Thursday, July 5, 2012

Are Cloth Diaper Giveaways Fake?

Check out this e-mail I received from one of my readers:

I am happyyyyyyyy, you know what? I won a medium wet bag from itzy ritzy, one thirsties duo wrap , one thirsties duo fab fitted .... If I were in your town, I would have drive to your home and given you a BIGGGG hug. It was after reading your post about "what have I won so far " I started entering giveaways. Earlier I used to think that these giveaways were fake. Thanks a ton for the post. Now I am keeping track of what I am entering to win in my blog. I am sooooooooo happy and thanks again ... Now I am into the spree of entering giveaways .God bless you and your family.

So I guess that goes to show that Cloth Diaper giveaway's aren't fake, and you can win! But just like anything else, it takes time, effort, and many losses (in most cases) before you start to see the rewards! Cloth diaper manufacturer's, retailers, and stores like to use these giveaways as a way to draw new fans. The occasionally give away diapers or accessories to "get their brand" out there. These giveaways are legitimate, but you must remember that there are hundreds or even thousands of entrants sometimes, so your chances may be small, especially on some of the big giveaways. 

Why Do I Enter Giveaways?
Soon after I started Cloth Diapering I began to realize that I was "addicted to fluff." I mean who would have imagined that someone could love CLOTH DIAPERS! Needless to say, I wanted to try as much fluff as I could...I mean all those cute prints and colors...who could resist? There was only one problem...I had $0 to spend.

Making the transition from working full time to being a (mostly) stay at home mom was a huge hit to our finances. We would have to make sacrifices. If my excuse to use cloth diapers was to save money...how could I justify spending more money on them? Answer: I couldn't. So if I wanted to get more fluff, I had to win it! 

I started entering every contest I could find while I nursed my son. To my surprise, I started winning things! The list below is all the things I have won since December 2011
  • 3 Booty Buns Cloth Diapers
  • 1 Rumparooz G2
  • 12 Flats, 2 Diaper Rite Covers
  • Hanging Planetwise Wet Bag
  • Amber Teething Necklace
  • 1 Incredibum AI2 Cloth Diaper
  • 2 Bags of Cloth Diaper Detergent
  • 2 SoftBums Cloth Diapers
  • Wool Dryer Balls
  • The Balm Prize Package
  • Small Planetwise Wet Bag
  • $25 GC to Etsy Cloth Diaper Store
  • 1 Fuzzibunz Elite
  • 6 Knickernappies Prefolds
  • Tiny Tush Cloth Diaper
  • Babylegs Bundle
  • Earth Mama Baby Angel Bottom Balm
Non-Cloth Diaper Related Giveaways
  • 2 Kindle Fires
  • Temporal Artery Thermometer
  • Bare Minerals Make Up Kit
  • Rubbermaid Recycler
  • Stuffed Animal
  • Baby Bullet Food System
  • Re-Play Toddler Food Set
  • Music CD

How Do I Do It?
  • Enter a LOT of Giveaways (Your Odd's are Higher the more you enter)
  • Do All/Most of the entries
  • Come back for daily entries
  • Check Your E-mail!!!!! I have won prizes where I was the 5th winner picked because the first 4 never responded!

Have you won anything from Blog Giveaways before?

If so, what have you won and what is your favorite "win"?

Did you ever think Blog Giveaways were "fake"?


26 comments:

  1. I love this post! My fiancee tells me all the time that these giveaways are fake! I have entered a lot of them since Jan 2012 and still have yet to win. Your post gave me hope!

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    Replies
    1. Good! Keep plugging away!! You will win eventually!

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  2. I didn't necessarily think they were fake, but did think I'd never win anything because I just don't seem to have that kind of luck. Persistence has paid off, however. I have won a Swaddlebees Simplex One Size diaper (recently from your blog) and The BALM Pits. Like you, can't justify spending money to satisfy my fluff addiction when I switched to cloth to save money, especially since I'm on my last baby.
    It just takes a lot of time and making sure you get every possible entry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah!!! You are going to love that diaper too:-) Thanks for entering!

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  3. They *aren't* fake! So far since I started this year (my LO is due 9/1) I've won:
    -Organic Caboose Bamboo Cover
    -GoGreen Diapers Adapt-A-Snap
    -Graco Pack 'n Play
    -ReGrow Roots (etsy) crocheted headband
    -Super Undie
    -Nellie's Laundry Soda
    -Woolzies Dryer Balls

    granted I entered about ~500 giveaways, and won 5, but still!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, those are some big wins!!!! Congrats:-) Your due date is close to my sons first birthday!

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  4. As you know I am a big winner of cloth diapers and other things ;) Yes, I have won LOTS of giveaways and I cannot stress enough...CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDER! I have had several winning emails go to spam including a $4200 CAMERA! I shudder to think of how many giveaways I may have won and deleted from my spam folder.

    Cloth diapers: 1 AMP Wee trunks, 1 bumGenius baseball diaper, 1 Smartipants, 1 BootyBuns, A Charlie Banana prize pack (3 OS diapers, a swim diaper and a pair of trainers), 2 WAHM diapers, Tiny Tush fitted & cover, 2 Happy Heinys (one giveaway), 1 Lotus Bumz, a GC to 123 Cloth Me (WAHM), 1 BabyKicks, 1 Giggle Life, 1 SoftBums Omni, 1 Modia diaper, a $50 GC to Kelly's Closet (I bought a Purple Rain AppleCheeks and a Hoot Best Bottoms).

