In It To Win It

I love entering competitions. There are hundreds of other people who love entering competitions and thanks to the internet we get to 'meet' each other.

"Get down to the supermarket - there's a form to win a car"

We tip each other off, swap forms, help out with answers and we all have one thing in common - we are all optimistic. I have found compers come from all backgrounds but the one thing we share is the sense that 'it could be us' and quite often it is! Our glass is always half full and we wouldn't be surprised if the wine waiter turned up with a free refill.

Every morning there is the possibility that amongst the bills and junk mail there may be an LWE (long white envelope - the envelope of choice it appears when 'congratulations' are sent out) or a jiffy bag containing who  knows what. And if there isn't one today, there may be one tomorrow.

Entering competitions isn't about greed strangely enough. Yes the desire to win a prize, something for free, is a great incentive but it is that abiding hope and faith in 'something good' that defines the true comper (a person who enters competitions).

I tell everyone I know about competitions, I collect up entry forms from the supermarkets and post them through my neighbours door. 'But hang on' people ask 'isn't that just increasing the number of entrants and lowering your chances?'. Logically yes, but as I said before this is not about greed and the true comper tends to believe in 'comping karma'.

Comping karma, how to describe it? Comping karma rewards sharing, generosity and I always believe that comping karma will send me the right prize at the right time. I enter competitions for holidays I would not consider booking myself but if the universe thinks it is right, that is when I will win. If I recommend a competition to another person and the universe picks them to win that is just as good as winning myself, and sometimes I swear karma rewards me for my actions.

I once alerted a girl to a competition, she entered, she won. Her prize was a luxury weekend in London and £3k spending money. It came at a time when life was a struggle and this was just the perk to lift her spirits and keep her fighting. I entered that competition too. I wasn't jealous she won, I was just pleased as I knew how happy it made her. Two weeks later I won a holiday. It's karma.

We won a big 4x4 car, our best win to date. Mum won it by filling her name and address in on a bottle neck label. That was it. No question, no clever slogan. Fate decided it was her turn. That car, William as he is now called, has changed our life. We went from a teeny car to a 4x4 and within a week of having William we knew we could now help out in animal welfare on ground level. We now had a vehicle, we wouldn't have otherwise been able to afford, that could fit humane traps to catch feral cats, we could transport them to vets. To date we have ferried over 300 cats and kittens.

We have won holidays, weekends away, bikes, electrical equipment but these 'biggies' are not everyday occurrences. Often the prize will be a book or dvd, which I still get just as excited about as I read a book or see a film I may not otherwise discover. And if I don't use it I sell items to raise money for vet fees and 'luxury' items for the rescue cats we have adopted, I use them as presents or donate them to a local charity to give their raffle a boost.

Most competitions are enter are on the internet, and I can enter anything up to 50+ on an evening whilst one of the soaps is on so it is just another use of 'chilling' time and doesn't encroach on other life (though it can become addictable I admit. These internet competitions are basically prize draws. Some compers are quite expert at the more challenging competitions which require tie-breakers (I want to win a dishwasher because....in no more than 12 words).

If you are in the Uk and feel inspired a good place to start is Loquax which is a portal that lists and links to current competitions on the net - there are literally hundreds each week. There is also a thriving forum there which will point you in the direction of non-internet competitions such as postcard entries from magazines or entry forms you can pick up in shops.

Loquax also provide a very good Beginners Guide to Comping

A few hints and tips:

• You needn't spend lots of money! I steer clear of premium line phonecalls often associated with television programmes. Always check the call price before entering any competition by phone and think seriously if you want to spend that money.
• Look out for local competitions in newspapers and regional magazines, these often have low entry rates.
• Don't expect to start winning straight away. If you start today, most competitions won't close till the end of the month, then they have to pick the winner, get items sent etc.
• Send postcards entries 2nd class well in advance of the closing date; make you own postcards out of old greeting cards - a great way to recycle Xmas cards!
• do be aware of the scams. Think about it - if it sounds to good to be true it probably is! If you haven't entered a competition, how can you win it?
• you should never have to pay for a prize - either by sending a 'registration fee' or phoning a premium line; I am equally dubious of prizes for holidays but you have to buy the flight - legitimate competitions will always have well worded terms and conditions for you to consult.

I'll keep you updated with any exciting competition news I hear of in this section and when karma decides...maybe I'll have some wins to report on!

Tech Tags: comper, competitions, luck, good+luck, loquax

Comments

[St Jude]

That's it you've convinced me it's time to try my luck. If I win anything I'll let you know.

[Keris]

Great post!

You must've read this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0091891272/qid=1147548935/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/026-9509415-9766018

(If not, I've got it somewhere, you can have my copy.)

It's also a film: http://imdb.com/title/tt0406158/

[Kate]

Thanks for the link, I'll have to start entering more competitions. I always moan I never win anything, but I suppose it would help if I actually entered some.