Who Actually Uses The Competitions Part of OzBargain?

witsa on 22/07/2019 - 11:32

To me, have always had it minimized. I figure the chances of winning are so slim and I can't be bothered signing up for a whole bunch of spam or Facebook liking a whole bunch of products.

I also don't understand why someone would advertise a competition on here unless they were the one running the competition. In which case, you're just looking at a bunch of ads. Like if you were going to enter a competition, why would you advertise it and decrease your chances of winning?

But do people use it? Has anyone actually won any competition they came across on ozbargain?

Site Discussion

Comments

  • sw00p on 22/07/2019 - 11:39
    +15

    I browse it when I have free time.

    I've won a Weber BabyQ and a 2TB External SSD.

    The people who advertise them are just community-minded legends (looking at you gnv9!)

    • witsa on 22/07/2019 - 11:55

      that's actually quite impressive to have won that much.

      How many competitions do you think you enter say… per week?

      • sw00p on 22/07/2019 - 12:45
        +6

        Oh I've probably only entered around 30-40 competitions all up, and only a couple over the last year.

        I only enter 25 WOL competitions, because that Undergraduate Degree in Creative Writing gives me an edge ;)

  • indium on 22/07/2019 - 11:45

    Sometimes I enter comps that appear at the bottom of the home page using a junk email to avoid spam, unless it's a reputable company I avoid giving out my mobile number

  • serpserpserp on 22/07/2019 - 11:53
    +1

    I do. Usually when no good bargains have been posted for awhile.

    I have never won anything though.

    Like if you were going to enter a competition, why would you advertise it and decrease your chances of winning?

    I have extended family members that have been competition hounds from the early 1980's they won a lot more stuff back then they do these days, but for them they love doing it and convincing others to give it a go. Hell they even enter other people into the draws for them! It is just that kind of community I guess.

  • tallkid123 on 22/07/2019 - 12:13
    +7

    I've won a fair few comps over the last 10 years. Nothing huge though. Just video games, movies, cameras, movie tickets, 200x Mars Bars etc.

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/413623
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/416447
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/396854
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/399384
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/421119

    You're correct. Winning is hard. I won't change your mind here. I am just another person trying to get free stuff. I don't care if you enter or not enter the comp. I just don't want you to win in my place.

    Luck based competitions are practically impossible (I've only ever won 2) and the alternative 25 Words or Less often require effort to write anything memorable. Social media requirements have also risen a fair bit over the last 5 years. When I started in 2009, it was simply send an email or just use the contact form provided.

    Also, the good people who post up comps do so for the benefit of the community and to provide their referral code/portal so that people who enter using it contribute another entry for the referrer themselves.

    • Zazer on 22/07/2019 - 13:32

      Wow, nice mate!

  • rambutann on 22/07/2019 - 12:21
    +3

    I once won 2 return flights to Slowbart on Qantas. That was pretty good.

  • spackbace on 22/07/2019 - 12:32
    +12

    I also don't understand why someone would advertise a competition on here unless they were the one running the competition. In which case, you're just looking at a bunch of ads. Like if you were going to enter a competition, why would you advertise it and decrease your chances of winning?

    Why do people post deals? Post price errors? Because they like to contribute to a site that they have benefited from.

    I've had 131 wins from this site, either from ones I've posted or from posts that others have posted. Varying from small stuff to a new Dyson and a new Xbox one. I've backed off over the last year or 2 compared to how much I used to enter.

