This site is of absolutely no use to me at all but if you are a proud American mom or dad who thinks you have the cutest ever baby, then you have a chance of winning $2,500 by entering a free photo contest.
Edit: It seems from most of the comments that this whole thing is a scam. That being the case I will leave the post up as a warning to others.
As easy as ABC, all you do is register, upload your photo and then wait. The baby with the most votes at the end of the month wins. So if your baby is up-to 48 months why not give it a go.
I never had anyone vote for my baby and the sent me an e-mail saying that he was chosen and that I needed to pay $20… I think it’s a scam
It appears to be a scam. Check out the link above. Now I’m sorry I entered my baby & asked anyone to vote.
I hope you get satisfaction, sooner rather than later.
Although it’s difficult to navigate the site, the Great American Photo contest is not a scam. They are a legitimate business who maintains a physical location in New Jersthe ey, and they pay their bills with advertising dollars. The company is headed by Joshua Gillon, and has 6 employees. They have an approximate yearly budget of $420,000. The BBB has a file on them which is available at http://www.bbb.org. They currently have a rating of C+, which although not stellar, is also not an F, which is what they would have if they were not a legitimate business.
I did all this research because I too was wary of giving out my personal information when I entered my child Austin in the contest. However, if you pay attention, and learn how to use the site, you will find that it is not actually necessary to do more than give your first name and email to the site. You do NOT have to sign up for any of the offers made to you by the various advertising companies whose dollars pay for the site’s maintenance.
I know that I am very happy with the contest and the company in general. My son won the contest for January 2010, and I did indeed receive the check for $2500 in a timely fashion. I spoke with Mr. Gillon personally on the phone, as well as various other employees (when I was taking care of some paper-work related issues after my son won.)
The bottom line is that The Great American Photo Contest LLC is a legal business and NOT a scam as some other, frustrated would-be entrants have claimed. Remember too that the company has over 100,000 entrants each month, so when you enter, you will need to send the site to your friends/family to get them to vote too.
As for the $20, you are mistaking the two contests. The site actually hosts two contests. One is free to enter, and the other has a $20 entrance fee. (Fame and Fortune Contest)
I hope this helps clear things up.
Then why did they send her the email? It seems all they’re interested in is getting people to pay the twenty bucks.
Beg to differ- it is a scam. They get your cell number and carrier and then charge you to sign up for ringtones. Do not enter. Real contests do not require your to get ringtones etc… read rules CAREFULLY before entering any contest. They also hijack images from other baby contests and send spam to entrants. BEWARE.
all of you can skip the advertising ads all u have to do is press this skip button at the top of the ad or if you read carefully and see the skip button thats all i do and i have no problems
WHY WOULD THEY ASK FOR THE LAST 4 DIGITS OF YOURSOCIAL SECURUTY # also your mobile phone #
This is a scam, Elessandra also posted this on another site, word for word. So I feel like a complete idiot. I got a call about 6 months ago to purchase the 90 dollar book that my babies picture was going to be featured in… So ofcourse I did it. I was told that it would probably take 6 months to receive my book… I did receive my book and my sons picture is no more than 2″ big. And to Elessandra, the only reason they are making 420,000 a year is bc of all of us ppl that believe this and pay 90 dollars for a book to be sent that only costed the company 3.19 for postage but I paid 19 for postage… and the book is very poorly put together, my childrens thank you letters, that I made for their birthdays, look better than this book.
Hey, you’re right, Ellessandra posted the exact same comment on more than one site. I’ve found one on another blog and another on a forum
Sort of makes you think that perhaps she’s affiliated with them somehow.
The Great American Photo Contest for your Pet IS a scam…I entered a photo a few months ago and was told that my photo was accepted and was to be in a “nicely bound table book” of dog photos… my photo “Cilla and her baby Brindle” was only going to be accepted if I ordered this $50 book…they wanted my credit card information…then I received another email saying it was picked by the publishers…and there was something else they wanted my credit card information for…there was supposed to be no purchase necessary…then why could I not get any further in finding out if I had won the either $1,000 or $10,000 it has been so many months I can’t remember…I sure could have used the $$ as I had rescued Cilla while she was pregnant and fell in love with her…while I found a home for Brindle and four of her six puppies…I could have used the $$ to have her spayed as well as her male puppies we could not find homes for and decided to keep..I entered an amazing photo in hopes to win the money to pay for spaying and nutering…not for any other reason…I found her on the street in 110 degree temps off the streets of Lynwood California with a gash in her leg…we took her home and had her leg fixed, fed her, put weight on her though at first I thought I was over feeding her till I took her to the vet and we found with an xray she was pregnant with at least 4 puppies…she had 7 total…the first was a still birth. To this day she is my girl, but with our financial distress I can’t afford to spay her or nuter her boys so we keep them separated (very well separated) and just love them, but cannot afford to do one of the most important things. So my point is I was hoping to win as it truly was an amazing photo…and use the $$ for a truly good cause…but without giving credit card information…I will never know and now the photo is “out there” and I will most likely never hear anything because I won’t give my credit card information…what a terrible hoax!!!
