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To All,
Hey, I just saw a great idea on Eurobricks
http://eurobricks.hosting.ipsyn.com/euroforum/index.php?act=home. They are
holding a raffle for the $500.00 Millenium Falcon 10179 set.
So I am interested whether or not the community on LUGNET might be willing to do
this. Here's my thinking: There are few people out there that can afford the
$500.00 set and there are many people out there that cannot. So, there might be
some that would be willing to buy a raffle and have a chance at winning one. The
question becomes how much you would be willing to spend for a single ticket?
Would you pay $10 for a chance? How about $5 or $1?
Here's what I propose: I am willing to organize the raffle. I will not purchase
any chances so there is no chance that I would win the set so there is no
possibility for impropriety. Also, we could run the raffle through PayPal or
some online purchase cart system where people could be assured that their money
was going to the raffle. There would only be a set number of tickets sold based
upon a calculation of the cost of the set puls shipping divided by the cost of
each ticket. In other words, if the set costs $500.00 and shipping is $50.00
then the total is $550.00. If tickets are $10.00 then only 55 tickets would be
sold.
I am willing to take no money for the exercise. I would purchase the set now and
take delivery to me. Once the set has been received the raffle will be closed
and a winner will be randomly selected from those having purchased tickets. A
web site would be used to organize the participant list and for purchasing the
tickets. There would be total disclosure. Again I stress, this is not a money
making opportunity for me, just a chance for someone to win a $500.00 set for
$10.00, or so.
What do you think? Would you be interested in this? My only trepidation comes
from not being able to cover the cost of the set and shipping. I really do not
want to be out of pocket for $500 if no one is interested in this.
Please respond to the post.
Sincerely,
Todd
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In lugnet.starwars, Todd Thuma wrote:
> To All,
>
> Hey, I just saw a great idea on Eurobricks
> http://eurobricks.hosting.ipsyn.com/euroforum/index.php?act=home. They are
> holding a raffle for the $500.00 Millenium Falcon 10179 set.
>
> So I am interested whether or not the community on LUGNET might be willing to do
> this. Here's my thinking: There are few people out there that can afford the
> $500.00 set and there are many people out there that cannot. So, there might be
> some that would be willing to buy a raffle and have a chance at winning one. The
> question becomes how much you would be willing to spend for a single ticket?
>
> Would you pay $10 for a chance? How about $5 or $1?
>
> Here's what I propose: I am willing to organize the raffle. I will not purchase
> any chances so there is no chance that I would win the set so there is no
> possibility for impropriety. Also, we could run the raffle through PayPal or
> some online purchase cart system where people could be assured that their money
> was going to the raffle. There would only be a set number of tickets sold based
> upon a calculation of the cost of the set puls shipping divided by the cost of
> each ticket. In other words, if the set costs $500.00 and shipping is $50.00
> then the total is $550.00. If tickets are $10.00 then only 55 tickets would be
> sold.
>
> I am willing to take no money for the exercise. I would purchase the set now and
> take delivery to me. Once the set has been received the raffle will be closed
> and a winner will be randomly selected from those having purchased tickets. A
> web site would be used to organize the participant list and for purchasing the
> tickets. There would be total disclosure. Again I stress, this is not a money
> making opportunity for me, just a chance for someone to win a $500.00 set for
> $10.00, or so.
>
> What do you think? Would you be interested in this? My only trepidation comes
> from not being able to cover the cost of the set and shipping. I really do not
> want to be out of pocket for $500 if no one is interested in this.
>
> Please respond to the post.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Todd
I thought it was a fun idea and would participate. I'd be good for two tickets
at $10.00 each.
I don't use PayPal or any other online payment service so may be out of luck.
Thanks for offering to take the project on.
Jonathan
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In lugnet.starwars, Todd Thuma wrote:
> To All,
>
> Hey, I just saw a great idea on Eurobricks
> http://eurobricks.hosting.ipsyn.com/euroforum/index.php?act=home. They are
> holding a raffle for the $500.00 Millenium Falcon 10179 set.
