Translate

Mission Competition

Top Money Saving and Comping Tips from a 21 year-old Student keen to make my limited budget stretch the semester!

Follow me on Twitter:@LaurieBeat and Instagram: @lornab22 or email any queries to lauriebeat@gmail.com

Join the Facebook group for more tips and a comping community!

Luck and love!

Friday 25 November 2016

eBay Bargains with Goofbid


With Christmas fast approaching, shopping increases and funds consequently decrease. As I am busy studying at the moment, I am not only on a money budget, but also a time budget, and so mastering the art of online shopping in the cheapest way possible is important.

Today, I have enlisted the help of Goofbid to share some of the best ways that you can use eBay to grab a bargain. I have used eBay for a good few years now, not only as a purchaser but also as a seller, and is a great way to sell off unwanted gifts (or prizes) and put that money into getting the gifts people will really want (or treating yourself to that bag you've been eyeing up for ages). Keep

When selling items, there are a few common mistakes that are made. One of these is the pictures. be sure to get the item in a good light (natural light is best, so try taking the photo near a window) and with a clear background (I use my desk a lot as it is a neutral colour). Make sure your first picture is eye-catching and shows the whole item off, as this is the first impression the buyer will get.

Another issue is spelling. Always, always, always double check the spelling of an item, even if you are sure. I was once wondering why a Cath Kidston bag just wouldn't budge until I realised that I was advertising a lovely floral Cath Kidson bag, and so wasn't coming up in any of the searches. This one is good to note though if you are looking to buy something much cheaper. Items that are spelt wrong are much less likely to be seen, and so bids may not reach as high a price. This is where Goofbid comes in, as they have an eBay Misspelling Tool that finds auctions that you would never be able to find due to little wording mistakes. You don’t even have to manually search, just use Goofbid’s typo finder.
Goofbid - Best Auction Sniper & eBay Tools

How do I use the eBay Misspelling tool?

It’s really easy to use and you can find a great bargain a lot quicker than you would without using the tool. All you have to do is visit the tool and type in the correct spelling of the item you want to find, the less specific the eBay search is the more bargains you will find.

You can refine your search too and find even more eBay deals and using the keyword search tool you can filter eBay items, so you can find misspelled items that slip off the map. Once you find a fantastic bargain all that is left to do is place a snipe using Goofbid’s FREE eBay sniper.

The FREE Goofbid Sniper is another tool that helps you bid on items without being outbid. By entering the eBay item number and your maximum bid the sniper automates the process and will snipe the auction just a few seconds before it ends, you can guarantee that you will have the best chance of winning. Bidding close to the end is always a good way to make sure you will be the winner, but doesn't always happen at a convenient time for you, which is why Goofbid is so handy.

The fully automated Goofbid sniping tool is simple, effective, reliable and best of all completely FREE!

How do I use the Goofbid Sniper Tool?

All you need to do is create an account on Goofbid, and once registered go to the sniper page and enter the item number of the eBay item which you’d like to win. Enter your maximum bid on the item, remember to check the listings page as you need to confirm you are sniping the correct item. Set the snipe and then you can relax whilst others bid amongst themselves in the run up to the end of the auction.

Be sure to check out some of the the other great tools that Goofbid has to offer - located along the top of the website.


Top eBay tips:


  • Get the cheapest results by selecting “Zero Bid Only” and selecting a price range between £0.01 and £0.99.
  • There are not only misspelled items, items can also be categorised incorrectly. Keep an eye out for products in related categories such as computer consoles appearing in Games and Accessories categories.
  • If you see a Best Offer option, don’t pay full price. Remember that in listing an item with an Offer available, a seller will have an acceptable offer in mind.
  • You can check the eBay going rate for similar items by typing in the search box and ticking ‘completed items’ on the left. A list of prices similar auctions will come up, if you select ‘lowest price’ and the price is black, that means no one bought it so you won’t need to pay more than the average.
  • Try to haggle on buy-it-now listings or auctions with high start price and no bids, there’s no harm in asking for a discount.
  • If you’re not familiar with eBay, you can buy cheap items to start learning the ropes. Try bidding on small items to learn how the bidding system works.
  • Don’t be fooled by fakes, eBay does use a ‘flag and remove’ policy to help identify fakes but they do still come up. Keep a look-out for overseas sellers or branded items that seem really cheap.
  • Be sure to pay for items quickly, the better your scoring the more likely people may buy from you in future!
  • If you don't mind waiting, items from China can be bought at a real snip. I got an iPhone cover for 20p the other day - worth the 30 day wait. Just type in 'iPhone 5 Cover' and then order by price low to high + shipping (and that plus shipping bit is important).

