How Often Do You 'Win' Luck Based Competitions?

Doggiie on 23/10/2016 - 14:32

I've never been good at luck, however I did win in a 25 words or less competition the game 'Witcher 3' many months ago when the game came out. Won approximately $70 worth of value?

Apart from that, I have won random small prizes such as movie tickets and as such. I'd say out of my participation, I'd win about 1% of my entries.

I was wondering if anyone has been a lucky winner of many sweepstakes or similar competitions? As if so, what goodies have you scored?

BONUS: If you are a usual winner of the 25 words or less game, what's your game plan?

General Discussion

Comments

  • FireRunner on 23/10/2016 - 15:00
    +38

    Never won a single competition ever.

    • enzioFirenze on 23/10/2016 - 15:27
      +2

      never won any myself either, to be fair though, I rarely enter any of them but that's because in the past, I've never won the ones I entered; duh a vicious cycle right there

      • lostn on 06/11/2016 - 17:56

        Your odds of winning them when you don't enter them are only slightly worse than everyone else's.

  • Clear on 23/10/2016 - 15:10
    +12

    Last year I entered at least 100 competitions on OzB and won 6 of them. Pure luck as they were all lucky draw.

    • Doggiie on 23/10/2016 - 17:33
      +6

      That's pretty good winnings

      • Kangal on 23/10/2016 - 20:04
        +7

        No such thing as luck, when it comes down to:

        Tightarse, Clear, Spackbace, Nocure, JV, Stuhtb, TheClipIt, Altomic, Lyl, Easternculture, McFly, Trent86, JSquared, Neil, Stewballs, Monty.Melb, Bonky, Lizard Spock, Hamza23, Katie2014, Banggood, Lupiter, Diji1, Scotty, Savas.. … …

        …that's the in-club ; )

        • Clear on 23/10/2016 - 20:52
          +6

          I didn't see some of those at the last clubhouse meeting.

    • rodinthink on 24/10/2016 - 14:29

      Ey thats pretty good

      • Clear on 24/10/2016 - 14:34
        +1

        Significantly more if I count Maccas Monopoly :P

        They were all meh except for the Android Smartwatch.

        • rodinthink on 25/10/2016 - 01:48
          +1

          Ey That's Mildly Adequate

        • Clear on 25/10/2016 - 19:01

          @rodinthink: A real novelty in the end as it had to be recharged every 1-2 days and everything I used it for my Mi Band could do.

        • rodinthink on 26/10/2016 - 01:08
          -4

          @Clear:

          "Android Smartwatch"
          Unknown Brand Typical Cool-Looking Chinkshit?

        • Clear on 26/10/2016 - 06:36

          @rodinthink: Nope. Real Android Wear.

    • aznhy01 on 24/10/2016 - 16:04
      -1

      that's 6% chance of winning one

      • Name on 29/10/2016 - 20:10

        That's not how it works.

    • anastasiastarz on 24/10/2016 - 22:18

      Do you keep records?

      • Clear on 24/10/2016 - 22:22

        I have emails for every one of them.

  • rambutann on 23/10/2016 - 15:10
    +4

    A few years ago the Tasmanian government did some rediculous competition that gave away like 2000 return flights to tasmania flying Qantas. I won this competition, as I'm sure plenty of other people did.

    I only really enter competitions when its either very unknown or if there are a heap of prizes being given away which isn't often.. But the ozbargain comps section does often show some good comps. I have won a heap of things from these comps.

    • JimmyF on 24/10/2016 - 22:21
      +7

      yeah, I'm guessing 1999 other people won it too! ;)

    • yabree17 on 25/10/2016 - 12:54

      I won this via a Hawthorn competition on behalf of Discover Tasmania. Free flight one way for 2 people.

      It was nice…

      • rambutann on 25/10/2016 - 19:25
        +1

        Yeah that one. I got two return flights… Haha

        • yabree17 on 31/10/2016 - 12:52

          Oh I only got 2 flights one way. Lucky my mate works at qantas or else coming back might have been expensive.

    • itsTricky83 on 27/10/2016 - 10:25

      It was also in conjunction with MONA Museum for their MOFO Festival event, from memory.
      So Discover Tas / Hawthorn Footy Club / MONA Museum. The MOFO and Dark MOFO Festivals are better than ever now.
      Highly recommend people from the mainland come check it out, many of the attractions are free because the owner of MONA throws cash at it, making everyone happy!

  • loulou1 on 23/10/2016 - 16:08
    +14

    I won a trip to Rio from Coca-Cola earlier in the year. 25 words or less competition. My husband won two Huawei M8 phones also earlier this year in 25 words or less competition.
    My advice would be pay attention to the question you are being asked to answer and make sure you follow all the rules (less than 25 words, closing dates etc). Don't try and pull at heart strings, in my experience it doesn't work. Being humorous does. You want something short, sharp and witty. Something that no-one else will enter. It must get pretty boring to have to read all the entries to pick winners so something that makes you laugh or is particularly clever gets noticed.

