Down with www.DownSouthSavings.blogspot.com

I have never written a post to complain about another blogger. I thought it in poor taste, everyone's opinion is one's own. But when the blogger has a giveaway site and practices unfair giveaway rules, I must warn others of their behavior, so that they will not also be let down and disappointed.

I occasionally (not often) will try to win something via a blog. Lately everyone is using the Rafflecopter method of giveaways. More power to them. In using this system you earn "entries" into the giveaway by doing different things, i.e. making blog comments, friending on Facebook, following them and all 50 of their friends on Twitter and so on. The more entries you have, the better chances you have.

I have seen contests for a online cookbook system. Which one does not matter. I am not going to name it because I do not want to fault that company and cause any ill will to their business. But it is a great system.  It keeps your recipes, prints your shopping lists, downloads recipes directly into the system off of the internet, etc. Sounds great. I entered the contest at several different blogs using the Rafflecopter system.

Now I am a newly divorced, single mother. I work full time, shuttle my kids around after school, then have to keep my  house spotless because I am selling it and have to show it at any time. So I do not sign onto my desktop PC every day. Usually just check my mail on my iPhone through the day.  Point is, I do not regularly check my Spam. I usually will check Spam every 2-3 days. 

Well low and behold last Satuday I am checking my Spam and what do you know, there is an email from April Wray at http://downsouthsavings.blogspot.com/ saying I won the Cookbook contest on her blog. The email was sent on early Thursday morning and I found it mid Saturday morning. The email said I had 24 hours to respond or she would give the prize to someone else. Well, I quickly responded saying her email went to Spam, and I just found it, can I still have a chance.  Sorry, she said, prize already given to someone else. Well, I responded saying it wasn't really fair to only give me 24 hours, the email went to my Spam. That was not my fault. She has to give some more time to people to allow for that. Her response, sorry, those are the rules, prize already given to someone else. I quickly unfriended her and I plan on going back and unfriending everyone else I had to friend to enter the damn contest, sending them a message of her unfair practices.

I believe she is very narrow minded. Looking at her blog she obviously does not work and only runs this giveaway blog. I wish I had that kind of time to devote to the internet, but I have a real life that interferes. Now, a week later, I go back to her blog and look at the contests that she has posted since, and she has changed her policy to now be a 48 hour response time, which completely pisses me off.  She couldn't cut me a break, but she doesn't want to anger anyone else? Completely unfair and I will now put a stain on her reputation.  Here you go April, this is what your RULES get you.  Call me unfair, the rules are the rules, but you change the rules after you enforce them with me? That is unfair.