I'm holding a raffle!

[MosaicMoonMama]

I need to raise some funds to buy more yarn! YPA custom for either a pair of pants and hat, 2 pair shorts, or 3 soakers. Tickets are $5.50 and limited to 50. Runs 3 days, go get yours! :)
http://hyenacart.com/MosaicMoon/

[JustLookin]

is it 5.50 a ticket and if you win you pay for a custom or 5.50 for a ticket and if you win thats all you pay?

[mamaofthreeboys]

Woo-hoo

I'm number 42 LOL!

I am one with a slow connection speed...... :mwah

Thanks Morwenna :pink

[MosaicMoonMama]

Yes, you pay $5.50 and if you win, you choose what I make you--you don't pay any more :)

[mamaofthreeboys]

So if you sell out of the raffel tickets before the three days is up will you do your drawing sooner :wool

:pink

[MosaicMoonMama]

Sure! :devil

[Sheena]

:banana :banana :banana

[Meredith]

Go get 'em!!! I wanna find out if I won or not tomorrow!LOL!

[MosaicMoonMama]

All of you knitting mamas who entered my raffle--THANK YOU! I am rooting for all of you :mwah seriously :lol I didn't even think I would sell all the tickets in 3 days--now there are only 9 left! I am going to make another big order with FBF :leftyhoo: :devil

[margaretcraye]

Okay, I'm IN!!! Please let it be me ;)
Just wishful thinking.....
Shouldn't all us mamas answer the cries of another mama in serious need of stash replenishment *with a chance at an awesome custom*!?

Blessings~Margie

[Sheena]

Yeah... I wanna know now! Maybe I'll buy some more, lol...

[JustLookin]

ohh I shouldnt have done that, I cant really even afford the 5.50, LOL

[Meredith]

Shoot. I was going to go get another ticket, and they are all sold out... and there are 31 shoppers on there. Did word get out on MDC?! :pink

Keeping my fingers crossed... oh please oh please oh please....

[margaretcraye]

We need instant gratification, Morwenna....please don't keep us in suspense till morning!

:lol:

[MosaicMoonMama]

Sigh....now everyone is mad at me! I was just trying to give people a fun chance and make a little extra $$ for my big yarn order! I feel like I should just refund everyone :bag was this such a horrible idea? People are acting like I am greedy, and I have given away hundreds of dollars of my time, effort, and supplies this past year.....big SIGH.....

[Meredith]

Oh Morwenna.... NO WAY!!!!! you were up front, you were honest, you told everyone what it was for. WHY should EVERYthing have to be a raffle for a charity? I does not HAVE to be.

It is your business decision, and I can't think of a more kind-hearted person than you. Do NOT feel guilty. Do NOT feel bad. You were up front. That is all you should have done.

[imonion]

I'm sorry I missed this one :( And :hugs Morwenna, I'm sorry people are being so mean to you.

[MosaicMoonMama]

That's ok :) Guess I didn't think this one through. I am refunding everyone and if you bought a ticket, you can email to get on my (now LONG) custom list!

[JustLookin]

That's ok :) Guess I didn't think this one through. I am refunding everyone and if you bought a ticket, you can email to get on my (now LONG) custom list!
ohhhh morwenna (where is the hugs smilie?) Im sorry you are refunding.

[Sheena]

WHAT? Someone got mad at you???

Blarg. That blows!!!

Sniffle. I was gonna win!

[Meredith]

Wait.... you didn't need to refund my money!!! Seriously, who in the world had a hard time with THAT one? I don't need/want to know, that is just a rhetorical question.

M... I am SO sorry.... I hope noone got ugly.

[radish]

crap! see what happens when you dont belong to ALL yahoo groups!

[Arwyn]

Sigh....now everyone is mad at me! I was just trying to give people a fun chance and make a little extra $$ for my big yarn order! I feel like I should just refund everyone :bag was this such a horrible idea? People are acting like I am greedy, and I have given away hundreds of dollars of my time, effort, and supplies this past year.....big SIGH.....

People are being mean to you?? Point me at 'em, I'll get 'em for you!!! *dukes up, big glare*

I'm sorry to hear you're refunding it. As far as I'm concerned, running a limited space/time raffle (kudos on you for that, btw! gives people an honest chance) so a WAHM can, well, WAH (or so any small business can continue to function and grow), IS for a good cause.

I thought it was a great idea...

[Sheena]

On MDC they're all saying Lauira won... am I confused?

[pamelamama]

This is awfully confusing. :nut

[pmcgary]

I just got in here- and I wouldn't be buying a ticket - not b/c I think you are being greedy.....No, greedy would be if you sold an unlimited number of tickets at that price or if you charged more per ticket perhaps.....Or if you decided since sales were going so well...that you should just sell more tickets.

