TLC's “High Stakes Sweepers” sure has got the sweepstakes community talking. On the positive side, people are excited about sweepstakes and re-energized about the hobby. It's easy to watch the profiled sweepers and think “That could be me winning that fabulous prize!”
On the flip side, I do think “High Stakes Sweepers” did not present the full picture of what sweeping is. The woman who says she wins a car every two years is very lucky – and not representative of the average sweeper. Those of us that have been at it for a while know that winning a car is a rare event. The show made it look way too easy.
And a few things that one person on “High Stakes Sweepers” said made me cringe a little. Admitting on camera that he was filling out online entry forms on his daughter's behalf struck me as a really dumb move. I'm sure we have all filled out an entry form on behalf of a family member at one point or another. However, admitting it on tv seems unwise. If a sponsor saw that footage, they could say that the entry form was invalid and refuse to award the prize.
The TLC show was also very short of truly useful tips. If someone is learning about sweepstakes for the first time, using a site like SweepsAdvantage is a hug time saver. Autofill forms like Roboform are also a huge asset for online entry forms. Would I watch “High Stakes Sweepers” again? Absolutely. But I will watch it with a little scepticism (while entering my own sweepstakes!)
I think like you that they left out a few things like taxes and how to approach the mindboggling amount of sweeps