Poetry.com Are they a scam? HELP PLEASE!!!!!

[stonfield]

On 10/99 my 16 year old daughter recieved a notice from poetry.com stating that she was a cash finalist for submitting a poem.Also she could buy a coffee table book of poetry with her poem printed along with other well done poetry.She was very flattered and not only did she order one but her boyfriend did as well for the tune of $96.00 with s&h.Well the books were ordered on 11/2/99.They have not come to date. I have e-mailed them 3 times.They answered twice asking me how they could help.Both times I gave them all pertanent info to no avail.I would like to know if anyone else has had similar problems and if so what recourse do we have? To me this poetry.com is screaming scam bigtime and if this is true they are on every contest site around how many other people are getting ripped off? Any help on this matter will be nice.

[Mare]

Hi,
It has been my experience that any contest or sweepstakes that asks for money for any reason is never on the up and up.
You have every right as a consumer to demand a refund. LuckyGirl listed these links in a recent post concerning another site: http://www.ecomplaints.com http://www.ratingwonders.com http://www.bbb.org/complaints/consumerform.asp (the better business bureau)
I would report poetry.com to these organizations and see if they can be of any help.
Sorry your very first post here had to be about a situation such as this. I hope all your next ones are in the Winner's Circle!
Mare

[stonfield]

Thanks Mare,

I went to B.B.B can you believe they are a member of the B.B.B? They have had similar complaints made against them.I wonder how they can remain members if thier service is not so good? I will file a complaint with the Maryland B.B.B which is where they are located. Thanks

[gcomstock]

stonfield- my perception of poetry.com is they are not a scam, but that their contest is a thinly veiled marketing gimmick. Sort of like those matchbook artist contests. "Guess what, an art school told me I have potential...and invited me to enroll." Similar marketing gimmicks abound in the "discover your ancestry/family crest," submit your best photo offers, etc. My bet is that they WILL award the top prize, but only after using the contest to generate leads for a long period of time. You will probably get the book and be unimpressed...but you CAN say you have a published author in the family!

I've recently started NOT submitting entries to many sites, excluding the ones that have seem to have poor odds plus long hours of multiple entries. Have also included in this category contests that look to generate too much marketing spam, no privacy policy posted, and "never heard of them, can't find any info about them" sponsors. ~Geo.

[hampton25]

I AM SORRY TO SAY THAT MY SISTER, WHO IS QUITE A GOOD WRITER, ALSO FELL FOR THIS SCAM. IF IT IS ANY CONSULATION SHE IS 52 YEARS OLD. SHE WANTED SO HARD TO BELIEVE SHE WON. BE CAREFUL AS THEY LATER CONTACTED HER FOR A "DEPOSIT" TO "HOLD" HER WINNINGS WHILE WAITING FOR HER BOOKS TO SHIP! JOANNA
p.s. I THINK THIS IS THE SAME ORGANIZATION
THAT SHE FELL VICTIM TOO.

[Carol81]

Please Fellow Sweepers- legitimate sweepstakes never, I repeat never ask money as a condition for winning a prize. If they do they are not a sweepstakes but a sales pitch. I have won many fantastic prizes, and the only thing they have ever cost me is postage, envelopes, paper and pens. There are more sweepstakes out there than you can ever possibly enter without ever paying a dime. Don't fall for their scams! But keep sweepin!
Carol [I want you to win!]

[1rwt]

Everyone is correct, if you win something you don't have to pay any money. Also in our town, we had a company listed with the BBB and thousands of complaints for over 3 years and finally the state took them to court. You can't depend on the BBB. Only trust you own feelings, and Don't send money to anyone.

[yeahyeah]

yep, i sent in a poem, and I got the same letter saying i had gotten in the top ranking, and that i could buy the coffee table book with my poem in it, and get this, the poem was a POS. There's no way anyone would really think that was a good poem. SO i obviously never bought the book. -Brian

------------------
From the Brain, (in other words, Brian)

WIN WIN WIN!

[wetwist]

My husband also submitted a poem. Last year. In my humble opinion, this contest is a business. I don't know if they hand out the money, they probably do, because they make so much money off of people buying books from them. We did receive our book, so be patient, although you might be disappointed to see some very very poor writing in the "ALL STAR POETRY" book.

[zone69]

This is one of the oldest tricks in the book.

Many schools receive letters from companies like this. They tell the teachers to tell the students that they are holding a poetry contest. The students submit their entries and the poetry company receives these entries. EVERYBODY is a semifinalist (that's what it means, almost a finalist). They proceed to send you an order form saying that you have great chances at being in the book, SO ORDER IT.

Again almost everyone that enters is a finalist as long as your poem isn't vulgar, etc.
This is how they make their money, they make you think you have an awesome poem, but really your poem is nothing special (your lucky if they look at it).
Ryan