I don't know who all is mad at you but I say phooey to them. (Believe me I know about having people mad at you. I had an "incident" with a neighbor who decided to put stuff in our $300 roll off container [dumpster for our basement tear out] and said she thought it was "ok". Anyway she is now telling evey one of the other mothers at our school about it- Like I am insane for not wanting her to throw her stuff in there---she is lucky I waited to figure out whose it was instead of calling the law!)

So, draw your winner- I hope it is one of the happy mamas here who could really use a pick-me-up with a custom job.

[CraftyMommaOf2]

Morwena :bighug You can't please everyone, hon. I too thought it was a great idea! Some ppl are gonna be catty no matter what!

[Shifra73]

:grouphug

I'm really sorry too that some people weren't nice. I didn't see the thread till it was over, but I definitely would have paid for a ticket. I don't think there was anything wrong with it at all.

[hunnybumm]

Anyone wanna bet that it was one (or some) of the mommas who purchased a ticket and didn't win? If they won they probably wouldn't be so sore.

Sorry you had to do a long arse custom list to make yourself not feel bad. You were honest about where the money was going, not like you said it was for charity then decided to keep it, KWIM? I swear, some people are so selfish (not you). I belong to your Yahoo group and I have added all the pants that you had up for charity to my favorites to see how they went. That is a long list and you deserved anything you made from this raffel.

Anyways, so sorry people are being... well the B word!

[mamapez]

*sigh* Even if you were the greediest person on the planet, those who had a problem with your raffle should just not buy a ticket. You stated all the details of the raffle, fair and square.
:hug I'm sorry that you felt guilted into stopping the raffle. The "compainer(s)" just ruined the fun for everyone else who were happy to play.
:mwah

[dandelions2]

I, too, thought it was a great idea. Sorry there are such meanies out there. :mwah

[mamaofthreeboys]

Awww Morwenna big hugs from us!

My DH just got home from our first date in 6 months LOL ......Sorry that some people were grumpy about the raffel..... :mwah

I thought it was a brilliant idea :pink

Blessings,
Kimberly

[mhurst]

Let me get this straight...you offered a raffle for $5.50 a ticket for one of YOUR custom items...you stated the reason for the raffle and only sold a limited amount of tickets...

People are crazy! If they don't want to give you $5.50 they shouldn't buy a ticket. I really don't see how this is any different than offering a couple custom slots on ebay that go for crazy $$$.

I'm sorry people were mad at you, but I am more sorry I wasn't online to buy a ticket :emb

keep your head up :mwah

[cassdarrow]

Dang, I thought it was groovy too! This is just another example..............goes right along with the "cheap longies" crap. People are just so.............tunnel visioned (not waht I planned to say, but LOL, yk). They dont realize that this high quality wool they are all screaming for costs MONEY. LOTS OF MONEY! Where are you supposed to get that $$ from.

OH!! Hey, let me go out into the yard, check the condition of my money tree.

CRAP!! Sorry mamas, it D I E D! I would have shared, really!

[nyllek]

:bighug Morwenna, sorry you were made to feel bad. I thought it was a good idea and you aren't the only one to do a raffle like that. I've entered others with similiar fund raising goals. I hate that you had to do all those refunds and now have a huge wait list that you weren't planning on.

[Nada]

:irked I was actually not happy I got the refund. I'm a smart cookie, it was my choice to buy the ticket and had no problem with it. I too tried to find a "refund a refund" function in Paypal. The only reason I would have given the refund is if I knew by law it was illegal (but I have no idea about that).

I will not be putting my name on the custom list because I don't think it's fair to you Morwenna - even though I would LOVE to finally get my hands on such a work of art. I'd be going out of my mind with that many customs. I hope things work out for you.

Nada :hug

[pmcgary]

I decided to go off and do a bit of reading on the issue of raffles and the internet.

I don't know if someone challenged the legality of this raffle - but from what I can tell (ask.com searches) it would appear that ALL raffles might be illegal. I didn't see anything official from the gov't about this and I did see different groups on line with
"rules" for running on-line raffles.

Seems to me that a raffle is gambling and IF gambling on the internet is illegal (I am not sure this is actually a law.) THEN ALL raffles are illegal....that means the ones for charity too.

So, if people are complaining b/c the beneficiary of the sold tickets was an ind. for yarn---- that doesn't appear to have anything to do with whether it is legal or not. And they should be just as concerned about a charity that engages in this too.

Some people seem to think "for a good cause" makes it OK. And just for the record, wanting to buy more yarn to knit more soakers is a good cause in my book.