    • NotAMoodle on 23/10/2016 - 17:10

      Would you care to share what you wrote which won it for you?

      • loulou1 on 23/10/2016 - 17:37
        +25

        for the Rio one, the question was about your favourite moment of the olympics and why. my answer was
        When Juan Antonio Samaranch announced "the winner is Sydney" the whole of Australia felt like they were standing on the winnner's podium

        I cant remember my husbands entry.

        • Doggiie on 23/10/2016 - 17:41
          +3

          Wow that is beautiful

        • NotAMoodle on 23/10/2016 - 17:42

          Perfect

    • inherentchoice on 23/10/2016 - 17:15
      -6

      pay attention to the question you are being asked

      But the question in this thread is about luck based competitions. You are talking about skill based competitions.

      • Doggiie on 23/10/2016 - 17:31
        +1

        Haha those 'skill based' comps are still very based on luck

        • inherentchoice on 23/10/2016 - 17:33
          -1

          But they don't need a permit number from the State Government, as they are considered a 'game of skill'.

      • loulou1 on 23/10/2016 - 17:35
        +3

        bottom line of the thread
        BONUS: If you are a usual winner of the 25 words or less game, what's your game plan?

        this is a reply to inherent choice

    • Doggiie on 23/10/2016 - 17:40
      +4

      What would the definition of humourous be? I have trouble thinking how to answer such things.

      When i play the 25 words or less comps, I usually go for advertisement style answers.

      For example for 25 words or less why you want to win this laptop:
      Speed, power, mobility. The entire world at my fingertips. On the train or on the plane, I'm ready to play.

      Never usually win though, just not witty enough

      • loulou1 on 23/10/2016 - 18:51
        +10

        My default setting is sarcasm so sometimes witty responses come quickly to me.
        Ridiculous answers are just as good. Like,
        I want to win this laptop because lugging my old (insert archaic oversized computer system in here) from the bedroom to the loungeroom each morning is keeping my chiro in business

        • Doggiie on 23/10/2016 - 19:30
          +2

          Haha loving it, I could definitely take a leaf out of your book. I can see why you have won these stuff!

    • Zaenille on 24/10/2016 - 13:35
      +3

      I won a 25 words or less competition about Jurassic World, and got a 1m x 0.5m framed poster signed by the director and Chris Pratt.
      Then I also won another 25 words or less competition about some author's books. Got the signed books (2 of them), but still haven't read them. Haha.

      • Name on 29/10/2016 - 20:12

        What were your winning answers?

        • Zaenille on 29/10/2016 - 22:27
          +1

          The book competition's question was "What Australian city do you think should be the next action movie take place in?" or something like that. Mine was a very simple answer about Sydney and how iconic the opera house is. Must have been lucky or there were few contestants.

          The Jurassic park question though, I can't remember fully. But I did use some humor in the answer there.

  • altomic on 23/10/2016 - 16:34
    +7

    I've posted 400+ competitions and entered many more and have yet to win a thing (except 1 or 2 of those "everybody wins" competitions)

    • undercut on 27/10/2016 - 15:45

      Keep up the good work altomic. Karma will smile upon you one of these days!

  • Diji1 on 23/10/2016 - 17:03
    +2

    Never :|

  • toniyellow on 23/10/2016 - 17:22
    +2

    I enter a lot of luck-based competitions because it is easy to do. Basically use autocomplete to fill in forms when I am watching tv, or change my habits grocery shopping to buy a few new products, and type a code or whatever in online. I mostly tend to win ones with lots of prizes to give away like movie passes. A replica prop Magneto helmet is the highest value prize I've won, from a v energy thing.

    I don't enter as many skill-based competitions (25 words or less, or instagram photo), basically only if I can think of a good idea, but I tend to have a better return if I do. Best prizes have been a digital photo frame, $300 food voucher, $200 eftpos voucher, two night hotel stay.

    I never enter popularity based competitions (most # of facebook likes wins a prize, etc).

    I enter in a pretty haphazard fashion. I don't keep records of how many entered/won (except may what be tracked through ones I enter via the ozbargain portal), don't save my entries so can't remember the winning 25 wol. It's my version of gambling I guess. I don't enter lotto, but entering competitions does introduce a similar potential for something unexpected to come around the corner. Dying to win a holiday.That would be aces.

  • bion83 on 23/10/2016 - 21:09
    +1

    I won trip to Kore from KIA and trip to NZ from my local green grocer.

    Both by luck, name was pick by computer.

    I don't usually enter competitions.

