Thursday, June 26, 2008

And The Winner Is...


Me, once again, although it's been a while.

Remember how a while back I said I'd have to start shopping for a cell phone because my service provider, U.S. Cellular, wasn't going to support my old analog bag phone anymore? Well, lucky me. Looks like I just won the cell phone pictured to the left in a one- time drawing I entered.

Got a phone call this morning. At first I thought it was a telemarketer, but when she said I'd won something in the LG Electronics drawing I vaguely remembered entering a drawing from an LGsomething or another.

So she confirmed the e-mail address I'd entered under and just a few minutes ago they sent me the e-mail with a link to a page where I could actually pick my phone from one of five or six choices. You can see the choices here if you scroll down.

That's pretty cool they let you pick the one you want. Problem is I know nothing about any of them and, as I mentioned before, I didn't really want a phone with all the bells and whistles. I finally chose this one because they said something about it being user friendly.

So, in six to eight weeks, it should be delivered. Another win for the Freddy!!!

14 Comments:

At 3:46 PM, Blogger Kym said...

Yahoo, good for you. All I ever won is a cookbook. I'm envious.

 
At 3:47 PM, Blogger Rose said...

Awesome! Fred, you almost have me convinced that people DO win those contests!

 
At 4:16 PM, Blogger "Bob" said...

Just curious: you "won" this phone; do you have to sign a service plan contract to use it? Is that part a good deal? A lot of cell phone companies give away phones to get you signed to their service -- that's where thy make their money.

 
At 6:07 PM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

Bob wrote, "do you have to sign a service plan contract to use it?".

Good question. That's the first thing I thought of when the gal called me on the phone. She said something about buying something, after telling me I was told I won something.

The website I was sent to said nothing about buying anything. We'll see what happens.

Hey, what was it...6 to 8 weeks they said it would take for the prize to get here? Or was it more or less than that? Maybe it will turn out to be some lame thing like some other things I've supposedly won, but never received?

Still...looks like a win.j We'll see what happens.

 
At 7:34 PM, Blogger Ernie Branscomb said...

Fred, if it sounds too good to be true...

 
At 6:29 AM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

I've won a number of things over the years, Ernie. Only been burnt once, and that was a computer I supposedly won but never received, even after I tried to claim it.

 
At 9:33 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

All cell phone companies give you a free phone if you sign a 2 year contract. Fred, I think you got scammed.

What do they call that candy on a stick thing? Oh yeah, an "all day sucker"

 
At 9:49 AM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

I doubt it. You have to realize I'm a sweepstakes pro. I've been entering sweeps for years, every day, for up to an hour and a half a day.

But I did wonder about this one. When I first answered the phone, I thought she was a telemarketer. She even said something along the line of using the link she was sending me in the e-mail to go online to 'set up a purchase", or something along that line.

But other than choosing what phone I wanted and providing a mailing address, no one asked for any credit card info.

Sounds good to me. If for some reason it shows up with postage due, or it's a COD delivery, I simply refuse it. Legitimate sweeps never ask for money up front.

About the only thing else I would think they might do is have the phone already set up for some service that they think I'd just sign up for. All I'd probably need do if that happens is go down to U.S. Cellular and have them set it up to replace my current phone.

I believe I got my current phone for free like that. I believe it had a one or two year commitment. It cost me around $36 a month for 30 free minutes. That was years ago.

After I fulfilled my commitment I called them up and cancelled that deal and just signed up for their "Security Plan". It's like $10.00 a month for ten free minutes. It's actually closer to $13 a month after all the fees and taxes and I can count on one hand the number of times I use that phone in a year, but it's affordable and nice to have in case I need it.

 
At 12:45 PM, Blogger Kristabel said...

Nice, Fred.

With your penchant for entering contests, I can't believe you haven't entered ours. Or are you frightened of the prize? xo

 
At 2:04 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congrats....sort of.

You are only getting a good deal if you are willing to switch to Verizon. If you went to the Verizon store on broadway, you'd probably pay 50-150 bucks for that phone depending on what deals they had going on.

Unfortunately, you cannot use a Verizon phone with US Cellular. They've been very careful about that to keep us locked in to their networks. That's how AT&T is making $$$$ from the IPhone. Can't use it on any network but theirs.

So, if you want to switch to Verizon, you got a free phone. They could probably give you a more "user friendly" one for free if you sign a contract.

In my experience, Verizon sucks, US Cellular kicks butt. Spend 50 bucks on a cheap new phone and stay where you are.

It's unsolicited, but it's advice.

 
At 2:13 PM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

Thanks for the heads up. If that ends up being the case, I'm not going to switch, unless they have a deal the equivalent of what I'm getting with U.S. Cellular.

Oh well. I'm still entering between 4 or 5 sweeps where the prize is a cell phone. Maybe I'll get one of those, although I'm sure the ones sponsored by ATT are the same kind of deal you're referring to.

Kristabel wrote, "I can't believe you haven't entered ours. Or are you frightened of the prize?".

But wouldn't I have to buy something to enter yours? I only enter ones that don't cost me anything.

 
At 6:38 PM, Blogger Kristabel said...

But wouldn't I have to buy something to enter yours? I only enter ones that don't cost me anything.

Hee! No way, Fred. It's all about fantasy.

 
At 9:18 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fred, go down to Target and buy a Tracfone for like 20$. Buy 20$ worth of minutes[i think it's 60 minutes] and you'll be set until your minutes run out. My wife just did this and it's way cheaper than anything else I've seen going, plus you use what you pay for, not some monthly program and bill.

 
At 10:23 AM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

A bit of coincidence in that just yesterday I was at Rite Aid and decided to take a look at those pre- paid phone cards they sell. I noticed they also offer a phone to use with those cards that was only $14.95. Then, with one of those cards, you're all set.

I don't believe I saw one for less than $29.95 though. Still, if I could get one for $20/60minutes, that would be cheaper than what I'm paying now even if they do expire after 3 months, as I've been told.

So, I took a look at those Tracfones just this morning, still having the link in my bookmarks from last time we discussed this here. That works the same way.

If this phone I won doesn't work out to my advantage, I think I'll go with either the Tracfone or the ones Rite- Aid sells.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home