The 20th Century group is excited to announce a new contest for its group members. The Find Of The Month (#FOTM) and Find Of The Year (#FOTY) will span the months of May through to September, with a final contest to be held in October to determine the years best find.
To participate, you MUST READ the following and agree to abide by the rules, terms and conditions. Once you agree, all you need to do is post "I'm in" in this thread, as only those members will be tagged and allowed to participate once the contest begins in May.
**RULES, TERMS & CONDITIONS**
The format will be described in greater detail as we come closer to May, however we wanted to announce this contest ahead of time for several reasons. The first and perhaps most important reason is we want as many people to participate to foster and grow a positive group culture. Knowledge and savvy will only get us so far in our collecting pursuits - we want people to demonstrate a positive attitude, camaraderie and the ethical traits of hard work and treating others the way we expect to be treated ourselves.
We also wanted to promote this as a contest that anyone could enter, to demonstrate hobbies like ours can be just as much fun for collectors on a budget. One of the primary conditions will be that every entrant has a working budget of $100 to be used toward your find over a five month span (or $20 for each month). If you spend it all in one month, you won't be able to participate in the remaining months. If you are lucky enough to spend below that budget, then great, but you cannot spend more than the alloted amount. Anyone that does will be disqualified. As this contest relies partially on the honour system, we ask that people provide as much photographic proof, especially if the entry is of a significantly higher value than $100. The admins reserve the right to make final judgement call in this regard. We chose the months of May through to September to give everyone here an equal opportunity to use garage sales, swap meets, conventions, antique shows or malls as these can be low cost venues where it would be possible for someone to come away with a prized find.
To clarify further on this point, one of the most amazing appraisal assignments I handled was for the oldest known hockey puck which was later donated to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The donor received the puck after helping an elderly widow clean out her shed. We want to hear about the resourcefulness and nature of your discovery as much as seeing what you find. To this point, the ethical rule is one we ask all participants to observe to the letter, and I want to emphasize how finds demonstrating the true spirit of this contest will be judged in a more favourable manner, and that we don't want to hear that someone was paid a pittance because the seller was hard up for cash. Please remember to treat people with respect and dignity, because remember folks, that person might be you some day.
All finds must be made during the months this contest runs, and we ask that items be recongized as collectibles and the cut off is it that the item had to been manufactured in the year 2000 or prior. Also, the find doesn't necessarily need to be purchased, but needs to be acquired through a bonafide exchange between two parties in a goods for cash, trade or barter scenario.
Each submission will be evaluated using the criteria of the story behind the find, the number of likes the post receives, and the item itself. Admins will make the final call using this criteria. Admins may also participate, though any votes cast on another admins entry will be removed from the total number of likes.
No money or buy-in is required to enter other than the money you will need to use to purchase your find, and the final condition is that in order to participate, the entrant must post in this thread "I'm in." No one can enter on an individuals behalf. No exceptions.
**PRIZE DONATIONS**
The other reason we wanted to announce this early is because we are hoping to get members here to donate prizes for this contest. So in addition to posting "I'm in", if you want to donate something, please remark "I'll donate" and/or post a photo of what you plan to donate in this thread. Before the contest, we will review and post a summary of prizes. Please note that donors must be prepared to cover shipping costs to send the prize to the eventual winner.
#FOTM winners will also receive a profile pic similar to the one posted below because we understand the importance of bragging rights for collectors.
We hope to make this a contest that all participants will enjoy, while at the same time, helping us all return to the roots of collecting through the thrill of sharing an awesome find, and promoting our hobby pursuits in a positive manner.
Here is the link to join in or donate a prize
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1048579475209886/permalink/1281186888615809
