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  • Brickpicker Raffle Fundraiser for a Great Cause!!

    Ed Mack

    By Ed Mack (edited)

    Hello LEGO fans, collectors and resellers…

    Many of you may already know who I am, but for those of you that may have just learned about Brickpicker, my name is Ed Maciorowski and I would like to ask you for a few moments of your time. Over the past five years, my brother Jeff and I have operated the BrickPicker site at no cost to members and fans. All we ever asked from members was to click on affiliate links to help pay for the site expenses, which cost members little or no out of pocket money. Many of you have gained valuable information and insight from our data and forum community that enabled you to make money from LEGO collecting and reselling. Often, people would ask how can we help the BrickPicker site and its creators and we would say thanks for the offer, but no thanks, we felt uncomfortable taking donations. Well, we have a way for all of you to help out not only me, but over 150 children and their families.

    Let me introduce you to the St. Paul School of Burlington, NJ…

    My son, Max, is a member of the Kindergarten class in St. Paul School. He has attended the school since September and adores it. My wife, Jane, and I also adore the school. It is everything a school should be. It’s a school where everyone knows your name and there is a sense of pride and respect not found in many other larger schools. I cannot explain it, but there is an ambience of goodness in the building. Sounds corny I know, but as a person who has the word “evil” in his email address, I can tell you that I know when something deserves special recognition as a “good” thing. But it’s not only me who recognizes a great school. St. Paul School was voted the “Best Private School” in Burlington County, NJ and won numerous other awards. St. Paul School’s graduates constantly excel in high schools throughout Central NJ, with a large portion of graduates appearing on the National Honor Society and finishing top in their classes as Valedictorians and Salutatorians. To find out more about the St. Paul School, you can check out their website…

    stpaul_school_fundraiser_max_small.jpg.d

    So here is the situation. St. Paul School is a Catholic school and as many people know, Catholic schools always have a hard time paying the bills to remain open. While St. Paul School and other Catholic schools welcome all religions and people, they are not funded by state or federal tax dollars and must adhere to many policies of the Catholic church and their Dioceses. Unfortunately, due to the weak economy and other forces outside of their control, enrollment in Catholic schools is down, putting more and more pressure on the school’s and local church’s budgets to remain open. This is an ongoing battle and fundraising has become an annual ritual in every Catholic school in the nation and most likely, the world. Everyone has to do their part to help out and Jeff and I are doing ours. Here is our plan…

    Jeff and I are going to personally RAFFLE OFF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF RARE AND RETIRED LEGO SETS! These sets are from our personal collections and they include the:

    • 10188 Death Star
    • 10228 Haunted House
    • Sealed Case of 64 Series 10 Collectible Minifigures (MR.GOLD might be in there!)
    • 10224 Town Hall
    • 10225 Ultimate Collector Series R2-D2
    • MORE SETS HAVE BEEN ADDED!!!

    That is well over $2000.00 in LEGO sets. All are retired and appreciating in value as we speak. I will personally ship them to anywhere in the world at my cost and in a proper shipping container. There will be one winner for each set and you must buy tickets for each raffle separately. One person can win all the sets if they enter all five raffles. There are discounted tickets available and the raffle will be run on the www.rallyup.com website, which is a very reputable and trustworthy fundraising site. They will automatically pick the winners at 11:59 PM on January 31, 2016 and will notify the winners. I will then ship out the winning LEGO sets to their new owners. The raffle and link to share can be found below:

                                               https://rallyup.com/stpaul-2016

    Each ticket costs $10.00 and enables you to enter one LEGO set raffle of your choice. $50.00 will cover all five iconic LEGO sets. ALL OF THE PROCEEDS (besides the commission to www.rallyup.com) goes to St. Paul School and to its corresponding church, The Parish of Saint Katharine Drexel, which helps the school operate. Tickets can be paid with any major credit card and the site is secure. Unfortunately, PayPal does not get involved with “raffles,” so PayPal can only be used for direct donations. I know that is a minor inconvenience, but if their is an issue, contact Jeff or I and we can see what we can do about transferring money to our PayPal account and paying for your raffle tickets. If we get a great response from people, we might add a few major sets or collectible and rare items to the raffle contest.

    On a personal note, I just have to say that I feel awkward asking people to help and for money, but the St. Paul School kids, faculty and community are worth it. They need to raise $200,000 by the end of January in order to keep the doors open and I am pulling all of my strings to help get them to that goal. I need your help. Period. If you value quality education and teaching children morals and respect, then supporting a school like St. Paul is paramount to the future well being of this planet. To the BrickPicker community...Show the LEGO world that we are more than just a bunch of Quick Flipping Low Lifes….that we care and have a heart, even though we buy all of Little Timmy’s LEGO sets up to resell. LOL. Honestly, this is important to Jeff and I and I want to be proud of our community that we have built over the past 5+ years. If you want to repay us for all of the efforts we have made over the past five years, buy a ticket...or two...or five. My son and 150+ other kids and families, faculty and friends of the St. Paul School will thank you…

    CLICK HERE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FUNDRAISER

    PLEASE HELP AND SHARE THIS BLOG POST ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND
    OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS!!

