New to Comping

[DadsDoItRight]

Hi guys I have been looking into comping I would like to be able to say do a half hour every few days. Anybody have any advice for someone new to it. I would like some info on how you guys find the right comps to enter. I have Superlucky di and prizefinder, I would also like info on keeping track of the competitions you enter. Finally, the twitter based comps and email comps do you guys have specific accounts you enter through rather than your main ones?

Thanks all for the reading and I look forward to the advice

 

[AngelaMCGF]

Hi guys I have been looking into comping I would like to be able to say do a half hour every few days. Anybody have any advice for someone new to it. I would like some info on how you guys find the right comps to enter. I have Superlucky di and prizefinder, I would also like info on keeping track of the competitions you enter. Finally, the twitter based comps and email comps do you guys have specific accounts you enter through rather than your main ones?

Thanks all for the reading and I look forward to the advice

Hi, the one I use when comping is http://www.competitiondatabase.co.uk/ this automatically tracks the ones you have entered, it's a great site. Good luck with the comping.

 

[DadsDoItRight]

Hi, the one I use when comping is http://www.competitiondatabase.co.uk/ this automatically tracks the ones you have entered, it's a great site. Good luck with the comping.

Thank you will check it out

 

[Anna]

Hi, the one I use when comping is http://www.competitiondatabase.co.uk/ this automatically tracks the ones you have entered, it's a great site. Good luck with the comping.

Thanks this looks good. Do you find that it is comprehensive in the competitions list or do you also need to use other sites?

 

[MuchMoreWithLess]

Superlucky Di is great! Think MoneySavingExpert has a good competition section, for finding competitions in the first place. Hollie who blogs at Thrifty Mum has a Facebook group: ThriftyMum Extreme Compers (not just mums!).

 

[Topaz]

I use Money Saving too. It's easy to keep track, as you have a tick and cross system on each post, so can easily see if you've entered or not. That's the only method that I use to keep track. I did try keeping a spreadsheet once, but it became too much of a chore as I enter hundreds a day. Plus looking at that great long list and not winning any of them was demoralising to say the least. Now I just enter and forget about them. It's a hobby that I enjoy. Any wins are a bonus.
I only have one email addy, which I use for everything. I have a robust filter system in place so that anything important gets filtered into the appropriate box and anything else (spam/newsletters etc) just needs a quick scan through before deleting.
I have a separate cheap and cheerful mobile purely for comping. This means that my personal phone is just that - personal. I also have all telephone numbers registered with the Telephone Preference Service, to stop cold calls. I'm careful to tick/untick the do not phone/email/annoy me boxes and rarely get junk calls. Maybe one every few months.
Good luck with your new hobby. Any questions, just shout

 

[Anna]

I use Money Saving too. It's easy to keep track, as you have a tick and cross system on each post, so can easily see if you've entered or not. That's the only method that I use to keep track. I did try keeping a spreadsheet once, but it became too much of a chore as I enter hundreds a day. Plus looking at that great long list and not winning any of them was demoralising to say the least. Now I just enter and forget about them. It's a hobby that I enjoy. Any wins are a bonus.
I only have one email addy, which I use for everything. I have a robust filter system in place so that anything important gets filtered into the appropriate box and anything else (spam/newsletters etc) just needs a quick scan through before deleting.
I have a separate cheap and cheerful mobile purely for comping. This means that my personal phone is just that - personal. I also have all telephone numbers registered with the Telephone Preference Service, to stop cold calls. I'm careful to tick/untick the do not phone/email/annoy me boxes and rarely get junk calls. Maybe one every few months.
Good luck with your new hobby. Any questions, just shout

Thanks for all these tips! I think having a separate number for competitions is a great idea and something I need to do. My only concern was that when I am abroad and if am unable to take a call, what if I miss out on a win. But I'm hoping they would at least email in that scenario.

 

[Topaz]

The vast majority of wins are notified by email or letter. I think I've only had a handful come by phone in all of my years (decades) of comping. Even notifications of prizes worth thousands have been emailed. There's only a few comps where you would miss out if you didn't answer the phone, and those are usually radio ones where they are done live on air and if you don't answer, they move onto somebody else - I don't do those ones

 

[DadsDoItRight]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

 

[maisiemog]

I use loquax and must admit I do subscribe to the compers news magazine. Almost all my winnings come from that nowadays. If you like books then good reads have a Giveaway section. I win a couple of books a month off that.

 

[marriedmeeples]

The vast majority of wins are notified by email or letter. I think I've only had a handful come by phone in all of my years (decades) of comping. Even notifications of prizes worth thousands have been emailed. There's only a few comps where you would miss out if you didn't answer the phone, and those are usually radio ones where they are done live on air and if you don't answer, they move onto somebody else - I don't do those ones

Some don't even contact you and stuff turns up randomly on your doorstep as I found out in the one comp I entered accidentally hehe

 

[Topaz]

Some don't even contact you and stuff turns up randomly on your doorstep as I found out in the one comp I entered accidentally hehe

Yup, that's true - I had a flat screen TV just turn up one day. I had no idea where it had come from as there was no note inside. I hope that it wasn't anything *clears throat* embarrassing and if so the neighbours didn't see it

 

[Anna]

The vast majority of wins are notified by email or letter. I think I've only had a handful come by phone in all of my years (decades) of comping. Even notifications of prizes worth thousands have been emailed. There's only a few comps where you would miss out if you didn't answer the phone, and those are usually radio ones where they are done live on air and if you don't answer, they move onto somebody else - I don't do those ones

Perfect, thanks very much!

 

[Anna]

Yup, that's true - I had a flat screen TV just turn up one day. I had no idea where it had come from as there was no note inside. I hope that it wasn't anything *clears throat* embarrassing and if so the neighbours didn't see it

Must be a very nice surprise to just have things turn up, I'd love that!

 

[Topaz]

Must be a very nice surprise to just have things turn up, I'd love that!

It is. The confusing ones are when the promoter orders the prizes from, for example, Amazon, giving your details. You then get an email saying thank you for your order/your order has been dispatched. You know that you haven't ordered anything, so you go to your account to see what's going on and it shows nothing, cos it didn't go through your account. The first few times that it happened, I got worried that my account had been hacked, but I'm used to it now.

 

[DadsDoItRight]

It is. The confusing ones are when the promoter orders the prizes from, for example, Amazon, giving your details. You then get an email saying thank you for your order/your order has been dispatched. You know that you haven't ordered anything, so you go to your account to see what's going on and it shows nothing, cos it didn't go through your account. The first few times that it happened, I got worried that my account had been hacked, but I'm used to it now.

Does this happen regularly for you wow.

 

[DadsDoItRight]

@bantavicky and @Topaz How many competitions a week do you guys enter?

 

[Topaz]

Does this happen regularly for you wow.

Not regularly, (I'm not that lucky) but it does happen occasionally. I enter well over a hundred comps a day, so probably nearly a thousand a week.

 

[DadsDoItRight]

100 a day wow thats some dedication how long does that take you

 

[Topaz]

A couple of hours in the evening while I'm watching the telly. I use RoboForm to fill forms and have folders for daily competitions and lotteries, so I make the most of the time.