How did you get started in sweeping?

cakyjo

Member
Just curious how everyone got started in Sweeping. Myself.. About a year and a half ago my husband and I were planning a vacation and I was looking at prices and options on different travel sites. On the FunJet site, there was a sweep they were running... A trip to Washington DC. I have never really signed up for anything before because well face it... NOBODY wins stuff like that! Especially ME!!! (so I thought... hehe) For some reason I thought "what the heck" and gave it a whirl. Much to my surprise, a week or so later I received a phone call that I WON!!!! WOWZERS... People actually DO win this stuff?!?!?! This made me realize that it IS possible to win awesome prizes and I was hooked!!! Since then, I have won several amazing prizes ( including 3 trips!) My husband teases me that it is like Christmas around here everytime he goes to the mail box! :)
 
Back in the 1970's I worked in retail inventory (why did I just feel older) which meant I spent a lot of time in different grocery and drug stores each week. I was always seeing these pads on the shelves for refunds.I started sending in the refunds and cutting coupons.While filling out refunds I would start to see sweepstakes on the forms and product packages. I started winning some small stuff and really starting looking everywhere for sweepstake forms. I then discovered sweepstakes newsletters and was in heaven with all these sweeps I did not need forms for just 3x5s.Now my entering was only limited by my sweep stamp budget.

The wins were rolling in and then I won my first computer. That opened up online sweepstakes which were few and far apart at first like mail in only are now.

So now its 2013 and here I still am entering every day and doing happy dance whenever a win comes in. I will say now its 50 to 75 sweeps a day not the 500 to 700 a day when I was young.

Sweepstakes have changed so much over the years and I imagine they will continue to change.

Bruce
 
About 9 years ago, a lady from my brother-in-laws work was doing it (come to find out she won 2 cars in a year)... then my sister started doing it and I asked her, "What are you doing?" and she told me. She also told me what she had been winning. I wanted to do it too, (Who doesn't love to win stuff) so I created a profile here (my original profile got hacked). My sister had amazing luck - 6 custom guitars, a 3 person sea-doo, trip to NYC, $500.00 Amazon gift card, trip to Disney & so much more - I was sooooo envious. Well, I still am envious because after 9 years of doing this I have never won anything of grandeur. But hey, I obviously have not given up faith as I am still doing this! My day in the sun will come :D Good Luck, everyone!
 
I got started in sweeping because I am a couponing fanatic. I need to coupon for survival. I had seen youtube videos of couponers who had coupons for free products so I really started to research how these girls were getting free shampoo,juice,bread ect and and low and behold most of them were also sweepers as well.There you go. I think that the cat food wins are what cinched it for me.Any day the cats eat free is a good day. I also really enjoy the coffee and getting to say hey or congratulations to folks who win. Im always really happy when other people win because deep down I beleive some day It will be me that wins a big one. Im a optimist to the exstreme. Thanks for asking. This is a cool question. Amy Leda
 
Love this topic! Thanks for sharing your stories. I've always wanted to enter sweeps, even as a little kid I would see them and want to enter, but my mom didn't want me getting her on a bunch of junk mail lists. This was <ahem> a few/many years ago when you would get tons of junk mail in your old fashioned mail box. Somehow I stumbled upon sweepstakes online and when I saw you could enter for free (no stamps, Yay!) I started entering. Once I started winning, well, it became an obsess...I mean hobby :)
 
I snailed in the 80's, then in 2004, I saw an ad for The L Word on Showtime sweeps and went duh! Online sweepstakes!!! How could I have forgotten!!!

I didn't win that one {it was $10,000 or $20,000} and hard charged for about 6 months before I did win - $100!

As a disabled vet who can't work, this hobby has been most lucrative - I finally hit that $10,000 about 6 years in!!!
 