So there you go, some top tips for getting your Christmas shopping on the cheap! Just be careful to order it on time for the big day!
Thanks to Goofbid for contributing your knowledge and insight into the world of eBay!
Luck and Love,

Laurie

Saturday 12 November 2016

My Comping Routine



When I reveal to people that I am a comper, a question I often get asked is 'How do you have the time for it?'. Well, balancing university and this time-consuming hobby can be difficult but I have built up some techniques which I find useful and that you can read about <here>. However, I thought I would break it down more specifically into what I do on a day-to-day basis, which will hopefully give a few of you ideas on how to organise your day. This is just my routine, and all compers vary on how much time they put in. This is one of the best things about comping - the amount of effort you put in is totally up to you, and can change depending on life commitments! Let me know your tips in the comments!

Morning:

First thing I do when I wake up is grab my phone. Now, although this may be normal for most people my age, I instantly start checking my comping apps. I start with Facebook, then Twitter and Instagram, checking my tags and direct messages in hope of a win.

Next up comes the emails. Recently I missed out on a big win of a £200 Red Letter Days voucher because I hadn't organised my inbox properly. I had some filters for the words 'congratulations' and 'competition' however this came up with so many results that I just couldn't face sifting through it every day.

Since then, I have made more specific filters such as 'Congratulations Laurie' and 'You're a Winner' and I make sure to check each of these as part of my daily routine.

Over breakfast, I either do some studying if its exam time, or squeeze in some more comping over my porridge. I use this time to do something that doesn't take too much concentration - I go through my instant win list <find it here>. I open all the tabs and then go through one tab at a time, entering each instant win once, and then go back to the start of the tabs and do it again. This means that you can spread out entries of instant wins that give you multiple entries per day (usually 3). This may increase your chance of winning as, if you have just played and it wasn't a winning moment, it's unlikely to be one 30 seconds later. You can increase this chance more by spreading it out throughout the day, but I just don't have time for this, so this is my most time-efficient way of doing it.

Mid-morning:

I tend to have uni for the rest of the morning, but always use the walk to uni for comping. I either do a few RT to win Twitter competitions, take photos for creative comps (my uni is too pretty not to) or scroll through my Facebook feed to see if a comp jumps out at me.

A competition worthy university
Lunch-time:

When I get back from uni for my lunch break, all I want to do is give the academic part of my brain a wee break. It also so happens that many of the free lotteries choose a new winner at around lunch time, so I use this time to click through and see if I'm a winner (no luck yet, but I won't give up). You can find a list of these lotteries <here>

Afternoon:

Back to the studying I'm afraid, with a wee break to RT every now and then. When I get home or just need a break from looking at maps (stereotypical geography student, I know), I start to work through my current wish list. Right now, a wee break away somewhere and a bike are top of my list. I use sites such as PrizeFinder or Loquax to type in the prize I'm looking for and order by closing soonest (on Loquax). I love entering ones that are closing soon, as it's nice to know that if you do win, you'll find out in the near future.


Evening: 

I usually have a working dinner to get through mounting uni deadlines (trying not to think about it to be honest) and then need the evening off, as I just amen't as productive in the evening when it comes to studies. Instead I will go out and do some sport, usually squash, and then sit in with my flatmates and watch a film or binge a show on Netflix (currently Call the Midwife). While this is on, I always enter Click-to-Win competitions. I have these organised so that it doesn't take much thought at all, and I can concentrate on the drama on screen.

The way I organise my Click-to-Wins is that I will look out for prizes I really want, go onto the 'Official Rules' and copy all the sites that it is featured on (normally only choosing ones with under 20 sites). I then paste this into an email to myself and star this email. This means that I can easily access the competitions and not just click randomly on things I don't even want to win. For more tips on Click-to-Wins read my post <here>.

Bed Time:

By this point I am shattered (I am no night owl) and head to bed. However, if there are competitions such as the Pepsi Max PS4 comp that are beneficial to enter late at night, I will enter these before crashing to increase my chances (I have even done this after coming in from a night out at about 3am - comping commitment). Perhaps a few last minute Twitter or Instagram comps and I'm asleep, ready for another day of comping and university.

This is my general comping schedule, but can vary from day to day depending on university and other life commitments. What's your rough routine? Let me know in the comments below and we can hopefully all learn a little something from one another.