Christi
It will be interesting to see if anyone else has the same experience.
Yea it is one big scam….. I bet there is no prize
So you have no real proof for us to see Greg?
yes if you read the rules you have to complete a bunch of tasks to be entered in the contest…. it is just like clicking on one of those banners that says “free Olive Garden”or something…. pretty good scam using a baby
Yeah, they will either use people love of money or a womens love and pride of her new baby.
I went to vote my friends baby and it is not possible unless you sign up for something……..says it is optional but the site will not allow you to vote at all if you do not sign up something…………total fraud..and misrepresentation……………very disappointed.
I voted twice and never ad to sign up for anything…I just clicked the pass or skip button until I reached the page to vote
Well, Andrea that certainly does make it sound more like it’s a scam than anything else doesn’t it?
omgsh maybe it is a scam because my baby got an email saying she won a 25,0000 savings bond and i had to verify by paying $20?
IS IT A SCAM OR SHOULD I GO FOR IT AND PAY..
BECAUSE I SIGNED UP FOR IT 1 DAY AGO AND I GOT IT THE NEXT DAY
Hanna, I hate to say it but it sounds like a scam to me. I mean you only signed for it yesterday and she won? And then they ask for $20? If she won she won, why do you have to pay $20? Sorry but in my opinion is is a scam.
I have the same experience as well with Great American Photo Contest. I received email that the judges voted/picked my baby picture to be entered in the contest, but then in order to confirm /verify the entry it told me to pay $ 20 using CC. Is this a scam ?
If not a scam, it certainly smells fishy.
Yeah, I did the same thing…got the same email the next day..I feel for sure it’s a scam somebody from somwhere we’ve never heard of will win.. and that will be that
Yeah, it’s a shame that it has to be that way. It;s like those “You’ve won a free photo sitting” and then they try to rip you off thousands to purchase the prints.
THIS SITE IS A SCAM!! I entered my daughter’s picture and, instead of being able to see votes she was getting, all I got was a bunch of ads to buy crap on their site.
STAY AWAY!!
Thanks Vern, I reckon I starting to get the drift by now. Appreciate your comment.
I am still waiting to see if it is a scam or not as well. I entered my son in the contest and they said he got chosen but had to pay $20. Then they said he would be put in a book called Americas Most Beautiful Babies. They made me pay $60 for it and I still haven’t gotten it. I try calling the phone numbers on the site and none are working numbers they say best way to get a hold of them is by email…..the person is typing what the computer is saying on the answering machine….my husband use to have a software that did that….total scam. I even tried looking up the address that they said they were at on mapquest and there is no such address. What do they think were STUPID or something???
Yes, I’m sorry to tell you this, but they took your money from you. I entered my baby last year, hoping she could win the money for college. But nothing happened. I also ordered the book, but never got it. And they keep sending me junk mail from similar, but not the same, email addresses. I hope this helps you.
What a bummer Nicole. I hope that it turns out OK in the long run.
Nicole i had the same expirence, i havent tryed to call them but we had till august or something like that to send in the form with a money order or cc number which we did but we never had to pay a 20 dollar fee for anything. i think we got screwed hard outta this deal. Money is tight enought the way it is having a new baby and they just screwed us even harder. Does anybody have any idea if there is any type of program to trace where all this is coming from and if there is any way to find these ppl and seek some type of justice???
I THINK THIS IS A SCAM! WE SENT OUR DAUGHTERS PHOTO BUT EVERYONE THAT VOTED HAD TO GO THROUGH A BUNCH OF JUNK BEFORE WE COULD VOTE. WE JUST GOT INFORMATION TODAY SAYING THAT OUR LITTLE GIRL HAS BEEN SELECTED AS ONE OF THE BABIES TO BE ENTERED IN THIS HARDBOUND KEEPSAKE, BUT ALL WE HAD TO DO IS PAY 69.95. WE HAVE NOT GIVEN ANY MONEY YET AND IM GLAD BECAUSE MY RIP OFF RADAR WAS SET OFF. I TOLD MY WIFE ALL THEY WANT IS OUR MONEY AND MORE THAN LIKELY OUR FINANCIAL INFO. DONT FALL FOR THIS RIPOFF PEOPLE.
YES! I TOTALLY KNOW ITS A SCAM BECAUSE THEY ALSO SENT ME AN E-MAIL SAYING THAT MY DAUGHTER WAS CHOSEN TO BE IN A BOOK, AND AT THE BOTTOM OF THE E-MAIL IT SAID “If you would like your photo to be published in our book but do not want to purchase a copy click here” WELL I CLICKED IT SENT IT BY MAIL. I LOOKED ONLINE FOR ANY OTHER “COPIES” OF THE BOOK AND NEVER FOUND ANY. IM GLAD NOW THAT I NEVER PURCHASED IT.
