Is Compers News worth the money?
This post contains affiliate links, marked with *
Have you thought about subscribing to a comping magazine? Compers News is the only UK magazine dedicated to competition listings. The question is – with the sheer volume of information available for free on the internet via sites like SuperLucky, Money Saving Expert, PrizeFinder, Loquax, Competition Database and all sorts of Facebook groups – is it really worth the money to subscribe to a printed magazine?
Compers News costs £4.95 per month by Direct Debit – but you can currently get your first issue for just £1*! Plus, you’ll also receive 3 months of the daily online bulletin Compers News Express for FREE!
Let’s look at what you get for your money…
Compers News is 40 pages and usually arrives around the 24th of the month – subscribers get access to an online version at www.compersnews.com around a week before it arrives in the post. This digital edition is a searchable, clickable (but not printable) PDF which you can save in Google Drive, Evernote or Kindle apps. The magazine contains hundreds of current prize promotions, ranging from postal entry to purchase necessary, text comps and creative comps. In addition to the competition ‘listings file’, there are plenty of reader-only puzzles, prize draws and competitions, as well as comping tips and advice.
In addition to the magazine, subscribers can use their membership number to register for the private Chatterbox message board, which offers:
- More competition listings – added by the CN editorial team and forum members
- Details of on-pack promotions as soon as (or sometimes before) they hit the shelves
- User to User competitions – low entry fun comps hosted by forum members
- Comping chat
…and much more!
So what about the Editor? Well, if you think I live and breathe competitions, you should meet Steve Middleton! Steve has been comping enthusiastically since the 1970s and works tirelessly to find prize promotions with low entry numbers – his expertise is in tracking down purchase-necessary and instant win promotions as soon as they hit the shelves, and these are shared on Chatterbox and in the magazine.
Why do we still need a printed magazine? Even in a world of Kindles, tablets and mobile devices, people still love reading paper books and magazines. When I published SuperLucky Secrets as an eBook version, over a hundred people contacted me asking for a paperback version! It seems compers still enjoy highlighting, bookmarking and ticking things off lists. And that’s why Compers News is still so popular – even if people access the digital version, the paper edition is so easy to slip into a handbag to flick through on the bus!
At almost £5 a month, a subscription to Compers News is expensive. If you’re a frugal comper, and trying to keep the hobby free – then by all means stick with free listings sites, and enter comps on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Of course, you can also visit my blog, subscribe to my newsletter and join my Lucky Learners Facebook group for free too.
However, if you are dedicated to comping, have time to log onto Chatterbox regularly, and are happy to spend money on promotional products, stamps and text messages then I think you’ll enjoy Compers News very much, and Yes, it is worth the money!
Want to subscribe? Click here.*
Please note that this is my SuperLucky affiliate link and if you join and remain as a subscriber for 6 months, I get a small fee as a referral bonus.
Do you subscribe to Compers News? What do you think of it? Leave a comment to let me know!
Are you still functioning as a newspaper? Thanx.
Are you asking if CN still exists as a printed magazine? It does indeed! All the information and links above are up to date.
Definitely still going strong. Wouldn’t be without it! Have always won far more than the cost of my subscription every year for over 10 years!
Thoroughly recommend Chatterbox, the members forum too. Heads up on new comps, problem solving, discussions etc.
I have taken the plunge and used your link to subscribe. I thought £1 for the first issue was an offer too good to miss! December will be my first issue so I’m looking forward to it. Thank you for all the advice you give and I love reading about everyone’s wins daily!
Hope you enjoy it Rona – don’t forget to get registered for the Chatterbox forum, and also check out the digital editions online as you can probably still enter a lot of those comps!
With Jane on Grapevine,till it closed.Compers news took over all subscribers Personal opion, it is great value,As is the compers update,now on line only.Been comping for nearly 25 years,won some great holidays, Money ect,We all have a quiet period,so keep as many irons in the fire as possible.Have learnt so much from you and Jane,andCompers news.So come on compers, get your value for money subscription,You will not regret it.Good luck all.
Thanks for the feedback Kieran!
Signed up using your link Di! Wish me luck !
Good luck Rebecca – hope you enjoy it!
Finally took the plunge and subscribed via the link above. Thanks Di! x
Hope you enjoy it Derek! 🙂
I wouldn’t be without CN but I think people who don’t utilise the Chatterbox forum are missing a trick (or two). Most comps appear first on CB and possible problems are highlighted, argued over and often sorted by members themselves before most people even realise that there is a comp running. I read Compers News but I do my comping from Chatterbox!
I have been receiving Compers News for a few years now. I was initially a ‘Loquax’ comper but when they made some big changes a couple of years ago (removing their competition listings etc) I moved over to Compers News and Compers Update. I personally can’t get on with the MSE forum for comping. My winnings have dropped in the last few years but in fairness, so has the time I have available to me for comping. I have definitely far exceeded the cost of my subscriptions with this years wins so as long as that continues, I’m happy to keep paying.
I don’t subscribe to Compers News but my daughter used to and won a few prizes. I win at least a couple of prizes a year without bothering as I use on line sites to check which competitions are current. I used to buy Competitors Journal in the 70’s and loved it and won several prizes. I am sometimes tempted to subscribe though.
ive been with compers news and compers update over a year and not won a thing but i will carry on with it in the hope that one day it will be my turn
I think Compers News is the only thing apart from prizes, I ever really wait for in my post!! I was recently encouraged to also take up a sub to Compers Update, and I have yet to be able to evaluate this as I haven’t got my first (free) copy yet – but to me the subscription is well worth it, because Chatterbox is an unbeatable resource for almost everything and one the best fun forums ever! I struggle to be able to navigate and understand MSE, and FB is very public, but I like the happy relaxed feeling you get on Chatterbox, Compers News exclusive forum. I also really enjoy feeling part of a lively and supportive comping community. I say go for it and you will not be disappointed!
