Susmans Suspend Their Competition
As of 11th January Biltong have stopped their competition. A note on their website states “Unfortunately we have suspended this until further notice due to a sad person abusing this great competition”. Loquax has contacted Biltong and are hoping to find out what has happened. Why anyone would abuse this competition is beyond us, but it’s sad that a long running competition could be lost.
Mansized Limit Entries To Regulars
Most competitions simply require you to answer a question and send in your details. You might have to register too. Mansized have taken things a huge step futher – for their new Xbox 360 competition “You need to post 50 times on our message boards to enter”. If you’re a regular poster then you have a good chance of getting a brand new console. In their recent competition a Macbook went to a ‘non-regular’ and so it seems to us that Mansized have reacted to keep their regular contributors happy.
Selling Prizes
We all know that many compers enter competitions to get something for nothing, and on occasions may sell their winnings. Fair enough! However, promoters often don’t like the idea that their giveaways are ending up on eBay or being sold, especially if the prize is high value or limited to specific usergroups (e.g. signed guitar, diving gear etc). By all means sell or swap your prizes (they’re yours to do what you like) – but perhaps it’s best not to announce you’re doing it from the roof tops, eh?
So How Are These Related?
Well, Loquax believes compers should be aware of the promoter and respect them for giving something away for free – and by not respecting the promoters could lead to more suspensions or tougher entry limits. As compers we should be at least seen to be engaging with the promoters website, taking time to read their competition details, taking in their terms and conditions, answering the questions as required (not waiting to be handed the answer) and if we’re lucky enough to win – thank the promoter accordingly.
A Utopian Idea
OK, the above is a utopian idea, but the point is this – just stop for a moment when filling in a form to enter a competition and consider the promoter and the site you’re visiting. It might not stop competitions being suspended or having hefty entry restrictions imposed or the prize eventually ending up on eBay, but at least promoters will know that some compers are trying to be a bit more considerate towards them!