I should also add that I am really big into fairness....the rules should apply to everyone! And anyone with a concern about the raffle should have emailed you privately to if they had a complaint or concern about the legality of a raffle...... :violin

[indiegirl]

When I first read about your raffle (on this thread), I thought, "Damn, that is a good idea!" and promptly wished I would have thought of it myself.

I am sorry this turned ugly because I was really excited for you and thought it was a great idea. And I wish I would have bought a ticket.

You should offer a raffle to your knitting friends. I bet lots of mamas on WW would buy tickets.

I would.

Jesse

[pamelamama]

When I opened up shop I did a "grand opening raffle" and subsequently found out it was illegal. So I won't do that again. Probably shouldn't even be talking about it. :hide:

Morwenna, why not take deposits on custom orders, like 50%, in order to have money to buy supplies? Then you wouldn't have to take on so many (a 50 person waiting list would make me cry) and you'd have a good amount of cash on hand.

xoox pam

[KnitInYourPantsMama]

Gee that's too bad. When I saw that you had done it I thought "what a great idea"! It's so hard to charge what your work is really worth time-wise, esp if you are a little shy about pricing. It would be cool too if someone won that was a new customer, perhaps someone who could not score a soaker from the hyena cart, or couldn't afford one.

I do not however like the buy a place in line for a custom slot idea...what if something happens and you can't do it? think how hard it would be to refund everyone. Plus, the stress of the waiting list aackk!

Darn, why does someone always have to spoil our fun. :goodgrief

Elizabeth

[MosaicMoonMama]

Thanks everyone. I honestly had not thought about the legality of it and that was my main reason for refunding everyone. I just put people on my custom list if they had "bought" a raffle ticket (I have refunded everyone). No one has paid me for being on the list--I wouldn't be able to handle that either! Live and Learn, eh?

[pamelamama]

:hug you said it mama. xoxo

[Susan_WW]

:hug I'm so sorry that people out there are being such jerks! I read the thread last night but my dd woke up so I wasn't able to post until now. Those who had a problem with it should just not have purchased a ticket. You definitely shouldn't feel bad about it.

I know that I would feel uncomfortable having money from 50 customers on my waiting list, but what if you asked for payment up front as you take the order? And maybe take a few at a time? That way, you would have the money from a few up front to buy some yarn, but you wouldn't feel like it was too much to handle. I usually will take about 4 orders from the waiting list at a time, then collect payment up front. So I can still buy the yarn but not feel completely overwhelmed. Worst case scenario, if for whatever reason you're not able to do the order, you can always issue a complete refund.

I'm so sorry that you had to go through this. Please don't let it get to you. ((((HUGS)))))

[JustLookin]

Thanks everyone. I honestly had not thought about the legality of it and that was my main reason for refunding everyone. I just put people on my custom list if they had "bought" a raffle ticket (I have refunded everyone). No one has paid me for being on the list--I wouldn't be able to handle that either! Live and Learn, eh?

I hope you know I bought a ticket but couldnt pay and needed an invoice but then the refund thing came about so didnt need an invoice anymore, I dont want you to think I wasnt gonna pay.

I think it was a cool idea, but I thought online gambling was legal(including raffles) now I have to wonder?

[hunnybumm]

If gambleing on line is illegal then what about all those pop ups for "online casinos" and crap? You use your credit card and play online gableing games like slots and poker.

[pmcgary]

I don't think it is illegal - I can't find evidence that it is.

But much of the internet gambling is off-shore so there is not a lot the US can do to combat it - I mean they won't get at the operators.

[JustLookin]

If gambleing on line is illegal then what about all those pop ups for "online casinos" and crap? You use your credit card and play online gableing games like slots and poker.

yeah thats why i thought online gambling was legal, ive seen so many online sites

[mommomrebecca]

All raffles are illegal, but when they are not-for-profit you can get a permit. I knew it was illegal but who cares? I still bought a ticket. Again, who cares if it's illegal? It was a win-win situation amongst willing, informed people! 8) :ily :thumb :grouphug

[radish]

All raffles are illegal, but when they are not-for-profit you can get a permit. I knew it was illegal but who cares? I still bought a ticket. Again, who cares if it's illegal? It was a win-win situation amongst willing, informed people!

Yeah that!:D

[mamapez]

Is it better ethically/legally, if you asked for a donation to your WAHM site and announced that you would be drawing a name to "thank" the donators? Then it wouldn't be gambling....

[ravingcutie]

Those casino sites are most likely located "off shore". There is some loophole that they can place the actual location out of the United States, where they aren't restricted by the gambling laws.

I think Morwenna should do a contest. Like on cereal boxes. You can write to the company, request a contest piece for free & mail it to them. Then just offer additional chances to win for $$$. You know, the whole "void where prohibited" thing. But I dunno, that might constitute a raffle.