>
> So I am interested whether or not the community on LUGNET might be willing to do
> this. Here's my thinking: There are few people out there that can afford the
> $500.00 set and there are many people out there that cannot. So, there might be
> some that would be willing to buy a raffle and have a chance at winning one. The
> question becomes how much you would be willing to spend for a single ticket?
>
> Would you pay $10 for a chance? How about $5 or $1?
Quick response: I'd be in for $10 or $20. :)
Longer response to follow... :O
Steve
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OK, here's my longer response...
[quoting things all out of order]
In lugnet.announce, Todd Thuma wrote:
> Hey, I just saw a great idea on Eurobricks
> http://eurobricks.hosting.ipsyn.com/euroforum/index.php?act=home. They are
> holding a raffle for the $500.00 Millenium Falcon 10179 set.
>
> So I am interested whether or not the community on LUGNET might be willing
> to do this. Here's my thinking: There are few people out there that can
> afford the $500.00 set and there are many people out there that cannot. So,
> there might be some that would be willing to buy a raffle and have a chance
> at winning one.
> What do you think? Would you be interested in this?
Oh, yeah. I would definitely be up for this. Committing a few dollars to
possibly win a Falcon would be awesome. Heck, even spending a few bucks to help
another AFOL in a similar position would be fun. :)
I'm definitely one of those people going, "Wow! That MF looks fantastic! But no
way am I spending that dropping that much coin on my hobby at one time!"
> The question becomes how much you would be willing to spend for a single
> ticket? Would you pay $10 for a chance? How about $5 or $1?
The actual ticket price wouldnt' matter to me -- whatever the price is, it's
really a chance of winning. A $5 ticket would be 1% chance of winning, a $10
ticket would be 2%. You could set ticket prices to $1, and let people choose
their own fine-grained level of participation.
All that said, I'm fine with $5 or $10. I'd probably spend $10, maybe $20,
total on ticket(s).
> I am willing to take no money for the exercise.
That is mighty nice of you, BTW.
> I would purchase the set now and take delivery to me. Once the set has been
> received the raffle will be closed and a winner will be randomly selected from
> those having purchased tickets.
Considering that this is a 'friendly' operation, I'd say sell the tickets now,
determine the winner, and order the set for direct shipment to them. Especially
since it would allow you to do everything right now, finalizing it all right
away. If you wait until you physically get the set, you can't wrap things up
until October.
> A web site would be used to organize the participant list and for purchasing
> the tickets. There would be total disclosure.
I'm not sure that's necessary. Email communication would suffice, and would be
more private. But if setting up a web page makes it easier for you, I'm OK with
that.
> My only trepidation comes from not being able to cover the cost of the set
> and shipping. I really do not want to be out of pocket for $500 if no one is
> interested in this.
There's no reason you should be expected to take any risk. Definitely sell the
tickets and collect the money first, then buy the set.
Considering that the sets won't be available until October, I think there's time
to collect all the money before the actual purchase is made.
> Also, we could run the raffle through PayPal or some online purchase cart
> system where people could be assured that their money was going to the raffle.
If you use PayPal (or something), be sure to factor in the (probable) cost of
their fees.
> There would only be a set number of tickets sold based upon a calculation of
> the cost of the set puls shipping divided by the cost of each ticket. In
> other words, if the set costs $500.00 and shipping is $50.00 then the total
> is $550.00. If tickets are $10.00 then only 55 tickets would be sold.
And any leftover money (beyond buying the set, fees, shipping, and your costs)
goes to the winner as well?
Here's a random thought: sell tickets over the next 2 weeks, pick a winner
before the end of the month, order the set before March 31, and avoid shipping.
I'm somewhat slightly concerned about the legality of this idea; games and
raffles are generally pretty tightly regulated. I'm sure this would be a small
enough deal to be under any radar. But still. Or maybe I'm overly paranoid.
Another concern is that too many people will be interested -- you might have
enough interest to do this multiple times. Many multiple. :)
What process would you use to select the winner? Pull a name out of a hat?
