Calling All Crowdtappers!

Yes I'm back to talk about Crowdtap again. If you recall I have written about them before, here and here. Crowdtap is a really simple opinion site that doesn't take much time or effort to participate in and rack up points, and points = prizes! All you need to do is answer their surveys and polls honestly so they can gear questions, discussions, activities, parties, and sample offers towards you and your specific likes and dislikes.

I have been a member for about a year now and have got some awesome things with minimal effort. I have been part of two Old Navy "Sample & Share Events" where you get two coupons one for you, and one for a friend for a FREE specific item in the store. My first "Sample & Share" was for a winter coat, and the other was for a Summer dress...FREE! I've also taken part in many discussions, won FREE tickets to advance movie screenings and received many samples of items to test, review, and hand out to friends and family (the most recent being Woolite Dark Care which is awesome BTW...).

For every answer you give, report you turn in and every Web Share you complete, you rack up points and you can cash these points in for rewards, most in the form of gift cards.
When Crowdtap first started, they used to let you cash out your points for $$$, but once people caught on to how awesome this site was they did away with that option. Just to give you an idea what you are working for,  here are a list of their current rewards:

$25 or $10 Amazon Gift Card  

$50 Bonobos Reward  

$5 or $10 Charity Donation

$50 ArtsicleGift Card  

$35 Blank Label Gift Cards  

$50 reward to Silver Linings

$20 Gift Card to Bucket Feet 

$50 Amanda Sterett Reward  

$20 Manpacks Gift Card

$15 Peeled Snacks gift card

$25 Dermstore Reward

$10 Reward to Journey Bar

$10 Gift Card to Shoebuy

$10 Gift Card to FloraFlora 

I don't remember how much I received in cash, but as far as rewards, I am at $90 in Amazon credits which, in my opinion, is the best option they have. FREE stuff just for giving your opinion and they almost never e-mail you and you can log on as often or little as you would like and earn points at your leisure. So what are you waiting for? Sign up here!

Keep on Whored-ing, and keep on Tappin!

Another Year Older and More Free Stuff

As I do every year, I turned another year older a few days ago. I love my freebies, so of course I signed up with a bunch of companies on Charlotte's post from a few months ago, and anxiously awaited my prezzies. To my surprise, there were a few extras I wasn't expecting!

A few of these are specific to my area, but this made me realize that all of you should look up your fav local eateries and mom and pop stores to see if they have a sign up sheet for an account, rewards program, or mailing list. If they ask for your birthday on the sign up there's a good chance they'll send you something, even if it's just a shopping discount! Hey, I like discounts, too!

2011: A time to reflect and brag

So, this post may make you hate me a wee bit, but gurrrl, don't hate 'cuz I work hard at sweeping. I want you to realize it's possible to win lots of good stuff, you just gotta keep trying.

Here's my highlights of 2011.

A three day wine tasting vacation

(I've never had so much wine in my life. I liked it)

Swanky Sweepin' Volume 14

Daily:

Beauty stuff ends 1/6, 100 winners

Trip to Disneyland/Disneyworld 60 winners, ends 2/29

Win a day with Perez Hilton so he can make fun of you. Lots of other prizes as well, ends 3/31. Needs a code, but they will give you a free one.

TVs and pizza to help you with your New Years resolutions. Ends 1/28

Single:

$60 Levis credit 25 winners, ends 1/10

Coffee gift basket 25 winners, ends 1/12

$1000 4 winners, ends 1/31

Vegas trip! 10 winners, ends 4/30

Philosophy gift set 10 winners, ends 1/31

An Underworld jacket so gawth. 20 winners, ends 1/26

photo: Haunted Mansion at Disneyland!

Swanky Sweepin' Volume 12

Daily:

Coffee Maker 150 given away A DAY. Ends 12/31

Box of Chocolate 15 winners a day, ends 12/31

Hello Kitty sunglasses 5 winners, ends 1/6

Money that's what I want. Lots of prizes, get a free code. Ends 12/31

Electronic Shtuff Ends 12/31, $1 million in prizes. I've won great stuff from them before!

