CVT's Vacation Sweepstakes

[WildaBeast]

Today I got an email saying I'd won a prize for Coastal Travel and I had to claim my prize on their web site. I do enter quite a few sweepstakes, and I do remember entering that one, so I know it's not just a random spam. When I go there it appears I've won second prize, which is not really a full vacation, just two free nights in a hotel in one of several cities.

But some things about their web site just make me feel a little suspicious. Take a look at the FAQ. First I have to pay to have them ship the prize to me (Of course I technically don't have to; I'm free to pick it up in person at their office in Texas ). Then I apparently also still have to pay the tax on the room. The whole thing also just reads like a sales pitch, unlike most legitamate sweepstakes.

My first thought was that there would be some sort of timeshare sales pitch involved if I went, though their FAQ claims there are no presentations involved. It still seems like there must be some sort of catch.

[guruwan2b]

Looks kinda squirrely to me. I'll check with my sweeps site to see if anyone has claimed a prize from them and how it went.
I'll check back later.
Kim

[guruwan2b]

Concensus on OLS is that it is a scam, but someone there said they have used the offers. You end up paying about $25 a night for the hotel room and she said something about being flexible about dates. They may try to get you to sign up for the CVT team and sell these packages yourself.

I wouldn't do it, but if the location is somewhere you want to go and you feel that the price is right, it doesn't look like a total scam. But it is not a sweepstakes either. It is a special offer, IMHO.
Kim

[One-Fang]

Sounds like a typical normal promotion. Give a hundred "second" prizes that require the person to spend lots of money with you or your partners to collect. Could be the hotel room (transport, entertainment, food all benefit from your $$), could be free photo sitting (photo print is $$$$ mucho), could be free tickets to something somewhere (where you have to spend the $$ on getting there, accommodation, food again, etc).

Pretty normal way to get people to spend money - give them as a 'prize' something that they have to spend money on other things to actually claim. Lots of people will be so upset about potentially 'losing' or 'wasting' this 'prize' that they'll spend a fortune on travel, transfers, food, entertainment, just so they can get their 'free' hotel room.

[KathyB]

You, too, can win 2nd prize, just click here.

The folks from Coastal travel posted to a couple of message boards where people speculated that it's a scam. Basically, it not a timeshare, but you will get a hard sell to buy additonal mights at the hotel or to buy a "$15,000 Travel Value for only $1,295" or to sign up for a work at home opportuntiy. This is basically selling travel packages and memberships in Coastal Vacations--that $15,000 value.

They are afilitated with Intermex Ministries