Have you seen this weeks issue of Pick Me Up magazine? PrizeFinder fan Kathy tells us her brilliant comping story on the centre pages!
Kathy started comping when she graduated from University in 2008 - whilst looking for a job she also spent her time entering competitions on the internet (here at The PrizeFinder of course!) and the prizes that she can't use, she sells on eBay to make a bit of cash. Kathy recently told us about her first holiday win to Belfast on the winner's page too!
Here are some of Kathy's tips:
• Entering online is best, because you don't have to pay for postage or envelopes
I have to agree here - the rising cost of stamps is shocking!
• Go for comps with prizes of lower value, you'll stand a better chance of winning
This is sometimes true, although you'd be surprised how many people enter a competition to win a £10 voucher! Like me, Kathy has won prizes in recipe competitions - any comps that need a bit of extra effort are well worth doing!
• Save this as one of your favourite sites - www.theprizefinder.com - I've won lots of prizes through this.
Well, what can I say?
Thanks for the recommendation Kathy - and best of luck with your comping!
Reading Kathy's story reminded me of when I started comping back in 1997. I was the same age as Kathy - and I too discovered that selling on prizes was a great way of making a bit of extra money! The first two major prizes I won were a guitar signed by Noel Gallagher, and an expensive laptop. I wanted to keep them - but being young and single, I also wanted to travel the world! So I sold the guitar for £1600, the laptop for £2000 and I used the cash to fund amazing 3 week backpacking trips to Japan and the USA. These were the first holidays abroad I'd had since I was a teenager, and they were the motivation for me to take my comping to the next level - soon I was winning all my holidays, and I've never stayed in a backpacker's hostel since!
These days I mainly enter competitions for prizes I want - or that I can give to my family and friends. Of course sometimes you do end up winning prizes that might not be suitable, so I occasionally sell phone handsets or other gadgets on eBay. The extra cash comes in really handy for holiday spending money, and the buyer always gets a great bargain - although with eBay, PayPal and postage fees so high it might not be worth the effort for smaller prizes!
If you'd like to join Kathy and submit a Winner's Story to us, you can do so at www.theprizefinder.com/submit/winners-story - you'll need to be a registered member, and can sign up here. Every month we pick a story at random and reward the member with a £50 shopping voucher!
