Wednesday 14 January 2009

Competition junkie

I have a confession to make: I am a competition junkie. I love entering competitions and, even better, I love winning stuff. Any stuff. Even if I don't really want it. If it says "be in to win" or "enter", I'm there. Well, within reason. You'll never catch me entering a competition for backstage passes and a 'meet and greet' with Coldplay *shudder* or back copies of every series of Big Brother on DVD (although these could possibly be onsold). Likewise you won't find me paying to enter something, or signing my life away in the process. But basic entry forms (especially online) ... well, you've got to be in to win!

I've been relatively 'lucky' over the years which, of course, elicits the same few comments from a multitude of observers, many of which amuse me:
  • "Obviously no-one enters these competitions." No, it's neither obvious nor true: I enter them. But regardless of whether others choose to or not, how is this my problem? Should I stop entering competitions just because others don't? LOL
  • "I never win anything." Do you enter anything? No? That could be why you don't win. (See above point.) ;-)
  • "I don't have time for things like that." True. It's hard finding the precious thirty seconds or so it takes to find a website and enter a key code, or flick out a quick email. Lucky me for having so much more 'time' in my day than others! :-D
  • "You should buy a Lotto ticket." The logic of this one astounds me. How is blowing money on something with outrageous odds the same as entering my details on a website, where my investment is nil and my possible return ranges anywhere from 'nothing' to 'something'? There's a difference between entering competitions and gambling. :-P
So, what have I won? My most recent win is one of my biggest (and most exciting): a 16GB iPod touch *drool*. A couple of weeks ago, it was a double movie pass. Over the years, there have been a number of CDs (many of which have gone straight onto TradeMe), occasional concert or rugby tickets, books, an iPod Shuffle (this was a great Christmas present for Mum one year!), beer (I don't drink, so this went straight to my brother), a Taste magazine subscription (my sister-in-law is enjoying this), and other odds and ends. Many I have kept; some I have onsold or given away. It's the buzz of knowing I've won something which excites me, even if it's something small.

Now, excuse me while I enter today's key code for $1000 of petrol ...

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow - you have won some amazing prizes!
I seem to do quite well at winning books on author's blogs and have a fair number of autographed books on my shelves!
Just wondering - do you use specific websites to find out about the competitions or is it just ones you happen across?
Cheers, Katie

Caffeinated Weka said...

Hi Katie
I tend to find competitions in newspapers, magazines etc and enter online from there. The dedicated competition websites tend to be too open-ended, ie draws might be made every three months etc and the number of entries will be much higher, but I occasionally give them a go. I hadn't thought of author blogs - great idea!

Blogger In Middle-earth said...

This is so cool, Angela, and you obviously are the only person entering these comps. Not!

But you're right with the idea in to win. My daughter, Hannah, has this syndrome and she wins things like you do. In August 2007 she entered a TVNZ comp where the prize was a family weekend in Auckland to visit Auckland Zoo, all expenses paid, two nights at Heritage Hotel.

Well, Hannah just loves animals AND zoos! These entry forms had been circulated at East Girls, entry free, and no one bothered entering among Hannah's mates.

So she went round them all and collected their forms, there being no limit on number of entries. The questionnaire was peezy and Hannah just laughed for she was confident enough to write all the same answers on every form.

Well she won the prize. Ha ha ha!

Catchya

Anonymous said...

wow, that is kewl- I was going to ask where you found all of them to enter but that is answered. Hmmm, might have to give it a try, after all, you never know till you try right?

Kellee said...

I've got to admit I'm a competition junkie too!! I have a separate email account setup to deal with the 'subscribe to our newsletter' types. I think my best prize would have to be the 2 tickets to a one day cricket match with the 'Fanatics', yellow shirt & wig included :)

Caffeinated Weka said...

Kellee - I, too, have a separate Hotmail account set up for spam, competitions, online subscriptions etc. It houses my most basic details; I feel there's not much harm done if that address goes places, and at least I'm not being bothered via my personal email address.

Sab said...

I should get a second address and try for all those things too! I've been hesitant on those that ask your phone number... ok, I just quit when I see that question (if I have to answer it)

Congrats on all your free stuff!!!!

Random Thoughts said...

I am afraid of the "catch", selling your info to EVERYONE, or some other random catch. Do you have safe and questionable contests to enter in NZ? How do you tell the difference?

Quite Simply Kellie said...

You won an iPod touch! That is soooooo freaking awesome! I'm suffering from competition win envy :)