    Competitions Won
    Win a Nissan Pathfinder Worth $63,375 +/- a Share of $149,000 Worth of Gift Cards/In-Centre Prizes from Jones Lang La Salle — 1 prize
    Win Multiple Instant Win Cash Prizes (US $0.25 to US $100) + US $500 Prize Draw @ TopCashBack USA — 1 prize
    Win a Share of 11156 Prizes Inc a Jeep, Fiji Holday and More from Zuru (No Purchase Needed) — 2 prizes
    Win 1 of 2470 Breville 4 Slice Bit More Toasters Worth $79.95 Each [Purchase of Lawsons Bread] — 1 prize
    Instant Win 0.10p to £100 and £1,500 Prize Draw @ TopCashBack UK — 1 prize
    Win Instant Cash (from $0.25 to $100) + $500 Prize Draw @ Top Cashback — 2 prizes
    Win 1 of 120 Prizes of McDonald's Merchandise from McDonald's — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 10 AFL Grand Final Experiences Worth Up to $5,465 +/- Other Prizes from Coca-Cola Amatil [With Purchase] — 1 prize
    Win a Share of 4,300 Powerade Soccer Balls Worth $25 from Coca-Cola [Purchase Powerade] — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 45,000 Instant Win Cash Prizes (from £0.10 to £100) from TopCashBack UK — 1 prize
    McDonald's Monopoly $276,000,000 in Prizes — 1 in 5 Instant Win, Collect to Win & Chance to Win — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 60 Bondi Burgers (1 Prize Awarded Per Weekday for 12 Weeks) from Oporto [Post Funny Comment/Gif on Facebook] — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 50 The Dark Tower Movie Double Passes (Instantly) or a $3K Sony Entertainment Package (Draw) from Superdry — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 200 $200 Tony & Guy Vouchers from Johnson & Johnson Pacific — 1 prize
    Win a Trip for 2 to Japan, or Various Vouchers @ Boost Juice (FB Messenger Req) — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 979 Double Passes to a Preview Screening of Alien: Convenant Worth $44 from Microsoft — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 1,000 Cadbury Prize Packs Worth $20 from TENPlay — 1 prize
    Win a Share of $55,000 Worth of Instant Win EFTPOS Gift Cards from The Wrigley Company [Purchase Chewing Gum] — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 8 HS110 Wi-Fi Smart Plugs with Energy Monitoring Worth $59.95 from TP-Link — 1 prize
    Win a $10, $20 or $50 eBay Voucher or 10 Items to Sell for Free from eBay (New and Inactive Users) — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 20 $100 iTunes Vouchers [Registered OFX Customers Only] — 1 prize
    Win a Share of Over $1,000,000 Worth of Instant Prizes Daily & 1 of 5 $10,000 Ticketmaster Gift Cards from Optus — 3 prizes
    Win 1 of 100 GH Mumm 3L Jeroboams Worth $419.99 Each [Purchase Any Mumm Product from Participating BWS Store + 25wol] — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 100 Double Passes to a Preview Screening of The Film 'La La Land' from Daily Mail — 1 prize
    Win $2,330+ by Collecting Xmas Treats @ TopCashBack (Answers inside) — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 32 $100 Prepaid EFTPOS Cards Daily and/or 1 of 4 $5,000 Prepaid EFTPOS Cards from EFTPOS Australia — 1 prize
    Instant Win 1 of 174450x BCF Gift Cards ($5, $10, $20), or $5,000 Major Prize - Play Fishing Game — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 80 Double Passes to RnB Fridays Live from Chemist Warehouse/My Chemist — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 200 DVD Copies of Russell Coight's All Aussie Adventures - Series 1 & 2 from Rent The Roo — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 61x $25 Gift Cards (1/Day), or 1x $100 Gift Card @ The Reject Shop (Daily Entry) — 1 prize
    McDonald's Monopoly - 1 in 5 Instant Win + Collect and Win — 1 prize
    Win 4 Tickets to See Monster Jam — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 3500 'Pepper Hackers' (WiFi Blocker) Worth $70 Each (100/Day) @ Dolmio (Buy 1x Specially Marked Jar) — 1 prize
    Scratch and Win $10, $20, $50 or $200 Store Credit from The Good Guys — 1 prize
    Instant Win 1 of 2000x Ice Break 500ml, or Win Sydney Trip for 2 Inc Hot Lap - Play Ice Break Challenge Game (PC or Phone) — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 300x Double Passes to Warcraft @ Acer — 1 prize
    Win a Family Holiday to Gold Coast, or 1 of 100x Family Movie Passes - Buy 2x Dolmio @ IGA/FoodWorks etc — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 6 Holidays/Other Major Prizes, or 1 of 950 Instant Win Prizes - Purchase Kit-Kat — 1 prize
    Win a Trip to Spain, a Trip to New York or 1 of 2690 Instant Win Prizes [Purchase Doritos] — 2 prizes
    Win 1 of 1200 Carman's Kitchen Super Berry Sampler Packs — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 1680 Round Towels (5/Hr) for Each Store - Buy Ovi from Caltex & BP — 1 prize
    [WA] Win 1 of 1000 Summer Adventures from The West Australian — 1 prize
    Win a Free 'Red Royale' or 'Pure Eden' Smoothie from Boost Juice - 400/Day — 4 prizes
    Win 1 of 660x $200 Lorna Jane Gift Cards - Buy Blackmores @ Woolworths — 1 prize
    Win Assorted Prizes from Roller Fortune Instant Win — 2 prizes
    Win 1 of 20,160 Buckets of Chicken from KFC — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 2,200 Gold Class Double Passes from Pedestrian.tv and Acuvue — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 400x Gatorade Cricket Coolers - Buy 3x Gatorade @ BP — 1 prize
    Win Various Daily Instant Prizes with Maccas Daily Prize Alarm (iOS/Android App) — 5 prizes