[CraftyMommaOf2]

Is it better ethically/legally, if you asked for a donation to your WAHM site and announced that you would be drawing a name to "thank" the donators? Then it wouldn't be gambling....

:nod I think that would be way cool! Who could :rant about that???

[cassdarrow]

Someone would, you can be sure! I swear gals, we need to unionize!

[CraftyMommaOf2]

WAHKnitters Union! I'm in!! :love

[ravingcutie]

I'm all for a union. We should boycott bad/mean/stinky customers so they can't get custom slots from anyone...







Sorry, that was kinda mean of me, but I'm kinda sick of mean moms. There seems to be a rash of it lately!

[ravingcutie]

Just to clarify - the mean moms are not here. This is by far the nicest & best board I've ever had the privilege of belonging to.

[CraftyMommaOf2]

:nod Me too! :love

[mommomrebecca]

Katie-
Are you referring to me cuz I asked you too many times about my yarn? :bag Katie, when will I get my yarn?

[cassdarrow]

I don't think she mneant you. In fact, I am sure not. We're talking about mamas who want us to know the sheep personally, feed them organic food, fins a way to shear them without any trauma, and yet pay us $3 bucks an hour to knit for them.

We're talking about mamas who think it takes an hour to make 3 soakers.

We're talking about mamas who want only the best, and don't want to pay for it.

We're talking about mamas who...........I can;t even out it into words.

Hmmm, I think I am a little bitter here. May be time for a vay-kay :laugh:

[cassdarrow]

Now, I just read that. And I am half ashamed of myself. I need to clarify that most of my mamas are a dream, an absolute dream. I have been blessed never to have to work with one of those like I mentioned above.

But I read the posts on MDC and it just makes me cringe.

[mamapez]

Whaddya mean you don't know the sheep personally? :lol:

[pmcgary]

We could call it SATIRE if it weren't so close to the truth sometimes.

It is just really frustrating when people don't "get" it. Nice to have this safe place where we "get" it.

[hunnybumm]

Morwenna - I keep getting these emails from your list, and WOW 39 people, some of who didn't even buy a raffle ticket. :bighug and don't get stressed over trying to finish the list, if anyone complains just once about the list taking too long I swear I will hunt them down and force them to learn how to knit so they can realize how much hard work goes into your wonderful products. I was so tempted to also send an email for a custom, but DH would kill me, I didn't buy a ticket (thought I thougth about it, then when I finaly thought I might buy one, they were sold out) and I can knit myself and am more than capable of making them myself. Though they aren't near as pretty as yours.

Also, I can sorta feel the pain when you guys talk about mommas wanting too much then complaining when they have to pay for it. I knit a hat for a friend of mine, which took almost the whole 4 oz skew of yarn she bought from Michaels ($5). When I gave it to her she was very greatful but stunned when I said there was very little yarn left over. She asked if I could make her daughter a matching scarf and I was more than willing and told her it would take 2 skews. She said "wow, how about I just buy one and if you need more I will get another. I mean, those things are expensive! That would be like $15 for the set!" I said that was fine.

But geeze! $15 for a custom hand made hat and scarf set. She probably would have peed on herself if I told her how much I pay for yarn (thought still not that much IMO) for DSs shorts / pants. However, she did offer to pay me for the work, but I kept telling her no thanks. She is a friend and the projects are super quick with the yarn she got.

[pmcgary]

I have decided that what we are seeing is the WalMart mentality. You friend is probably thinking that she could buy a set at Walmart for less than what the yarn cost....Of couse we all know there is a lot more to consider - and a lot of ways (not necessarily right) that WalMart keeps their prices low.

I always used to freak about yarn cost - when I couldn't get Red Heart on sale for under $2. After I finally broke down and tried good yarn I will never go back. I am surprised my Dh didn't faint when my DS and I went shopping for yarn for his sweater.....I spent close to $30 on yarn for a kids' sweater. But, my son picked it out, no one else will have a sweater like his....and the "hand" of the yarn is so much nicer than Red Heart would ever be.

[ravingcutie]

I was referring to the people who want us to know the sheep personally, NOT REBECCA!!!!! :)

I don't know any of the sheep whose wool is in my yarn. Bad WAHM!

Wooly Wonders is the sweetest & the best!!!

[pmcgary]

You mean you aren't Little Bo Peep? You don't tend your own sheep and just knit the soakers right off their backsides....

I wonder what those moms would think if they knew what wool looked like befor it became soakers!?

[ravingcutie]

EWWWW! They'd never let it near their little ones. Unwashed wool is dirty, if it's unskirted!

[pmcgary]

I know. And what if they knew that some of the "minimally processed" stuff had veg. matter in it until picked out by the knitting mom!?

They would be so grossed out. (Of course what is inside the diaper the soaker is covering isn't too pretty sometimes either. )