subject: Raffle Prize Ideas- The Place To Go For A Great Bargain [print this page] In order to get the most out of a fundraising raffle, it is better to have a donated raffle prize because all of the collected money can be used by the organization.
But if no appropriate donations are received, one option is to buy an inexpensive, popular raffle prize. The rationale of this approach is that your modest investment (i.e. buying the prize) will be handsomely rewarded in many raffle ticket sales. Your target market will be excited about winning the prize, and will therefore buy multiple raffle tickets.
If you've reached that point where you are looking to buy the prize, consider shopping (or at least monitoring) the Website Woot. Woot only allows one product to be sold per day and the prices are worth keeping an eye on.
Here's how Woot works:
Woot sells one product per day until it's sold out, or until 11:59 PM central time when the featured product is replaced with a new item. If the featured daily item sells out, you must wait until midnight to learn about the new featured product.
Most of the prices (current as of August 2009) seem to be about 50% of what that same item might cost elsewhere.
* Philips 52? 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV: Woot sold at $1200; Amazon lists at $2115.
* Memorex 4GB Media Player: Woot sold for $30; various stores list at $60 to $150
* Ion Audio USB Turntable (This system enables you to play records and record directly into your MP3 player.): Woot sold for $50; Wal-mart lists at $115
* Dell Inspiron Dual Core 1.8 Ghz 14? Notebook: Woot sold for $439.
Here are some other reasons to enjoy Woot:
Shipping is an easy-to-calculate flat rate of $5.00. Regardless of whether you buy a $40 item or a $1000 item, or whether you buy one item or three items, the shipping is $5.00.
Missed an item? Wait for a Woot-Off. During a Woot-Off, all of the items which didn't sell out are offered for sale again (at the same price as before). So, if 40 routers and 125 weather stations didn't sell, those items would be sold - one product after another - during the day of the Woot-Off. If you missed the chance to buy the product during the 24-hour window, there is a chance you could buy it during the Woot-Off.
This site is entertaining to read because of the witty writing style. The first person to buy each day is called the "First Sucker." On the "What is Woot" page, the authors write, "We anticipate profitability by 2043."
The site allows you to see cool statistics. By clicking into the "comments" area of any product, you can see some interesting metrics about Woot's sales. For instance, you'll see that Woot is most popular in the Midwest, and you can review sales-by-hour to see when Woot sells the most product.
Woot's user community is engaged and many provide feedback on product purchases. If you enjoy reading opinions on products, you'll be pleasantly satisfied with comments from Woot's buyers.
As a side, cameras (regular and video cameras) are good raffle items, and these items seem to come up for sale regularly on the site. Keep your eyes peeled - a great deal 'too good to miss' might be available today.