  • hamza23 on 23/10/2016 - 22:50
    +20

    Here are my stats:

    Total: 2782 entries, 71 wins

    Competitions Won
    Win 1 of 3 Copies of The Album ‘Glorious Heights‘ by Montaigne from Clique Magazine [SA Only] — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 5 Double Passes to 'Mustang' from Culture Street — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 300x Double Passes to Warcraft @ Acer — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 825x DP's to Now You See Me 2 @ Visa Entertainment (Members) — 1 prize
    Win One of 60 Double Passes to "Mother's Day" — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 1200 Carman's Kitchen Super Berry Sampler Packs — 1 prize
    Win Assorted Prizes from Roller Fortune Instant Win — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 5 Double Passes to See 'Daddy's Home' from Rip It up [SA] — 1 prize
    Win Various Daily Instant Prizes with Maccas Daily Prize Alarm (iOS/Android App) — 20 prizes
    Win One of 100,000 3-Month Netflix Vouchers from Optus Perks — 1 prize
    Win a Boon Nosh Snack Container from Kidz B Kool — 1 prize
    [PC Game] Win 1 of 1000 Steam Keys for Blockstorm — 1 prize
    Monopoly at McDonald's - Instant Prizes to Be Won (Food and Non Food Prizes) — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 10 Lacto-Free® Packs from Lifestyle.com.au — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 50 Family Passes to PIXELS from The Advertiser (SA) — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 100,960 Prizes Instantly (Food, Vouchers, Movie Tickets, Gift Cards, Holidays, Radio Host Experience) from McDonald's — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 252 Oyster Dozen Vouchers from Oyster Bar (84 Vouchers Per State) (NT/WA/SA) — 1 prize
    $5000 Worth of Instant Win Prizes to Be Won with Paint Place — 3 prizes
    Coles - Win 1 of 250 Purina One Cat Food 1.5kg (Flybuys Members) — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 2,000 1kg Friskies Cat Food Packs @ Coles Flybuys — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 100 Mcleans Multi Action Packs worth $15 Each @ Coles — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 17 Made in Italy with Silvia Colloca on DVD from Lifestyle.com.au — 1 prize
    Coles - Win 1 of 500 Coles Grill Basting Sauces (Flybuys Required) — 1 prize
    Coles / Coles Express - Win 1 of 5000 $10 Coles Gift Cards - Min. Spend $5 on Cadbury — 2 prizes
    Win 1 of 1000 Coles Ultra Multi Purpose Cleaners from Coles (Flybuys Required) — 1 prize
    Win Tickets to "What We Did on Our Holiday" Movie Screenings — 1 prize
    Win an Apple iPad, T-Shirt, Earphones or Sunglasses from Pandora — 2 prizes
    Win 1 of 26 Chill Factor Slushy Makers (Valued at $19.95ea) from Lifestyle — 1 prize
    Woolworths - Pull A Cracker Competition (Instant Win) — 1 prize
    Instant Win DVDs or Merchandise from BBC — 1 prize
    Win a Domino's Voucher for a Traditional/Value/Chef's Best Pizza and 2 Garlic Breads from Tap King (1 in 2 Wins) — 1 prize
    Win a Sensor Learning Kits Worth $54 from ICStation — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 50 Lynx Hair Packs from Coles — 1 prize
    Instant Win over 1500 Prizes (Total Prize Pool $74,500) from Tennis Australia — 1 prize
    Win $5000 Instantly Everyday, a $50 E-Voucher Every Hour or 10 Coke Rewards Tokens Every Minute from Coke Rewards — 1 prize
    Win One of 50,000 Free Nappy Packs from Coles — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 1000 Packs of Scotch Finger Biscuits @ Coles — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 1000 Moroccan Spiced 1kg Chickens @ Coles ($9.90 each) — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 1000 Packs of Coles Brand Laundry Powder from Coles — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 1000 Packs of Angus Beef Sausages with Garlic and Parsley from Coles (Flybuys Required) — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 100 Boxes of Nature Valley (Crunchy Coconut Crisp) Museli Bars from Coles — 1 prize
    Win a Sensodyne Dental Care Pack from Coles — 1 prize
    Win a Large Wendys Chocollo® Soft Serve Cone — 1 prize
    Win a Double Pass to Calvary (Movie) from SBS — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 1000 Coles Gooey Choc Brownie or Coffee Choc Crunch Ice Creams 500ml - Flybuys Required — 1 prize
    Win a Pack of Coles Brand Tasty Cheddar Cheese from Coles — 1 prize
    Win a Packet of Coles Brand Banana Cake 550g (1000 Available, Flybuys Required) — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 1000 Coles Fresh Frozen Mixed Berries 500g Samples (FlyBuys Number Required) — 1 prize

    I mainly enter lucky draw only though as it doesn't require any effort. No really exciting wins. Lots of DVD's, movie tickets etc. 20 of the wins were from the 1 maccas comp, the daily alarm, which I don't think I ever redeemed anyway.

    For those of who you mark competitions as 'entered' and 'won' in the comps section you can go to settings > lists > competitions to get your entry/win stats:

    • Doggiie on 23/10/2016 - 23:05

      Haha that's a nice list you got there!

      Unfortunately I haven't tracked mine, maybe I should start doing it so I find out how much time I really waste doing many 2 second entry forms

    • moonflower on 24/10/2016 - 13:24

      Thanks for the tip re ozbargain stats, was unaware of this.

  • Findo on 23/10/2016 - 23:01
    +1

    I win on the pokies, but not anything else.

