Jon,
Trying to keep up the number of people willing to participate with a traditional
raffle ticket may be nearly impossible. I would like to suggest a confirmation number or
"virtual ticket". A good example of this is this site: http://www.net-raffle.com/
With that particular raffle, they use the last few digits of THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE
for the winning raffle ticket number. That way, there would be no question of integrity.
(Unless your Alan Greenspan and can control the stock market with threats of interest rates)
You can set a proposed date for the raffle. After that, each DML member can submit for
a confirmation number or "virtual ticket" that could be associated with a spreadsheet that is
posted on the DML server. At that point that DML member is bound by a contract (like EBAY)
to pay for the ticket via snail mail within a certian time frame.
As far as the actual items...start small in order to generate revenue to support the site.
Something I know we'll all get use out of is something like a "car car" package. (Wash,Wax,Polish,
Shammy,tire cleaner,apolstery cleaner,california duster, air freshener etc...) Later on raffle of
larger - more customizable items...seat covers, audio equipment, decals.
I personally would like to see 4WD items. As far as that goes...if someone does not want
to participate...it's their choice.
Good luck....I really like the idea.
-Mike Brown
Pasadena, MD
97 -Sport
Club Cab 318
4WD
http://www.geocities.com/mbrowwwn/index.html
-----Original Message-----
From: Jon Steiger [mailto:stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu]
Sent: Friday, March 17, 2000 6:52 PM
To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
Subject: DML: Re: Dakota raffle?
Several people have suggested raffling off smaller items rather
than a Dak. I must say, I think that's a great idea. It should
be easier to manage, the monetary goals should be easier to reach,
there should be less monetary risk, and really, most of us are
probably pretty happy with our Daks, and would prefer upgrades
as opposed to a whole new Dak.
I've seen a lot of good ideas come through so far, thanks very
much everyone, for your suggestions! I guess the main question
remaining is the legality of doing something like this. And of
course, how to choose what to raffle off. For example, say
we want to do a cat-back exhaust system. It doesn't seem optimal
to go out and buy a system because that limits the number of people
that can participate. (i.e. why would someone with a regular cab
v6 want to join in when the system will only fit a club cab v8, etc.)
But, for vehicle specific items, we could probably purchase it after
the fact...
Another issue that gets brought out by doing multiple smaller
raffles is, how can I prove its on the up and up? Of course, I am
the most obvious choice for the person who would run the contests,
and as such, I would not participate myself. Those of you who know
me know I would never play favorites, but the DMLers I know personally
are very few in comparison with the whole list. It is very important
to me that my integrity and the integrity of the contest never comes
into question. However, I am unsure as to how to guarantee that.
Like I mentioned before regarding raffling off a Dak, it would be
nice to do it at some place like Carlisle with lots of people watching,
but if we're going to do more than one of these smaller items a year
(quarterly or monthly, whatever) then obviously we can't wait for a
big meet every year. :-) It seems to me like the best way to run
it would be for me to have a bunch of numbered tickets. For each
"entry", I would associate that person's name with a ticket (of
course, anyone could purchase multiple entries and thus have more than
one ticket in the drawing). Then, I'd shuffle them all around in a
container, and (without looking) draw out the winner. (And possibly
2nd and 3rd place prizes.) Then, I'd check out the excel spreadsheet
to see who the numbers on the tickets correspond to. If I were to
print out the spreadsheet, and videotape myself drawing the winning
ticket(s), and show the ticket number and the printed out spreadsheet
on film, would that be sufficient? Does anyone have any other ideas?
-Jon-
.--- jon@dakota-truck.net -- or -- stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu ------------.
| Jon Steiger * AOPA, DoD, EAA, MP Race Team, NMA, SPA, USUA * RP-SEL |
| '92 Ram 150 4x4 V8, '96 Dakota V8, '96 Intruder 1400, '96 FireFly 447 |
`---------------------------- http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~stei0302/ ---'
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