    Win a Limited Edition Halo 5: Guardians Xbox One Prize Pack & Pizza Bundle from Domino's Pizza Mogul — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 105 ARIA Red Carpet Experiences or Concert Double Passes - Coca Cola Come Alive — 1 prize
    Win a Unique Stay at a Hidden House from Airbnb or 1 of 15 Dyson V6 Absolute Vacuums (Daily) from Dyson — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 100 Experiences from Adrenalin.com.au — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 1100 Swarovski Bracelets Worth $50 - Spend $15 on Johnson & Johnson @ IGA/Supa IGA etc — 1 prize
    [WA] Instant Win Wiggles Tickets Inc Meet, Merchandise - Buy Brownes Yoghurt — 1 prize
    Win 30% Cashback on Hard Drives from Seagate - 30 Prizes/Week over 6 Weeks — 1 prize
    Salsa's Eat, Scratch, Win. 1 in 2 Wins [Purchase Required] — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 25x $3120 Gift Cards, or 1 of 1680x $100 Gift Cards - Buy 2x Cadbury @ Fuel Stations — 2 prizes
    Win 1 of 1,000 Garnier Miracle Sleep Creams Worth a Total of $19,990 from Garnier — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 5000 Virtual Visa Cards ($10 - $1000) from Schweppes — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 25 Pixels Merchandise Packs from Scoopon — 1 prize
    Win Mad Max Game Hoodies and T-Shirts from EB Games — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 250 $10 iTunes Gift Cards from Scoopon — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 10x XB1+Kinect or Instant Win 100x $100 - Buy Pringles from IGA — 1 prize
    Win "Pitch Perfect 2" or "We Are Your Friends" Prize Packs @ BOOST JUICE — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 2500 Personalised Gatorade Boot Bags - Purchase 2x Gatorade at Woolworths — 1 prize
    Win a Trip to the AFL Grand Final, or 1 or 6858 Instant Win Prizes - Purchase Gatorade — 4 prizes
    Win 1 of 100,960 Prizes Instantly (Food, Vouchers, Movie Tickets, Gift Cards, Holidays, Radio Host Experience) from McDonald's — 5 prizes
    Win 1 of 3 Double Passes to See Blur (Band) in Melbourne/Perth/Sydney from Jack London — 1 prize
    Win Various Gift Cards/Vouchers (Endota Spa, Gold Class Movie, JB Hi-Fi, Netflix, Myer & More) from Birds Eye (Daily Entry) — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 200 $40 Event/Village Cinemas Gift Cards (Instantly) or 1 of 5 $1000 Westfield Gift Cards (2nd Chance Draw) from Foxtel — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 350 $150 Lorna Jane Vouchers (10 Daily) - Purchase Vaalia from IGA — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 3 Trips to Sydney (Valued at $7400), 1 of 5000 $20 iTunes Cards from Woolworths/Cadbury — 1 prize
    $5000 Worth of Instant Win Prizes to Be Won with Paint Place — 4 prizes
    Win 1 of 2,000 1kg Friskies Cat Food Packs @ Coles Flybuys — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 1000 Skull Candy Headphones (Valued at $49.95) - Buy A Pack of 5gum @ Woolworths — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 200 Double Movie Passes from Telstra (Telstra Customers Only) — 1 prize
    Tradies, Win a $50 Coles/Myer Gift Card from All Trades Cover — 1 prize
    WA - Win Tickets to Local AFL Matches from Thirsty Camel — 1 prize
    Win $25/ $50/ $100/ $1000 Virtual Visa Cards from McDonald's Drop into Maccas 2 App — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 100 Lynx Styling Gel Foam (Valued at $10ea) from Coles — 1 prize
    Aquarium of WA (AQWA) - Win a Family Ocean Pass (4x Family Tix for a Year) - Drawn Monthly — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 224 $100 Eftpos Cards - Purchase 2x Pepsi Products @ Caltex — 1 prize
    Coles / Coles Express - Win 1 of 5000 $10 Coles Gift Cards - Min. Spend $5 on Cadbury — 1 prize
    Coles - Win 1 of 100 Kit Kat Whirl Block Packs — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 323 Double Passes to Future Music Festival - Purchase 2x Pringles from Woolworths — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 50 Pepsi Max TV Coolers Worth $456 Each - Purchase Pepsi etc from Woolworths Petrol — 1 prize
    Win a Clipsal 500 Experience Grand Prize, 1 of 2307 Instant/Minor Prizes from Farmers Union — 1 prize
    WA - Win Tickets to Oz Rock 2015 from Thirsty Camel (100 Double Passes) — 1 prize
    Win Tickets to "What We Did on Our Holiday" Movie Screenings — 1 prize
    Win an Apple iPad, T-Shirt, Earphones or Sunglasses from Pandora — 1 prize
    Hoyts Freeze Your Seat - Find Locations for Free Movie Tickets (Excludes NT & Tas) — 2 prizes
    Win a $10/$20 Gift Voucher (for Many Retailers) from Optus — 2 prizes
    Instant Win Various Prizes with Coke "Colour Your Summer" (Requires Smartphone) — 4 prizes
    Win 1 of 5 Bottles of Jack Daniels Holiday Select Every Day — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 50 BIC Shaver Packs from Coles — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 30 Natio Jet Set Go Men's Skincare Packs from Discount Drug Stores + a tip for tomorrow — 1 prize
    Win a Domino's Voucher for a Traditional/Value/Chef's Best Pizza and 2 Garlic Breads from Tap King (1 in 2 Wins) — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 450 Four Pass to Disney’s Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day — 1 prize
    Instant Win over 1500 Prizes (Total Prize Pool $74,500) from Tennis Australia — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 10 BeefEater BUGG BBQs or 1 of 1000 Stubby Holders from Beef and Lamb — 1 prize
    Win $5000 Instantly Everyday, a $50 E-Voucher Every Hour or 10 Coke Rewards Tokens Every Minute from Coke Rewards — 1 prize