Gift card 92 winners (Coach, Sephora, etc). Ends

Wine-O's Unite!

So you like wine? How do you feel about possibly FREE wine including shipping? I thought you'd like that... So, use this link and sign up for Lot18. "Lot18 is a membership by invitation marketplace for wine and gourmet food from coveted producers at attractive discounts". In other words it is perfect for us drunks on a budget.

Cheers!

How to Spoil Yourself on Your Birthday !

Visit all of these links and sign up for the free stuff you deserve! Because we know that there are more people out there that want to pamper and dote on you, we recommend that you check out all of your local eateries and shops for possible birthday freebies and/or e-mail clubs.

Acalpulco E-Club - Free Entree

AMF Bowling Club - Free Bowling

Anthro - Coupon and a cute little carrying case!

Applebee's - Free dessert

Arby's E- club - Free Birthday Surprise (Roast beef I'm guessing...)

Atlanta Breads - Free Cookie (none in CA)

Auntie Anne's - BOGOF Pretzel

House Party ! (And no, not the one with Kid 'n Play)

տուն կուսակցություն, nyumba chama, and casa fiesta all mean the same thing. And unless you speak Armenian, Swahili, or Spanglish you won’t have any idea what I am talking about. Two words (in English this time): House Party. Who doesn’t like house parties? Well, I guess whoever has to hose off the barf and wake up the drunk girls passed out on the front lawn wouldn’t like them very much, but those aren’t the type of house parties that I’m talking about.

Houseparty is an awesome website which gives you access to well known companies and their products. There are only two steps you need to follow. First, sign up and create a profile at houseparty.com; second, apply for a party. You can also better your chance of winning a host spot for a party by being involved in their forums and active on their facebook and twitter accounts. If or when you get approved for a House Party™, you will be the proud recipient of free stuff from whatever company approved you as a host. House Party™ will ship you enough supplies, coupons and other goodies for the number of guests you invited. All you have to do is select a date, invite people, and throw a bomb ass party. After the party, they prefer if you and all of your guests give feedback regarding the party and products.

BUZZ BUZZ Bitches!

Ever heard of BzzAgent? Wanna know what all the Bzz is about?  BzzAgent offers sweet as honey products to try for free! Okay, enough with the puns… Seriously though, are any of you aware of this amazing site BzzAgent ? It is a website set up to try new products and to share your honest opinion on those products. How does it work? You sign up and fill out some basic information and surveys about yourself. The more honest you are, the more relevant Bzzkits you will receive. This way you avoid being twenty-one and getting free Depends or having a dog and getting baby food.

BzzAgent sends products from top brands to everyday consumers (that’s us). You can try awesome products totally free. I have been a BzzAgent (someone who tries products from their website and reports on them) since February 2011 and have participated in six campaigns including Bil-Jac Dog Food, Trend Micro Titanium Anti-Virus, Kingston Flash Drive, Lawry’s Marinades and Seasonings, L’Oreal One Sweep Eye Shadow and Eye Illuminator Mascara, and SCJ Smart & Easy Spring Cleaning kit. All of these have been 100% free and 100% awesome! They almost always provide you with coupons to hand out as well as the free products they give you to sample. They make it very easy for you to honestly report on products using a five star rating.

