Olive and Cyrus competition winners

in the words of monty python

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EI7p2p1QJI

Well done. Maybe one day for me! 

I wonder how many people enter the all the different competitions on this web site?

Well I do, but I haven't signed up just to enter the comps, like most seem to. I'm here for the love as well. Errr...

Not necessarily the case here, but I wonder how many such winners are 'serial competition addicts' who join to win expensive prizes they have no intention of keeping longer than the duration of a 7 or 10 day ebay listing?

There is a very famous magazine whose name I won't mention which concerns itself with the preservation and restoration of classic cars. A couple of years ago, they bought an old battered Rover P6 V8 and documented its nut-and-bolt rebuild over the period of about six months.  It looked absolutely stunning.  After the rebuild they gave it away in a competition.  Utter chaos broke out on the magazine's forum when its winner, a 'competition-addict', had it auctioned on eBay within a week, confessing in their listing that to be honest they hated old cars, they had no intention of keeping it or even driving it, and they had only entered the competition because of the car's potential value.

Not a lot can be done about it though :/

Didn't something similar happen here with a load of (IIRC) Naim kit a year or so ago? I think the guy said he sold it to keep his business afloat?

that sounds more like an unfortunate act of desperation

It's none of our business who enters the competitions or how the winners decide to enjoy what is - essentially - their property once it's been delivered.

No, but it would be nice to think that people were entering because they've got a vague interest in the subject, rather than simply to make as much cash as they can.

Cant even see a single post on the forum for several of the names up there, hopefully the kit will encourage tham to contribute.

There's no requirement to post on the forum to enter a competition, only to be registered with the site; they're magazine/website competitions, not forum ones.

Andrew, while I agree that they're not a jolly for forumites, there are a large number of people who troll the web looking for easy competitions (and the questions you pose are generally on the easy end of the skill/chance continuum!).  It's just a pity that so many people with no interest in Hi-Fi/AV products sign-up purely to try and win the prizes which manufacturers (presumably) donate to raise profile / awareness of their products among the people who do take an interest in Hi-Fi/AV products.  If you were to limit it to magazine subscribers and those that have 2 or more (genuine) forum posts, you'd probably eliminate 85% of the opportunists...

Dont forget, a lot of people will lurk without posting.  Ive frequented dozens of forums over the years, but can count on one hand the number I have posted on.

what better way to lure a lurker into social interaction than require them to make 3 non-spam posts before they acquire the right to win lots of lovely shiney things!

As we understand it, competitions law requires such contests be open to all, so it's impossible to introduce an element of qualification into the process.