Oodles Prizes Survey: Sweepstakes or Buy-It-Now?

[squishmar]

If you clicked to read this, please vote! You don't need to read all the posts.... just click to the last page and give your opinion.... we need to be heard... whatever your preference is!

Your opinion is also valued regarding Auctions too!!


Hey everyone... just an informal survey asking everybody here if they would prefer to have more buy-it-now prizes or if they enjoy having mostly just auctions and sweepstakes. Because GSN responded to our complaints with their insistence that, "most of our Oodlers have always preferred to use their Oodles for sweepstakes."

That was an actual quote from a response from the "Oodles team." So, let's find out.... is it true? How do you feel?

[joyceann1960]

I do not like the sweepstakes do not enter very often maybe 3 or 4 times altogether. Sure don't like the auctions one bit. For myself I'd rather have gift cards I can use to help myself out durning these tough times. Gas cards, Walmart, Lowe's, Home Depot, Target, something of that nature.

[gestawoman]

I want "buy it now" prizes. I rarely enter a sweepstakes that require oodles to enter. I don't even like "bid for it" although I think that it'ws better than sweepstakes. It would be much better to have a goal for "buy it now"

[squishmar]

And I've never understood why they would 'charge' oodles to bid in a silent auction.

[swm28wv]

I feel the Silent Auctions would have worked at the onset of the Oodles program, instead of "Buy it Now" and before they introduced the Leaderboard Oodles. I still say the players using foul-play to earn Leaderboard Oodles created the outrageous priced Auction items. So, I blame the Leaderboard Oodles for all the exorbitant costs on Auction items.

I favor "Buy it Now" on items under $300; if it's more than $300 in value, like a trip or a once-in-a-lifetime prize, then do a Sweepstakes. Auctions for items valued under $50 is silly if you ask me!

[squishmar]

But the "players" using foul play on the leaderboards weren't really players at all. They were hackers. They weren't even playing the games. They would hack in to the system somehow and just place themselves at the top of every game with impossible scores. And I realize that they are a real problem, as we saw with the weeks leading up to the Black Friday/Cyber Monday gift card days.... but that's a security problem that should be fixed by the System Administrator at GSN.com. It's a concern for more than oodles as those hackers could have access to all of our personal information. I don't see how the leaderboard oodles could be the cause of the high costs on auctions.... From what I see now, the leadeboard scores are legitimate and earned by dedicated players. Unless you mean that the site is making it unattractive and not worth it for the hackers to do their thing... but that wouldn't be it, because we real players set the "prices" for the auctions.

I definitely agree with you about the prizes under $300. They just should have a bigger array and variety and more available for buy-it-now. But for big items, a sweepstakes is a great idea. Not sure about the steep oodle entry-fees though. But I guess that keeps the number of people entering down because it is steep. I will never understand the oodles to bid on auctions, like I stated above.

But, I know you (Mr. MVO himself!) know this site very well... I'm not trying to be contrary or difficult....I'm sincerely curious about what you said in your first paragraph and want to understand fully.

Congrats to you, by the way! I read your post and you sure did earn it. Is the Golden Oodle cool?

[kid1976]

More buy it now! Less Sweepstakes!

[jwdingus]

Someone on another thread had it right..instead of 5,000 dollar sweepstakes, they should have that amount in buy it now items. This results in more people spending their oodles, actually getting something for them and coming back to get more. (ie watching advertisements) A win~win situation. Auctions would have been fine had GSN stuck to their original rules and made people use oodles within a one year period. There would not be members with a million oodles to choke out all other competition and auctions would be fair. As it is, most people only bid cause..well there is nothing else to do with your oodles. :-( GSN team misconstrues THAT as people liking the auctions, which to anyone that can read the boards, is not the case.

[squishmar]

Exactly, jwdingus! This is an actual quote from that same letter where they stated that members "have always preferred sweepstakes." In regards to the auctions, etc... they said: "As a result, we have many more players redeeming their Oodles than ever before!" What they really mean is more players WASTING their oodles because, like you said, there is nothing else to spend them on.

I never knew there used to be an expiration date on oodles! That could solve a lot of problems if they instituted that again. Maybe..... I'm also still interested in having 'swm28wv' clarify what he meant about the leaderboards screwing things up... I just want to understand this whole thing.

But what I really want (and why I started this thread) is to not be insulted by the "Oodles Team" by them pretending that the way it is now is how the majority of the players like it. Why don't they send out another survey asking these pertinent questions like they did before they began Oodleland....it's clear that most people responded to that survey by saying they would enjoy more "casino-like" games.... and I have, actually, been enjoying the Outlaw Poker... but send another survey asking the members which they prefer: Sweepstakes and auctions or buy-it-now. And have a place to put comments... they said in their message they don't read the messageboards... that these are really for the players; (Of course, Angel passes on stuff to them sometimes) so send out another survey! Why would they not want to do this? Then they could have a really accurate picture of what is desired. Because from these boards, it sure doesn't look like people are satisfied, and the disparity between what they are saying and what I'm reading here is huge.

I'm just very frustrated and tired. I'm a crankypants tonight!

[scsmarch]

BUY IT NOW !

If there is a problem with hackers on the Leaderboards then I would have to think they are "hacking" for the auctions as well. ALL THE MORE reason to have Buy it Now.

I am sure that GSN hackers are no more clever hackers than other sites - do whatever those sites do to fix the security issues and let's all move on. Don't give us phoney excuses like Oodlers PREFER sweepstakes and auctions or the hackers are the issue. The quick and numerous responses that have come in on this prove otherwise.

OODLERS - Weigh in here please. Come on - we're the "customers". Let's not let them put words in our mouths.

[hfiste]

"Buy it Now"!!! Auctions and sweepstakes are a waste of oodles, especially the sweepstakes. IMHO

[vto66]

"Buy It Now" ALL THE WAY!!!

[phimat37]

Buy it now. No doubt about it. I hate to enter sweepstakes. I rarely enter auctions except when they have the TV out, If I won the TV in an auction, it would be worth losing almost all my oodles. I could care less about gift cards.

[nsin52]

I definitely prefer Buy It Now.

I really hate the Play to Win. That format limits who will get prizes. Every game has certain people who score at the top every day. Those are the only people who have a chance to win the Play to Win prizes. Therefore, the same people will win the prizes over and over and over while the rest of us don't have a chance.

[EmmyScarlet]

Oh, Buy it Now, without a doubt.