Peoples experience of winning competitions?

[DownUnderBound]

Just curious if people actually win these things! I have been.entering competitions online & from magazines for years, just for fun, when dc are in bed at night. They always show 'last weeks competition winners' ...has anyone here ever won, cash prize or holidays in particular?

I've won loads of stuff over the years, some really good prizes such as big tvs, holidays to Australia, Portugal, loads of hotel breaks, sporting events, concert tickets, meals out, clothes etc. I won about €20,000 worth of stuff one year but about €10,000 of that was one big prize. I go through phases of entering competitions then leave it for a while.

I recently won over £2000 worth of beauty products from the wonderful Red magazine, simply by submitting my name in an online competition I had forgotten I even entered. When they emailed me I thought I was being scammed and was still wary until the courier arrived a couple of days later with a huge box full of top class goodies. I cried with excitement.😂Apart from a brief tweet they have not asked anything of me in return and I as far as I know have not even printed my name.

I'm now completely spoilt with, amongst other goodies , a £255 toothbrush, dozens of designer lotions and potions, serums & day night creams that cost ten times what I'd normally pay and perfumes so expensive I'm terrified I'll drop them. I don't look any younger but boy do I feel special. I suddenly became very popular with family and friends and did feel very munificent deciding who would receive what.

So don't give up. Someone has to win.

Never ever won a thing. I think it's all a hoax ... But then I seem to be blessed with permenant unluck lol! In seriousness I do know people who win things but for me it's never been the case.

I am a very keen comper, and have won a ton of stuff, but I enter about 800 each month, and win about 1 a month. Some things I win are very small in value, some are pretty big, but in the end its random chance and luck, and volume you enter. in 2014 I entered over 18,500 competitions and won 60 and in 2015 I entered 17,00 but won 42 (but with a higher prize value than 2014). My best prize was an all expenses paid holiday to Australia in 1993, and have been the BRIT awards, a weekend in Center Parcs, flights to Dubai, watch the NYE fireworks in London and have just won £5k worth of tech from EE.

I often get asked how I am so lucky only to hear the immortal words "I never win anything" only to inquire if they enter anything, and being told no...:)

www.loquax.co.uk is one of the best 'comping' sites around, and you can track your entries if you want to. Its a great hobby but I dont do it expecting to win loads, but when I do win, its fun and useful.

I won a FB competition recently... I won unlimted Bootcamp fitness classes for a month. Sods law that's my luck.

Oh and I won a plastic skeleton from a competition on teletext (remember that?!) when I was a kid!

I won £1000 on a prize draw about 7 years ago and we bought a laptop and a new telly with the dosh, hubby won a holiday in France, a t-shirt and a book. Sod all since, only very small wins on the Lotto. Would go insane if I ever won big on that.

I've won a laptop, smartphone, tablet, helicopter flying lesson,sailing lesson,clothes, books etc etc. BEST prize was an all expenses paid trip to New York in a 5 star hotel and also shopping sprees. It only takes half hour a day and I've topped well over £15,000 in prizes. Not cost me a penny,just a bit of time. :-)

I've won some nice prizes through the past few years, but fewer now as everyone can enter through the net, and less chance of winning.

My best prizes have been just under £2000 with Dickinson's Real Deal (a while ago), last year £1000 One4All gift card, (bought a new computer from John Lewis), mini ipad a year ago, and £100 Pizza Express giftcard from Mumsnet several months ago.

I win quite a few smaller items, but you need to enter lots a week to win much.

Worth a try though, you might get lucky,

I won lots years ago: car, holiday to Detroit, shopping trip etc but as someone else said with more people entering through email comps I haven't won anything for ages.
There are still slogan comps which can be found on competition websites.

My best achievement was getting 'Star letter' in Jackie magazine many moon and ago and I won a transistor radio!

I won a fridge freezer for writing a review of the washing machine I'd just bought. Didn't even know I was entering a competition.

