Dave is having a contest for a Playstation 3 he bought way back when they were crazy expensive on craigslist.
Basically you send him 1$ in paypal and you get 1 raffle ticket. When 750 are sold the script does a select random from the database and chooses the winner.
The funny thing is he left my house about and coded it while on the road from his EVDO Sprint conneciton on his laptop. What are the odds off all the tickets being sold before he reaches home in 5 hours?
Update: Dave made it home and its sold 402 tickets. Not a sellout but pretty impressive
July 10, 2007 at 1:53 pm
yeah i don’t think that’s legal, but i wish i’ve know sooner
July 2, 2007 at 3:07 pm
One thing to point out – this kind of thing, especially if done on a regular basis, could cause legal problems in some juristictions. Its a lottery / gambling of sorts.
July 2, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Yeah. That’s not legal.
July 2, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Actually that would never work. Reputation is kind of like a chicken and the egg thing.
1) people only purchased tickets because they know or know of dillsmack.
2) people know dillsmack would not risk his reputation for 750$
July 2, 2007 at 9:48 am
Which state is he running the raffle from? The law does change state to state, but the internet is a pretty large gray area if I remember correctly so he should be fine.
July 2, 2007 at 1:45 am
Did someone think that the same thin could be done with the same prize every day. Just the winner will be the person organizing the contest:)
I am not saying that someone is cheating but it is possible that there will be someone like this.
July 1, 2007 at 4:50 pm
cheap way to get a PS3
July 1, 2007 at 10:35 am
Dillsmack site is down…
July 1, 2007 at 6:57 am
The legality of such a contest is so minimal, especially on the interweb….what venue would prosecute such a thing? The state of Dillsmack or the winner etc?
No one would go after after such a small raffle anyways…Congrats to the winner!
July 1, 2007 at 4:04 am
Do you ship to Australia?
July 1, 2007 at 2:51 am
Why not just raffle off one of these things every week then?
June 30, 2007 at 11:31 pm
One thing that always amazes me is how much time people will put into debating on legalities of a issue while people make money… reminds me of when youtube started.
June 30, 2007 at 11:15 pm
Yeah. This is pretty much illegal. Unless you are registered with the State Attorney General. Here is an example from the California State Attorney General.
http://ag.ca.gov/charities/raffles.php
Only a charitable trust organization i.e. non profit can hold a raffle. B/c it goes against the gaming laws. B/c if it’s not regulated by the state, then they don’t have to report it and the gaming commission of the state usually like to lay down the law. But yeah good luck to all. =)
June 30, 2007 at 10:21 pm
I guess anyone can do this and even make a profit if they bought it at regular price.
June 30, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Looks like it’s a sell-out already…
June 30, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Just put “Void where prohibited” and you’re cool.
June 30, 2007 at 6:17 pm
I sure hope it gets up to $750 soon, I have my fingers crossed. I have not really mastered a game since One of the last Tony Hawk games, but I am kind of excited to get back into it…;)
June 30, 2007 at 2:15 pm
In my state you have to register a raffle for it to be legal. I do not know if there are any federal laws regarding them.
June 30, 2007 at 12:58 pm
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8008489&st=ps3&type=product&id=1156202764702
I’m fairly certain picking one up off Cragslist when they were first released would have been much more expensive.
June 30, 2007 at 12:26 pm
How much do they cost anyways?
June 30, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Who cares if its legal. And why wouldn’t it be anyways?
June 30, 2007 at 9:42 am
Selling crack isn’t legal either, but that doesn’t stop certain individuals from doing it…
June 30, 2007 at 4:50 am
very nice idea. I just bought a couple of tickets. I think this won’t be the last contest held in that fashion. At least I hope so
June 30, 2007 at 3:25 am
Are raffles even legal?
June 30, 2007 at 2:36 am
Awesome idea for a contest! Raffles are always fun! I think I might have a try, too.
June 30, 2007 at 12:25 am
Yeah, nice plan. I think I’m going to have to make me one of these…after I win the PS3
June 29, 2007 at 11:27 pm
Sounds like a great idea. I’m looking for things I can sell as I type.
June 29, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Nice idea Dillsmack!
June 29, 2007 at 9:59 pm
sounds simular to the guy that started the donate a dollar on his geocities years ago and ended up getting over like a million off dollar donations.
June 29, 2007 at 8:51 pm
…and I personally hope they are all sold out soon, I am an impatient b*st*rd
June 29, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Great contest sounds fun, I bought 10 too.
June 29, 2007 at 7:35 pm
I think it is a pretty cool contest, and pretty generous to boot. If it does not reach $750 (it will) does that mean the contest will not commence?
June 29, 2007 at 5:54 pm
wow up to 80$ already
June 29, 2007 at 5:21 pm
it looks like its up to 59 already
June 29, 2007 at 5:14 pm
I bought 10 as well. The counter did move though?
June 29, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Sounds like a great contest…would love a PS3. But is this “raffle” legal? Are you allowed to sell tickets to something like this?
June 29, 2007 at 4:49 pm
haha too funny! I bought 10 tickets. Dills rocks.