    • Clear on 23/10/2016 - 23:35
      +3

      If you seriously want to win at the casino….

      Go to Crown and signup for the rewards card. They'll give you $5 for tables and $5 for electronic games. Put that $5 on Red/Black etc at Roulette and you might walk out with more ;)

      Their system has been crashing a lot lately too so you might end up with many $5 vouchers.

      • [Deactivated] on 25/10/2016 - 09:30

        Exactly what I did

    • Cluster on 24/10/2016 - 13:04

      Anyone who claims to win on the pokies is either lying or ignoring all their losses and only paying attention to the wins. It's like the friend everyone seems to have who keeps winning big on the pokies. Dig a little deeper and you'll find they're winning $100 by spending $200.

      • Findo on 24/10/2016 - 13:26
        +1

        Nope, I've kept a detailed logbook of what I've played, when and where I played, how long I played, how much I put in and what I cashed out after each machine played (I never run the same ticket through another machine). So far I'm $641.25 up with 28.5 hours clocked up over 18 months. My best performing machines have been Black Rose at my local and 5 Dragons upstairs at work. Queen of the Nile comes a close third at the work machines.

        Edit: I only play Black Rose when more than half of the attempted progressive jackpots have failed, and the chance of winning the pirate's treasure drops to below 1/20 chance. Starts out as 1/38.

        • Cluster on 24/10/2016 - 14:17
          +6

          How do you beat the fact that all pokies are programmed to pay out less than is put into them?

          http://www.responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/awareness-and-prev…

          FICTION: If I'm a skilled enough gambler, I can beat the odds
          FACT: Skill has no bearing on the outcome of playing the pokies. Your chance of winning when you sit down are the same as the person next to you.

          There is of course variance at play. The person next to you may be spending their entire pay packet while you come out marginally in front. Variance eventually catches up with all gamblers. That string of good wins is always balanced out by the eventual string of bad luck which is always greater. It's programmed in and based on basic mathematics. Quitting while you're comfortably ahead is the best you can do.

        • Findo on 24/10/2016 - 15:46
          +3

          @Cluster: I know the odds are stacked against me, and I don't ever think for one second I can beat the machine. This is why I replied to this thread, because it is luck based. I see playing the pokies as a form of entertainment only and I only ever put in what I can afford to lose. It comes out of my spending money category.

          I realise that it is more than likely I will lose, but I follow certain rules when I play:
          - bet the max reels/lines with the lowest cost,
          - never put more than $50 in, and
          - pull my money out the moment it dips below $30 and go home or switch machines

          I never think that I can win back my losses and I never spend more than $50 each time. I have never lost all $50, I've walked away with $5 remaining at times but overall I am up. Sometimes, I play electronic roulette (the vegas star one) if there are more than 6 people sitting at the table in order to spend my remaining $30. The reason I only play that if there are a fair amount of players is because there is anecdotal evidence on the internet that the machine is more rigged towards the house, and it is never really random. I have experienced that my chances of winning are higher when there are more people at the table. Oh, and I only ever play thirds.

        • El Cap on 25/10/2016 - 00:14
          +2

          @niggard: Mate, join some of those online courses and learn a bit about probability and statistics. You certainly have the time. You might find reading about "Gambler's Fallacy" and books like "The Signal and the Noise" which is accessible for someone who hasn't done much Mathematics. The Author runs a famous 538 website and he has won money playing poker etc.

          Excuse me for not doubting your word: it is highly unlikely you have won, and if so, would be pure chance and not your skill.

        • Findo on 25/10/2016 - 01:00
          +1

          @hobbsthetiger: of course it's pure chance and not skill! There's no skill involved in playing the pokies. I think the 'skill' you're referring to is setting a stop loss which I have done. I think I've been lucky in picking up winnings more often than not, and I know it isn't always going to be the case.

          But when the chances of winning a progressive jackpot increases through the failures of fellow punters before me, it's pretty obvious the chance of possibly landing three jackpot symbols is higher than if it was reset after a win (this is the Black Rose, not those hyperlink Aristocrat machines). It is extremely easy for me to check the progress of the jackpot - all I need to do is stick my head around the corner when I leave work and look at the display above the machine.

          I'm telling you I've won money, mostly through waiting for the odds to drop as mentioned above, and then having a go myself. Getting to the pirate's treasure is one thing, but being able to correctly dig it up is another - I have failed to dig it up on some occasions, thus making it easier for the next punter, but I have won three minor jackpots worth about $180 each on the times I have succeeded. The rest of the money comes from small wins here and there.

          I haven't broken the law, and I haven't gambled irresponsibly. No one is starving because of my sinful ways. Just let it be.

        • Findo on 25/10/2016 - 01:21

          @Cluster: I don't beat the fact that NSW machines are programmed with a 90% rate of return. I play each time knowing I could lose what I put in. However, I have been more lucky than not, when the machine pays out someone else's lost money to me.

