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5 Reasons Why You Should Always Read Sweepstakes Rules

It's important to read the rules for yourself. Find out why.

By , About.com Guide

If you enter a lot of sweepstakes, it's tempting to enter without taking the time to go through all the legalese. But it's a bad idea to enter any sweepstakes before you've read the rules. Even when you're in a hurry, it's important to at least skim through the rules before you enter. Here are the top reasons why reading through the sweepstakes rules every time you enter is vital.

1. Reading Sweepstakes Rules Helps You Avoid Disqualification

You may assume that the only thing you need to do to enter to win is to submit the sweepstakes form, but without reading the sweepstakes' rules, you won't be sure. You may need to take another action, like clicking on a link in an email, answering a question, or subscribing to newsletters, to be eligible to win.

The rules also include other vital information to keep you from being disqualified, like the number of times you can enter, whether other family members can enter from the same computer, whether you have to hand-type your entries or can use Roboform or your internet browser's autofill function, whether you can enter for other people, and much more.

So do yourself a favor and make sure that your entries will be eligible to win by reading through the rules before entering sweepstakes.

2. Read Sweepstakes Rules to Maximize Your Entries

Sometimes, there are extra ways to earn entries into sweepstakes, like referring friends, spreading the word about the sweepstakes with Twitter, answering trivia questions, entering through another site, and more. Reading the sweepstakes rules ensures that you're aware of all of the possible chances to win.

3. Reading Sweepstakes Rules Saves You Valuable Sweeping Time

To win prizes, it's important to maximize your entries you can make in the time you have. But skipping the sweepstakes rules can actually end up costing you valuable sweeping time.

For example, the sweepstakes rules can let you know if you're wasting time entering when you're not eligible to win, if you can skip steps in the entry process, or if there's an alternate entry method that's more convenient for you.

There are plenty of good ways to save time entering sweepstakes, but skipping the rules isn't one of them.

4. Reading Sweepstakes Rules Saves the Sponsor Valuable Time

Sweepstakes are a good way for companies to advertise, but they can be time-consuming as well. If you enter sweepstakes without taking time to read the rules and missing steps or entering sweepstakes that you're not eligible to win, you're not only wasting your own time but the sponsors' as well. Sweepstakes work best when it's a win-win situation for the companies and the entrants, so being a considerate sweeper encourages companies to hold more giveaways, which is good for everyone.

5. Reading the Sweepstakes Rules Helps You Avoid Hidden Pitfalls

Not all sweepstakes are created equal, and some of them might have hidden pitfalls that you should be aware of before you enter. For example, that text message entry method might come with a premium messaging fee, or that free vacation sweepstakes might come with annoying calls from a timeshare company.

Reading the sweepstakes rules helps you ensure that you aren't agreeing to anything you don't want to when you enter the sweepstakes.

6. Conclusion

Sweepstakes rules might seem like a lot of confusing legalese, but they're actually full of important information about the sweepstakes you're entering. Take the time to read them quickly before you enter any sweepstakes to protect yourself and increase your chances of winning.

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