Competitions Discussion Thread Part 16

Barnabysue

Things have changed an awful lot even in the last few months. There are far more people entering the competitions now and consequently the wins are harder to get.

Just to let you know that you have posted on the board that is for competitions only, this should be in the Discussion 'Sticky' at the top of the board. I have PMd Dalkirst to move it.

Good Luck

unicorn13_2

I have been doing comps from this site for over a year and never won anything. Can't work out how others find comps on line as iam never sure if they are safe to do or not.

sarah861421

Does anyone have an opinion about the morals of winning things purely to sell on e**y. I have started entering competitions mainly for things that I want or can use but I recently won something I did't want ( just entered for fun ) , I could use the money more but not sure I am able ( morally and / or ethically ) to sell it. Any thoughts please.

Rebbie

sarah861421 wrote: »

Does anyone have an opinion about the morals of winning things purely to sell on e**y. I have started entering competitions mainly for things that I want or can use but I recently won something I did't want ( just entered for fun ) , I could use the money more but not sure I am able ( morally and / or ethically ) to sell it. Any thoughts please.

Sell it! (I usually shout that at the TV when I watch the Antiques Roadshow!)

Seriously, though, I don't think it's such a bad thing to do occasionally. I only enter competitions for things I actually want or need, but if I won a runners up prize that I didn't want, I'd sell it.

Little_Muvva

I don't think there's a moral issue with selling wins. Why would there be? One of the reasons these competitions are on here is as a way of making extra money (comping for cash).

hannibal1970

must admit i thought i would sell some of things i have won but ending up keeping most of them

my nintendo 3ds being one i couldnt let go

duchy

Indeed they are.
I notice a few names on here from the old comping websites and newsgroup and I think the ethos has changed in the last ten years from comping as a hobby to for many a means to make money (as promoted by Martin). I think although overall there may be more prizes now with FB/Twitter etc -the value of prizes has dropped but they are easier to enter with more random draws and fewer slogan comps-plus the postcard comp is practically extinct. So less effort required means more people are entering for lower value prizes-so yes things have changed and I think it's far harder to win on a regular basis worthwhile prizes now as more people are doing it as an almost fulltime occupation with little regard for if they actually want the prize or not. It has become a try for any/everything culture.

twotimes

sarah861421 wrote: »

Does anyone have an opinion about the morals of winning things purely to sell on e**y. I have started entering competitions mainly for things that I want or can use but I recently won something I did't want ( just entered for fun ) , I could use the money more but not sure I am able ( morally and / or ethically ) to sell it. Any thoughts please.

Regarding "entering to sell" in general; some competitions have terms that say the prize cannot be sold on, so you need to be careful checking terms. Then there are also all the ticket and holiday competitions which in nearly all cases cannot be sold. In many cases this is also illegal, Premier League football tickets and Six Nations tickets for example.

As for the morality of it, only you can really decide that for yourself.

It is always upsetting though to enter a competition for something you really wanted to win and then seeing it a few weeks later on ebay or on ducky swaps.

Despite some of the articles you read, entering competitions is not always richly rewarding and is best seen as a hobby with any prizes being a bonus, for those thinking of entering purely for finacial gain though it's worth bearing in mind that you would more than likely earn more on a minimum-wage job.

Carriecakes

You kind of answered it for yourself hun, obviously if you love doing this then carry on! if you hate entering competitions this is a bad line of work lol. I only started entering a month ago, and I have 'made' roughly £400 worth in prizes. I'm not daft though, and don't expect to be on a winning streak forever, I call it my beginners luck!

If you want to sell what you win this is entirely up to you, although as someone said some companies don't allow this. I am sorry that you are unable to work, however you could try and go for the job I used to have when my two sons were small. I worked in the library at their school, it was a lot more regular money than trying to win it! All I had to do was sit at a computer and scan their books in and out, it was easy and so much fun, as being indoors will isolate you.

I had sciatica and could barely walk, but if you are sat at a computer anyway, I'm sure if You look hard enough you may find a job that can fill your requirements. I wish you loads of luck though. xxx

LadyMorticia

I think you'd have to be really lucky to make a living out of comping.

And as for selling things you win that you don't want, what about all the other people who enter the competition who really want the item? Then you win and you sell it?

Please bear in mind that I'm talking about people who repeatedly enter competitions for things they don't want to sell them. Not just as an occasional thing.