Blog Giveaways Versus Online Sweepstakes
This afternoon I received an email from a well-known PR agency telling me I WOULDN’T be receiving a prize I’d won fair and square because I recently won the same prize at a different blog. I’m a Type-A rules kind of person and there was no such rule or I wouldn’t have bothered to enter. Needless to say, I’m a little more than upset. It’s not the first time it’s happened, but last time I wasn’t notified at all. I only found out months later when I remembered to ask where my prize was.
Please don’t try telling me I’m greedy because I won the same prize more than once. The blogger who cheerfully re-awarded the prize in question insinuated as much because she “never wins anything”. I work very hard at winning, have a large family, and “extra” prizes make great gifts. It’s not like I’ve turned them into an Amazon store or eBay business. We still haven’t fully recovered from the recession and wins are my small contribution to our household.
I won’t be gone per se, but I’m going to be rethinking the amount of time I enter and post blog giveaways. I’ve been doing this so long that sometimes I forget it’s NOT a job and I DON’T have to do it. I stay up all night anywhere from 2:00 to 9:00 a.m. and get very little sleep. I will be spending the next few days catching up on sweepstakes that have been virtually ignored and left unentered — maybe longer.
I believe I’d like to refocus the majority of my time on sweepstakes because it takes a lot less time, it’s easier to enter, and the rules are most often in “black and white” and very clear. The rules for blog giveaways are less clear, if at all, and subject to a blogger’s interpretation or personal preferences.
Blog giveaway prizes are sometimes questionable too. I won a one month supply of Fruit2O that turned out to be only 13 bottles — that’s less than 1/2 bottle per day — plus most of them were castoffs covered in yellow enamel paint. Then today I finally received two fudge samples that sat at a blogger’s home for almost a month — the chocolate looks old and is turning color. And let’s not forget the prizes that never, ever come (one day I’ll write more on that at my personal blog). The Digiorno pizza free product coupon that I didn’t receive until after the expiration date for example — or the almost $300 prize that never arrived.
Blog giveaways often require certain time-consuming (at least the first visit) tasks, whereas sweepstakes are usually as easy as filling out a form and the prizes are bigger and better. You have to follow, read, and/or subscribe and if you’re entering alot of blog giveaways like I do — that’s a TON of reading. I wish there was a way to temporarily disable feeds, but I’m not aware of one except with FeedBlitz. I’ll try to ignore the temptation of future prizes and use the delete key often.
I’m really starting to think the more immediate rewards of winning blog giveaways aren’t worth all the effort. Maybe my time could be better spent elsewhere (like on housekeeping and getting reorganized). Plus I could actually find time to write about things that really matter to me on my personal blog, instead of ignoring it as I have been.
I know for certain that I will still participate with MyBlogSpark, both hosting giveaways and entering them. I love the company, the brands, and the prizes! I’m in the process of reviewing my next MyBlogSpark promotion right now, and hope to have a giveaway posted before long. I will also finish posting the giveaways I already have bookmarked in a “queue” and will probably follow through on my daily Tweets. I don’t know whether I’ll keep up with book blogs anymore or if I’ll just rely on visiting author and publisher websites. It’s awful convenient never having to borrow books at the library or buy them. The rest I’m not sure about, but that’s more for you to win 
What do I really want to win? New vehicles for one. We’re still driving my dad’s 1989 small pickup and Scott’s 1995 sedan because we don’t like and can’t afford car payments or full-coverage insurance. Cash probably more than anything with gift cards a close second. Money might be the root of all evil, but it also buys alot of security and comfort. I can’t think of any blog giveaway that awards those two categories of prizes (so why am I doing this?)!
15 Days Left 
20 Days Left 
13 Days Left 
8 Days Left 
7 Days Left 
13 Days Left 
7 Days Left 
10 Days Left 
8 Days Left 
I would! It never hurts to ask. but it stinks that you should have to.
If a blog retracts a prize — the very least they could do is have the balls to let you know. I hate having to find out on my own after months of waiting. Unless someone tells me otherwise, I expect to see my prize in the mail after a reasonable amount of time.
I really don't mind if there's a one prize rule — IF it's stated like Hachette Book Group is doing now. So often it's not and you have to find out the hard way.
I won the tostinos prize pack off of 2 different blogs but i only recived it once- i knew that was the reason – and i wonder if i should bother asking -should i?
Tess
I agree – Not good to take away a prize you've earned!
As to online sweeps, I went from them to blogging ones because on the first, wins went way down.
I've also shared the same thoughts – is this worth all of the time involved?
Especially in the summer.
I seond that to all you said hun! I wish you would have posted the company that took away your prize because I would in furture never enter their giveaways!
That and I have no idea how they could do that….I know I for one enter multiples of the same giveaway hoping to win it at least once…and I enter the giveaways sometimes within the same day or within days of each before the other giveaways end….so how could I help it if I won more than one….
that's just silly to not give you the prize…entering giveaways are time consuming and WORK…you should be rewarded for your work!
And as far as the blogger who hinted at you being greedy needs to get over him or herself and their envy…because that's what it is…they just need to put more work into entering giveaways!
You and I end up entering a lot of the same giveaways, and every time you win one we both enter it's like…wow…lucky duck! And it's kinda like you're the champ of giveaways and it makes me work harder to be like you!
Like the Micheal Jordan of Contests!
LOL
But I hope you get my meaning without it sounding creepy
Thanks for all your comments everyone! I really appreciate what you have to say
I'll try to respond more later, but I went to bed with and woke up with a horrible headache. I'm feeling nauseous and not really able to think or write clearly right now. We're having an Ozone Day and the 90+ degrees heat doesn't help either.
Ah, I'm sorry to hear this Cheryl, but I understand your frustration. I do think it's shady to offer a prize and then retract it without mentioning that clearly in the rules. Hopefully more blog contests will be clearer about that in the future. Until then, I do hope you are able to find the balance/decision that works best for you and your family! And I do hope you win that new car, and that you keep posting on here, even if it's not any more contests, just updates about how things are going!
Plus, entering these giveaways are work…you work to win these, you deserve them!
Nicely said!
Cheryl,
I think that's awful that something you won is being 'pulled' from you. I've entered plenty of blog giveaways and appreciate those that do extra entries for things like following, etc. What I don't like are the ones that are now requiring all the extra steps just to enter.
I've done a handful of giveaways on my blog. The My Blog Spark ones are favorites as they send the winner's prize out. Super easy for the blogger hosting the giveaway and seamless for the winner.
Others have been items I had in house and wanted to bless others. I need to resend a prize to a fellow blogger as part of the mailing label came off in transit. After weeks and weeks bouncing around the country, it found me at our new home. She knows it is coming and we had a little laugh at the cross country trip it's taken. But, it does have me a little upset as it cost money to send the first time and will cost money to re-send it.
Thanks for venting your frustrations as it's giving me pause to think about how much time I'm wasting entering giveaways with few winnings.