        • El Cap on 25/10/2016 - 13:53

          @niggard: By skill, I meant your waiting for someone else to leave a machine, and you mentioning that you have identified machines that works well.

          I certainly do not know how these machines works, but it is not likely that odds change or there are machines with better odds.

          I did not say anything about you breaking the law etc, or even suggest you to stop - I understand it can be fun - I just said you are likely wrong in your thinking.

        • syousef on 25/10/2016 - 16:34
          -1

          If your stats are right $22.50/hr to play boring games, with the risk of losing it all.

        • Findo on 25/10/2016 - 16:50
          +2

          @syousef: I'm glad you can do simple divison. Well done mate!

        • syousef on 26/10/2016 - 12:00

          @niggard:

          So you missed the point of the division which is that you could do better if you were working a job, and there would be no risk of losing the money. Oh well it's your time to waste and your money to lose. If this is close to the best case you can expect, I'll do something else with my time, thank you kindly.

        • Findo on 26/10/2016 - 15:44

          @syousef: I have a job and I see playing the pokies as a form of entertainment. I don't put in more than I can afford to lose and I have stop loss measures in place, so as to not waste any more money that is necessary.
          You obviously don't agree with what I do with my money and I won't make any apologies for winning on the pokies. Maybe the critics out there are bitter that they haven't won?

        • syousef on 26/10/2016 - 17:43

          @niggard:

          You're right I never win. Because I don't play the pokies.

          If pulling leavers and spinning things repetitively are entertaining to you I can only pity you. The world can be ugly but it's also an amazing, rich and diverse place, and you're missing out doing this.

        • Findo on 26/10/2016 - 17:59

          @syousef: wow, you're really making a lot of assumptions and gerneralisations. What gives you the idea that i don't do other stuff apart from playing the pokies? Also, I don't know what era you're stuck in, but most gaming machines these days don't require pulling a lever anymore.

        • syousef on 26/10/2016 - 18:43

          @niggard:

          "28.5 hours clocked up over 18 months."
          Now that suggests just over 1.5 hours a month (…not including time to get there etc. no doubt?)

          I don't know about you but that's a lot of time to someone such as myself.

        • Findo on 26/10/2016 - 19:01

          @syousef: the local is a 3 minute drive away. Work is a 1.5 min drive away, except employment rules make it impossible to gamble after a shift. What's a meal with friends then a small slap on the pokies once in a while? Or a slap when you can't sleep?

        • syousef on 26/10/2016 - 19:12

          @niggard:

          When you can't sleep? Um heading towards to a gambling addiction actually. Pokies are evil.

          You can take that as you wish but I sincerely hope I am mistaken as I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

  • spackbace on 24/10/2016 - 03:04
    +6

    Mine:

