Site Membership Proposal - What do you think?

[edd_jedi]

The mods and I have actually been talking about this for ages, but Ed's generous competition and the buzz it has made has prompted me to put the idea to you all. Please note, it is just an idea!

Now first of all, this site is and always will be free to use. I and some of the other mods don't approve of paid 'VIP areas' some forums have. So my idea is simple;

If you WANT to become a member of the website, the cost will be around £5 per month. There is no pressure to do so. There will be no VIP area, extra access, special lightsabre etc. HOWEVER - what you will get is entry into a competition for a vintage MOC every single month! This is not a money making exercise for me, so all revenue from the membership will be spent on the prize (minus costs such as Paypal fees, postage etc.)

So if 20 people sign up for £5 per month, the prize that month will be a MOC worth roughly £100. If 50 people sign up, it will be a £250 MOC every month.

What do you all think? Good idea? Bad idea? Looking forward to seeing what you think. The £5 outlay each month will give you a decent chance (1/20 for example) to win a nice carded figure 8)

 

[aussiejames]

Initially I read ' it's going to cost you 5 pounds a month to be a member '

Well you can jam that right up your arse :lol: :lol: BUT if there was a raffle every month that cost 5 pounds & I had a 1 in 20 chance to win a 100 pound MOC I'd be in every month.

But if it's not compulsory to WANT to be a paid member what's the point? Just hold a raffle every month!!

 

[edd_jedi]

Fair point mate, but the honest answer is legality - it's illegal to hold unauthorised raffles. It's considered gambling. This would be a gift each month in exchange for membership commitment.

 

[edd_jedi]

As for the 'prize' I suggest that each month, after announcement the winner chooses what they want from Ebay or sale thread on here. It must be a 'buy it now' item and the total cost including shipping to wherever the 'winner' lives must obviously be less than the total fund.

That way everybody gets something that they actually want

 

[Lee77]

Sounds like a good idea Edd. It's only a fiver and with the chance to win something every month, I'd be in. It'll be interesting to see what the others think. Ed's competition caused a lot of excitement so I can only see this being a good thing.

 

[BlueDog]

Fair enough idea but what sort of a logistic nightmare would it cause you guys?

 

[JuniorChubb]

Fair enough idea but what sort of a logistic nightmare would it cause you guys?

Fair point, extra work for the mods.

I am undecided about this, £5 a month is not a lot, £60 a year sounds a bit more though.

I will take my usuall position on this and all important matters, I will sit on the fence :? look to see peoples pro's and con's and comeback with a more educated reply.

 

[Josh]

Incidental non-commercial lotteries – typically raffles at one-off charity fundraising events – are, generally speaking, exempt under the 2005 Gambling Act provided certain conditions are met. These conditions, which are similar to the old law, are as follows:

the lottery is incidental to an event which is not (and is not intended to be) profit making, and the lottery is not promoted for private gain;
the organisers do not deduct from the proceeds of the raffle more than the prescribed sum in respect of prizes (currently £500) or other costs (currently £100);
there is no rollover;
tickets are supplied only at the location where the related event takes place and only during that event; and
the results are announced at or before the end of the related event.

If you can work it into an exampt lottery format we maybe able to do it.

 

[weasel]

Personally, it's a non starter for me. I'm not collecting any more so no attraction in the draw for me.
For those who are collecting it's a trade off between the loss of £5 a month/£60 a year, versus the chance of winning an item from Ebay worth whatever the jackpot is. Plus of course the added element of a little suspense/fun once a month.

Not a bad idea Edd. Be interesting to see how the guys feel. If I was still collecting I'd take it on.


As for logistics it may not be too bad. The biggest hassle will be chasing people up for the monthly payment. Does PP allow for monthly payments a la direct debits?

 

[Josh]

I don't think he is saying everyone has to pay each month. Only if you want to go in the draw. He is just trying to disguise the entry to the draw as a membership fee.

Are yah dumb or just plain stupid? :lol:

Just kidding. It was a little bit confusing, I give you that.

 

[PIGCITY]

Personally I wouldn't be doing it. I barley justify spending what I do on this small hobby (hence my lowball offers) and always feel guilty that I should spend it on my family. I'm pretty unlucky when it comes to comps so its not really an incentive for me either.

 

[edd_jedi]

Thanks for the link Josh, looks like it might not even be illegal then :lol: And yeah you're right, it's basically a way of doing a monthly raffle without calling it that.

I don't think it would be that hard. Each month, people pay £5 if they want to. That's not too hard for me to keep track of, I'll set up a unique paypal address. When you pay, you're added to that month's list. On the last day of the month, draw is made, money is sent to winner via Paypal gift, they buy what they want and show it off in the limelight thread.

Sound good? To make it worthwhile I think I'd need at least 10 "yes definitely, I'm in" replies here.

 

[BlueDog]

Why the Flock not, Yes I'm in. Geez that must be the most typed quote on here at the moment! :lol:

 

[thirdfloor]

Initially I read ' it's going to cost you 5 pounds a month to be a member '

I actually just offered the suggestion of membership fees yesterday to a certain forum dictator on another site who shall remain nameless. Upon seeing the title to this thread I thought this might be coming to fruition here. Glad to hear it's not the case.

I think your idea is great, but can see the pro's and con's to it. For collectors without much spending money to put into their collection it offers them to chance to add an expensive piece that they may not have put out the money for, at a low cost. Even if it's a piece they have no interest in they could then use it to trade or sell and get items they need for their collection. On the con side, they may not win and the 60 pounds that went into the contest could have been used on gaurenteed purchases for their collection.

Overall though it is a great idea and anyone who entered would love it, as displayed by feedback in the recent draw from ed.

 

[Grant_C]

I think its a great idea.

First thing that comes to mind is what if the member already has that carded figure?

Can he/she pull out of that raffle?

Sounds like you guys might be putting a lot of work on yourselves. 40 entrys equals 40 quries atleast.

I like what your thinking though.

Maybe just leave it up to the members to through they're own competition like Ed did. With or without other members helping out.

 

[Josh]

**** me. Does anyone ever read an entire thread anymore?
It's got like 15 replies or something. One of them states that it will just go into a pool and the person can get whatever the **** they want :lol:

 

[edd_jedi]

Haha yes, the prize money will simply be sent to the winner, and they must spend the money on a Star Wars toy.

 

[Grant_C]

I read what i want to read.

Today LIFEISNOWHERE reads as LIFE IS NO WHERE and not LIFE IS NOW HERE.

:lol:

 

[Josh]

Start calling you Princess if you keep up with the stupid questions :lol:

 

[aussiejames]

"yes definitely, I'm in"