Well, I reckon that it’s pretty safe to say that most people think it’s a scam. What a shame, as done properly it could have had some pretty high potential
Sires last blog post..Sire’s Big Moment A Total Flop
You can’t be serious! Whose paying you to write such nonsense? There are a lot simpler ways to running an honest and ethical competition!
Sorry? I’m just saying that it’s safe to say it’s a scam and that it was a pity because the idea behind it had merit but it’s not being run properly. I’m not sure what it is you are implying.
Yes, I got the same thing today. Saying my grandbaby was selected for the book. Says his picture was selected out of hundreds and thousands of others. Says 1500 are going to be published. They probably won’t be a book after reading all these comments. If they were one the child’s picture would be so small you wouldn’t be able to see it. It also said if I wanted to include a caption for the picture it would be $10 extra, that’s on top of the price of the book.
Seems like all it was ever about was the money and sucking people in just so they can roll in it a bit more.
I work for a local news station in Atlanta and ran across many complaints about the Great American Photo Contest. It definately sounds like a scam to me, and I am pitching doing an investigative piece on it. If you live in Georgia and would be interested in talking to us about your experience please email me at redkeeney@yahoo.com
thank you!
Now there is an idea. I’m an Aussie so how about flying me over 🙂
My sister-in-law and I each submitted our children into the contest and both of us got an e-mail one week later stating our babies were chosen to be published. They want $69.95 for it. I get the same e-mail every week wanting me to buy the book. I checked them out on the bbb website. They have 4 resolved complaints as of now. If you feel for the scam, I’d let the bbb know.
Thanks for the info ad, I’m sure it will come in handy.
I submitted a photo and then forwarded the e-mail that was sent to family and friends, then I tried voting myself. Fifteen minutes later and I am still trying to register my vote after dozens of surveys. How embarrassing! To think that I have subjected others to this agony! Mr.Joshua G the CEO of the Greatest American Photo competition, the father of two girls, should be made to enter his children’s photos in the competition and then be made to complete surveys. If he really was “trained as a lawyer” he is a disgrace to the profession. He certainly knows how to “work the Internet industry” and prey on unsuspecting parents for his own profit.
i feel so sorry for my baby i published her fotos too. does anyone know how can we reomoved from the Great American Photo ContestTM. SHAME ON THEM!!!
OK check this out … apparently they have 2 companies at that address the great American contest and this radio company and both are total scams i live very close to this address like maybe 15 minutes i feel like driving over and checking it out but for some reason i think i would find a mailing service or nothing at all!
by the way my baby was just choosen for the hard cover book! BIG SURPRIZE …but i declined to pay
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Business Contact and Profile
Name: Odyssey Streaming Radio
Phone: (877) 209-4504
Address: 24 W Railroad Ave # 139
Tenafly, NJ 07670-1735
Original Business Start Date: May 0006
Principal: Cindy Penney
Customer Contact: Cindy Penney
TOB Classification: Internet Services
BBB Accreditation: This company is not a BBB Accredited business.
Interesting, thanks for that bit of information.
I actully just got a phone call from them trying to get me to buy that book!!! wouldnt do it! I knew it was a scam from the beginning. Now there calling me from 866-515-9916. I hope they get caught and introuble!!!!
I am getting phone calls from the same #. It is a scam.
my baby has votes already, so its pretty legit, all you have to do is register to vote, by adding your name, address, phone numbers, and then , pass on a couple of adds, go to your email, find the confirmation, click it, click the link to confirm, once back at the site, click login in, login under voter, with your email address, then pu it baby’s name, then find baby, then click on vote above the baby pic, it might take about 5-10 minutes out of your day, but i know people give up wen they see the adds, just click, pass, or no thanks you might have to bypass a couple of them, but then you will get ther
So I just got a call from them saying that they selected my baby into the big contest to recieve 25000 dollars, he went on describing the photograph that i had sent in and saying how cute my son was, that the staff had picked him out themselves. He started to state with a very heavey french accent that i just needed to pay 19.99 to have him entered into the contest and that if he wins he’ll be in a magizine i cant remember which one he said. I told him there is alot of things on the internet that are a scam how do I know your not one. So he started going on with all this bull about how they have a customer service number and how they’ll send me an email. I told him okay then he was going to transfer me to someone who could take my payment. I kinda felt fishey about it so i stayed on the phone to see what I could here it wasnt even a legit transfer it was just like he was handing the phone to somebody so i hung up they called back twice on a unavailble number Theres no way that I’m going to give some random guy my credit card number. There crazy! The number they initally called me from was 888-705-2281
oh one more thing i just tried calling the number they called on back and it said that it was not valid.