    Competitions Won

    Win 1 of 61x $25 Gift Cards (1/Day), or 1x $100 Gift Card @ The Reject Shop (Daily Entry) — 1 prize
    McDonald's Monopoly - 1 in 5 Instant Win + Collect and Win — 1 prize
    Win 4 Tickets to See Monster Jam — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 3500 'Pepper Hackers' (WiFi Blocker) Worth $70 Each (100/Day) @ Dolmio (Buy 1x Specially Marked Jar) — 1 prize
    Scratch and Win $10, $20, $50 or $200 Store Credit from The Good Guys — 1 prize
    Instant Win 1 of 2000x Ice Break 500ml, or Win Sydney Trip for 2 Inc Hot Lap - Play Ice Break Challenge Game (PC or Phone) — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 300x Double Passes to Warcraft @ Acer — 1 prize
    Win a Family Holiday to Gold Coast, or 1 of 100x Family Movie Passes - Buy 2x Dolmio @ IGA/FoodWorks etc — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 6 Holidays/Other Major Prizes, or 1 of 950 Instant Win Prizes - Purchase Kit-Kat — 1 prize
    Win a Trip to Spain, a Trip to New York or 1 of 2690 Instant Win Prizes [Purchase Doritos] — 2 prizes
    Win 1 of 1200 Carman's Kitchen Super Berry Sampler Packs — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 1680 Round Towels (5/Hr) for Each Store - Buy Ovi from Caltex & BP — 1 prize
    [WA] Win 1 of 1000 Summer Adventures from The West Australian — 1 prize
    Win a Free 'Red Royale' or 'Pure Eden' Smoothie from Boost Juice - 400/Day — 4 prizes
    Win 1 of 660x $200 Lorna Jane Gift Cards - Buy Blackmores @ Woolworths — 1 prize
    Win Assorted Prizes from Roller Fortune Instant Win — 2 prizes
    Win 1 of 20,160 Buckets of Chicken from KFC — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 2,200 Gold Class Double Passes from Pedestrian.tv and Acuvue — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 400x Gatorade Cricket Coolers - Buy 3x Gatorade @ BP — 1 prize
    Win Various Daily Instant Prizes with Maccas Daily Prize Alarm (iOS/Android App) — 5 prizes
    Win a Limited Edition Halo 5: Guardians Xbox One Prize Pack & Pizza Bundle from Domino's Pizza Mogul — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 105 ARIA Red Carpet Experiences or Concert Double Passes - Coca Cola Come Alive — 1 prize
    Win a Unique Stay at a Hidden House from Airbnb or 1 of 15 Dyson V6 Absolute Vacuums (Daily) from Dyson — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 100 Experiences from Adrenalin.com.au — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 1100 Swarovski Bracelets Worth $50 - Spend $15 on Johnson & Johnson @ IGA/Supa IGA etc — 1 prize
    [WA] Instant Win Wiggles Tickets Inc Meet, Merchandise - Buy Brownes Yoghurt — 1 prize
    Win 30% Cashback on Hard Drives from Seagate - 30 Prizes/Week over 6 Weeks — 1 prize
    Salsa's Eat, Scratch, Win. 1 in 2 Wins [Purchase Required] — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 25x $3120 Gift Cards, or 1 of 1680x $100 Gift Cards - Buy 2x Cadbury @ Fuel Stations — 2 prizes
    Win 1 of 1,000 Garnier Miracle Sleep Creams Worth a Total of $19,990 from Garnier — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 5000 Virtual Visa Cards ($10 - $1000) from Schweppes — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 25 Pixels Merchandise Packs from Scoopon — 1 prize
    Win Mad Max Game Hoodies and T-Shirts from EB Games — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 250 $10 iTunes Gift Cards from Scoopon — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 10x XB1+Kinect or Instant Win 100x $100 - Buy Pringles from IGA — 1 prize
    Win "Pitch Perfect 2" or "We Are Your Friends" Prize Packs @ BOOST JUICE — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 2500 Personalised Gatorade Boot Bags - Purchase 2x Gatorade at Woolworths — 1 prize
    Win a Trip to the AFL Grand Final, or 1 or 6858 Instant Win Prizes - Purchase Gatorade — 4 prizes
    Win 1 of 100,960 Prizes Instantly (Food, Vouchers, Movie Tickets, Gift Cards, Holidays, Radio Host Experience) from McDonald's — 5 prizes
    Win 1 of 3 Double Passes to See Blur (Band) in Melbourne/Perth/Sydney from Jack London — 1 prize
    Win Various Gift Cards/Vouchers (Endota Spa, Gold Class Movie, JB Hi-Fi, Netflix, Myer & More) from Birds Eye (Daily Entry) — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 200 $40 Event/Village Cinemas Gift Cards (Instantly) or 1 of 5 $1000 Westfield Gift Cards (2nd Chance Draw) from Foxtel — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 350 $150 Lorna Jane Vouchers (10 Daily) - Purchase Vaalia from IGA — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 3 Trips to Sydney (Valued at $7400), 1 of 5000 $20 iTunes Cards from Woolworths/Cadbury — 1 prize
    $5000 Worth of Instant Win Prizes to Be Won with Paint Place — 4 prizes
    Win 1 of 2,000 1kg Friskies Cat Food Packs @ Coles Flybuys — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 1000 Skull Candy Headphones (Valued at $49.95) - Buy A Pack of 5gum @ Woolworths — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 200 Double Movie Passes from Telstra (Telstra Customers Only) — 1 prize
    Tradies, Win a $50 Coles/Myer Gift Card from All Trades Cover — 1 prize
    WA - Win Tickets to Local AFL Matches from Thirsty Camel — 1 prize
    Win $25/ $50/ $100/ $1000 Virtual Visa Cards from McDonald's Drop into Maccas 2 App — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 100 Lynx Styling Gel Foam (Valued at $10ea) from Coles — 1 prize
    Aquarium of WA (AQWA) - Win a Family Ocean Pass (4x Family Tix for a Year) - Drawn Monthly — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 224 $100 Eftpos Cards - Purchase 2x Pepsi Products @ Caltex — 1 prize
    Coles / Coles Express - Win 1 of 5000 $10 Coles Gift Cards - Min. Spend $5 on Cadbury — 1 prize
    Coles - Win 1 of 100 Kit Kat Whirl Block Packs — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 323 Double Passes to Future Music Festival - Purchase 2x Pringles from Woolworths — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 50 Pepsi Max TV Coolers Worth $456 Each - Purchase Pepsi etc from Woolworths Petrol — 1 prize
    Win a Clipsal 500 Experience Grand Prize, 1 of 2307 Instant/Minor Prizes from Farmers Union — 1 prize
    WA - Win Tickets to Oz Rock 2015 from Thirsty Camel (100 Double Passes) — 1 prize
    Win Tickets to "What We Did on Our Holiday" Movie Screenings — 1 prize
    Win an Apple iPad, T-Shirt, Earphones or Sunglasses from Pandora — 1 prize
    Hoyts Freeze Your Seat - Find Locations for Free Movie Tickets (Excludes NT & Tas) — 2 prizes
    Win a $10/$20 Gift Voucher (for Many Retailers) from Optus — 2 prizes
    Instant Win Various Prizes with Coke "Colour Your Summer" (Requires Smartphone) — 4 prizes
    Win 1 of 5 Bottles of Jack Daniels Holiday Select Every Day — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 50 BIC Shaver Packs from Coles — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 30 Natio Jet Set Go Men's Skincare Packs from Discount Drug Stores + a tip for tomorrow — 1 prize
    Win a Domino's Voucher for a Traditional/Value/Chef's Best Pizza and 2 Garlic Breads from Tap King (1 in 2 Wins) — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 450 Four Pass to Disney’s Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day — 1 prize
    Instant Win over 1500 Prizes (Total Prize Pool $74,500) from Tennis Australia — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 10 BeefEater BUGG BBQs or 1 of 1000 Stubby Holders from Beef and Lamb — 1 prize
    Win $5000 Instantly Everyday, a $50 E-Voucher Every Hour or 10 Coke Rewards Tokens Every Minute from Coke Rewards — 1 prize

