I started doing a competition from Vedett to win a cement mixer! Unfortunately I never got round to entering it (having the grandchildren for a week meant no spare time).
You had to work out how many miles the cement mixer had travelled on a tour of the UK. Each day the details of which bar/pubs it would be visiting were listed. The closing date was very close to the end of the tour which meant you had to keep up to date on where the truck was going. It was not an easy competition and I think a guess would have been as good as working it out carefully as not enough information was given. Did it use the motorways, what about toll roads? Where did they stop overnight and was this mileage to be included? Typically, though the competition closed over three week ago, it is still on the website. I will have to keep going back to see if they publish the answer.
I don't mind a competition I have to work hard for, in fact I like them as they don't get many entries. But I think if it is complicated then all the facts should be available. It is easy just to use Roboform and send off hundreds of entries into basic draws but that means that lots of others are doing it as well.
Another out of the ordinary competition at the moment is on Auto Trader. I wont be doing this one as I cannot work out cryptic clues. Also I am not keen on daily competitions because if I can't do it one day I feel put out.
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Competitions
Thought I would do a bit of research into the world of competitions and was quite surprised at how many companies are anti 'compers'.
There are so many sites now that give you all the details of competitions that it is easy to enter hundreds a week. I use one of these sites (Loquax), and find it very useful. It tells me what the prize is, when the closing date is and what type of competition i.e. tie breaker, photo/video, draw or question to answer. It also allows me to record what competitions I have entered so I don't duplicate my entries.
The trouble is that people are trying to make extra money where ever they can - look at the growth of e-bay. So these people enter every competition they can and if they win a prize they don't want then they can sell it on e-bay.
Unfortunately companies that run competitions are slow to catch on to this type of comper and make it easy for them. It is no good them complaining that the answers to their competitions are published on site like MSE and compers can enter their competition without looking at the rest of the site. Well why don't they change the rules? Why not make the compers look for things, surely it is possible to tell if people have been to web pages other than the competiton.
There are also sites that enter competitions for you. These really annoy me as they give compers a bad name, but again those running the competition just need to write it in the rules - no third party entries, or all entries from unique IP addresses (though that is a pain for those using internet cafes).
I can't understand why companies don't want compers coming to their sites. I have found lots of interesting sites via competitions. There are so many websites for so many different products and services that it is easy for one to get lost, so they should be using every tool available to get noticed. Compers talk on these comping sites about the different companies who run competitions and are quick to praise or condemn so not only do competitions attract more visitors they also get people talking about the companies/products.
Competitons that rely on votes is a subject for another day.
There are so many sites now that give you all the details of competitions that it is easy to enter hundreds a week. I use one of these sites (Loquax), and find it very useful. It tells me what the prize is, when the closing date is and what type of competition i.e. tie breaker, photo/video, draw or question to answer. It also allows me to record what competitions I have entered so I don't duplicate my entries.
The trouble is that people are trying to make extra money where ever they can - look at the growth of e-bay. So these people enter every competition they can and if they win a prize they don't want then they can sell it on e-bay.
Unfortunately companies that run competitions are slow to catch on to this type of comper and make it easy for them. It is no good them complaining that the answers to their competitions are published on site like MSE and compers can enter their competition without looking at the rest of the site. Well why don't they change the rules? Why not make the compers look for things, surely it is possible to tell if people have been to web pages other than the competiton.
There are also sites that enter competitions for you. These really annoy me as they give compers a bad name, but again those running the competition just need to write it in the rules - no third party entries, or all entries from unique IP addresses (though that is a pain for those using internet cafes).
I can't understand why companies don't want compers coming to their sites. I have found lots of interesting sites via competitions. There are so many websites for so many different products and services that it is easy for one to get lost, so they should be using every tool available to get noticed. Compers talk on these comping sites about the different companies who run competitions and are quick to praise or condemn so not only do competitions attract more visitors they also get people talking about the companies/products.
Competitons that rely on votes is a subject for another day.
What is this blog about?
I wonder if people will find my meanderings interesting. Really it is just to fill in the time when I should, for example, be doing my VAT return. Actually I usually spend a few hours each afternoon entering competitions, but have won so little this year I am getting bored of doing them. Don't know what others feel about investing 5-6 hours a week to entering competitions for little return - this year I have won £250 camcorder, two CDs and a box of cereals. I have won more in the past but it is over two years since I have won anything decent. Still I do have this time spare as my work doesn't completely fill my time but I need to be here in the office.
Weather today in the Highlands is c**p. Dogs have come back from their walk really wet and shaken themselves all over the office. At least the mess is not at home. They really need a brush but don't seem to have got home early enough lately to feel up to doing it.
Will have to go back out in the rain later as need to post a letter. Last payment on my car and the finance company have taken the wrong amount out my account. So recorded delivery letter on its way. Why do they make mistakes? It is a strange amount different, £81.17.
It is six months today since I lost my lovely German Shepherd dog. She is buried in the garden where she loved to lie. Don't think she would be out there today in all this rain.
Weather today in the Highlands is c**p. Dogs have come back from their walk really wet and shaken themselves all over the office. At least the mess is not at home. They really need a brush but don't seem to have got home early enough lately to feel up to doing it.
Will have to go back out in the rain later as need to post a letter. Last payment on my car and the finance company have taken the wrong amount out my account. So recorded delivery letter on its way. Why do they make mistakes? It is a strange amount different, £81.17.
It is six months today since I lost my lovely German Shepherd dog. She is buried in the garden where she loved to lie. Don't think she would be out there today in all this rain.
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