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As a relative newcomer to a rural community, I’m still learning about the culture. The latest “new to me” thing is a Penny Social, which basically seems like a multi-raffle. There are numerous items available, each with its own little basket, and you put tickets into the baskets of the items you’re interested in. And then later they start drawing winning tickets and calling out the winners. My understanding is that the tickets cost a penny each.
I saw ads for these before, but they seemed to be just for donated goods, which didn’t interest me too much. But now there’s one coming up that is being run by an auction company that is using it to clean out excess inventory, so I think I might go.
Anybody else do any sourcing at an event like this?
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I went to one a couple years ago and scored some really nice items! I think I “bid” on 6 items and got 5, and all but one were saleable items for $20 or more. Of course, I got to choose the stuff I wanted, so I didn’t choose anything that had no value. It’s a bit like going to an auction, only it’s on chance, not on best price. 😉
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In my area, they call them Tricky Trays. I’m in a suburban area in NJ.
I used to go to one years ago when the elementary schools were all trying to raise money for Smartboards. It is more of a gambling thing, so you could not win one item, or you could win a few.
Since the tickets are only a penny each, perhaps this would be a reasonable way to source. If you buy a hundred tickets and don’t win a thing, then you are out only $1. I dropped $60 to $80 on the ones I went to because they were fundraisers and the prices were much higher. This was also before I started selling on Ebay.
The only caution I would give is not to buy more tickets than you can scan in 20 seconds or so. When they are reading the numbers out, you have to look quickly at your tickets to see if you have it. If no one responds, they pick out a new number. The best method is buy tickets that are numerically listed in order and lay them out that way. If you have too many or their numbers are all over the place, you may miss a win.
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Local organizations have these in our area – we help with the local SPCA with items from my work in a basket.
I guess it all depends what is being offered – most of the items I’ve seen at penny raffles are usually gift cards, baked goods, local services, or overstock items from local businesses.
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Ugh – I forgot to subscribe to my own post! So I didn’t realize til just now that people actually responded. Hate it when that happens 🙂
Thanks for sharing your input. I’m in New England. Upon reading some more about this type of thing, I think they may be sometimes called Chinese auctions.
Sharyn – THANK YOU for that great advice re: not getting more tickets than I can handle scanning quickly! Had not thought of that. I will definitely keep that in mind if I go.
I’m hoping that since it’s an auction company holding it, the items will be of more interest than the stuff I’ve typically seen at similar local community chinese auctions that are held during holiday weekends (and where you don’t have to be present to win).
I’ll report back if I end up going.
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Yeh, my comment on not getting more tickets than you can handle is based on experience. I went to a tricky tray once where a few of my tickets were pushed a bit further out, and I didn’t see them when the number was called. I noticed them after they had picked a different ticket, so I missed out on that prize.
I’ve also heard them called Chinese auctions. I decided to check Wikipedia, and the definition is pretty interesting:
“A Chinese auction is a combination of a raffle and an auction that is typically featured at charity, church festival and numerous other events. It can also be known as penny social, penny sale, tricky tray or pick-a-prize according to local custom, or to avoid causing offense.”
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