    Total: 472 entries, 98 wins

    Biggest wins:
    Dyson V6 Absolute - pure luck on an Airbnb comp
    Xbox One Halo Edition console bundle - luck with the right pizza topping combination from Domino's
    Beefeater Bugg BBQ - 25wol, sort of a heart strings one
    Trip for 2 to Bathurst (not in the list above, few years ago) - radio comp which started as 25wol - just entered something silly and stupid they must've liked

    • [Deactivated] on 24/10/2016 - 15:39

      Thats a damn impressive win rate

      • spackbace on 24/10/2016 - 15:45

        Doesn't include local radio online comps (try to enter weekly) and those that don't get posted.

        Usually some movie ticket etc in the mail every couple of months or so :) really helps sometimes

  • veej on 24/10/2016 - 09:20
    +1

    I haven't won anything decent for a while, I used to religiously participate in those survey sites that put you in a monthly draw and I won $1000 several years ago.

    I won a laptop from Continental about 8-9 years ago, one prize.

    If I go back further I won 3 stuffed tigers in the late 90's from entering a competition several times from the supermarket for what I think was Tiger cheese (not sold here any more as far as I know).

    I won a PS1 way back then as well, I also won a stereo from a That's Life! competition when I used to enter the competitions every week before I got a life and got too busy. Won some PC games from the newspaper comps.

    I've won a few other odds and ends too but I don't enter as many competitions these days.

  • savit on 24/10/2016 - 09:35
    +13

    Just checked my Junk email folder - it looks like I win them almost every day even without providing any details.
    Perhaps I have to change my antivirus.

  • Hellfire on 24/10/2016 - 09:44
    +2

    I work in marketing so get exposed to competitions quite a bit although I don't run any myself.

    BONUS: If you are a usual winner of the 25 words or less game, what's your game plan?

    Most of the time these are actually random draws, they won't ever read them all. They'll usually select the winners at random and re-pick any that aren't valid. If it is going to get published anywhere meaningful they'll select a random bunch and choose the best. Don't feel bad if you don't win, chances are that nobody ever read it.

    Funny or sad are usually the best. Mentioning the product will generally get you over the line as well because it's that little bit of extra free advertising. Some brands tend to like ones that align with their brand values/messaging.

    • anastasiastarz on 24/10/2016 - 22:24

      That hurts. But I've seen small companies e.g. Cristina Re read and reply to every single entry… it's crazy. Everyone talks about cancer, the burden of having 4 kids (as if the choice to pop out 4 makes you any special) or something deeply personal.

      • Hellfire on 25/10/2016 - 08:58

        Anything public like Facebook competitions tend to get read because they need to moderate and stand by their decision.

  • [Deactivated] on 24/10/2016 - 10:02
    +2

    Honestly, it depends how many times you enter. I remember today tonight did a story many many years ago about people who spent all their time applying for competitions (buying trolleys full of nescafe sort of thing) like it was a job, and they did win.

    • anastasiastarz on 24/10/2016 - 22:24

      They're mainly stay at home mums.

  • HYX on 24/10/2016 - 11:30
    +2

    Never.
    I'm always a bit weary of competitions that ask for address and phone numbers (a lot of them do so I back out), is it a coincidence that after I enter competitions I receive more marketing calls?

    Do you guys think it's ok to give away that info?
    I would like to win something for once /.\

    • spackbace on 24/10/2016 - 11:35
      +1

      Only time I get marketing calls is when I predict that I will - scholarship ones, anything related to real estate etc. Most will have a check box giving them authorisation to contact you, can normally not tick the box. If you have to tick it, be prepared for a call.

      I always give out full details and haven't had any issues. Pros outweigh the cons.

    • kerms on 25/10/2016 - 09:42

      XYH

      Never.
      I'm always a bit weary of competitions that ask for address and phone numbers (a lot of them do so I back out), is it a coincidence that after I enter competitions I receive more marketing calls?

      THIS! I get calls from Canadian pharmacy now offering me Cialis and Viagra since going in loads of competitions…Sigh!

