One Girl Revolution

Back when I worked at OldJob, one of my fellow employees was instrumental as a friend, mentor, and someone who kept me from going absolutely batty due to unrealistically high levels of stress. We had differing opinions on just about everything - religion, politics, culture, even music - but he was always tremendously respectful and kind. Now he needs help, and I want to see what I can do for him.

As you can see from reading through his LJ, he's currently preparing for a mission trip to Bolivia. I know this sort of thing is a touchy and/or dicey subject for some people, but I know this guy well enough to know that his trip isn't going to be a "Bibles Before Bread" sort of deal - yes, there will be some worship and such going on, but it would appear that this will be taking place with a pre-existing congregation; as far as I know, they won't be converting anyone. The main thrust of the trip is to go down there and help the community, which is something I can get behind.

Thing is, he needs to raise money for this to happen. He's not a rich guy.

To that end, I have volumes 1-6 of Bone trade paperbacks that this guy gave me a while back. They're mine to do with as I please, so I thought I'd use them to help out my friend. I was going to put them on eBay at first, but then I had an idea - why not a raffle?

Here's how it would work: people enter the raffle by leaving a comment on my blog and sending me $10 via PayPal. From there, their names (or rather, LJ handles) are put into a hat (there will be pictures, so as to prove that the raffle took place, hence the need for LJ names for privacy), one of which will be drawn at random. The lucky winner gets all six volumes for $10 - a real steal, given that I was hoping to get at least $50 for them on eBay. I'm hoping that at least five people would play, as I'd feel silly in just giving my friend $10.

Anyway, I wanted to see what the Great and Powerful Internets had to say about all of this. Good idea? Bad idea? I'll need to get on with this soon, as my friend will be leaving soon.

What say you?

It seems that the one sentence that best describes my life is, "Grandiose ideas that turn to folly rather than come to fruition."

After being advised that my attempt at a raffle could be construed as heading up a session of illegal gambling,¹ I've decided that it will have to either be eBay or my nearest brick and mortar comic/book store. Does anyone have any advice about which would be more likely to make more money? (I ask because I seem to have horrible eBay karma - the only way I've ever gotten anyone to bid on/buy any of my stuff was to list either the opening bid or the Buy It Now price (or both) for an absurdly low amount. Anything more (and we're talking in the reasonable range) doesn't even get viewed.




¹And for those saying, "But that's in Texas!" there are two issues. First, I have no idea if my state has the same sorts of regulations, and I have neither the time nor the inclination to pour through state, county and city legal codes to find out. Secondly, if a Texan won, they could possibly get in trouble for participating. Given that this was supposed to be an easy, fun process, there's really no reason for me to pursue the idea any longer.

So, after learning that my first plan could possibly see me charged with discouraging morality and getting no feedback as to the best course of action, I did what I should have done in the first place and plunked the lot on eBay. Opening bid is $20, which sounds high until you realize that it's for six books, each of which are going for $9.99 on Amazon.

If there are no takers after 10 days, I'll have to take my chances with a used bookstore. I'm reluctant to do that; my one foray into selling books at a brick and mortar saw me carting in dozens of books and several rare CDs, only to be told after an hour or so of waiting that the entire lot - of over 30 books - would net me just under $20. Or, as they were so smug in telling me, just under $20 in store credit. Lesson learned. I will never sell through them again.

Not that I think I'd get any more from a local seller, but at least they won't be jerks about it.

Anyway, here's hoping I get a vaguely decent price for everything, as I'd feel like an idiot in handing over less than the books were originally worth.