Newspaper competitions are fake?

Oopsadaisy

Decent 'comps' draws a winner from all entries - ie someone is guaranteed to win the top prize [in fact all prizes are distributed]

The 'scams' print several million cards [usually found inside mags and papers] and since the response rate is about 1% or less they know there is very little chance of the 'main prize' winning card being redeemed...instead everyone wins a 'digital camera' worth £2.50 that costs them £13 to call a premium line and then £6.50 post and insurance.

So be careful.

Hermia

Doubledrop wrote: »

Out of everyone I have called only one person was really excited.

You didn't call me, did you? ;o) I have had a few phone calls where I felt the person was disappointed in my reaction. I was really chuffed each time, but I am not the type to shout, "woooh, wooh!" and scream like the people who always seem to win radio comps! The last time I got a call from a magazine the woman said, "are you actually pleased to win this?" in an irritated tone of voice. That was after I told her how pleased I was to win because it meant I could treat my ill mother to a weekend away.

I have won quite a few prizes over the years (ipod, vouchers etc), but no realy biggie. But, I know how many people go in for the big comps.

aurongrande_2

Googlewhacker wrote: »

So by your logic we should never have heard about the BBC scandel over competitions a couple of years ago?

I bet the BBC never mentioned that scandal until someone else found out and reported it.

aurongrande_2

davidlizard wrote: »

The newspaper bingo certainly used to be rigged.

There were around half a dozen numbers that were taken out from the drawable balls, and one of these half a dozen numbers was printed on 99% of the cards - so these cards had no way of winning.

I recall once the Sun accidentally printed the wrong number which happened to be one of these withdrawn numbers, with over 3000 winners as a consequence.

Sounds about right to me.

aurongrande_2

olias wrote: »

Could you use the words, 'gasoline flavored fast-food', a few more times please. I don't think I've quite got it yet....

Olias

Same here. What is gasoline-flavoured food??

aurongrande_2

Doubledrop wrote: »

I work for a publishing company that has competitions in all the magazines and I know for a fact the competitions are real as I have drawn the winner quite a few times and called them to let them know they have won.

Out of everyone I have called only one person was really excited. The last prize winner I called actually sounded annoyed. I asked him if he wanted the prize as he didn't sound happy.

To be fair before I worked here I also used to think competitions were faked!

Good, so those competitions aren't actually fake, but still, they may be rigged to a degree.

aurongrande_2

Oopsadaisy wrote: »

Decent 'comps' draws a winner from all entries - ie someone is guaranteed to win the top prize [in fact all prizes are distributed]

The 'scams' print several million cards [usually found inside mags and papers] and since the response rate is about 1% or less they know there is very little chance of the 'main prize' winning card being redeemed...instead everyone wins a 'digital camera' worth £2.50 that costs them £13 to call a premium line and then £6.50 post and insurance.

So be careful.

Now that sounds about right.

aurongrande_2

Hermia wrote: »

You didn't call me, did you? ;o) I have had a few phone calls where I felt the person was disappointed in my reaction. I was really chuffed each time, but I am not the type to shout, "woooh, wooh!" and scream like the people who always seem to win radio comps! The last time I got a call from a magazine the woman said, "are you actually pleased to win this?" in an irritated tone of voice. That was after I told her how pleased I was to win because it meant I could treat my ill mother to a weekend away.

I have won quite a few prizes over the years (ipod, vouchers etc), but no realy biggie. But, I know how many people go in for the big comps.

A year ago I won £25 in high street vouchers from my local council. They run a raffle now and then. To enter, you have to send back a filled out customer service questionnaire they hand out for repair jobs. When you book a repair job, they send out a confirmation letter and a questionnaire on how satisfied you were with the job.

I think they stopped the raffle because people had figured out how to increase their chances of winning. Apparently, you only get entered if you write a good review. Then again, they may have stopped it because of budget cuts.

shadowknightz

I tried entering a ton of magazine competitions a while ago and won nothing. People may win these things occasionally but I'd wager they're largely an exercise in information harvesting. Maybe the magazines sell all the info on to other places so they recuperate what they spent on the prize?

duchy

Wel lif you think they are rigged don't enter them then !!!

I used to enter a LOT of competitions -None were "pay to enter" I used to just trawel the internet for them -google is your friend.

I won two lots of £5000, mobile phone, suitcase, pamper packs, perfume, a cat carrier,books, CDs ,DVDs, a real Christmas tree, £500 shopping spree in a clothes store at Bluewater -all kinds of stuff but I used to sit down and enter maybe 50 a night not 1 or 2.

Don't do much now as I have a lot less free time but you only have to look on the competitions thread here to see plenty of people still do it (and if was rigged they'd hardly be posting would they).

But hey if you want to believe "It's rigged because I never win" go right on ahead :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

As for not sounding excited Letts diaries called me at work on my mobile -and said "You've won first prize in our competition" I had no idea what the prize was as I'd entered months before .........when she said £5000 I was stunned into silence .........and couldn't woop-woop anyway -£5000 wasn't enough to lose my job over