    • unco on 22/07/2019 - 12:45

      Wow what a good haul!
      Is there a way to extract a list of your wins after you flag them or did you have to list them manually?

      • hamza23 on 22/07/2019 - 13:19
        +6

        When you mark a competition as 'entered' and/or 'winner' it will appear in my account > settings > lists > competitions. Which is where Spackbace's list is copy pasted from.

        You'll also get told how many comps you've entered and how many you've won.

        • unco on 22/07/2019 - 13:24

          Thanks hamza, I didn't look hard enough :)

    • Almost Banned on 22/07/2019 - 12:47

      I get it, but deals are not generally a zero-sum, whereas most competitions are.
      Many people can buy cheap eneloops when they are on sale.
      Only one person can win the grand prize.

    • serpserpserp on 22/07/2019 - 13:06

      Crikey.

    • kahn on 22/07/2019 - 17:11
      +3

      Now list them in order of value for your chance to win an up-vote.

      • spackbace on 22/07/2019 - 17:14
        +1

        Hmmmm

        Let me think

        Still thinking

        Hmmm

        Nah

  • unco on 22/07/2019 - 12:33
    +5

    I won 2 return flights to London on Qantas. I think I've used all my luck up though, doesn't stop me trying. Gotta be in it to win it.
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/159768

  • humdingaling on 22/07/2019 - 12:50
    +6

    only thing i ever won is more junk mail

  • John Kimble on 22/07/2019 - 13:19

    I also don't understand why someone would advertise a competition on here unless they were the one running the competition. In which case, you're just looking at a bunch of ads. Like if you were going to enter a competition, why would you advertise it and decrease your chances of winning?

    They can win a $100 gift card every month

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/438236

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 22/07/2019 - 13:22

    I've started entering a few. I've used a secondary email, as well as another phone number, that I have in a backup phone.

  • crentist on 22/07/2019 - 13:35

    My uncle (overseas) used to be a competition fiend. I don't think he cared if they were big or small, he'd just enter pretty much everything.
    I remember visiting as a kid and as were were driving to his place we heard him calling in to some local radio and winning a CD (he had thousands of CDs). Most stuff he'd sell, but he would also have a bunch of cool spare shit around. I got my Playstation1 from him, because he had 4 of them sitting around.

    Over the years he won some bigger things like holidays, TVs, and even a Smart car, and 2 WRXs.

    It was almost like a full time job though. I visited one summer when there was some big radio competition on. Some kind of matching game, where they would announce prizes with numbers. When a pair was announced, you'd call in and say both numbers, and win.
    For weeks, this crappy pop radio station was constantly on playing annoying music, we carried a list of announced prizes anywhere we went, and before they'd even start announcing anything we'd had 5 phones calling in.
    While I was there I think we scored a stereo or something.

    Fun stuff, lot of work. Keeping an eye on out for good deals can be hard enough

  • altomic on 22/07/2019 - 13:44
    +9

    I've posted 800+ competitions.

    entered 3 times that many (probably- I don't always tick "entered").

    have only ever won a pair of tickets to a kids movie.

    though I guess the real prize for me is being a part of those ozbargainers winning from those comps I posted….(yeah keep telling yourself that)

  • Bargain80 on 22/07/2019 - 15:53

    How do you guys protect your privacy when entering online comp?

