has anyone really WON anything from Poetry.com?

Everyone I know who has ever signed up has been told that they are being published. They are just trying to get you to purchase things from them. If you want to be published never go with a company that makes you pay them money. Those aren't right.

It is funny. I did several poems and each of them were a finalist. FUNNY HUH. I also submitted pictures to pictures.com. I did one and did another for my husband. We both won the same award. They wanted all this money ect, to do things. I think they are all scams

They are a big fat scam, preying on the hopefuls and trying to get them to pay out to be published. I once had a friend who was also a published writer. Robert Franklin Leslie, who wrote "The Bears and I" which became and Walt Disney film. back in the 1980's He said. "If they don't want to pay you, don't bother." Real publisher's pay your for your work not the other way around.

Oh that is just a scam!Any damn thing you submit as a poem often makes it to the "finals" and then nothing happens. as you said they charge you for everything and I was so excited when I got the first letter from them. Then I read a lot of reviews on the net saying its all just a scam and you have to pay a lot to get anything published.I also got invites to their convention (and still get them by the way)but I haven't attended. It definitely is a money making deal! Don't fall for it. But if you have poems you want to share go to Poets.com It is a genuine site and you can submit poems, which amateurs and professionsal poets review. You get points and rankings. But they charge for membership. I've been a member since June 2005 and its a good site. I've got many medals and certificates, recently they changed the site and rules.

I've always wondered this, as every year they kept inviting me to their convention and saying that my poem was going to be published, etc but I dont remember actually submitting my poem to them (although they had it somehow) and I didnt even write any new poems after that first year! I think it's a scam but it may be genuine, im in england anyway so it wasn't as if I could go to the convention!

It's a scam. Never give them money. They will publish your poem but among hundreds of mediocre poems. I fell in the trap too when they said I had been selected but be realistic. No award committee lets you pay for your award you won. And all the honorary titles they bestow on you mean nothing.

I believe that they are a scam, I too have recieved about 3 letters stating the exact same thing, but I have never went or bought anything from them, I feel that if you are such a great poet why should you have to pay for a trip to a convention to be acknowledged for your work, its not right

I use Poetry.com as an outlet and a free copywriting resource only... It's kinda sad that they go through all that trouble and expense to keep this phony-balony business going, even at one point having one of their executives appear on the Montel show with a so-called "million-dollar-winner" to prove that they were not a sham... They will never make a dime off of me, but my poetry has a safe place to stay and some of it has made me money and friends, when I publish it on my own... People, I say that if you want to make some money from your personal arts... Don't depend on Poetry.com! Go to http://lulu.com and self-publish it for free! You can get your stuff up for sale online and set your own prices for it, too! :) NO! There is no affiliate program, so I don't make a dime for telling you about this! I want all artists to know that there is a website that you can publish your art and put it up for sale. Let the public decide if it's worthy of praise... Writers, Photographers, Poets and others are welcome and lulu doesn't charge a dime until you make a sale. That is they take a small percentage off the price that you set. The buying public pays for everything. The reason why I'm enthusiastic about good sites like LuLu is that artists might become discouraged by bad sites and start to feel negative about their creative skills and develop blockages... My art(s) are my Life and blockages of ANY kind simply will not do... So be aware that there really is a good way to be rewarded for what you've created... May Joy, Abundance and Peace be with you always! :)

Yeah pretty much anyone who signs up gets 'published' its just a scam to get you to buy their highly over priced book just to see your name in it, and then its not even available to the public unless its specially ordered. Totally not worth it. Same thing with picture.com

NO not me but some might have won and that too less amount of money for that after taking or spending so much amount of time and doing all the hard work if v get only little then it is irritating and not a good thing to be.

Poetry.com is one of the biggest scams there are. I used to submit stuff to them for free because I liked doing it. All the junk they sent me about award ceremonies and everything just drove me crazy. I hated getting them, I hated putting up with them, it was horrible..not to mention horrible with the fact that they try and get you to buy a bunch of things from them. I feel bad for the people that actually pay for all of these things.

My friend thought he had won something from this site, and I was sad to tell him that it is indeed a scam. I think that everyone who writes something becomes a "finalist" - while these books and ceremonies may actually exist, they're offered to everyone. It's listed on almost every "watch out, writers" site I've come across.

What I don't understand that nobody has taken legal action against poetry.com. Apparently they can get away with a lot of things. Oh well more and more people begin to understnad that it is real scam. This is not the only place where they talk about it.

I think its probably a scam to get your money from you. Figure what air fare costs and add $29 per night you are going to stay.If the total is above that, then they are using it as a way to make money from you. Just so you know, it cost me less than $900 to stay for a week and fly from Calgary Alberta, return with taxes, and I was at the Stratsophere, not one of those junky places way off the strip

I sent in the worst poem ever and they said it was great and did I want to buy the 50 dollar book it was going to be published in. seems like a miney making gimmick, even though I am sure your poem was great! try sending it to literary magazines instead, you cant trust anyone on the net it seems like.

they said i am a semi finalist and send me info about the Las Vega Convention. i actually thought they were legitimate but then in a forum i found out the they are doing all this just to take money from u. they don't care anything about poetry or the poets. don't buy anything from them, its a scam.

Well i have never heard of this site, now i will see what is this site all about.

I'm glad I came across this discussion. I have been wondering about poetry.com for a while now....I know now to stay away from there....thanks

If you'll ask me, i think it's just monkey business. they trick you on how flowery your words could get with your poems and send you letters with beautiful packages of hardbound books with your poem in one of those special books. and for what? 1000 dollars? i can't even earn that much in a month. they sent me those letters when i was in college and my mom was profoundly proud of me. i'm glad i'm a bit of a skeptic when it comes to poetry nowadays.

yup ive been a finalist too... they invited me to new york 4 yrs back for the final function. i was studying then in school and they do give out prices as one of my batchmates won the contest in 2001. so it is true and they also published my peom in coffee table edition u can check that out in poetry.com with ur name if the've published urs too