Saturday, January 30, 2010

My Giveaway Rules

Rules for giveaways hosted by my blog
  • If a mandatory entry is required, which will usually be the case, follow the instructions on the giveaway post. You only need to complete the mandatory entry once.
  • Entries are per person, but you are expected to enter only for yourself.
  • Extra entries will be allowed for blogging, check individual giveaways for the number of entries allowed. In posting on a blog, I will require the name of the sponsor with a link and the name of my blog, again with a link. Something in the order of "Win (sponsor name and link) (product) at (blog name and link)" is acceptable. If you choose to write more, thank you. No "click here" links. Copies of Twitter posts on a blog are not a blog entry. Leave a direct link to your post in your comment.
  • Extra entries will be allowed for posting on Twitter, again check the individual giveaway for the amount of entries. Remember to leave a direct link to the tweet in your comment.
  • Open to those 18 years of age or older unless otherwise stated on the giveaway post.
  • Open to US residents unless otherwise stated on the giveaway post.
  • Email must available in profile or be in comment
  • Winners chosen by random.org and notified by email
  • Winner has 72 hours to claim, if prize is not claimed within 72 hours, an alternate winner will be chosen
  • The prize will be shipped by the sponsor. If there is ever a problem receiving a prize, I will contact the sponsor and try to get it resolved. However, I am in no way responsible for prize delivery.

Tropical Traditions Coconut Peanut Butter Review and Giveaway

I recently had the chance to try Tropical Traditions Coconut Peanut Butter. It contains two ingredients: organic Valencia peanuts and organic dried coconut.


I didn't know what to expect, the taste is different, but good. It's a good balance of coconut and peanuts, there is a coconut taste, but it doesn't overwhelm the peanuts. So far I haven't been very creative, I've just had it on toast.

Our house is kept cool this time of year so we have to take a little out of the jar and warm it slightly to make it spreadable, the opposite would would true in warmer months, the oils would separate and you would have to stir it to mix it again.

Thanks to Tropical Traditions you can have a chance to try a 16 oz jar of Coconut Peanut Butter, a $14.99 value for yourself. They also have it on sale at their site for 50% off. You can get it for $6.99 a jar until Sunday February 7.

Please read the rules before continuing

Additional Rules: Open to US and Canadian residents

Mandatory: Check out Tropical Traditions and comment with a another product you would like to try. Their list of organic and natural products just keeps growing. Edit: You only need to do this once

Extra entries:

Leave separate comments for each entry. If it says 2 entries, remember to leave 2 comments This giveaway ends February 13 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

Special Offer for First-Time Tropical Traditions Customers

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Blog owners please post rules for entering your giveaways

Post rules for giveaways

I obviously enter not only sweepstakes, but blog giveaways as well. Entering a giveaway on a blog is normally far more work than an ordinary sweepstakes entry. I have also hosted a couple of giveaways on my own blog and hope to do more. Hosting a giveaway also takes a good amount of time and effort.

It is my opinion that if a blog is hosting a sponsored giveaway, they should post rules. More specifically, whether entries are limited to "one per household".

I entered a giveaway recently on one blog where the only rule there was "no cheating" phrase stuck in with the rules. How do I know what she means by "no cheating" if no rules it is not posted. Do I think I know what she meant, yes, but that is beside the point. I never received a reply, when I asked in my entry exactly what she meant. I am not a mind reader, be specific.

Often I have heard blog owners mention entries from the same IP and they feel that it is cheating. I realize that that when they say that, they are usually looking at a slew of entries one after the other using different names/email addresses. In those cases, I would agree that the entries are not valid, but only if it is posted in the rules. Many times, the blog owner will state in other posts that they ignore those entries. However, I have noticed that in most cases, nowhere on their blog is there a link to a rules post, or is it written in the rules on the giveaway post itself, a one entry per person/household/IP restriction. Doesn't just ignoring those posts, without having an explicate rule posted, make them like the person who posted all the entries in the first place?

IP restrictions. Although extremely unlikely, but, because IP addresses once released are reassigned, there is an remote chance of someone disqualifying you if they were to enter the same sweeps if there is an IP restriction. In cases of using a public computer, like at a library, many people share the same IP.