For more time-saving comping tips, check out my post <here>

Luck and love,

Laurie

Monday 7 November 2016

A Day in the Life of a Comper.... Emma Louise Gough



Hello! I've seen you around so much on the comping scene, from prize unboxings to top tips on the Facebook group! How did you get into this hobby?
It was about 7 years ago, one of my brothers friends was posting on Facebook about winning loads of stuff. I messaged him and asked him what he’d been doing. He introduced me to Martin Lewis’s website, Money Saving Expert, or what us compers call MSE. I read the 'how to get started' posts and started to enter some of the daily comps.
My first win was a book, closely followed by a Kuhuna Watch - both of these comps were from Daily entries.
I dipped in and out of comping for a few years using only the MSE site, that is until I discovered Super Lucky Di’s website superlucky.me - Since joining her blog, buying her book, following her Facebook group, Instagram and Twitter and taking her tips and advice I’ve won in excess of £23K worth of prizes this year!! Compared to around £2K per year on average for previous years.

It was Di Coke that really got me into it as well! Out of that amazing number of prizes, what has been your favourite so far?
It has to be my Florida trip to Disney World that I won in January this year with Heart radio stations “Faces for Florida” promotion.
We are going in November, I’m soooooo exctied and so are the kids!!

The Winning 'Faces for Florida' Entry

Wow! That looks like it took a lot of effort! How long did it take to get the picture just right?

Well, it took around half an hour just to get the mickey mouse measles right, but it was so worth it effort!

Do you prefer physical prizes or experiences, like these sorts of holidays?
I would say experiences, because it enables me to do things I’d never be able to afford to do with my family and friends.

What do your friends and family think of this hobby?
They’re happy for me and supportive, especially when I get them involved.My husband, his children and my daughter all love it too! We have so much fun making video entries, such as one where we re-created our own Olympics! Creative entries are my favourite method of comping, especially the videos!

Aw, I love seeing them all feature in your prize unboxings too! How did you get started with unboxings?

It was Di Coke that got me into the prize unboxing. I often think sometimes...why am I doing this...especially when I might want to gift some of my prizes lol!! But Its a good way of keeping a record of what I've won, and it's lovely when people comment and you know your video has given them the motivation to either start comping or try a different tactic.

I totally agree, I love making my unboxings and hearing people's responses! What are your top 3 dream prizes you'd love to include in your unboxing?
I really would love a car, a super top notch SLR camera and a meet and greet with someone famous

Any tips for fellow compers?
Just keep searching, Google, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Bookmark your searches so you can check quickly every few days.
If you want to enter web draws quickly my favourite site is competition database, it’s really easy to use on a mobile or tablet too.

Any final comments about this amazing hobby?
A great quote from Zig Ziglar - who was an American author, salesman, and motivational speaker.
“Just remember you were born to win, but to be a winner you must plan to win and expect to win”

Wise words indeed. Thanks so much to Emma for taking part and you can read her blog <here> .

To take part in my 'A Day in the Life of a Comper', comment below or contact me on Twitter @LaurieBeat

Luck and Love,

Laurie


Tuesday 1 November 2016

Prize Unboxing: October 2016



Prize: Craft for Christmas/Hobbycraft show tickets
From: Papercraft Essentials
Entry: Online Form

Prize: Notebook and Pen
From: Princes Square Shopping Centre (Glasgow)
Entry: Instagram (Follow and Like)

Prize: Purse
From: Lilac Rain Company
Entry: Instagram (Follow and Tag)

Prize: Skye Ross Album
Entry: Click-to-Win
(tips on how to win Click-to-Wins <here>

Prize: Well-being books
From: Watkins
Entry: Instagram (post a picture of you being #effortlesslymindful)

(Update: She let me pick another book from the site to say sorry, which was so nice of her!)

Prize: Lipgloss
From: Fashion Artista
Entry: Instagram (Follow, Like and Tag)

Prize: Eds Easy Diner Gift Card
From: Lotus Biscotti
Entry: Purchase Necessary/ Photo Comp

Prize: Go for Gold Mug
From: Pink Sumo
Entry: Instagram (Follow, Like and Tag)

Prize: Primal Pantry
From: 20 cereal bars, cycling jersey
Entry: Twitter

Prize: Tea Infuser Bottle
From: Chia Buddy
Entry: Instagram (Follow, Like and Tag)

Prize: £100 Dents Voucher
From: Dents
Entry: Instagram (Follow and Tag)

Prize: Squeezy Marmite
From: Top Cashback
Entry: Twitter

Prize: T-Shirt
Entry: Facebook

Prize: Paper Flower Book
From: Project Calm Magazine
Entry: Instagram (Tag a Creative Friend)

This month's favourite prize: My Dads Cycling Jersey!