     

    If you are interested in just making a donation and want to use Paypal, you can.  Just click the purchase link on the right side bar.  On the next page you will see a checkbox that will allow you to just make a donation.  Check that box and you will then see options for payment.  Paypal is not available for buying raffle tickets, it is against their terms.

    stpaul_fundraiser_donation.thumb.jpg.85a

    Edited by Ed Mack

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    psusyntar

    Was hoping to be the one to take it over $46,000.   Guess a little slow.  I wish I was able to do more but I figure every bit helps.  Thank you guys for the hard work you do on this site.  I figured I procrastinated long enough.  Better late than never.

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    jaisonline

    About 100 likes / $100 dollars in 26 hours. Not too bad.  We can do better.  Please click the post below and LIKE it (not this specific post).    A simple click and more money is put toward a great cause.  Please also donate anything to St Paul's Parochial School if not already. 

     

     

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    jaisonline
    7 minutes ago, labfreak7 said:

    Ok, just caved in and donated $20. Is the raffle still on? If so I'd like to try my luck at the haunted house. Don't have any and love the line.


    the raffle is still on. 

     

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    gbg108

    Gotta admit, after the slower start I didn't think this raffle would ever sniff 50K. It's awesome to see the generosity of the members of this forum.

    As a punishment for being wrong, I guess I'll have to help try to push this over the edge... :) 

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    TCNJLions
    1 hour ago, thoroakenfelder said:

    I hope that the school recognizes and appreciates your efforts on their behalf.

    1 hour ago, thoroakenfelder said:

    I hope that the school recognizes and appreciates your efforts on their behalf.

    It is pretty amazing what the Macks and all the BrickPickers are doing.  I don't think anyone in the community here in Burlington would have expected this response.  It is and has been the big topic of conversation.  Every time the parents meet about fundraising or even run into each other in the community, we express our gratitude for this endeavor.  Even people who don't attend St. Paul's in the community are noticing.  

    My family and I cannot thank your community enough.  I know it means a lot Ed, but he is just one part of the picture.  There are so many families that are going to be positively affected by the outcome of this raffle (not including the Lego winners).  I am very grateful that Ed and Jeff began this initiative.  It may sound silly but all of you will have contributed to my piece of mind for next school year, one less worry.  So thank you all and good luck!

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    Guest brickcrazyhouse

    Guest brickcrazyhouse

    Posted

    this endeavor also serves as a great example to the students (and us).  When you do/create something from a passion (brickpicker), and share it with the world, there will be unimaginable rewards

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    Roy vd M.

    So this being a Lego investment forum and all, I thought it might be a good idea to write a small post about which raffle tickets to purchase, with only a few hours to go before this set of opportunities becomes a retired product*. 

    There are 11 lots in total. Here's an overview + value** + my thoughts + rating. 

    • 1. Death Star (10188). Value: $530. Hoarded from day one, though one of the best opportunities of the first wave. Rating: 6/10.
    • 2. UCS R2-D2 (10225). Value: $350. Hoarded from day one. Rating: 4/10. 
    • 3. Case of minifigures, probably including Mr Gold (71001). Value: $615 (or more, if Mr Gold is included). Bit hoarded maybe but many people aren't aware of the value (including me before Ed informed me). So rating: 8/10. 
    • 4. Haunted House (10228). Value: $385. Hoarded because of sentimental value I think. Rating: 5/10. 
    • 5. Town Hall (10224). Value: $500. Second wave, which is good. Nice value. Rating: 8/10. 
    • 6. Grand Emporium (10211) & Parisian Restaurant (10243). $425. Third wave, which is better. Nice sets. Rating: 7/10. 
    • 7. Mystery box 5000+ pieces. Value: probably $400-$1,000. Probably not too many raffle tickets sold for this one. You don't know what you're going to get but it certainly isn't going to be bad with that many pieces. Rating: 8/10. 
    • 8. Create a bundle 5000+ pieces. Value: probably $500-$1,000. You get to pick them yourself... honestly? This is a must have. One of the latest additions to the raffle, many people who first bought their tickets weeks before probably didn't notice this or didn't get the tickets. Rating: 9/10. 
    • 9. Tumbler (76023) & Arkhan Asylum Breakout (10937). Value: $530. This is a very good value for a lot overlooked by most Brickpickers, probably. Rating: 8/10. 
    • 10. Brickpicker bundle: 11 desirable sets. Value: $935. Yes you read that right, I added all values and this turns out to be by far the most valuable lot (that we know the value of). It was also one of the last added. So this is, for me, easily the lot that is best worth getting. Get it now... while you still can. Rating: 10/10.
    • 11. Friends bundle: 10 Friends sets plus 1 ideas set. Value: $260. Not unexpectedly, the least value lot. Few raffle tickets sold for this one, probably. Because it's the last added to the raffle and because of the value. So still not bad for your $10. Chances of winning this are of course relatively good. Rating: 5/10.   

