would like to win. You wouldn't find me entering competitions for a years worth of bras, or shopping vouchers for Oasis for example. I don't think either me or my cyberpunk boyfriend would look fetching in lacy lingerie. :eek:



Have you ever entered anything with the thought of 'it'd sell well...!' if you won it?

Not in the slightest, and I despise anyone who does this. You should not enter any competition if you think "we already have one, but I can sell it on eBay!". What you're doing is depriving someone else of the prize, who may have a need. For example, we're not doing very well financially at the moment, and our fridge is going from bad to worse (you want cold milk? Don't make me laugh), and I recently hear of people who've won Smeg fridge freezers just bunging them straight on eBay, not so much as taking them out of the packaging. People can have a genuine need for some of these prizes, and as daft as it sounds, entering competitions for them may be their only way of getting one.



Which ones do you do - is it just the ones ending soon, the regular ones or any at all?

I usually just visit the site once or twice a day, and do all the competitions that were posted on that day. That way I don't leave myself an enormous stack of 500-odd pages to do at the end of the month. I don't however, visit the Regulars forum. I don't really have the patience to enter the same competition day after day after day, and I prefer to just enter once, it really doesn't affect your luck too much either way. Here's an example; back when Channel 4 allowed multiple entries to be counted as multiple entries, people were entering every day, some were entering every HOUR. I entered once, and from Channel 4 alone, I've won a Wii, a Dolce-Gusto coffee machine, a digital camera and a Mars pamper pack.



What's your best win?

Probably the pile of John Lewis vouchers I won via Big Snap 2. I've never seen so many £50's in one place!



Do they always turn up when you do win?

In my experience, yes. If they don't turn up within 28 days you're well within your rights to ask where the prize is. Competitions are regulated by the ISP (Institute of Sales Promotions, not Internet Service Provider ) and would have to answer to them if they pulled a fast one.



Why do you do it? For fun, for prizes? To win presents? To pass time?

To pass the time really. Beats sitting down watching films or TV. This way I might actually get something back for my time instead of just a fat bottom



Do the places giving the prizes away always contact you or have you ever been surprised to find out that you've won something only when it arrives?!

Sometimes the company doesn't send out emails or ring you about a prize, and the first you hear of it, is when it pops through the letterbox. Usually though, with bigger prizes, you'd get notification first before they send it out.

cheznal

Do you find it comes in fits and starts or do you never win/always seem to get something?

In my experience it comes in fits and starts, some months are better than others, but I have won a good amount this year compared to last year, even though some of the prizes are small, I still put a lot of time into entering the comps


Do you enter anything and everything or do you only enter those you want to win the prize form?

I only enter for things that I would like/need or that my family would like or need. I do not go out of my way to enter for things that I would have no use for as I feel I am depriving someone of something that they might actually need if I was lucky enough to win it.


Have you ever entered anything with the thought of 'it'd sell well...!' if you won it?

As above, I would not go out of my way to delibrately enter for something that I would have no use for or that I wouldn't want or that my family would not want. If I won a runners up prize of something that I didn't want/need, I would ask around to see if anyone would like the prize first. I didn't pay for it in the first place so don't see why I should make a profit from it.


Which ones do you do - is it just the ones ending soon, the regular ones or any at all?

Personally, I enter most of the comps on the board that I have a genuine want/need for as above. I usually search by end date and work my way through the ending soon ones first, then if I have a bit extra time, I will enter some of the other ones on the board that are ending, say at the end of the month, so that I don't have pages to go through.

What's your best win?

Overall, I think the best win I have had was a Nintendo Wii and Boogie Superstar game. I already have a wii, and was entering comps to try and win one for my brothers as my mam and dad could never be able to afford one for them. I managed to win one in January, so I wrapped it up for them and gave it to them, the feeling of immense joy at seeing their faces was better than the adrenaline rush of reading the WEM. The other "best win" I had was match tickets to the NUFC/MUFC match. My DH is a massive Man Utd fan, so I certainly was the best wife in the world when I told him about that win, was pitch side seats too!!


Do they always turn up when you do win?

In my experience, no. I had to chase the wii I won for months before it arrived. Apparently the lady who was supposed to be sorting it out for me had left the company dealing with the prize being sent out, so my emails were being ignored/not received. I complained to the ISP, received a telephone call and then received my wii next day delivery. I have also had to chase strongbow wins from last year too, which are supposed to be arriving by courier this week :rolleyes:


Why do you do it? For fun, for prizes? To win presents? To pass time?

I do it as a hobby. I enjoy spending time on the internet, and the rush I get when I win something is an added bonus. As aforementioned, I don't do it for profit, but I like the feeling of winning. I would never say I would be able to make a living out of it though.

I also won 28 balls on the Mars comp, 25 of those were from actual mars wrappers which I had eaten :EasterBun:embarasse (That sounds really greedy - sorry but it was a craving I had at 6 months pregnant he he) I gave my brother, nephew and their friends first pick of the balls, as well as the dogs getting some to play with and the others all went to the community wardens, who informed me that they would be handed out to deprived children on surrounding estates. That made me feel all warm and fuzzy, knowing that someone else will benefit from something I had given.


Do the places giving the prizes away always contact you or have you ever been surprised to find out that you've won something only when it arrives?!

I have had WEMs and 2 WTC's. I am yet to receive a LWE telling me I have won something. I have received a few bits and bobs in the post that have been surprises, which I think are the best ones, as you're not expecting anything, and a nice parcel from the postie always brightens up my day

Walkinshaw

cheznal wrote: »

I have received a few bits and bobs in the post that have been surprises, which I think are the best ones, as you're not expecting anything, and a nice parcel from the postie always brightens up my day

I have to say I agree - if I'm ever lucky enough to win anything, I'd like it to be a surprise.

I've thought of an extra question - how long from winning to receiving your prize does it usually (I know - that's the magic word!) take on average? I ask because the postie's just been and delivered some MAC make up and I don't know if it's sample or prize because there's no letter in it! :rotfl:

Muffy0

Do you find it comes in fits and starts or do you never win/always seem to get something?
I win regularly - never had a terrible month in the year Ive been comping.

Do you enter anything and everything or do you only enter those you want to win the prize form?
I enter most things except tickets for stuff

Have you ever entered anything with the thought of 'it'd sell well...!' if you won it?
Yes, often - and I have

Which ones do you do - is it just the ones ending soon, the regular ones or any at all?
I do the ones ending the next day

What's your best win?
£2100 John Lewis vouchers
A luxury night in London (which I'm taking for our honeymoon)
Grandstand tix to the 2007 Silverstone (my first ever win although not from MSE)
£1800 holiday to Scotland

Do they always turn up when you do win?
Yes

Why do you do it? For fun, for prizes? To win presents? To pass time?
All of the above

Do the places giving the prizes away always contact you or have you ever been surprised to find out that you've won something only when it arrives?!
Most of my wins are a surprise parcel delivered through the door