Ping Pong balls in a spinner? Random number generator? I'd prefer a physical
system rather than an electronic solution (ie, computer program).
Steve
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In lugnet.starwars, Steve Bliss wrote:
> OK, here's my longer response...
do this multiple times. Many multiple. :)
>
> What process would you use to select the winner? Pull a name out of a hat?
> Ping Pong balls in a spinner? Random number generator? I'd prefer a physical
> system rather than an electronic solution (ie, computer program).
>
> Steve
Steve,
Well, how many balls in a Bingo device? I could assign one ball to each raffle
recipient and then video tape the drawing sort of like the state lottery at
night fit in between the 7:30 and 8:00 O'clock hour.
I could write names on a deck of cards, multiple decks once we go past 52 and
then draw them from a pillow case or something dark and hidden. The whole thing
could be tapped.
I have booked plane flights and hotels for BrickFest PDX and Brick World. I
could have independent confirmation and have someone else make the drawing at
the conventions. It could be made into a big deal. There would certainly be fans
present to verify all was done fairly.
Todd
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In lugnet.starwars, Todd Thuma wrote:
> To All,
>
> Hey, I just saw a great idea on Eurobricks
> http://eurobricks.hosting.ipsyn.com/euroforum/index.php?act=home. They are
> holding a raffle for the $500.00 Millenium Falcon 10179 set.
>
> So I am interested whether or not the community on LUGNET might be willing to do
> this. Here's my thinking: There are few people out there that can afford the
> $500.00 set and there are many people out there that cannot. So, there might be
> some that would be willing to buy a raffle and have a chance at winning one. The
> question becomes how much you would be willing to spend for a single ticket?
>
> Would you pay $10 for a chance? How about $5 or $1?
Sounds like a good idea. I would pay up to $10 for a chance. I think tickets
should be limited to one per person so that everybody has an equal chance of
winning, and to avoid a case where the "richest person" wins (i.e. s/he bought
the most tickets).
Steve has a good point - do the raffle before March 31st so that shipping is
taken care of. One less thing to worry about. The organizer just orders the
set and ships to the winner's address.
With all that said, I do see one potential problem. I'm in Canada, and the set
costs more than US$500. Assuming you're in the US, I don't think you could
order the set and ship to me in Canada if I won. You might not even be able to
order it from Canada's version of S@H. So it looks like this raffle would be
limited to those in the US.
Cheers,
-Bryan
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In lugnet.starwars, Bryan Wong wrote:
> In lugnet.starwars, Todd Thuma wrote:
> > To All,
> >
> > Hey, I just saw a great idea on Eurobricks
> > http://eurobricks.hosting.ipsyn.com/euroforum/index.php?act=home. They are
> > holding a raffle for the $500.00 Millenium Falcon 10179 set.
> >
> > So I am interested whether or not the community on LUGNET might be willing to do
> > this. Here's my thinking: There are few people out there that can afford the
> > $500.00 set and there are many people out there that cannot. So, there might be
> > some that would be willing to buy a raffle and have a chance at winning one. The
> > question becomes how much you would be willing to spend for a single ticket?
> >
> > Would you pay $10 for a chance? How about $5 or $1?
>
> Sounds like a good idea. I would pay up to $10 for a chance. I think tickets
> should be limited to one per person so that everybody has an equal chance of
> winning, and to avoid a case where the "richest person" wins (i.e. s/he bought
> the most tickets).
>
> Steve has a good point - do the raffle before March 31st so that shipping is
> taken care of. One less thing to worry about. The organizer just orders the
> set and ships to the winner's address.
I like that idea! Organize the event and get the raffle done prior to the
deadline for free shipping. I could then have it shipped to the person and I'll
pay for it with the money collected. That would be easy.
> With all that said, I do see one potential problem. I'm in Canada, and the set
> costs more than US$500. Assuming you're in the US, I don't think you could
> order the set and ship to me in Canada if I won. You might not even be able to
> order it from Canada's version of S@H. So it looks like this raffle would be
> limited to those in the US.
