Professional compers = unprofessional compers?

Roger_Rampant

I was a little annoyed to be told about a place that regularly run Twitter comps:

dlizi wrote: »

This Lady does not like compers and said it will not go to someone who comps for a living. lol . chance would be a fine thing!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5030740

However, my understanding is that "professional" would mean that you earn enough money from it to support your household financially, so if somebody earnt their living solely from comping you could call them a professional comper. I don't think that's possible!

Anyway, I did a little research on here and there seem to have been quite a few discussions about this sort of attitude before, unsurprisingly. This thread in particular I found quite interesting, and also this one. Now this BBC article here tells us about a lady that enters 600 competitions a week, and has enjoyed some fabulous prizes, but she still makes it quite clear that

Tina wrote:

This is like a second income, just my contribution to the family.

It is obvious, from the number of self-promoters that turn up here and try to post their own comps, that some people realise that it's all about spreading the word and it doesn't really matter who is spreading the word. It's an old saying that all publicity is good publicity, but there are still some that don't seem to get it. Even our own National lottery are not immune, apparently:

NationalLottery wrote:

The Promoter reserves the right to refuse entry to serial competition entrants. The Promoter will have ultimate and final say on who fits those criteria, but as a rule, anyone with over 50% of their Twitter communications as entries into competitions may face disqualification. The Promoter's decision is final.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4982427

One of the trolls in this thread informs us that:

SallyHarrison666 wrote:

I personally know of several promoters on fb who discard L&S entries and indeed any entries from people with the word "comp", "prize winner" and other similar names in their title along with people who insist on putting "MSE" in between their fb name as this identifies them as one of the above.

In two cases, Akufu and Frankie & Benny's, they subsequently tried to reassure people that their intentions were noble:

Akufu Absolutely. As long as I'm able to message you, view your profile, you have an avatar your entry is accepted. We had nearly 8000 entries from twitter profiles with no previous tweets and no information at all. It could be absolutely anybody - id rather a genuine person win.

Frankie&Benny wrote:

Good afternoon folks. We've had a few people ask us to clarify number 13 of our terms & conditions. We define a 'professional comper' as someone who uses multiple accounts to enter a competition to increase their chances of winning. We included this to try and ensure a fair chance for all to win. As far as we are aware, none of the entries posted so far have been entered by a 'professional comper' so all will be entered into the prize draw.

Surely what they are talking about is unprofessional compers? Somebody who is sad enough to open 8,000 Twitter accounts purely to enter one competition? Presumably testing out some sort of script, I would imagine. Multiple entries is not professional - it's unprofessional.

Isn't it? :rotfl:

BlueBella

I tend to 'class' people who comp into 3 categories:

The occasional comper (these people enter the odd comp here and there)

The hobby comper (these people tend to set aside a bit of time on a regular basis to sit and enter comps)

The avid comper (these people enter as many as they can when ever they get free time)

I agree with you R_R that I don't think anyone could rely on entering competitions to pay their bills and feed and home their family.

Roger_Rampant

How about people like Laks, that seem to spend about 20 hours a day on here? :rotfl:

BlueBella

Roger_Rampant wrote: »

How about people like Laks, that seem to spend about 20 hours a day on here? :rotfl:

:rotfl: Avid :rotfl: No harm in being an avid comper though!

sax11

Without laks (and others) there would hardly be any comps to enter.

i'm an occasional and when bored at work comper - so technically it's a 9-5 hobby

rosemac

GO SAX:j:j

Roger_Rampant

Laks is awesome, no doubt about it. :j

ikkle87

Roger_Rampant wrote: »

I was a little annoyed to be told about a place that regularly run Twitter comps:https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5030740

Still waiting for some sort of link to be provided to where those alleged comments were made. However, my understanding is that "professional" would mean that you earn enough money from it to support your household financially, so if somebody earnt their living solely from comping you could call them a professional comper. I don't think that's possible!

https://twitter.com/Soph_Boutique/status/495093801938337792

WeAreGhosts

https://twitter.com/Soph_Boutique/status/495094099129937921

maybe her terms and conditions should say "larger ladies need not apply". she only makes small sizes. which is fair enough for a small business but wouldnt think that tweet was legal in comping 'laws' as it discriminates on looks/size/sex. pressume she is checking profiles to see who matches her target audience [thin 20-somethings it seems to be]

also couldnt help noticing she charges £40 for a two piece with hardly any material present!
is the recession still on?

JessicAhh

This often crops up, and more often than not with crafters and bloggers. Personally, I think it's just a case of ignoring and moving on. If she doesn't want any resultant trade from compers, that's her prerogative: ironic, as I thought most 'companies' ran competitions to get new buyers... :rotfl:

But if she hasn't stated in Ts and Cs that compers (or those who are too big to wear the two-piece) aren't permitted, then it could be referred to the ASA I would have thought. You can't choose after the event who is going to be allowed to win - she needed to have that in her Ts and Cs from the start, which - correct me, if I'm wrong - it looks like she didn't.

Roger_Rampant

I will be picking somebody at random that I think will genuinely wear the two piece and not sell it the day that it arrives.

Not picking somebody at random then, are you? :rotfl:

I thought that another of her comments was discriminatory, actually:
https://twitter.com/Soph_Boutique/status/497657384148672513

It implies that only females are allowed to follow. Boyfriend? Husband? Father? Grandad? Out of luck - you're banned! She doesn't want you following in the hope of seeing something nice there for the girl that you love... :rotfl: