So You Wanna Win Tickets for 2 at the Races?! (loquax.co.uk)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	loquax.co.uk
Date:	12/11/05 (241 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Comprehensive site, You might win something

Disadvantages: Watch out for the gambling sites!

Most people will use sites like Dooyoo and Ciao to either write consumer reviews or use those same reviews to make a decision about a possible purchase. This may either make you money from reviewing or save you money from reading consumer reviews. Another indirect way of earning money is to use competition portals to try and win something via the magic of your PC screen. Sites like www.ukcompetitions.com, www.prizefinder.com and www.loquax.co.uk are all one-stop shops bringing all of the competitions doing the rounds into one place.

I originally started off with the www.ukcompetitions.com site around 3 years ago but was advised by an experienced comper to try out Loquax as it is a better site. Loquax was established in 1998 as the original UK competitions portal and is still thriving today.

The main portal itself is reasonably quick to load as it is mainly text based with just a smattering of gif images to show what you might win if you enter the various competitions. In the absence of anything more dynamic like javascript or anything else applett/Flash based to slow things down then even on a dial-up connection, loading should be just a few seconds. The main portal is divided up in the traditional template format with links down the left and right hand sides and more prominent text situated down the middle of the page to catch the eye. This means that navigation is pretty logical with several options possible to reach the same situation i.e. links are duplicated at times but that’s OK as it’s all about making things as easy as possible for the end-user. In saying that, you could argue that the portal is a little dull and for surfers there is every chance that they might move on quickly having failed to be gripped by the Loquax site. Over to you, web page designers.

Registration is simple enough. Your name e-mail address, user name and password will be enough to enable you to become a member of the site. This means you can take advantage straight away of things like an e-mail update of the latest competitions which is sent out weekly. It comes in the form of a Loquax newsletter. This usually includes a brief update of the site together with a list of the pick of the competitions including links to take you to the competitions you want to enter. The free registration will also entitle you to Quick Comp Listings, Discussion Forums, Chatroom and Loquax’s own prize draws too. New competitions are added daily and there is a Beginner’s Guide on the main portal.

With a site like Loquax, you do have the choice of either keeping things at arms length by simply using it to enter the competitions you want and running or you can become a member of the community through the various forums. Personally, I don’t post on the threads or ever go into the chatroom so I can’t testify from experience as to how busy they are although I do sometimes have a quick look at forums to see if there is anything interesting being discussed. Apart from the winners declaring their latest booty and lots of other members telling them well done, it is a traditional threaded set up with conversations about last night’s telly and the like so if you want to, you can become a fully fledged and active member of the online community. You have the option of setting up a user profile and can also send private messages to other members if you wish. A user control panel allows you to edit settings and options so if you really wanted to go to town, you can create your own little corner of cyber space in the world of comping.

The best thing about Loquax is the way the competitions are organised by category. By choosing to go to, say, daily competitions, you can decide as to whether to enter all the competitions in the holiday category, the books and music category and so on. There are 18 categories in all covering everything from sport to DVDs. Personally, I don’t see much merit in entering a competition to merely win a DVD but then lots of people do. Even if they don’t want the prize they’ve won then there is still the option of selling it on Ebay, swapping/selling it on the Loquax site or even giving it away as a present to someone (you cheapskate!).

The competitions are either ones being run by recognised sites like The Sun newspaper and/or competitions set up by the site itself. I tend to avoid sites like MyOffers as I am convinced that sites like this are rip-offs but I understand that people have actually won things there so who am I to question their integrity? Many of the competitions are either prize draws where you simply fill in your details or alternatively, many ask ludicrously easy questions but this will mean that the vast majority of folks will get the answer right and reduce your chances of winning! *bah*

I tend to use the latest competitions link myself which will take you the latest but you can also opt for competitions closing today (if you fancy being one of the last to enter) or even daily entries and a quick comps link. The daily entries section shows those competitions that can be entered daily (as well as highlighting those that allow multiple entries) whilst the quick comps links is a more abbreviated version of the main portal.

The competition tracker is quite handy as it highlights those competitions you’ve already entered. Right clicking on links will open competitions in separate windows and you can speed things up by opening up the ones you want to enter all at once. As with most competition sites, Loquax has an Add a Competition link. If you have found a competition that is not listed, you can put it onto the site by filling in a few details. The 7 day review section is handy if I go on holiday or I am away from home for a few days. This enables you to view all competition updates under different categories for the past seven days. The competitions are listed under individual days, with the most recent competitions being displayed first. If you have a favourite site for competition prizes, you can find it easily under The A-Z of Competition Sites. All sites are listed in alphabetical order and by clicking the relevant letter, all will be displayed. The type of Comps section lists competitions by type, so if you like captions and slogans, click on the relevant link. There is a special section for those users in Ireland, Australia and world-wide which lists all competitions that can be entered in to according to your location. The site has a section called Pick of the Prizes which is a listing of Loquax’s recommended and favourite competition prizes.

Of course, not everything is tickety boo on the site. First of all, your chances of winning are affected by the number of other people trying to achieve the same thing. I’ve seen the odds of 20,000 to 1 banded about for folks trying to win the big prizes like holidays and plasma TVs so don’t expect to just join and start winning straight away. You will be up against serial compers who enter hundreds of competitions every day. It’s a good idea to make a decision as to how many you plan on entering either daily or weekly. I tend to only do around half a dozen or so, daily and they are usually the holiday competitions as I would love to win a holiday some day! I’ve yet to manage it and in all my time I’ve only ever won a day out for 2 at Goodwood races. Statistically, the more competitions you enter, the better chance you will have of winning. If you are going to go for volume then you may want to visit www.roboform.com and register for an online tool that will, amongst other things, pre-populate your name and address details as you will get fed up of completing your name and address over and over again!

Another downside to the site is the ease of joining either a casino or bingo site. These will normally entice you in with the opportunity of winning something via a free prize draw on joining. Once you are a member then beware the addiction factor as these sites will fleece you very quickly as it’s all too easy to open an account and find yourself on a losing streak. The perils are every bit as real as this kind of activity in real life. Of course, for those that can control their gambling tendencies then they can be good fun too so it’s up to you at end of the day.

Loquax is not a non-profit set up (is that the same as saying it's there to make a profit?). With links to advertisers like AOL and an onsite shop with links to John Lewis, Currys, Marks and Spencer, Figleaves, Prezzybox, Buyagift, Tesco, Dell and others, Loquax is not dissimilar to other comparable sites looking to earn a commission from browsers choosing to buy online via the Loquax site whilst enjoying doing their competitions.

Loquax is a big site and it’s impossible to cover every angle in a review like this. If you like the sound of it then go and have a look. I enjoy Loquax. If you like competitions and want them all in one place then this will be for you. You can choose to spend from a few minutes to several hours a day on the site, it’s entirely up to you. If you are an existing member or even decide to join as a result of reading this then I hope you have better luck that I? Still, it’s all a bit of fun really innit and, who knows, the big one may be just around the corner!

Thanks for reading

Marandina

Summary: Overview of Loquax