    Conclusions (from worst to best):

    - Lot 2 is probably not the right choice at this point in time (value 4/10). 
    - Lots 4 and 11 I also wouldn't try, unless you really want that Haunted House or are a friends' friend (value 5/10). 
    - Lots 1 looks okay (value 6/10). 
    - Lot 6 is a very understandable choice (value 7/10). 
    - Lots 3, 5, 7 and 9 are probably rather overlooked and have high values. Much recommended (value 8/10). 
    - Lot 8 is a must-have. Get a few of those tickets or you'll regret it later. 
    - Lot 10 is, in my view, the best of the bunch. Get as many tickets as you can while you can. This is a winner!
     

    Guess I'm going to get myself another ticket for lot 10. 
     

    *The tone of this post is not to be taken too seriously, was however written with respect for the good cause and its contents are in principle true and useful. The use of terms as 'retired' and 'hoarded' is intended as playful and should not be interpreted as businesslike or disrespectful. 
    ** For the value I took a look at Brickpicker's price guide + current listings. 

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    MathBuilder
    29 minutes ago, Roy vd M. said:

    So this being a Lego investment forum and all, I thought it might be a good idea to write a small post about which raffle tickets to purchase, with only a few hours to go before this set of opportunities becomes a retired product*. [...]

    Thanks for the well thought and explained analysis. Of course there is a ton of speculation on your post on how "hoarded" are the tickets. Only the Macs really know where BPers are placing their donations/bets. There is a great chance that many here did an analysis like yours before purchasing tickets and purchased accordingly. Furthermore, while there were several waves and early birds did not have the whole options, as you have seen the bulk of the tickets has been purchased at the very end anyways, with many early birds making second and third purchases.

    I was sort of hopping Ed will throw a few cryptic clues about which lots have been overlooked to incentivize last minute additions and to balance the number of tickets in each raffle. Something like "the heart city is missing hearts", "Too many x-wings targeting death star"... But maybe that is unfair and against the spirit of the raffle? 

    Regardless, I saved a bit of my donation for a last minute "investment" a la F5.  

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    mlc3423

    Newbie to the board and it's my 1st post...Been on several months and have enjoy all the knowledge and banter...Bought a ticket for the Death Star and turns out i'm the 1,000th supporter...Thanks to Ed and Jeff and everyone for what they do and hopefully they can reach their goal and congrats to all the lucky winners of the drawings (Probably won't be me but you never know)...Heck for good karma I'm gonna keep an eye on the $ total and try to be the one that brings it over $50k!

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    Ed Mack

    Thanks for the well thought and explained analysis. Of course there is a ton of speculation on your post on how "hoarded" are the tickets. Only the Macs really know where BPers are placing their donations/bets. There is a great chance that many here did an analysis like yours before purchasing tickets and purchased accordingly. Furthermore, while there were several waves and early birds did not have the whole options, as you have seen the bulk of the tickets has been purchased at the very end anyways, with many early birds making second and third purchases.

    I was sort of hopping Ed will throw a few cryptic clues about which lots have been overlooked to incentivize last minute additions and to balance the number of tickets in each raffle. Something like "the heart city is missing hearts", "Too many x-wings targeting death star"... But maybe that is unfair and against the spirit of the raffle? 

    Regardless, I saved a bit of my donation for a last minute "investment" a la F5.  

    $110 will unlock the secrets you seek.

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    Roy vd M.
    12 minutes ago, MathBuilder said:

    Thanks for the well thought and explained analysis. Of course there is a ton of speculation on your post on how "hoarded" are the tickets. Only the Macs really know where BPers are placing their donations/bets. There is a great chance that many here did an analysis like yours before purchasing tickets and purchased accordingly. Furthermore, while there were several waves and early birds did not have the whole options, as you have seen the bulk of the tickets has been purchased at the very end anyways, with many early birds making second and third purchases.

    Of course you're right as to the speculation part, but my post was mostly meant for fun and to hopefully get some more people to purchase a couple of last-minute tickets. 

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