I used to deal with one of the big ITV shows and can assure you that the competitions are highly regulated. In theory the questions have to have some knowledge requirement otherwise they can be deemed an Illegal lottery.

Prizes are definitely won and given out.

There was a clear correlation between the size of the prize and the money raised from the phone entries. The bigger the prize, the more people entered.

The company involved made several million pounds profit each year on such competitions.

I also know someone who has won holidays to Australia and also Florida amongst other decent prizes but she spends hours a week entering competitions. I do wonder (and doubt) whether her couple of hours a night actually comes up with a decent rate per hour?!

I have won a Brum videotape for dd in kids magazine comp( probably because everyone was buying dvd's then)! Won box of milk tray in "guess number of sweets in jar". No success in other magazine/ tv/ mumsnetcomps. Best raffle prize was a day for 4 people to view football match from a box- was great even for a non- football fan like me!😂

I won a few things in the late 90s and early 00s when the internet was young and nobody entered online competitions but then it all stopped as everyone got online.

However, I did win a competition to win a meeting with a sportswoman a few years ago. That was fun (she competed at the London Olympics) and I also got some kit.

I won noddy tickets on here 12yrs ago when I first joined mn, ive won tickets to a beer fest, £150 worth of designer sunglasses, free haircut and style, years free ea membership and a beautiful hand knitted Santa. Might be more but can't think right now! Most success on local comps rather than national ones, eg local paper

When I temped and had about two hours of work to do a day and no one could see my screen I would spend the rest of the day entering comps. I only won two though - a cook book which I wanted so that was cool and a night in a v posh london hotel with dinner out and breakfast which was amazing. Alas I didn't have a boyfriend but my best mate and I had a good time.

I love comps though. I think it stems from winning one in a Disney mag as a kid. Got stickers and stationery and thought it was the best thing ever.

Dh won £100 shopping vouchers recently from comp in back of the panto programme at Christmas.

When Dd small I won big box of baby foods and snacks from sending in a recipe. That was helpful.

Inspired to enter some more now...

I rarely enter competitions - and all my winnings have been via mn ... One winter coat, and tickets to Thorpe park, Cadbury World & HP world recently. Chuffed with those

I do enter stuff if it wanders my way & is easy to do - I possibly naively trust that everything is legit with big companies.

I've won a breakfast hamper, some crafting paper , vitamin pills and marshmallows (that I couldn't even eat as I had gestational diabetes at the time!). My winnings have been fairly small but it's nice to win.
I became a product tester for ao.com 18 months ago, they send me something every 6 months and I do a video review plus a written one, that's great. I've had a lovely new fridge, dishwasher and a cordless vac for free worth well over £1000.

I went through a phase of winning competitions a few years ago.

I won, in no particular order, a Christmas tree, year's supply of shampoo, year's supply of sausages, £100 to spend in Boots, a mini cruise, cafetière and posh coffee,umpteen books, key rings, set of cases, laminate flooring, afternoon tea, champagne...

Might start doing comps again thinking about it! 😂

Tibbawyrots - how did you enter? Online?

I won an iPad mini on a radio competition

I've won quite a few things in the last couple of years - cash, vouchers, tickets to concerts/shows, laptop, weekend in Belgium, TV, bed frame and (expensive) mattress, as well as lots of smaller prizes (chocolate, perfume etc)

I go through phases of entering loads in the space of a few weeks, and then can't be bothered for months at a time.

I won a Samsung Galaxy S7 and virtual reality headset this week.

When I was out of work I entered lots of comps and won a fair few things. Nintendo 3DS, Ipad, Merlin annual passes for the family, years supply of hair dye, years supply of toilet roll, exercise bike, £100 boots vouchers, £400 to spend at LK Bennet (got a bag and a top) and lots of other smaller things. Cant remember everything now though.

Then the year changed and I stopped winning and then stopped entering. Every year I do think about doing the advents (there are lots and lots and lots of daily comps in December), but then decide I just simply CBA. I keep an eye on hourly Times comps and the free postcode lottery, but thats it now. I have better things to do than sit around entering comps.