I’m hoping to get some thoughts on what people think of Instagram raffles. I’ve been following some bigger Instagram accounts that do higher end raffles ($500+ cards) and have noticed how easy it would be to scam people.
For example, say I want to raffle a PSA 9 shadowless Charizard. Let’s assume I paid $1500 for it. I can start a raffle with 18 spots for $100 a spot. Selling a card this way to make $300 is technically fair if people are willing to participate. However, say I have my friend claim to pay me for two spots, but he/she doesn’t actually pay me. In this case I collect $1600 and make a profit of $100 if a participant wins, BUT if my friend wins then the two of us can split the winnings and keep the card.
I had this suspicion when I saw a person participate in an Instagram raffle for a card that was relatively lower end compared to their current collection. It didn’t make sense to me why a higher end collector would gamble for a lower end card.
Does anyone think raffles are scams? Or are they just good fun? As for me, I’ve never participated in one and never will.
I hate these raffles. They clutter up Instagram and also Facebook.
People sell these items for such high prices and noone says anything. It’s rediculous and annoying
I’d say they’re scams waiting to happen at best. And besides, raffles only work when its a low amount of money. Using a dollar on a scratchy to win ten bucks is understandable, you go back to the store and turn it in or you’re only out a dollar. These raffles are like some guy on the street doing the same thing but for a hundred bucks a shot. Sure they might be legit, but eventually once they realise they have 18 idiots willing to cough up $100 each via paypal gift and they don’t even have to deliver? Greed will win out in the end.
It’s disheartening to see people raffling $500 cards for $750 total for quick and easy profit (whether they are scamming entries or not), busting open sealed booster boxes to raffle packs to profit, etc. I’d rather see people post their cards straight for sale or just show off their collections on Instagram.
No idea how people trust instagramers with a f/f payment on a raffle. I honestly didn’t think about how easy it would be to scam the customers. Not only is it easy to scam, but I see sellers getting extreme max value (if they’re actually getting paid) by raffling off packs. The idea of raffling can make sense in person, but not through social media
Sorry I don’t follow social media so these people you are saying basically charge you like $20 and there are say 20 spots so they make $400 for like a $300 Card? Wow.
Thats how it works on reddit for high end watches, except they can’t sell the watch for higher than market, often they have to sell below market especially if its used. The good thing about online with a moderator is that there is a ____ sided bot that rolls for all to see and the code is shown as well. With IG they could just be rigging and sending to friends or alts. To be honest though, if they’re getting more than market for their card, they prob really are just giving it to whomever won. Why ruin a good thing when they’re already making out like bandits?
While I’m 99.99999% sure these are illegal people have figured out ways to make them more legitimate than others. For instance, now with the “Live” feature people are going live and doing the draw eliminating your exact hypothetical scenario (raffling to a friend) from being a possibility. Now on the other hand, the prices people are getting are crazy! But some are willing to pay it so to each their own I suppose.
The thing I hate the most is people who charge far over market value and people are just paying up. I just don’t get it… Why would buyers be interested in paying for a raffle where you have the odds against you in terms of value per slot VS the items actual cost.
I see many people attend multiple raffles and im like, why don’t you just BUY the card on Ebay or whatever. You’ll end up saving urself money in the long term and obtaining what you actually want.
Almost all states prohibit raffles by individuals and require that raffles can only be held by nonprofit institutions.
Hosting an instagram raffle is not only a scam but is also illegal. If anyone here did one I’m sure the staff would have a serious conversation about banning the user as per the unscrupulous activity rule.
Good point. Come to think of it, you could always just pre-record it and somehow stream it to make it appear “live” I actually have never participated in one and don’t actively follow any regular “rafflers” and yet the are still absolutely everywhere on Instagram, it’s hard not to have them shoved in your face ten times a day.
to be fair he raffled it for a gold star cabbage patch kid