There's a situation that I recently read about where family members, living in three separate houses located on the same property, had a shared mailing address and shared an internet connection. Three separate households in a sticky situation as far as sweeps and giveaways go.

I have a roommate and we both enter sweepstakes and giveaways, in fact, I'm the one who got her started. We are two totally different households living under one roof, which normally puts us under the "one per household rule". Since she uses my computer and internet connection we often have the same IP. If it's an item that both of us would like, and there is not a one entry per household/IP listed we will sometimes enter the same giveaway. Are we being disqualified because of the same IP, even though no rule is posted? I most normally enter in the mornings, she in the evenings. Sometimes it gets a bit stickier than that, Junie is also a stroke victim and has a problem with words, so I usually help her a bit. I keep things short out of choice, she asks me for help because she is afraid of being made fun of. Although not written in my rules, she is not allowed to enter any giveaway hosted by me.

I also have set up my disabled neighbor (we live in a duplex) to use my wireless connection, giving him the same IP. Although the likelihood of him entering blog giveaways at this point are rare, I did have to let him know that he is not allowed to enter any sweepstakes/giveaways without first checking out the rules for IP restriction and seeing if it is something I am entering.

Kind of puts all of us in a sticky situation as well.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Win Soap Nuts

Soap Nuts Laundry Detergent has a giveaway for three prizes
  1. A 500g (1.1 lb) bag of Greener Living Soap Nuts
  2. A 1 kg bag of Greener Living Soap Nuts
  3. A 1 kg bag of Greener Living Soap Nuts and a set of coconut scrub pads
Ends 1/28

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Crossing my fingers

Well, all we have left to do is wait for Mom Bloggers Club to choose all of the winners for the Simplify My Life Sweepstakes. As part of it was an essay contest for members, I was surprised by the number of essay entries on the last day. That did make leaving a comment for the sweepstakes part a bit harder. I think I was able to enter all but maybe four of them. There's one blog that I still do not see my comment, even after trying on different days, so I emailed her this morning.

I am not a creative writer, so I don't hold much hope for winning that part, there's some really creative entries out there, but, hopefully one of my comments on the other blogs will win. Wouldn't it be super cool if one of those who left a comment on my post won as well?

And... if I don't win it would be really neat if my friend did.

Let's wait and see.............

Monday, January 11, 2010

Win Soap Nuts

Enter at Mommy Loves Giveaways to win a 500g bag of soap nuts from Hazel Aid. Ends 1/15

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Win a Magic Jack

I'm entering the giveaway at Justin Germino for a Magic Jack. For me, a second line for $19.95 a year sounds like a great idea. Ends 1/15.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Simplify My Life Contest and Sweepstakes


Mom Bloggers Club Simplify My Life contest/sweepstakes is giving you the chance to win a HP Mini 110-1100 by Studio Tord Boontje. There will be a total of 6 prizes, 3 through the member’s only contest and 3 through the sweepstakes. At the bottom of this post you’ll find out how to enter the sweepstakes portion.

I normally don’t enter contests, especially written ones; I don’t have that special gift of gab, I’m a simple, straight forward type, more on the logical rather than creative side. But, I’ll take a chance this time; I really would love to win this beautiful HP Mini 110-1100 by Studio Tord Boontje.

Having a mini notebook would definitely simplify my life, the size and weight of the 110-1100 would make it perfect for on-the-go computing. I would also be able to easily take it around the house and out to the back yard. I can’t say the design would simplify my life, but it sure would be a joy to look at, I love it.

An added plus is that the HP Mini 110-1100 by Studio Tord Boontje offered through the contest comes with Windows 7 Home Premium. Although I haven’t had the opportunity to try Windows 7, from the reviews I’ve read, it’s perfect for on-the-go tasks, and I would love the chance to see for myself what else it can do.

Edit: The HP Mini 110-1100 by Studio Tord Boontje offered through the contest/sweepstakes comes with Windows 7 Starter.

Now, for your chance to win through the sweepstakes part, just leave a comment on this post by 1/20. Mom Bloggers Club will randomly choose 3 winners from comments left on contest entrants' posts on 1/29.
 

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