OT: I WON!!!

[Ash]

I kid you not....this is totally and completely true.

Last week on Wed. Feb. 23rd I stopped by my sister's house to wish her a happy birthday.
Well, Dr Pepper has been running a contest titled, "Win a $25,000 New Look"

I had two of those Dr. Pepper caps sitting in that little well that resides just below the ashtray in my car for like 3 weeks.
As I was exiting my car, I grabbed them both and put them in my coat pocket.

I wished my sister a happy birthday and then went to the computer, checked my e-mail, went to this message board and visited a few other sites before remembering that I had those caps in my pocket.

I went to www.drpepper.com (go check it out if you like) where it instructed me to create a new account which meant giving my name, address, e-mail, password, etc...
After I entered all that in it was time to enter the 15 digit code inside the cap.
I entered the code in and clicked "SUBMIT".

A few seconds passed and then a new window popped up that read:

"CONGRATULATIONS!!  YOU ARE THIS WEEK'S GRAND PRIZE WINNER!"

Believe me when I say that I literally did a double take when I first read it.
I went and got my sister who was in the living room watching TV...I had to have a witness to this.
She looked at the screen and asked, "OMG did you win!?"
I said, "I think so..."
I clicked where it said, "CONTINUE"

It then took me to a new page that read something like this, "You will be mailed an affidavit that you must read, sign and return to us to claim your prize."

I was like "Holy s**t I won!!"

She & I then went through and read the Terms & Conditions.

The screen told me I was a winner but I had to hear it from a person at Dr. Pepper to be 100% sure.
I called their corporate headquarters the next day on Thursday and gave my info to a woman there named Deb.
She told me that she would pass on my information to the Director of Promotions dept. named Dan and that he will be getting in touch with me as soon as the claim was verified.

Most of Friday came and went with no callback until the late afternoon when I missed his call...he left a message telling me to call him this morning Mon.the 28th.
So basically I was left languishing all weekend not knowing whether it was truly a 100% win.

I called him this morning and he said this to me,
"Well Jamey, I contacted the fufillment center, they're the people who actually pay out the prize, and they did indeed confirm that you were last week's Grand Prize Winner!  Congratulations!"

He then proceeded to tell me about the affidavit and gave me a bit more info.

Here's how the contest works:

"For each week during the Weekly Grand Prize Period, a randomly selected date and time will be pre-selected, and the eligible participant entering the first valid code at such time (or closest thereafter) will be deemed that week's Grand Prize winner of the Grand Prize below (subject to verification and compliance with these Official Rules). "

The contest runs for 12 weeks and there will be 12 big winners...one for each week.
I entered my code in at 2:30 pm Wed. so that must've been the chosen time!

So I'll bet you're wondering what I won eh?

It's $25,000 split 3 ways.

First, I get $10,000 to spend at www.giftcertificates.com
Second, I get $10,000 to spend at Sony  (Yee haa!)
And third, I get $5,000 cash

CHA-CHING!!



I've never won anything in my life until now....damn did I hit it big!
I've already started making a list of s**t I'm gonna buy.
When I buy my cool digital camera, I'll take pics of some of the stuff I've bought and post em up here for you guys to see.
Apparently, that affidavit will explain how and when I'll receive the prizes.

Any ideas of cool stuff I should get?



Post Edited (05-27-05 14:00)

[Brother Ragnarok]

Well, there's the new batch of DVD's from Tokyo Shock coming out in March.
And there's always sexual favors.  :P
Damn, man, good for you.  I wish I had 25,000.  Seriously, if I were you, I'd save that five grand in cash.  I mean, you just got twenty grand that HAS to be spent, so save the other five for a rainy day, let it work for you and collect some interest in a bank.

[Ellie]

I have been wondering where you were. I have not seen you post here in awhile.

[Ash]

One thing I'm wondering about is how to handle the tax end of it all.

Do any of you know about the I.R.S. and how they handle taxes on gifts?
The last thing I want is to have tax time roll around next year and have the I.R.S. holding out their hand and asking, "Where's our money?"

And thanks Brother R....Everyone else is also telling me to set aside that $5,000.
I think I'm gonna take $1,680 and pay the rest of my lease off on my apartment.
It'll be nice to go the rest of this year and not have to worry about rent.



Post Edited (02-28-05 15:54)

[ulthar]

Don't they tax gifts like this pretty much as income?

[blkrider]

I believe that they do....I've heard of people winning contests and being better off turning down the prize than to be stuck with the tax bill, though supposedly that's the case more often for big ticket prizes like cars, boats, and luxury trips.  Gift certificates I'm not sure about, but I'm almost certain you will owe on the $5000.

[Mr. Hockstatter]

Yeah, you'll definitely want to figure out the tax liability before you go and spend it all and then have to pay the taxes out of your paycheck.  I may be wrong, but I think taxes on prize winnings are pretty high.  Maybe go through the yellow pages and give some CPA firms a call and see if they can help you out.

OBTW, Congratulations!

[AndyC]

blkrider wrote:
> certificates I'm not sure about, but I'm almost certain you
> will owe on the $5000.

Or they give the $5,000 in cash to cover the taxes on the rest.

[Vermin Boy]

That's awesome! Only thing I ever won was 10 Frank Zappa CDs of my choice from Rykodisc-- Still cool, but nowhere near as big as your haul. Congrats!

[Lee]

Congrats Ash. That's cool. Is it too early to ask for a loan? :)

[Bmeansgood]

Hey Ash,

You will be taxed on the entire $25,000.  "Income" does not necessarily mean cash, the basic test is whether it is any benefit to you, and obviously gift certificates are a benefit to you and therefore will be income.  

I suggest you take the entire $5000 and invest it in something (relatively safe) so that it earns a little $ until you have to pay it to the IRS a year from now.  The $25,000 hit will likely bump you into a higher tax bracket, so you may need to pay  even more than the $5000 to good old Uncle Sam.  It depends on your tax situation!

If you haven't done your taxes yet this year I would go to a tax professional to have them done.  You will not be taxed on the money this year, but you can probably get some free time with the tax preparer for your questions about NEXT year.  They might be able to give you some ideas......

Send some of that luck west to Des Moines!

[Brother Ragnarok]

You're from Des Moines?  Man, lotta Iowan b-movie lovers hangin' out 'round these here parts.

[Neville]

Congratulations!

[Mr_Vindictive]

Dude, that's awesome!  Congrats!

Maybe now  you can use that 5,000 to get internet at your apt.  :)

[dean]

Son-of-a...

I am quite a-fluster of jealousy right now!

Now I'm beginning to think I should start entering more soft drink promotions!!

Now don't go spend it all on cheap booze and hoochie-mamas!