    Non CD giveaways I've won a battery operated pepper grinder, a Canon 5D Mark III camera, a $100 Target GC, 2 little knitted stuffed animals and I think that's it. As much as I love my cloth diapers, my favorite win is the camera :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. a $4200 camera is AWESOME!!! That would be my favorite too! JEALOUS!!!

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  5. Where do you find all the giveaways to enter? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Check out my blog or giveaway linky...under the giveaways tab! Sometimes I just google search cloth diaper giveaways + July 2012

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    2. I find a lot on Twitter that aren't CD related just be searching tweets as well as sites like giveawayscoop.com and giveawaypromote.com

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  6. I win big on lots of things on blogs, but like everything else there are always sponsors that don't follow through. I won a Booty Bums diaper, and they never would return my email or the bloggers email that promoted them. Most sponsors follow through though

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Too bad:-( I know a couple of people who have won things and they never received them. I won a photo contest from a fellow blogger for $15 Pay Pal money and I e-mailed her 5 or 6 times and she kept telling me she would do it "this weekend." That was back in February! Just looks bad for them! Sometimes I wonder if I wasn't a fellow blogger if she would have cared more?

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  7. No, I never even considered that the giveaways were fake. I started entering contests a couple of months ago, and on one of my first contests, I won a Glowbug diaper with 2 inserts. So far, that is all I've won, but I keep entering and I'm hoping to have more wins. :)

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  8. Ladies it's me who sent this mail.Julie, nice to see your winning list, and thanks for correcting the spelling mistakes in my mail, my tablet acts up.

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  9. I LOVE giveaways! I never thought they were fake but it wasn't until September of last year that I actually knew about them and started entering. So far I have won:

    Set of 3 Planet Wise Snack bags
    Hemp Fitted/Contour Diaper
    bumGenius 4.0
    Rearz Diaper
    Handmade Plush Frog
    5 pack of cloth wipes
    Thirsties Duo Diaper
    AppleCheeks Little Bundle x2
    Litte Green Bird Custom Diaper Cover
    $10 Paypal
    $25 Paypal
    $100 Paypal
    CJ's Butter x3
    Zorb Inserts
    $250 Wooden Play Kitchen
    $25 GC to BC Fleecy
    Best Bottoms Diaper
    Baby Babu Diaper & Wet Bag
    Sunbaby Diaper
    GloBugs Diaper x3
    3 Pack of Thirsties Inserts
    12 Cloth Wipes
    Rockin Green Detergent
    Old School Cool Cloth Diaper
    EcoSprout Detergent
    $50 GC to LunaPads
    $20 GC to Ultimate Green Store
    4moms MamaRoo
    4moms Clean Water Tub
    4moms Sleep Trainer
    My Cloth Baby Diaper
    50 Tiny Prints Cards
    Dremel Multi Max Tool
    Cloth By Tel OS Pocket Diaper
    Couture Fluff Diaper

    I think they're all my favorite! :) I think I've won 2 or 3 that I never got but that never really deters me from entering more. And I absolutely agree with you about doing as many entries as you can and doing the daily entries. Good luck on winning more!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HOLY MOLY!!!! That is awesome! I thought I was good...you outdid me by a lot!!

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  10. As you know, I too have definitely won. It's one of the few ways I can afford the addiction, especially since I cloth diaper to save money.

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  11. I've never thought that! I've won many things, and won a cloth diaper in the very first cloth diaper giveaway I ever entered. To date, I've won about 28 diapers, a few wet bags, a Snappi, and many other non-cloth diaper prizes.

    Now, what's sad is when sponsors don't follow through. I won a large cloth diaper prize pack and while I was grateful for everything I received, I didn't receive all I was told I had won. But at least they sent prizes -I've won many things from other companies that I never received at all. That's always sad for me, especially when I've told my kids about it and it never shows up.

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  12. I know they're not fake b/c I've won a bunch of things, but it takes a lot of time so I've pretty much given up. Although, some of the ones you post are tempting!

    I've won:

    a flower headband
    baby tutu
    baby care book
    WAHM pocket diaper
    WAHM wetbag
    gourmet brownies
    Juppy baby walker

    My husband liked the brownies the best. :)

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  13. noo Not fake. About a year before I had my baby I decided to get a head start. I was working part time and I declared my other part time job entering giveaways for diapers. I bought a few that I wanted to try, but I really could full-time cloth diaper my girl just off the diapers I won (washing every 3 days. Sorry Amanda B my list is longer if you can believe it) besides diapers I won wet bags and detergent and all kinds of other baby goods. It was fun to win, I haven't really entered any since then though. Burnt out.

    That said, I love having a stash with a variety of diapers. It gives me a good idea of what I will buy in the future and if one of my girlfriends or sisters want to try a brand out before buying, I probably have it. It's awesome. Spread the giveaway love!

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  14. Julie thats a lot OMG!! YOU GO GIRL!!

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  15. I have won A LOT over the last 3 years I have been entering giveaways. I stash toys and such in a closet and more than half of santa and easter bunny gifts came from my wins. I have won several prizes valued at over hundred dollars. I consider it my hobby :)

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  16. I have won a handful of things, namely diapers or wet bags.... I did win 2 Step2 items though! One Kangaroo climber and 1 of the wagons! My son LOVES his wagon! Now I have giveaways on my own blog :)

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