    Using on primary email address is a must.
    But how about the question about birthday date?
    Do you enter a dummy date? Is there a risk they will ask ID if you're claiming the winning prize.

    Some comps sometimes ask for address or other personal detail.

    • spackbace on 22/07/2019 - 17:15
      +3

      These are my steps:

      • Check store/site is reputable
      • Tin-foil hat comes off
      • Enter details
      • Bargain80 on 23/07/2019 - 08:57

        then put your tin-foil hat on again?

  • Sweet3st on 22/07/2019 - 17:15

    The comps pages are worth checking for 'competitions' like the Cadbury one which are easy money :) https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/460154

  • Bystander on 22/07/2019 - 19:49
    +1

    There y go. I didn't know it was so popular.

    My POV is that I've never won before and couldn't be bothered entering more comps and sacrificing privacy.

    I'd prefer not to see any comps on the daily email at all. But when I asked the mods if Competitions can be removed from my daily email because I find it annoying the answer was no.

  • Whisper Quiet on 23/07/2019 - 08:15

    Competitions have brought me nothing but thousands of spam email and non stop telemarketers. Definitely don't use your main phone or email when entering comps!!
    To me I don't think it's worth it for a slim chance of actually getting to win something. All these spam calls sometimes over 10 a day and emails over 20 a day it makes it so frustrating and annoying seeing it happen all the time. Constantly having to unsubscribe and block numbers.

  • ozboygsl on 23/07/2019 - 09:27

    often. havent won anything yet, but hey,whats the harm?

    • Hybroid on 23/07/2019 - 13:14

      As long as you don't use your real contact details. They're literally designed to harvest data and bombard you with crap.

  • mj always rules on 23/07/2019 - 11:31
    +2

    I'm only on ozbargain for the competitions. Enter lots (only for things I actually want) and win lots. Only enter competitions run by a reputable brand or website.

    I'm very grateful to the people who post them.

  • Hirolol on 23/07/2019 - 13:07
    +1

    A few years ago I entered heaps of them, using my real phone number and real email address.

    To this day I still get annoying phone calls and spam emails.

    Don’t be a noob like me.

  • cfuse on 23/07/2019 - 19:39

    Me, all the time. Haven't won a damn thing (unless spam counts).

  • Pinkmoose on 02/10/2019 - 09:25
    Merged from Are You Lucky with Competitions?

    Hi Everyone,
    I have been entering every competition I can, which has been posted on the Oz Bargain Comps page for about 6 months or so, without much success. I know that others have been lucky and even when looking at the winners page, there are Oz Bargain members who have won multiple times.
    I know it is all about chance and I'm not trying to take away other people chance of winning, but I wanted to know if there are any strategies that people are using?
    Also I was wondering how long you it took before you were lucky and won a prize?
    Thanks :-)

    • BertieBrown on 02/10/2019 - 10:28

      It's all just a matter of chance, and statistics (unless theoretically the competition is somehow rigged). Say a competition has 100 entries, and you enter it 20 times, which likely represents a lot of time, and effort on your part, you still only have a chance of 1 in 5 of actually winning. 1 in 5, even though you've made 20 entries. On your part, 20 entries seem like a lot, I would expect that it would for me if I was doing the same thing, and yet still, theoretically if the competition was run 5 consecutive times you would likely win once. It could be more, it could be less, but 1 in 5 is the odds.

      So, either those other members are somehow increasing their odds of winning by representing themselves with more than one entry, or they've been exposed to a larger number of competitions.

      For instance, take the competition with 20,000 entries, and you enter once. To have good odds of winning at a single competition, you would need to enter 20,000 competitions with a single entry.

      Occasionally, you will see competitions where one can increase their number of entries by using Facebook et al, which might add an additional number of chances of being drawn.

      Or, entering competitions with more than a single prize would also increase your odds of winning.

      But, the bottom line is that unfortunately with most competitions because the prize pool is so limited, and the number of entrants to significant, the odds of success are just not with us.

      The only real method I can see, unless as I say the competition is somehow rigged, which again I think is largely unrealistic, is to simply increase the number of entries.

    • Skramit on 02/10/2019 - 11:54

      Never won anything in my life except my wife's heart.

    • profar on 02/10/2019 - 12:18

      You got to find a quite one not highly publicised like on here or try Macca's 1 in 5 wins normally something crap lol .

  • princekael on 19/10/2019 - 05:36

    I rarely use it because the odds of winning are so low and I hate giving up my private details to a hundred different websites. If I do use it, I'll use a separate email address I made just for spam and contests. Many ask for a phone number though so I skip them.

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