I started out over 50 years ago when I entered a coloring contest. I won a Goofy Grape timex watch from Funny Face drinks. (It was like Kool-Aid) I thought that was just the greatest thing as a kid. Never had time when I was busy working and taking care of a family to do sweeping, but about 15 years ago when I was online I noticed sweepstakes and started entering. My family and friends cannot believe all the stuff I have won. I'm claiming more from 1099's than I am for working! $11,000 in just trips for last year. I haven't purchased birthday, Christmas or wedding gifts in years. If you stay persistant, consistant, patient and positive you will win. I have taught many people over the years how to sweep but no one has ever stayed with it. I don't have alot of stress in my life, but when I do, sweeping takes it all away. I have become acquainted with so many wonderful people thru sweeping. I just love to get the mail each day.The FedEx and UPS people always ask what did I win now? I giveaway and donate many prizes every year so it's a win win for everyone! Those of you who have never won the trip/prize of your dreams don't give up because someday when you least expect it, you are going to get that phone call, email or FedEx envelope telling you that you have won that prize!
 
I am a stay at home mommy and I was actually looking for a way to make a little extra spending money so I could buy extras that I wanted without bugging my hubby. I started out doing surveys, and alot of the survey panels have sweepstakes within them. Then the idea hit me one day to Google search about sweepstakes, and I found it to be an entire world! I had no clue how many people are into this. I found this great place (SA), and gave it a serious go. That was 4 months ago, and to date I have over $1500 in wins. That's nothing compared to more experienced sweepers, but I've gotten to the point where I'm winning something AT LEAST once a week (lately more like 2-3x a week), so it's only up from here!
 
Love this topic! Thanks for sharing your stories. I've always wanted to enter sweeps, even as a little kid I would see them and want to enter, but my mom didn't want me getting her on a bunch of junk mail lists. This was <ahem> a few/many years ago when you would get tons of junk mail in your old fashioned mail box. Somehow I stumbled upon sweepstakes online and when I saw you could enter for free (no stamps, Yay!) I started entering. Once I started winning, well, it became an obsess...I mean hobby :)

LOL!!! I know what you mean!!
 
I a couple of years ago. A coupon blog I followed had a giveaway and I won. From there I was hooked. It wasn't really until this year that I've branched beyond blogs and into major company giveaways. Blog giveaways have changed (for the worse). Too many people entering these days and now most just get a bunch together to do one huge giveaway. Gone are the days where you would easily only have 200-300 entries for a nice prize.
 
Back when their was a place called Tower Records (remember records?) they had many drop box sweeps and I would always fill out an entry blank and drop it in the box and forget about it. Then one day I received a call that I won tickets to a convention for fans of the band KISS. I was hooked! Before Tower went under I won several more of their sweeps including 2 autographed guitars, (one from Sammy Hagar and one from Sting) and several smaller things. Then I started up with the 3x5 cards. Finally I bought a computer around 1999 and am still at it!
 
I can thank my wife for my sweeps addiction. She found a series of sweeps in O Magazine, which we entered online (and lost.) We had so much fun doing the sweeps, and my wife looked online for a contest site. I started out on a different site and for about a year did only instant sweeps. Now, here I find myself entering about 250 sweeps per day! I can't imagine my life without it.
 
I saw a show on TLC about Sweepstaking. One wowan won basically everything under the sun except for a boat. Trips, a car, money ect. I just started by going on Goggle looking for sweeps. I have had a lot of spam so that part is frustrating but have gotten a new email just for sweeping. I just started in February 2013. I got a call last week about a contest I entered and won $1000.00. My husband said it was a scam, my friends and Mom said it was a scam. Well, the check was sent in the mail and deposited into my bank account on Monday. Funny now, everyone wants to know the sites I go on to enter to win.
 
I'm a 65 yr old female, that has decided it was time for this computer to earn me some cash instead of browsing UN-EDUCATED sites. I live in Missouri and because of snow storms cant get out to walk and enjoy nature.
deneenk@aol.com
 
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