We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Which are you?

Options
Just out of interest... Ive been comping for years so its not a newbie question.. but Ive always comped mainly by end date - often on day of ending or with only a couple of days before ending. This new year I decide to shake it all up - enter some different kinds of comps I didn't used to enter and also I went backwards through the whole board and did all the comps I wanted to enter (it took so lonnnng - over a week!) so now I am entering them as they are listed.. just seeing if it ends up better for me win wise or worse and because I wanted to do something new as was getting a bit bored! lol

anyway! Just wondered, if anyone wants to let me know....

Do you do comps by ending date or newly listed?
Have you had periods of doing it both ways?
If so, Which one turned out to be more lucky for you?
which do you think is better as a whole?

Just curious!! Im quite bored now im not always racing against time to do ending comps :cool:
going to do it this way for a few months and see how it goes!

Thanks to anyone who answers... :rotfl:
April 2014: A CAR!!!!!! :j 60th Anniversary Edition of Playboy mag signed by Hugh Hefner/Family pass to Twinlakes Family Theme Park/Rio 2 Goodies/£15 Promod Voucher/Nivea Sensitive Prize pack/John Frieda Cosmetic bag and bits/Tickets to New Kids On The Block + Meet and Greet
«1

Comments

  • xxgeexx
    xxgeexx Posts: 332 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture
    i do the whole board and post by newly listed because i know if i do it by end date something will probably come up and i'll miss loads xx
    2019 wins: VonShef 3.5L Air Fryer
  • mjm3346
    mjm3346 Posts: 47,264 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    If a competition is properly run it makes no difference when you enter.

    When it comes down to the best way to enter it has to be enter early - stay away from end dating as the advantages are almost none and the risks of missing out are many -

    Comp closes early (or just sometime before midnight on the final day)
    Comp website has problems (even worse if it's a weekend)
    MSE forum goes down
    Your broadband and or computer/laptop etc go down
    Real life events take out comping time
    Also unless you use the subforums you will miss out on the enter early ones where you get included in draws from the day/week of entry up to the competition end date.

    The only possible advantage to end dating that I can think of is that someone posted about poorly run twitter competitions being more likely to pick later entries.

    By entering early the comps closing early are not a problem and there is more time to overcome all the other issues above.

    (Early entry would be after the post has been up a little while so if there are any problems they will have been noticed - self-promo/spam sites/wrong answer etc unless you are happy to check things like that out yourself)

    If you do daily comps where nothing changes then bookmark them direct so you don't need to go through the forum to enter (it's a way to go now but the same applies for most advents) cuts down entry time and it doesn't matter if mse goes off-line.

    Another disadvantage to entering by end date are the large peaks in the number of competitions that close on Fridays and on the last day of a month (There will be a huge number of competitions ending on Fri 31st Jan). Entry closer to when they are added gives a more even number to enter and allows more time to deal with any peaks that might arise.


    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4860400
  • I do it by newly listed as well, because otherwise you can miss out on daily, weekly and early entry comps.

    If i'm coming back from a break in comping, I do some comping by end date as well for bit, because otherwise it takes a while to get any results.
  • jaibaby
    jaibaby Posts: 4,002 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I do it by end date - so tonight, for example, I'll enter ones finishing 24/01.

    I've had a few big wins - a recent one (£1000 gift card) was entered an hour before it closed :D

    I do check daily threads every week too :)
    Thanks to all posters :A
  • Idol_Eyes
    Idol_Eyes Posts: 6,443 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I have done exactly the same as you - used to comp by end date, now I comp as they are posted - now I'm panicking because I'm going on holiday in 4 weeks and I know I'm going to be behind by a whole week, so I think I'll be back to comping by end date, but I like my new way lol :eek:
    2024 £72, 2023 £2230, 2022 £300, 2021 £1800, 2015 £3790, 2014 £4460
  • I don't do it either way I've tried to do end date and just end up in knots and I can't keep up with newly listed due to working so I do it by thread listing time and work backwards through the pages at the moment I'm on the comps posted on the 17th Jan so I've got about 78 pages to get through, the only times I manage to get to page 1 are at Xmas when not working or it I have some days off and I hammer the comps. Do I sometimes miss comps, yes but it works for me, I'm not a machine and I know there's no way I can enter everything posted but I don't do too bad I had 42 wins in 2013 including a flat screen tv, £500 camera, iPod nano, £250 M&S voucher & lots of other nice things.

    At the end of the day you have to find your own system with comping, this is my hobby, it helps me with my depression and if I win no matter how big or small it's my payment for all the effort I put in to my hobby :D

    Huge thanks to everyone who takes the time and effort to post all the comps! :T
    *~*WINS*~*
    NOV 23 - 2x tickets for Sister Act in Bradford - £86.00, ASUS ROG FALCHION ACE 65% White Gaming Keyboard - £130
    SEPT 24 - £250 Back to School Collins Book Bundle & £100 National Book Token Gift Card
    OCT 24 - £150 Nutriburst Voucher & £150 Evolve Organic Beauty Voucher
    DEC 24 - Rainbow High Dolls - Set of 4 - Retail cost £24.99 each
  • mjm3346 wrote: »

    If you do daily comps where nothing changes then bookmark them direct so you don't need to go through the forum to enter (it's a way to go now but the same applies for most advents) cuts down entry time and it doesn't matter if mse goes off-line

    Thanks! Some of the things you said, I had never actually considered before and Ive been comping since 2005!! lol
    I have actually started bookmarking things, never ever used to bookmark anything but did it this year with the advents and realised it was a good idea when comping from a list so you don't keep having to see the things you don't want to enter... I do it for the mag dailies etc now! so much better and quicker!!! :T
    April 2014: A CAR!!!!!! :j 60th Anniversary Edition of Playboy mag signed by Hugh Hefner/Family pass to Twinlakes Family Theme Park/Rio 2 Goodies/£15 Promod Voucher/Nivea Sensitive Prize pack/John Frieda Cosmetic bag and bits/Tickets to New Kids On The Block + Meet and Greet
  • I enter newly listed as I have been up to date with all the comps for a while. It's actually easier to enter comps this way and less time consuming and I've had much better wins compared to when I comped by end date.
  • I used to be an end date comper and if I am honest I think most of my wins have come from entering just before the end date.

    I used to use Loquax main listing site before they finished last year and when I had time popped in here as there were definitely more comps posted here along with the answers which for people like me always in a rush is a godsend. :T

    So, last year I came full time here. Tried end date comping at the start but a very slow start to any wins in 2013 so I changed my method.

    Now what I do is I have folders for each month and I go through the comps as they are listed (about 3 times a day) and bookmark the ones I want to enter so ones ending Feb go into Feb folder etc. That way when I have the time I can go and enter them at my leisure.

    Not had much luck at all in 2013 though as 2013 was my worst year ever for wins and 2014 has not got off to a good start comp wise so I have no idea which way is the most successful.:think:

    Edit to add, I am always put off entering as soon as they are listed as probably the majority of people enter at that time as well. I cannot get out of my head that my entry will be lost among the masses lol
    The best things in life are free.....
  • createbeauty
    createbeauty Posts: 2,649 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Combo Breaker
    I think entering Rafflecopter competitions early, especially with daily tweets, is a good idea. Otherwise you're entry number 35,734 or something ridiculous. I always thinks that puts the odds of winning very low. But I guess we all have our secret theories. :)
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.5K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.9K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.9K Life & Family
  • 257.1K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.