I feel like the points you wanted covered have already been covered - your actual eggs were very much hidden behind bought items and the rankings seem just in my mind.

But I would also like to say it's dangerous going into contests "expecting" to win anything - especially spending money/credit to make an entry to expect to win. There isn't ever a formula for a perfect entry because at the end of the day the selections are to the admins tastes. Sometimes you think something is fab, and it just doesn't tickle their pickle. Staking money on their personal tastes isn't a good idea lol so as a general rule I would say going into these things if you will be actively upset if what you've put into an online contest materials wise goes to "waste" and doesn't place, probably best not to use those materials.

Handmade will always be far more of a winner over storebought in my opinion because it shows time and thought directly towards the site.

EDIT: I also have to say I kind of think this thread itself is in quite bad taste - contests on Sylestia have never been about any kind of popularity or ticking certain boxes to get a certain result. They're supposed to be everyone just having fun and entering crafts from around the house, with a few lucky people getting rewarded at the end of it. Everyone who entered got a wonderful participation prize, and openly suggesting you think the admins have made incorrect choices isn't very respectful or polite to the admins or the participants.