Any compers out there?

Luminary on 07/07/2014 - 02:31

Anyone else into comping? Yes, as in entering competitions. Haha. (Loving the new comp section btw) It's my unofficial hobby. It's pretty fun and I sometimes make money of selling unwanted prizes. Also it feels like Christmas when you get unexpected prizes in the mail!

My best wins so far are:

  • $1,000 from a tweet
  • iPad
  • ASUS (I think) netbook
  • Various gift cards valued between $100-$250

For those who enter competitions, do you guys have any strategies? I usually only win those ones that are pure luck as opposed to the '25 words or less' ones. Generally I try poems and puns, but I feel like everyone probably does them to try stand out so it probably actually doesn't stand out anymore. Getting back into it after seeing the new comps section on OzBargain so I'd really love to hear stories about your wins or strategies. My ultimate goal is to win an overseas trip.. Then I might "retire" haha.

General Discussion

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 07/07/2014 - 02:38
    +1

    i won a years supply of cadbury creme eggs when i was 5

  • sandsay on 07/07/2014 - 07:30

    I thought it's short for computing. I used to love too. Kinda like a lucky draw, or gambling.

  • Hellfire on 07/07/2014 - 09:36

    Most of the "25 words or less" competitions are just random anyway. Unless it is being published or promoted most organisers can't be bothered reading through all the responses so just choose one at random (as long as it is reasonable).

  • Pooky1 on 07/07/2014 - 09:37

    Another comper here! Been comping for more than 10 years but I have less time for it now as I have a family and finding it harder and harder to win anything major. I tend to enter for smaller prizes from local Facebook/Instagram sites, Ive found thats where most of my wins have come from lately. I love the 25wol but they are a bit hit and miss. Sometimes the winner's answer makes no sense and it still wins and other times it is so clever it hurts my brain lol. All the best with your comping hope you win something big soon!

  • neil on 07/07/2014 - 09:44
    +11

    I wasn't a comper until we decided to spiff up the competition section. Now I am and have so far won a bunch of free products from Coles, free movie tix to Maleficent and a Uniqlo fleece. A few tips:

    • Create/use an email address specifically for entering comps.
    • Create/use a Facebook account specifically for entering comps.
    • Install Lastpass which fills in your competition details (address, email etc) into each comp.
    • The harder it is to enter a competition, the better chances. So creative comps will have less entrants.
    • To track comps you have entered, you can click the Mark as Entered button. You can then see all of the comps you have entered in your account (under Lists) as well as being marked in the comps area.
    • moocher on 07/07/2014 - 15:19

      Wasn't a comper even when I was revamping the OzBargain competitions section…then started entering some after neil started winning stuff. :P No wins so far though.

    • tonka on 07/07/2014 - 19:16
      +1

      Thanks for all the comp posts btw

  • nubzy on 07/07/2014 - 13:46

    Use to be right into it and won quite a bit. Hate that so many comps are moving to facebook now where they are heavily promoted and get a lot more entries. Only enter now and then but it's a good way to spend a spare hour and hope for a win.

  • coolhead on 07/07/2014 - 14:04

    i thought all the comps are actually a scam… as i never won any..
    whr do u find legit comp?

    • neil on 07/07/2014 - 14:14

      At the top of every page, Competitions. If the competition is based in Australia, then it's most likely legit and will probably have permits (when applicable). Anything based overseas, you should make sure the company is legit. Again, another reason to use a separate email/Facebook.

    • nubzy on 07/07/2014 - 14:16

      They are not a scam, just know that the chances of winning are very small. the more you enter the more chances you have.

      • Luminary on 07/07/2014 - 15:02

        Yeah. My friends always ask me how I win so much. I say "enter a shitload, win a few". The ratio of entering to wins is not that high but I usually just go on a mini comp-entering spree when I'm procrastinating or not doing anything any more productive.

  • ChronoSphinx on 07/07/2014 - 14:17

    Hi taniiah. I haven't comped lately because I've been tired after work and haven't been bothered entering.

    Comping can be fun when you win or frustrating otherwise. I don't go for the big $ prizes because I find they're too hard to win. Generally my wins range from $30 - $60. Mainly movie tix and beauty products. The biggest prize I won is probably a double pass to the Aus Open Men's Final a few years ago now but couldn't go so I never claimed the prize.

    I don't really have a strategy - for the lucky draw ones I usually enter when they are giving >20 prizes. For 25 words or less, I try poems and puns too. I generally hear about them via social media like facebook. Don't have instagram.

    What are your strategies?

  • timmypete on 07/07/2014 - 14:22

    I'm interested to know how k, hamza and neil find so many comps to enter.

    • neil on 07/07/2014 - 14:36
      +1

      I check some of the competitions sites (lottos, competitions.com.au, competitionsguide.com.au etc.). There are a huge amount of competitions posted on those sites so its matter of going through them and finding which ones I like or think have good chances. I also tend to verify the information posted via the T&Cs as as sometimes they don't match up.

      Once you start entering these comps, you start to get lots of newsletters from companies which advertise their comps. I also see some on my Twitter feeds as well.

      My hope is that people will start posting comps on here. k & hamza are doing a great job. I've won a couple of things from hamza posted comps.

      • hamza23 on 08/07/2014 - 02:01
        +1

        I just wanted my badge haha :D

        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/badge/19

        Nah I wasn't much for competitions either, but with the new comp section I like popping in there now and then, I won some movie tickets last week from one Neil posted :) I'm more for those high chance of winning but low prize value (like movie tickets or the coles ones), rather than the 1 in a million win a holiday around the world type of comps.

        The voting system and other recent enhancements makes it even more interesting.

  • Luminary on 07/07/2014 - 15:00

    Definitely agree on a separate email for comping! All that spam. Haha.

    I mostly find stuff from http://compingclub.com/. Currently there are 3000+ comps with over $67m worth of prizes. There's actually so many prizes out there just waiting to be won.

    I find Twitter competitions are by far the most easiest to win. Usually it's a retweet or only like ~100 characters after mentioning the handle that's hosting the comp and the comping hashtags. Quite a few comps go on a weekly basis as well.

    I generally only enter comps that require less than 2 mins of attention, have more than ~10 prizes, win by playing games or instant win ones. I sometimes enter big comps if I really want to win the prize. Someone has to win right?

    Also, if you want to see a movie, try search "movie title win" and a few comps usually come up. There's always a lot of movie competitions going on.

  • tonka on 07/07/2014 - 19:19

    Whats the thoughts on comps that require Name , address, DOB to enter.

    Is that too much info in the age of identity theft?

    • Luminary on 07/07/2014 - 22:16
      +1

      I usually only enter competitions from established brands and use my PO Box when possible. Some competitions have legit looking T&Cs but the website is essentially purely a website to win things. I'm generally wary of those ones. I've never had any issues in the past 5 years. Hope I didn't jinx that.

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