Entering Competitions With "Sympathy Votes"

emmjay11

Firstly my deepest apologies if this has been mentioned before but I did do a quick search using "sympathy"

Secondly can I have a moan and possible help/advice?

I am working my way slowly through all the comps listed in competitions time forum when I came across this one.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5117823

I clicked through to enter and was annoyed at the top comment on the fb photo.
The lady who posted stated she had lost her grandson that day and could she name the bears in his memory, at first i thought how sweet, but part of me was saying if you had lost someone close to you why are you, on that same day, entering competitions? this led me on to think was it a "sympathy entry"? (NB. this comp was a random draw so I guess the poster got no advantage, but there are many where a judgement on a comment on "why you should win" is chosen?

Am I being too harsh? It may be genuine but I kinda suspect a lot are to boost their chances of winning?

How do us compers "compete" with this tactic when entering "why should you win" type comps?

I would love to hear other compers advice and experience with this matter?

Are they worth entering and is it similar to those comps where the "quickest time" wins and is therefore rife with cheats that use computer cracks?

Thanks for listening:)

muppet150

I agree with you. I don't agree with the " why should you win" competitions. At the end of the day anyone could put any untrue comments down to gain sympathy. I always put the same thing. " i deserve this as much as the next person does"

Pinkzie

I agree with you, even if it is harsh. Every person will go through tough things in their life, I choose not to broadcast mine. It's annoying to see people using it as a way to win competitions. Obviously, a lot will be genuine but even so why should that justify them winning? people will have had similar things happen to them who enter but don't mention it.

I sometimes click on ones and as soon as I see 'Tell us why you should win' I exit as I don't even want to view the hundreds of sob stories. I don't mind these type of competitions where people reply with reasons like 'I should win because - I would love a holiday/I couldn't afford to do this/I would love to treat my family etc those responses aren't over the top - but some people take it way too far.

I feel sorry for the promoters sometimes but asking the masses why they should win is guaranteed to bring those responses. As for competing with them, I guess being creative and making your entry stand out is one way to do it. If a promoter does choose a 'sympathy' entry then if you really think about it, it's quite disturbing because they would have read many and judged them on who has it worst. I don't think that is something which should be judged.

Marg2k8

There have been a few threads on the subject. The one that sticks in my mind the most was one where somebody posted (on here) something about "I should win because my pet newt has shingles". If you search for newt and shingles, you should find it.

Personally, if I thought the winner was going to be chosen by the promoter rather than just a random draw, I would try and make up a little rhyme so that my comment is memorable.

mrsHall2b

some companies use it to get funny replies

i remember one where you could win shoes and they wanted the best reason someone should win the shoes and the funniest one would win, some people tried the boohoo type entries but then there where some genuinely funny ones (they didn't have to be true either) that was quite good, it was creative.

emmjay11

mrsHall2b wrote: »

some companies use it to get funny replies

i remember one where you could win shoes and they wanted the best reason someone should win the shoes and the funniest one would win, some people tried the boohoo type entries but then there where some genuinely funny ones (they didn't have to be true either) that was quite good, it was creative.

I totally understand if that's what the promoter is requiring!

My annoyance is when it is not required and people do it to get sympathy in the hope of winning.

Another example i've been alerted to is on programmes like 'X' factor and such. Surely the programme is about "talent" ahem! and not about what happened to poor aunt martha! but yet it's featured in the build up and surprise surprise that contestant gets through to the next round.

soloman4475

I can see your point...but I doubt someone would lie/make up something like that. If you have a look at the 5 replies to that post - they all seem pretty genuine!

I-Owe-You

Not harsh at all! If I was a promotor and it was a 'best entry wins' comp, I'd ignore stuff like this. I'm not even sympathetic when watching the XFactor and the sob stories start...

I once see someone post they needed an iPad because their grandfather had just been told they only have weeks to live!

I know, I know, I'm a hard nosed cow...

CheCazzo

soloman4475 wrote: »

I can see your point...but I doubt someone would lie/make up something like that. If you have a look at the 5 replies to that post - they all seem pretty genuine!

I'm afraid if you truly believe this you are hopelessly optimistic and perhaps a little naive about humanity. Some people absolutely WILL make up stuff to get to the head of the queue!

toniq

What people type in reply is their business, who are we to Judge?

If they want to write about suffering, loss etc, let them it might be therapeutic.

I don't pay attention to any of it. Discussing it on threads like this when there is a real chance the person might use this site could be quite upsetting for them.

gizmobenny

I don't normally comment on chat like this. I have a live and let live policy and never try to judge other people. If I'm not in their shoes I have no idea of their experiences... but

I hate these sympathy posts with a vengeance, I'm sure we have all had very rough times and I would absolutely never broadcast them all over Facebook in an attempt to win a competition.

I often wonder what the promotors think when they see such sob stories, even when there are quite trivial prizes

In regards to the newt with shingles.. loved it, If I recall correctly it was posted as a tongue in cheek twist on a competition where there were loads of sob stories.