>
> Cheers,
> -Bryan
Not so fast Brian. I could certainly have it shipped to me, then it doesn't
matter if I ship it to you. The problem would be the cost. Not knowing the
weight, I would have to project how much it would cost and plan that into the
total cost of the set. You would have to pay in USD though.
I will mull this over. This is definitely a possibility.
Todd
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In lugnet.starwars, Bryan Wong wrote:
> I think tickets should be limited to one per person so that everybody has an
> equal chance of winning, and to avoid a case where the "richest person" wins
> (i.e. s/he bought the most tickets).
I'm not so worried about that -- if I buy in at $10, it (logically) doesn't
matter to me how the other $490 is paid out -- I still have a 2% chance of
winning. Plus, the issue is somewhat self-correcting. The "deep pockets" are
more likely to just go buy their own.
> With all that said, I do see one potential problem. I'm in Canada, and the set
> costs more than US$500. Assuming you're in the US, I don't think you could
> order the set and ship to me in Canada if I won. You might not even be able to
> order it from Canada's version of S@H. So it looks like this raffle would be
> limited to those in the US.
If you enter and win, you have to (also) pay the difference in cost between US
and Canada? Probably Todd's idea (have it shipped to him, and he ships to you)
would work better.
Steve
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In lugnet.starwars, Todd Thuma wrote:
> To All,
>
> There would only be a set number of tickets sold based
> upon a calculation of the cost of the set puls shipping divided by the cost of
> each ticket. In other words, if the set costs $500.00 and shipping is $50.00
> then the total is $550.00. If tickets are $10.00 then only 55 tickets would be
> sold.
>
>
> Todd
I just decided to order one for myself (couldn't resist, besides they will not
bill the credit card until it ships) and tax was added. It added about $34.00 to
the total. So, the cost of tax would have to be factored in, but there is no
shipping if we do this before March.
It would be nice to get this out of the way and finish all the arrangements
before end of March.
What have others paid in tax?
Todd
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In lugnet.starwars, Todd Thuma wrote:
> What do you think? Would you be interested in this? My only trepidation comes
> from not being able to cover the cost of the set and shipping. I really do not
> want to be out of pocket for $500 if no one is interested in this.
>
> Please respond to the post.
Todd, do you have an account at FBTB? I think you'll get a lot more responses
if you posted this there. I think the raffle is a good idea - you just need 50+
more people who also think it's cool to make this whole thing worth doing!
-Bryan
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In lugnet.starwars, Todd Thuma wrote:
> To All,
>
> Hey, I just saw a great idea on Eurobricks
> http://eurobricks.hosting.ipsyn.com/euroforum/index.php?act=home. They are
> holding a raffle for the $500.00 Millenium Falcon 10179 set.
>
> So I am interested whether or not the community on LUGNET might be willing to do
> this. Here's my thinking: There are few people out there that can afford the
> $500.00 set and there are many people out there that cannot. So, there might be
> some that would be willing to buy a raffle and have a chance at winning one. The
> question becomes how much you would be willing to spend for a single ticket?
>
> Would you pay $10 for a chance? How about $5 or $1?
This is my 3rd attempt to get my response posted. Although I have recieved
email copies of my other posts, I still have not recieved a email to 'authorize'
my post.
I would be willing to spent $10 or $20 for this. Maybe, if you get enough
responsives, do this for two drawings. I second the motion to get the money
first and purchase the set(s) and have it shipped directly to the winner.
-- Don GtwLUG St. Louis, Mo. USA
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I think it would be an excellent idea. I have run similar raffles in my other
hobbies (yes there are other hobbies) and have seen great success (ie everyone
even if they don't win gets the warm fuzzies). I hope you do get someone to
purchase said set and raffle it off, but to make it more interesting, I say $5 a
ticket, 110 chances, longer odds, more chance more fun. You might consider
limiting the number of tickets to one per individual or keep to the honor
system. Best of Luck,
Christopher Templin
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