Target Match Up’s for the week of 7/31/11

PERSONAL CARE

Axe Shower Gel $4.49
Buy 2 and use Buy 1, Get 1 Free from 7/31 Red Plum insert as well as $1/1 from the product itself (found on most bottles in Target)
Final price: $1.75 each after coupon

Dove Nourishing Oil Care Shampoo (12 oz.) $3.49         

Buy 2 and use Buy 1 Get 1 Free from 7/31 Plum insert as well as $1/1 Target printable                      Final price: $1.25 each after coupons      

The Dove Men+Care body wash with bonus deodorant on clearance for $2.78-$1.98                                             Dove Men+Care Body Wash w/bonus Deodorant $2.78
Use Target printable for  $1/1 plus Use $1/1 printable manufacturers coupon or $1/1 Dove Men+Body Wash Coupon from 7/31 Red Plum insert
Final Price: $0.78- FREE

Nivea Skin Firming Moisturizer (13.5 oz)  $12.99
Use $3/1 Nivea Good Bye Celluite Products manufacturer printable coupon as well as $3/1 Nivea Skin Care Item Target printable
Final Price: $6.99ea

Charlotte's top 5 surprise wins...

I only started entering sweepstakes and requesting freebies in late 2010 with a co-worker of mine. For being an active“Sweepstaker” such a short amount of time, I feel pretty good about what I have to show for it. Don’t get me wrong, I am not one of those people you hear about who don’t work, and sit at the computer all day, managing to win houses and cars and multiple vacations in a matter of months. I have won a good amount of small stuff, enough to keep me motivated to keep on trying.

My favorite part of my day is when I get home from work, and it’s not for the reason many of you may think. Sure, I like to kick off my shoes and relax when I get home from work, but I’m even more excited about checking my mailbox every afternoon. What on earth could be so exciting that I would check my mail box before I go inside to pee when I’ve been holding it for eight hours (our work bathrooms are disgusting).Well I’ll tell you! I enter for all freebies, coupons, sweepstakes, and contests that I can find. This results in packages and envelopes arriving to my doorstep at least once a week.

However, when I am in my “enter anything and everything” mode, I often enter for ridiculous items that are useless to me, items I think I could never win, or I forget what I have entered for altogether. There is nothing better than coming home to an envelope that could be holding one billion dollars in cash, or a box that could contain a year’s worth of Hostess products ; a girl can dream can’t she?

With the arrival of my latest random win, I figured I’d share with you my five favorite “surprise wins” that I have received. For dramatic effect, I’ll count backwards from five, and guide you through my favorite wins.

Happiness is a Pair of Cheap (or Free) Eyeglasses

  

Torrenting Freaks and Geeks, Arcade Fire's performance of Neon Bible in an elevator, The Bed Intruder Song, shopping for doll head tissue box covers on Ebay. Oh yes, then there's the practical stuff like online banking, buying movie tickets, and stalking people from your past. These are just a few of the many gifts that the internet has given us. However, one of my personal favorite achievements of the world wide web is the fact that getting a new pair of prescription eyeglasses no longer means having to sell your soul  and/or firstborn to Lens Crafters and eat Cherrios for a month. The best thing about eyeglasses now being more affordable than ever is the relief of not being subjected to wear the same old pair of precious eyeglasses for years. I think most people of my generation with less than 20/20 vision can relate to this.

eyeglasses + internets = true love

See, I'm 28 and started having to wear heavy duty prescription eyeglasses full time by the time I was 10. I came from a wonderfully hardworking family who owned a restaurant (with some of the best pizza in town. Nomz) but even so, eyeglasses were bloody expensive. Therefore, prior to my twenties I remember only going through about three pairs of glasses. THREE. That means I may have had the same pair of glasses for longer than George H. W. Bush was president. Like childhood best friends, I remember them all in minute detail. It's hard not to considering for years I had the same pair planted on my face just about 24/7. One even started growing weird stuff in the nose tabs, but that's a story for a different day. Bottom line, it was an injustice for the myopically challenged that went on for far too long. Thankfully, the wonderful web has made this a thing of the past and a new pair of eyeglasses that cost about the same as a new hardcover book or a pair of wedges at Target is no longer a dream. To think that my future son or daughter will never have to fill in her scratched eyeglass frames with a brown sharpie (surprisingly tricky to find in the 'burbs), is such a beautiful thought.

On that note, I now share with you some of my favorite websites for cheap eyeglasses: