...or fewer entries with greater emphasis on looking cool and sexy!sherlockmandango wrote: ↑After it all, I'm still planning to do a lot of entries for the next Instagram contest. I will retain my faith that random means random.
[Other]
Contest Discussion(s)
- Last Updated:
- Mar 19th, 2024 12:05 am
Tags:
- SCORE+30
- ishfish
- Deal Guru
- May 25, 2011
- 10100 posts
- 14411 upvotes
- sherlockmandango
- Deal Expert
- Jan 11, 2013
- 15578 posts
- 5092 upvotes
- Toronto
- twiggy04
- Newbie
- Dec 1, 2013
- 4 posts
- 71 upvotes
- Ontario
Good luck!sherlockmandango wrote: ↑It's a good plan, but I'd need a stunt double. : )
I'll update this board with my estimated odds before the winner is selected, but I'm going whole hog with this one.
2014 Contest Wins Total = $8,200. Biggest Win, Trip to Calgary / Banff.
- travelbuds
- Deal Addict
- Jan 29, 2009
- 2961 posts
- 757 upvotes
- Richmond
Question for anyone out there. For the IHG rewards contest - movie ticket win, it is just one ticket per win correct? ie Not a pair of tickets.
Thanks,
Thanks,
- BobSagget
- Deal Expert
- Jan 17, 2009
- 24148 posts
- 43040 upvotes
- ONTARIO
1 tickettravelbuds wrote: ↑Question for anyone out there. For the IHG rewards contest - movie ticket win, it is just one ticket per win correct? ie Not a pair of tickets.
Thanks,
- jamesfitzgibbon
- Deal Fanatic
- Aug 13, 2009
- 8501 posts
- 2496 upvotes
- Toronto
+1 this is trueTracydeanne wrote: ↑And... 10 years later, you get a form letter saying thanks we will look into your complaint.
- jamesfitzgibbon
- Deal Fanatic
- Aug 13, 2009
- 8501 posts
- 2496 upvotes
- Toronto
I agree and with the car one too.sherlockmandango wrote: ↑A photo contest recently ended for a major prize. The winner was to be selected at random from all the valid entries. I entered 10 times per day (maximum allowed in the rules), adding up to about 700 entries. That represented between 20% and 25% of the valid entries (I could verify by looking at tagboard).
Didn't win. Like last year, they went with a photogenic young woman who entered a couple of times.
I don't have anything against the winners, I'm happy for them in fact, but it's hard to shake the feeling that the selection may have been less than entirely random.
Part of this hobby seems to be dealing with the disappointment when you haven't won for a while, and the little paranoid thoughts that follow: "It's fixed!", "They don't even give the prizes away!", "They give them to their friends", etc. I know that most of that is nonsense, but whenever something suspicious happens, or when there's straight-up evidence that a contest broke its own rules (not the case here, but I've seen it before more than once), I get pretty discouraged.
Sorry for my little rant. I know I'm not entitled to prizes or anything, and that it's supposed to be a fun hobby where prizes are just a bonus, but I worked pretty hard on that one.
Ah well.
Only the "beautiful people" who don't need the stuff will win.
Life is s*(%
- Lucidly
- Member
- Jul 1, 2012
- 256 posts
- 1267 upvotes
Has anyone won a car before? What's the experience like? I keep seeing nightmarish car winning stories from the the US because they count contest winnings as income. Wonder what it's like in Canada.
- sherlockmandango
- Deal Expert
- Jan 11, 2013
- 15578 posts
- 5092 upvotes
- Toronto
Haven't won one, but I know that lottery/contest winnings aren't taxable here.
Wishing everyone a lucky 2023!
- butter
- Member
- Nov 14, 2006
- 350 posts
- 89 upvotes
My wife won a car about 10+ years ago. Pretty much the contest agency asks you which dealership you want to pick the car up from, they send it there, sign for it, and it's yours.
- skeetersden
- Deal Addict
- Aug 4, 2008
- 1064 posts
- 4202 upvotes
- Ontario
You’ll be glad to know that any prizes you win in a lottery are generally tax-free in Canada. If you win something other than cash, such as a house, car, or other things, the property you’ve won will have an adjusted cost base (ACB) equal to the fair market value of the property on the day you win it. Although you won’t pay any tax on the prize itself, you might have a taxable capital gain if you sell the prize later for more than your ACB.
If you win a sizable amount, it’s common to receive the prize over time as a certain amount each month for life, that is, as an annuity, will be partly taxable. Not the winning amount, but on the interest calculated (The Queen v. Rumack (92 DTC 6142))
- skeetersden
- Deal Addict
- Aug 4, 2008
- 1064 posts
- 4202 upvotes
- Ontario
so what are your takes on this. This was posted this morning and that was my one and only response. Many others jumped in with similar thoughts. Of coarse they deleted it and posted something different, are deleting posts they don't like, and now have posted that they banned a bunch of us. Yes I got banned.
Do you think it was warranted??
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/ ... 0bf0a6.jpg[/IMG]
Do you think it was warranted??
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/ ... 0bf0a6.jpg[/IMG]
- window21
- Member
- Mar 2, 2012
- 391 posts
- 2359 upvotes
- North Bay
Wow ^^ that got a little nasty, I won't enter their contests......
- Tracydeanne
- Deal Addict
- Oct 26, 2012
- 3516 posts
- 15859 upvotes
- Halifax
Wowsers. Well, don't have a contest on facebook if you don't want entries from all over. Just do it in-store.
Kind of silly of them anyway, since as of Nov, they're not even allowed to use "likes" as a requirement to enter contests.
Kind of silly of them anyway, since as of Nov, they're not even allowed to use "likes" as a requirement to enter contests.
- toguy
- Deal Expert
- Jun 23, 2005
- 26001 posts
- 211229 upvotes
- GTA
Rather foul-mouthed for a southerner, lol. A tiny computer shop run out of papa bear's basement and they actually care about who is winning prizes, lol...
- Tracydeanne
- Deal Addict
- Oct 26, 2012
- 3516 posts
- 15859 upvotes
- Halifax
- twiggy04
- Newbie
- Dec 1, 2013
- 4 posts
- 71 upvotes
- Ontario
Wow. I thought the point of contests was to spread the word about a product and potentially gain new customers for your business. By alienating potential new customers and focusing only on the current ones is completely counter-productive. Way to go bud, you just gave people a reason to NOT buy your product, instead of the opposite.
2014 Contest Wins Total = $8,200. Biggest Win, Trip to Calgary / Banff.
- unreal32
- Jr. Member
- Nov 23, 2007
- 135 posts
- 247 upvotes
- Toronto
I don't know about your specific contest, but in my day job I work in a large advertising/marketing agency and work with some big name companies you would know. I can't say I've ever seen a contest be "fixed" to pick a particular individual at this level, but I can promise you that the companies (and their agencies) do CARE about the status of the contest while it's going on, and do their best to ensure fairness. But ultimately, when running a contest, sometimes things happen and you need to make the best of the situation.sherlockmandango wrote: ↑A photo contest recently ended for a major prize. The winner was to be selected at random from all the valid entries. I entered 10 times per day (maximum allowed in the rules), adding up to about 700 entries. That represented between 20% and 25% of the valid entries (I could verify by looking at tagboard).
Didn't win. Like last year, they went with a photogenic young woman who entered a couple of times.
I don't have anything against the winners, I'm happy for them in fact, but it's hard to shake the feeling that the selection may have been less than entirely random.
Part of this hobby seems to be dealing with the disappointment when you haven't won for a while, and the little paranoid thoughts that follow: "It's fixed!", "They don't even give the prizes away!", "They give them to their friends", etc. I know that most of that is nonsense, but whenever something suspicious happens, or when there's straight-up evidence that a contest broke its own rules (not the case here, but I've seen it before more than once), I get pretty discouraged.
Sorry for my little rant. I know I'm not entitled to prizes or anything, and that it's supposed to be a fun hobby where prizes are just a bonus, but I worked pretty hard on that one.
Ah well.
Recently, there was a contest for a candy company in which you had to submit a video, and the video with the most votes would win. Well, some genius decided to purchase and/or write a computer program to vote for his video repeatedly and in the middle of the contest was ahead by a mile. It was clear he was cheating. And just as clear, we discovered how he was cheating by the log files of the site. The voting pattern gave it away. We disqualified him, took the video down, and informed him what we found. Well, the guy then recorded another video (of his girlfriend), posted it again, and then miraculously took the lead on voting by the contest deadline. This time it was harder to prove how he was cheating. We couldn't prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, and so his girlfriend won the contest and was awarded the prize. And it was a decent prize. Honestly, what can you do when someone appears to have cheated but you can't prove it? And if you just deny the win, the vote tallies were public, lawsuits are involved, newspapers pick up the story, and this anomaly taints the client, taints the contest, and taints the agency. Nobody wants to ruin a successful ad campaign with a nasty fight in the end.
Perhaps in your case, the 700 entries (25% you estimate) was disqualified for some reason. They wouldn't have to tell you legally. And then some other random person was picked to win. I hate to say it, but having 25% of the entries to a contest does appear suspicious to anyone running a contest, and I would not be surprised if you were DQ'd by some "decision of the judges is final" clause. Even though the winner is picked randomly, real people look at the contest data to ensure it's meeting expectations.
I have so many stories from running contests in the ad biz, I should write a book. Or a blog. LOL.
- unreal32
- Jr. Member
- Nov 23, 2007
- 135 posts
- 247 upvotes
- Toronto
What this store owner said is definitely "thought but not said" by many businesses running contests - even big ones with big prizes. They would much prefer a loyal customer win a prize, than some person they've never met and will never meet, who doesn't even know the name of their business. There's $0 "spread the word" value in that type of contest entry.twiggy04 wrote: ↑Wow. I thought the point of contests was to spread the word about a product and potentially gain new customers for your business. By alienating potential new customers and focusing only on the current ones is completely counter-productive. Way to go bud, you just gave people a reason to NOT buy your product, instead of the opposite.
- sherlockmandango
- Deal Expert
- Jan 11, 2013
- 15578 posts
- 5092 upvotes
- Toronto
Thanks kindly for the insights. I've often wondered what the other side of the process is like.unreal32 wrote: ↑
Perhaps in your case, the 700 entries (25% you estimate) was disqualified for some reason. They wouldn't have to tell you legally. And then some other random person was picked to win. I hate to say it, but having 25% of the entries to a contest does appear suspicious to anyone running a contest, and I would not be surprised if you were DQ'd by some "decision of the judges is final" clause. Even though the winner is picked randomly, real people look at the contest data to ensure it's meeting expectations.
I have so many stories from running contests in the ad biz, I should write a book. Or a blog. LOL.
In the case of cheaters, I have absolutely no patience. Particularly those using computer programs to hack the system.
In my case, my entries were all individually taken photographs, all distinct from each other. I even took the time to add new elements, handwritten signs, etc whenever possible. Verifying their legitimacy should have been a simple matter. But it was only 25% or so, so I wasn't likely to win even with so many submissions.
I'll never resort to cheating to win a contest, but I WILL invest a ridiculous amount of my free time, so I'm a little disheartened by the idea of someone using a catch-all clause to DQ my entries because they feel like I'm overrepresented in the entries.
For my next attempt, I hope to have a lot more than 25%. I'll post details right before the winner is announced.
I'm hopeful that this contest will work out better than the previous one.
PS: I'm very interested in your Contest Organizer Blog/Book idea! If you ever do it, post a link!
Wishing everyone a lucky 2023!
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