Ashley, it seems that you’ve made the right choice. It’s always best to go with your gut feeling.
it’s a scam, it emailed me about this photo contest but hello… i am just 22, a total virgin and i dont have babies!
darn!
You guys have it all wrong. You dont have to sign for any offers. Dont be stupid. This only works if the person who signed up their child sends u an email to vote for their child. When u open ur email…and click on the link, yes there are alot of offers but there is also an option to ‘pass’ each offer..ive been voting for my goddaughter everyday since she’s been in this contest and i havent had to sign up for nothing. The only thins is the ‘pass’ buttons are hard to see…but if u go directly to their website this wont work…it has to be an email sent to u by the person who uploaded a pic of their child. You can vote everyday once a day. but only with a new email like a said from the person who has their child in the contest. Hope this helps =]
i mean i don’t know if this is a scam that is why i looked it up on the internet and after reading all this i believe it is a scam but the numbers you guys have been giving me do not match the number that called me…This is why I think it is a scam reason #1: they say they are based out of New Jersey but it was a New York number that called me if you guys want the number here it is 6468451870..reason #2 why would they want you to pay money when it is suppose to be FREE!!!! i don’t understand that..But I would suggest to everyone that you do NOT do this and the guy i talked with sounded like he was from India
i entered my baby and they said they wanted her to be in some kind of book do they send this to everyone?
no
I think its a scam, and I feel stupid for telling my friends and family to vote! I entered my son and not even an hour later I got an email saying that his photo was hand picked for the” beautiful babies” book! To purchase the book it was $69 and if u added a photo story to it, it was another $10! As much as I believe my son really could be hand picked for such a book. It just didn’t sound right! His photo hadn’t even been up an hour!
I think that’s the general consensus Hannah, although there are a couple who are pleased with them. Go figure.
Fell for the same thing. sent me an email “wow, look how many votes you child is getting. LOL no one has voted but me and my sister, and I did not send any emails out (thank goodness) because when my sis went to vote, pressing skip and all that through the clutter of adds, the website tired to force her to install a tool bar, and her virus program popped up saying the site was trying to install malicious malware and/or spy ware. That was when i came to a conclusion it is a scam. Beware of the website too!
Didn’t know about the toolbar, that must be something new. Thanks for the heads up.
My son text me tosay that my granddaughter won the great America Contest- he received a call this evening(8/15/10) he gave me the telephone number but when I research it i find so much negativity that goes with this contest. i want to make sure this is legit. I don’t want my son in a scam thinking that his daughter won something and she hasn’t.
All…the blogger under the name Elessandra must be an agent for the company. Check out the BBB ratings, company has a “D+”, 41 complaints…
http://www.bbb.org/new-jersey/business-reviews/contest-arranging-and-judging/great-american-photo-contest-in-tenafly-nj-18002432
its 9/15/10 i too entered son,,had no prob w ads,skipped all,and refused 20 fee -4 fame/fortune contest part,,tonight a guy calls asking bout son/2 pics entered and something about 500$$,,phone was dying so started 2 give cell #,,when it hung up,,no call back yet,,i emailed them with cell # and tried #’s above both dont work,,well c if call me back,,ill keep all u posted,,whats up with 500,,thought contest was 4 2500,unless didnt hear him due to accent
I’ll contend it is a scam. I submitted before researching and was sent numerous emails saying my child was selected to be in the book, the fame or fortune contest, and was selected to have a modeling contract. All within a few hours of entering. All the while, the stupid link they said had her photo never once worked.
Hey,
Yeah I have just got the email and uploaded a photo, then i decided to google it. And it brought me to this site. Thanks everyone for the input.. this sounds exactly like the Poetry.com scam where they pick your poem as the best and you send them 59.95 to get your poem on a plaque and you get this award and are invited to this Gala— I fell for it.
Oh these people should have to pay!
They run multiple contests. There is a dog contest for $10,000.
I believe it is a scam and I believe that Ellesandra is probably one of those 6 employees.
It would take a much bigger budget than 425,000.00 to be able to award cash prizes for this much money in several different categories.
I would opt out and unsubscribe, that’s what I did.
Its so nt a scam my son won this years contest and i got my money.then i paid the 20 entry fee for the fame in fortune contest and i got a check for 25,000 today and they sent me a 500.00 spa ticket of my choise just for beng his mom this place is great and legit….
You wouldn’t be able to show us a photo of that check would you Nikki. I think that’s the only way people will believe it’s not a scam.
Sorry, lost my train of thought above.. first three days of emails asking me to enter.. then the phone call to ask me again.. when i asked about when the contest ended they just kept talking about how nice my pic was.. when i insisted on knowing (play the broken record) they hung up on me..