  • Looking4Bargians on 24/10/2016 - 12:05
    +1

    never

  • Spending2Much on 24/10/2016 - 12:53
    +3

    I've got to be one of the unluckiest people around. Except for my girlfriend. She's very lucky. She got me. Then I got her. Winner.

    25 words or less.

    Still don't win anything, my numbers never come in…. until my numbers finally up

    • mightygirl on 24/10/2016 - 13:11
      +4

      Awe made my day babe 😘 I agree… I'm a very lucky girl!

  • Viderzo on 24/10/2016 - 13:13
    +7

    I once received 5 nuggets when I bought a 6 McNuggets pack, does that count?

    • Thenarrator on 24/10/2016 - 20:20
      +1

      you won -1 nuggets. congrats you get to speak to the complaints department or worse no one at all but your dampened ego

  • DarkOz on 24/10/2016 - 13:18
    +2

    I win all the time but the problem is that my winning is always less than the outlay.

  • Dr Prepper on 24/10/2016 - 14:08
    +3

    My dad has won the memberdraw at Bankstown sports club twice. First was $25000 and 2nd was $10000.

    But I think this has to be weighed against his losses from his poker machine addiction.

  • rake on 24/10/2016 - 14:49
    +1

    Is there an authority in Australia that keeps a check on the companies? Is there anyone that even keeps a track if there is indeed a winner and that the competition isn't rigged?

    • niknah on 24/10/2016 - 15:21
      +1

      They need to publish the results at a certain time, it's usually in the fine print.

      You need a permit for your state…
      https://www.onegov.nsw.gov.au/new/categories/promotion-lotte…

      https://www.liquorandgaming.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/gam…

      Do penalties apply?
      Yes. There are penalties for conducting a lottery contrary to requirements, including:
      • failing to award the winner the prize
      • conducting the lottery fraudulently
      • misappropriating prizes
      • making false statements
      • failing to keep books and records
      • awarding prohibited prizes
      • unlawful advertising
      • hindering or obstructing authorised officers or police.

      • Gravy on 24/10/2016 - 15:33

        No permit generally required if its a game of skill, hence why many are 25 words or less contests.

      • rake on 24/10/2016 - 16:03

        Thanks for the info, much appreciated

  • niknah on 24/10/2016 - 15:29
    +1

    I work with a business that does this stuff.

    The most I've ever seen given out was when they failed to get enough people to do the survey and everyone got a prize. Only happened once.

    Read the fine print, some times the big prizes are across multiple promotions. Where you get put into a big draw with all the people who did other promotions too.

    As an example:
    Chances of winning a $1-4k prize is usually about one in 10k+.
    A $30 prize, one in a few hundred.
    But there're usually freebies, a digital subscription, etc. that doesn't cost anything to produce.
    But it's up to the promoter.

  • TightAl on 24/10/2016 - 16:58

    I have only won two random dip prizes..

    $300 Cycling Helmet
    $4,000 limited edition wristwatch

    I think I have lucked out now, never expected to win either but was a pleasant surprise both times.

  • Bargaingeek on 24/10/2016 - 17:04

    almost zero, maybe won 3 but they were hats and t shirts really lame.

    I know people who literally win Multiple massive prizes throughout the year. A friend of mine's uncle won 1x Porsche car, then next year won $500K at a lottery, then few years after that won a Nissan car, no kidding.

    And i know other people with similar luck patterns like just winning prizes on regular basis

    • spackbace on 24/10/2016 - 17:09

      Some people spend a ton to try to win the purchase comps. I'm a lurker on a forum which is competition based, and primarily they seem like middle aged women (and older) that enter everything they see, and buy up products to try to win
      I'm picky, cbf entering my details for a DVD prize

      • anastasiastarz on 24/10/2016 - 23:41

        That's crazy dedication, would be pretty interesting to read about it if they had a blog.

  • xabiso on 24/10/2016 - 19:19

    Competitions Won (6 months of joining almost everything "easy" listed on Ozbargain)
    Win 1 of 10 Sunbeam Rice Perfect Rice Cookers (Weekly) from Sun Rice — 1 prize
    Win 1 of 100 Microsoft Lumia 640 Packs (Facebook Req.) — 1 prize

  • Fexofenadine on 24/10/2016 - 19:54
    +1

    I hardly ever win the luck-based competitions.

    However, answering your bonus question, I once won a $7,000 travel voucher. This was a '25 words or less' competition run by a company for students attending their stalls at uni open days around Australia. I got wind of the competition beforehand and spent the night before writing an acrostic poem basically sucking up to the company. I'm pretty sure almost all the other entries would have been from students scrawling some words down in between attending stalls and getting free stuff/networking for jobs, so anyone who put in effort was always going to be a chance of winning. Was worth it though!

    • b-hunterr on 25/10/2016 - 17:16

      Do you remember the winning suck up poem?

      • Fexofenadine on 26/10/2016 - 11:44

        Unfortunately not, but the company name was about eight letters long so each line had only three or so words in it, I think in rhyming couplets.

  • fruit on 24/10/2016 - 21:22

    Once

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