There are a lot of prizes that have been donated for the SGS Monster Raffle, but which prize should be drawn first? Different members value silver differently and while I’m a dedicated Stacker myself I am certainly no expert when it comes to valuing some of the more obscure or unique pieces that have been donated. There is a case that can be made for trying to order the prize draw by value, but there’s also a case for making the prize draw order totally random. Stay with me while I walk through the thinking….
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The Monster Raffle Prize Draw happens LIVE on the SGS Discord and one of the benefits (incentives) for being present at the draw is this - If you get a winning ticket you can choose from one of the unclaimed prizes still left. We have always done it this way to try to encourage people to come online and generate a bit of excitement and buzz around the event as well as foster a bit of social interaction amongst current (and potential future) members. This aspect of the Monster Raffle I don’t think we should change, but it has some implications.
The case for ordering the prize draw by value is based on being fair to ticket purchasers who are not available for the live draw. If you are the first ticket drawn then by default you should get the best prize still available so the best prizes should be drawn first, right? But then if you start trying to value and rank every prize donation then it’s a point of conjecture in itself. People value things differently and nobody wants to end up being the last prize – considered the least valuable. All the prizes are appreciated so it’s a bit rude to be valuing one prize the least….to be drawn last. Nobody wants that dubious honor....
However, the case for a random draw order is a bit unfair for those who can’t make the live draw and we have members from lots of different Time Zones which might make it hard for them to be present. There might be some kick-ass prizes unclaimed but if you’re not present to choose then you might end up with something of significantly less value by default. We can possibly address this by allowing people to nominate a Proxy – who can choose prizes on another ticket holders behalf, though there is another whole can of worms to open if we’re going to try and record and manage all the Proxies for every ticket holder. Allowing Proxies to choose might also take away one of the great incentives to join in and be present at the live event.
My gut feel is that maybe a hybrid approach might be best. Maybe a Top 3 or Top 6 prizes can be ordered by value and drawn first, followed by the rest of the prizes drawn randomly. We can allow Proxies this time to help people out who can’t be present and see if/when that becomes a big administrative burden and/or detracts from the live attendance. That said….how would we even decide which are the Top 3 or Top 6 prizes? Does anyone want to throw out some suggestions on how best to approach this?
Ticket Sales will begin in a few days so it would be good to have our Prize Draw sorted before then. What do people think?