Just curious.

You always see a company or manufacturer in a giveaway such as "enter to win $12,000 worth of guns/gear" or "enter to win a 2018 Mustang GT" where you enter your e-mail and information.

I pretty much figure those places are going to flood your inbox with advertisements and probably sell your contact information.

Has anyone actually won one? I'm just wondering if they're real or not. It's not like they couldn't just make up a name/place of a "winner" and say someone won.

I had a friend win 70 boxes(years worth) of carnation instant breakfast in college. He was probably the only one filling the stuff out and sending it in. I never have.

I won my weight in meat one time.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by rbert0005:
I won my weight in meat one time.

Bob

Okay, we need to hear the full story on this one.

If you're on Facebook you normally get posts that say a company has too many RV's and you have a chance to get one. All you have to do is "like" the page, post a reply, the share it. It's a scam called "like farming. Nobody wins anything.

"Like farming" is based on the reality that the more likes a page gets, the more valuable it is. In the example, the "like farming" is allowed to continue until a threshold is reached. Then
"Then, once the page has a sufficiently high popularity rating, the like-farmer either removes the page's original content and replaces it with something else (usually malware or scam advertising); leaves the page as is and uses it as a platform for continued like-farming in order to spread malware, collect people's marketing information or engage in other harmful activities; or outright sells the highly liked site to cybercriminals in a black market web forum.
https://www.consumeraffairs.co...you-like-042215.html

Then there's the post "Can you name a fish that doesn't have an "A" in its name? Then there's my favorite, a math problem. Again this is a shame:
"A close cousin of like-farming might better be called “response farming,” or just clickbait: posts designed solely to elicit a response. It differs from like-farming in that like-farming is done by actual scammers, whereas response-farming is usually promoted by actual companies to increase their Facebook popularity rankings. Look at the promotional Facebook page of a typical genre-music FM radio station, for example, and you're almost certain to see lots of response-farming memes.

One such meme that's been around since at least early 2013 involves asking a ridiculously easy question, usually followed by commentary suggesting the question is actually quite difficult:"
https://www.consumeraffairs.co...you-like-042215.html

These scams work as most people hit "like" without thinking.

Rarely, you'll see a local business that offers say a chain saw for liking the page it's to increase the business' advertising and sometime they even give the chain saw away.

The mustang. If it was real, the company would make a big deal of it

https://www.usatoday.com/story...l-you-read/81264440/

I won a case of Interlux paint at the 1984 Annapolis boat show. The prize was 2 gallons of bottom paint, which we didn't need on a trailered skiff. So, the nice folks sent us a case of #300 ultra white topside paint. Best paint I ever had, still have one quart left unopened. Wish they still made it.

I used to buy all our meat at this one meat market.

I noticed a poster of the contest,asked about it and wound up winning.

The only tricky part was that I had to buy a freezer :-)

Bob

Won a car once, but I didn't have the $2000 they said I had to send them first to pay the taxes so I didn't get to claim it...

I did win a set of three wooden duck plaques / wall hangings at a store grand opening. I was about 5 or 6, 56 or so years ago, still have them somewhere. Had them on the wall till we moved a couple years ago.

I won a raffle at a strip club one time, but never anything online.

Father-in-law (a very persuasive attorney) won a new Cadillac once, then got the dealership that donated it to "cash him out" for it. I think that was the last time they donated.

won a couple of Karma's here over the years,

won a Glock in a raffle (actually had a choice of firearms, and picked the G30)

and if I believe my emails, I've won a ton of money from some Nigerian princess,, but I never collected

Won a free trip to the Big Island for the Iron Man.

This was in the 80s and pretty much all Iron Man applicants were allowed to participate, so I entered the race after winning the free trip, participated - and finished the race.

Not me, but my father has been exceptionally lucky at times, usually at things like Ducks Unlimited raffles and the like at big annual dinners/charity events. He and his buddies have won the grand prize (fishing boats, things like that) several times over the years.

I've won a few small giveaways, nothing big.

Back in the 80's my mom entered one entry for a car giveaway contest at 7-11 stores and won a 4wd AMC Eagle Wagon. (She was rather surprised when they hit her with a significant tax).

I get notifications for gun giveaways constantly but haven't been fortunate enough to win one as yet...

I win the lottery scratchers occasionally.
Mostly for 2 bucks.

Outside of a couple Karmas here, the most I've won is $200 in a high school football 50/50 raffle

My Aunt won a brand new VW Beetle. She ended up driving it for a year and selling for $14,000. Win win.

When Obama was re-elected, I bought a bunch of panic ammo that night (I know I know). In doing so I entered the freedom munitions election day ammo giveaway contest.

I was called the next day by their marketing director and was notified that I won 6000 rounds of ammo to be paid out 1000 rounds per month for 6 months.

It was awesome!

Friend of mine here won a Vespa Scooter once upon a time.

I entered and won a contest Guinness was having once. Grand prize was a trip to the Guinness brewery and a 7 day vacation. Unfortunately I won one of the consolation prizes, a Guinness labeled CD case. That's the largest contest I've won from but I've won a few generous karmas here and a few jerseys from my local AHL hockey teams but nothing major.

A friend of mine is incredibly lucky and always cleans up when there's a raffle. At the annual friend's of the NRA dinners he's sure to win at least one if not more firearms and has won the grand prize a few years.