I’ve been back with Compers News for just over 3 years now and I love it. I have never failed (touch wood) to win back the cost of my subscription and then some from competitions in the magazine. The same applies to Compers Update from which I have recently won £100 amongst other things. I personally prefer the paper copies to the digital ones as I like to scribble and make notes in them. I hope they don’t decide to go down the same route as Simply Prizes!
I had a six month subscription through which I won nothing, but that was party due to a lack of time (and, to be fair, commitment), and the fact that we do the grocery shopping online, so can’t rely on the supermarket putting the purchase-necessary items in our basket! I also completely failed to use Chatterbox. In short, I don’t think it’s for part-timers like me!
I like CN through the letterbox. I tend to tick, cross, star etc comps. I just like the physical paper edition. I would miss it, it definitely motivates me each month even though I don’t have lots of time to spare.
I have subscribed to CN for around 5 years now but know that I don’t utilise it fully. I rarely have time for chatterbox and tend to stick to the same sections in the mag (postal, online, effort and kids). Now I’ve written this I will make more of an effort to use all of the mag next month! I do love sitting with a cuppa and having the tips and stories to read.
I subscribe to Compers News and Simply Prizes. I was very disappointed when SP announced their decision as I like the paper version so I hope CN are not going to follow suit. CN is a great magazine and well worth the investment.
I enjoy receiving Compers News each month; I enjoy the puzzle section!!! Where they have the take a break comps; it would be great for all of them to be included not just the high money ones; I love small prizes too x
I always enjoyed receiving Compers News and would definitely subscribe again if I didn’t spend so much time abroad. Apart from the fact that I am not here to receive the paper copy (although if you subscribe you get the paper copy AND access to the internet one) lots of competitions are only enterable (sounds like a word but definitely isn’t!) if accessed in the UK. If ever I end up in the UK on a permanent basis again, I will re-subscribe.
I love receiving the magazine and entering all the listed comps and their own in-house ones too. I think it’s worth the money.
I subscribe and have won loads more as a result, partly because I have everything in one handy place, but partly because I get a huge burst of motivation every Month when it arrives 🙂
I will be very honest no!! And i hate being negative i had a bad experence in which i bought the membership from the company they use had the invoice in which i had the amount in which was going to be debitied every few months to be told basicly even though it states it ot doesnt mean that and had to pay a full year!! So that put me off and also because i find comps on the internet ect i didnt realy have time to go on there site !!
It’s a good point about finding the time to use the magazine and website Nicola – there’s so much happening on the internet and social media too, you need to be certain you can squeeze it in! Sorry to hear you had problems with the direct debit side of things.
I used to get Compers News but found the listing layout didn’t work for me. Comps are listed in closing date order in separate sections according to the type of comp they are. I would mark out which I wanted to enter but end up missing closing dates flicking backwards and forwards between sections. If they ever decide to lump all comps together in one section listed by closing date (with little symbols to illustrate what type of comp it is) please someone let me know and I will think about resubscribing.
It lists comps, gives good advice, great puzzles (although I did prefer them when some subscribers were making some of them), you can take it anywhere and of course you also get access to the wonderful Chatterbox site which is monitored so rare to get nasty comments and if that happens those people can be banned from the site. So that makes it a happy, friendly place to be.
The reader puzzles were fun, but the problem was that occasionally there would be two solutions to the puzzle, which none of us realised until the answers came in! It was a little bit risky to include them, ha ha!
I’ve been umming and aahing about subscribing to this for a while? Will it help me win more? Maybe not but it maybe it will save me time trawling through the internet and searching for competitions as everything will be in one place – something to think about?!
My first thought is that people are paying for competitions that are already available in numerous places over the net. Which seems a bit silly. But I’m willing to try things out and be proven wrong. Unfortunately, you have to give your credit card details to receive the free trial. Which I don’t do. I’m sure they would have more subscribers if they allowed people to trial without card details
Good point Rebecca! A couple of years ago they did used to have a free digital version available on the Facebook page (it was about 6 months old, so not with many current comps) which was a handy reference.
As a very busy Mommy to 3 little ones I love receiving our Compers News as otherwise I wouldn’t do even a fraction of the post card comps we do now, I know they’re all readily available online but doing them from he mag saves us loads of time each month, I also use it as an aid when I write down our shopping list so I remember to buy all the purchase required products lol, I hope soon enough I’ll have a bit more time to take advantage of the forum as well, heard loads good about it 🙂
ive never received this, nor do I feel the need to buy for details of competitions which are available on the web for free. as for the chat feature, MSE has a forum for chatting with other compers or there’s a few facebok groups where you can chat amongst other comping people.
Thanks for your feedback Emma! I think the main disadvantage of MSE is that you can’t list a competition which costs over a certain amount (currently £2.10) to enter, which means many of the purchase-necessary competitions are excluded. By their nature, these are the comps that are easier to win! I find CN really useful for these type of promotions and in creating a ‘shopping list’ of comps to look out for at the supermarket.
suppose if you buy products just for the competition (I don’t do this neither), that is useful, but more than just MSE for competitions.