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View Full Version : Ticket cost for LSP? Bulk discount?




Bryan
07-10-2008, 10:23 PM
I'm seriously leaning towards $10 per ticket with the goal to maximize participation but still have a good fund raiser.

I was also wondering about offering a discount for bulk purchases- say:

10+ tickets = $9 each
25+ tickets = $8 each

$5000 (the max) gets you 715 tickets ($6.99 each)

The pros are two fold:
+ Encourages more ticket sales.
+ Allows for resellers to sell at $10 each (but they could still do more).

And then maybe offer another deal (assuming we could get the accounting and technical issues to work) where we could sell in bulk to resellers in lots of 100 tickets for $8 each with the option to return up to 60 for a full refund (up to the day before the event).

I'm on the fence on this some...

Thoughts?

Roxi
07-10-2008, 10:45 PM
im not sure, because im on the fence too... i can't stop picturing the ames straw poll when i think of this, but this is a lot different really... i would like to hear some feedback from others

nayjevin
07-11-2008, 11:51 AM
The fork in the road seems to me to be: Should LSP do everything in its power to encourage ticket sales and generate funds, regardless of potential gaming of the system? Or should LSP lock down the possibility of gaming the system at the expense of ticket sales?

If LSP wants its poll to provide meaningful results, then a person ought not be able to vote 100 times, but if LSP wants to raise as much money as possible, and consider the results of the poll a sort of curiosity that's part of a fun event, then bulk discounts ought to encourage that.

I see each model as workable.

Although I personally lean toward a locktight Straw Poll, and let the fundraising begin during the money bomb, I think that deterrents for gaming the system are in place to keep somewhat meaningful results if LSP were to go the other way -- an honor system, opportunity for users to report abuse, and a 'manual' voting process that takes some time.

If the straw poll vote is 1 per person (as best as can be verified), then anyone who would have wanted to buy 10 tickets can send the other $90 to their candidate of choice, without that $90 going toward a misrepresentation of how many people support that candidate. Seems like that would put the free market in the right place.

However, there is much precedent for straw poll votes being a sort of curiosity and chance to 'meet' the candidates, without the actual vote result being considered terribly important -- LSP could have the feel of the 'coffee bean' caucus - and that might be more fun for everyone.

Translation: Another damn fence sitter.

nayjevin
07-12-2008, 02:26 PM
And then maybe offer another deal (assuming we could get the accounting and technical issues to work) where we could sell in bulk to resellers in lots of 100 tickets for $8 each with the option to return up to 60 for a full refund (up to the day before the event).

This would be key, awesome idea.