Tip: sometimes you can win!

I never win things. If there is a sweepstakes, raffle, or drawing of any sort, I pretty much don't win. (I guess this tendency is to thank for my never being motivated to get into gambling or the lottery.)


That being said, whenever there is a "customer survey"/"you could win..." notice at the bottom of my receipt, or in an email, or through some link like Bizrate, I participate. This is probably just because I really like taking surveys (yes, I'm a bit of a geek in that way).


This week I had a victory in that vein--a small victory, but I got some free stuff, so I'm feeling justified in doing all these customer surveys now! At some point in the past, I sent off for samples from Dentek (a manufacturer of dental products) and thus got myself on the Dentek email list. A few weeks ago, I received an email invitation for a "chance to win" upon completing a survey. Some people who responded to the survey would be randomly selected to receive free products, blah blah, and I took the survey just because. And (drum roll please) I won a $25 gift code. Combined with a 30% off promo code for Southern Savers readers this week, along with a free shipping promo, I got just over $35 worth of stuff for 52 cents out of pocket. I now have dental floss picks to last my family through the rest of the century, but the point is--they were free.


Moral of the story: if you have a survey invitation and a few minutes, take the time. It could be worth it.