Competitions

New Zealand Competitions

Enter New Zealand competitions and prize draws to win. Read on to find out how to dodge the pitfalls of online competitions in New Zealand and improve your odds of winning radio competitions.

• Competitions
• Free Stuff

Entering competitions is a popular pastime for many people in New Zealand and around the world. If you're into winning things, nabbing freebies and getting something for nothing, a New Zealand competition – either online or offline – is for you. To be in to win, get all the information you need on entering competitions:

Online competitions
As a Web surfer, you can enter a wide variety of New Zealand competitions online. Some require you to enter your contact details or register, in order to be entered in a prize draw. There are also rewards programmes, allowing you to gather reward points by shopping at selected stores or sites, posting on forums or answering online surveys. There are many sites offering New Zealand free stuff, giveaways and prizes, but beware when you enter New Zealand competitions online:

• Your email address will often become the target of spam (unwanted junk email messages) after you've entered a competition online, so it's a good idea to set up a separate email account if you intend to enter a lot of online competitions
• Your street address may be the target of physical junk mail
• You may be contacted for market research purposes
• You should always read the small print for hidden terms and conditions
• Never give your credit card or bank details to enter a competition (this is likely to be a scam)

Radio competitions
Keep your ears tuned to New Zealand radio stations that regularly have prizes up for grabs. Chances are, if you listen to a radio station that plays music you enjoy, the prizes will also be to your liking. You might have to call and answer a question, be the 10th caller through, tell the most entertaining story or send an SMS text with your answer. For the best chances of winning:

• Have the number of your favourite radio station saved on your speed dial
• Hit the redial when you don't get through (unless they're looking just for the first caller)
• Listen and call at off-peak times when there are fewer people vying for prizes (in New Zealand, morning radio shows have a large number of listeners, so you're more likely to get through during late night radio shows)
• Listen to less popular radio stations and you'll have a high chance of getting through to enter or win a competition
• Make sure you're prepared for any questions you may be asked (there is no point getting through if you can't answer the questions thrown at you!)

Prize draws
There are many prizes and giveaways where winners are determined by a random draw. Often, prizes are part of a marketing plan, so they may encourage you to purchase a new product or give you an incentive to buy a large number of a specified product line (to collect tokens, find all the coupons in a series or find a certain number of clues). Keep an eye out for these promotional giveaways and competitions at your supermarket, at petrol stations, in magazines, in newspapers and in shops. For New Zealand competitions, make sure you:

• Keep your receipt (you may need proof of purchase to enter)
• Enter as many times as you can (if you're only allowed to enter once and you submit multiple entries, you may be disqualified altogether). Use common sense though and don't break the bank to win a $20 prize!
• Enter on behalf of your family members or room mates if the competition is limited to one entry per person – let them know first, though, and be prepared for them to stake a claim if you win!
• Try to enter prize draws from obscure companies or websites that don't receive very high traffic: the fewer entries there are, the greater your chance of winning

Beware of scam competitions
If you get a letter informing you of a great lottery win, it's probably too good to be true. Beware of scams that encourage you to call a toll number to find out what you've won. Recently, there have been a number of bogus SMS competitions shown on television advertisements in New Zealamd. These kind of contests require you to send a text message to the number on the screen, answering a quiz question to win. If you enter these competitions, you'll be sent text messages which cost you money! Beware of scams and make sure you:

• Never pay money to claim a prize from a New Zealand competition
• Never give your credit card or bank details to claim a prize
• Think hard before calling an 0900 number or sending a chargeable text message

Looking for more information? Find NZ competitions in the NZS.com directory.

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Lifestyle images from Flickr: Purple Flowers, Yoga and Wine.