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Dopt Raffle FAQ
5 years ago
I need to preface this email with 2 points.
Please take a couple minutes to read this. I did spend a while to be open about these procedures.
Again, I'm sincerely hoping that these raffles continue to be profitable - because if they are I'll be able to get to the backlog more consistently.
* First off, these actually are frequently asked questions (unlike what I included in the first few raffle dopt listings that were actually "things I think I might get asked"). So if you see a question that you had asked me here, don't feel like I'm picking on you as multiple people have asked these questions.
* Secondly, the policies listed here are me trying to balance my own financial sustainability and fairness. Biggest evidence is the whole "non winning tickets are converted into credit." I am not aware of any other artist that does this. Don't take that as a humble brag, I'm pointing that out because it's presenting very unique questions and edge case scenarios that don't occur with other raffles. Because I could make this easier on myself and transform the raffles into a pure gambling situation with no credit reimbursement, but I'm trying to make this better for everyone. So please keep that in mind.
The following answers have been worked into new dopt raffle listings. However, I figured these warranted a specific call out announcement given the frequency of the questions.
K, so let's get to it.
Q: Can I purchase tickets with credit?
A: No.
Beyond finances it actually could result in some toxic practices of client-v-client. I.e. THAT OTHER GUY buys up 500 tickets, then keeps shuffling them to new dopts - essentially locking everyone else out from future chances.
...
So yeah, tickets purchased must be with new funding, and credit earned from raffle can be applied towards anything else (dopts, promos, etc)
Q: Do I need to check in with you before I buy raffle tickets?
A: No.
The biggest reason is communication timing issues. Several clients either work swing/grave shifts, or are on the opposite side of the planet. That'd result in one of 2 scenarios...
1) Client asks final day of the ticket purchase window "can I have some tickets, but I'm not 100% sure if I want them or not?" and I say yes but I don't actually put them down for it as they never specified how many they wanted. The client doesn't see this response until the next day AFTER the raffle is over - therefore missing out entirely.
2) Client requests 100 tickets (hyperbole, hasn't happened). So I put them down for it and wait for payment. Payment doesn't come in, and I hold the raffle with 100 instances of their name on the list. Client now owes payment for 100 tickets on a raffle they didn't win.
Owing to the above scenarios: tickets are not awarded until payment is received.
Again, clients are not required to ask me first before sending in funding. This is where client responsibility kicks in, and the client is required to include a note with the paypal payment clarifying which dopt raffle the funding is for. Sending me a note (dA note, email, discord message) after the payment is sent in isn't necessary, but it is a good redundancy to make sure you get credit.
...
in the rare off chance that a client tries to send in a last minute payment just barely after the raffle is drawn, I'll sort it out directly with the client at that point. Given the alternatives, I view this particular instance of error to be the least likely one to happen.
Q: Can I buy tickets if I have an outstanding order?
A: No.
This hasn't happened yet, but I can easily see a bad apple cooking up the following scheme...
step 1: Bad apple places a $300 order and clean house picking up a ton of dopts, denying other clients the chance, but then the bad apple doesn't pay it off.
step 2: Rather than paying it off, the bad apple locks out normal-behaving clients from a dopt-raffle by buying $300 worth of tickets.
step 3: The bad apple then profits from claim-squatting on all of the dopts AND claim squatting on the raffle.
...
so yeah. If you have an outstanding order: no tickets. I mean, it took me longer to draft this FAQ than it did to come up with this scheme - so there's bound to be a bad apple to think likewise.
Q: So what if I want to get both a dopt and tickets? Like, I check the listings and I see a dopt I want to get that's now on clearance and I also see a new dopt raffle that appeals to me.
A: Pay for the tickets first. Then place an order for the dopt going through the normal process.
... that's it, really.
Q: So what if I were to do this, then that, then this and this and that...
A: The easiest way to understand raffle tickets and dopt orders is to simply pay up for prior orders within a single day.
The procrastination of paying off prior orders is the single biggest source cause of questions that I get. If all prior orders are paid for, there's generally no questions to ask.
It can also be frustrating to me as my intention for allowing delayed payments is to help accommodate edge case real life scenarios (literally, it started because a client would see my dopt sets while at college and wasn't able to pay for them until they got home that evening) ... the intent is not to create a bizarre mini game of delaying payments as late as possible until it's absolutely necessary to pay up.
Q: But what if I miss out on a dopt raffle due to bizarre circumstances?
A: To quote a smart man - "Life is pain, your highness."
I mean, it's not like you're guaranteed a dopt in a raffle anyways. It is a raffle and you can very easily not win. If you happen to miss out, just keep your chin up and keep an eye out for future openings. ^_^
...
I also haven't figured out a way to accommodate leniency on dopt raffles that wouldn't result in additional grief on the client's part. So, yeah. If you miss out, you miss out.
Thanks for your time!
Please take a couple minutes to read this. I did spend a while to be open about these procedures.
Again, I'm sincerely hoping that these raffles continue to be profitable - because if they are I'll be able to get to the backlog more consistently.
* First off, these actually are frequently asked questions (unlike what I included in the first few raffle dopt listings that were actually "things I think I might get asked"). So if you see a question that you had asked me here, don't feel like I'm picking on you as multiple people have asked these questions.
* Secondly, the policies listed here are me trying to balance my own financial sustainability and fairness. Biggest evidence is the whole "non winning tickets are converted into credit." I am not aware of any other artist that does this. Don't take that as a humble brag, I'm pointing that out because it's presenting very unique questions and edge case scenarios that don't occur with other raffles. Because I could make this easier on myself and transform the raffles into a pure gambling situation with no credit reimbursement, but I'm trying to make this better for everyone. So please keep that in mind.
The following answers have been worked into new dopt raffle listings. However, I figured these warranted a specific call out announcement given the frequency of the questions.
K, so let's get to it.
Q: Can I purchase tickets with credit?
A: No.
Beyond finances it actually could result in some toxic practices of client-v-client. I.e. THAT OTHER GUY buys up 500 tickets, then keeps shuffling them to new dopts - essentially locking everyone else out from future chances.
...
So yeah, tickets purchased must be with new funding, and credit earned from raffle can be applied towards anything else (dopts, promos, etc)
Q: Do I need to check in with you before I buy raffle tickets?
A: No.
The biggest reason is communication timing issues. Several clients either work swing/grave shifts, or are on the opposite side of the planet. That'd result in one of 2 scenarios...
1) Client asks final day of the ticket purchase window "can I have some tickets, but I'm not 100% sure if I want them or not?" and I say yes but I don't actually put them down for it as they never specified how many they wanted. The client doesn't see this response until the next day AFTER the raffle is over - therefore missing out entirely.
2) Client requests 100 tickets (hyperbole, hasn't happened). So I put them down for it and wait for payment. Payment doesn't come in, and I hold the raffle with 100 instances of their name on the list. Client now owes payment for 100 tickets on a raffle they didn't win.
Owing to the above scenarios: tickets are not awarded until payment is received.
Again, clients are not required to ask me first before sending in funding. This is where client responsibility kicks in, and the client is required to include a note with the paypal payment clarifying which dopt raffle the funding is for. Sending me a note (dA note, email, discord message) after the payment is sent in isn't necessary, but it is a good redundancy to make sure you get credit.
...
in the rare off chance that a client tries to send in a last minute payment just barely after the raffle is drawn, I'll sort it out directly with the client at that point. Given the alternatives, I view this particular instance of error to be the least likely one to happen.
Q: Can I buy tickets if I have an outstanding order?
A: No.
This hasn't happened yet, but I can easily see a bad apple cooking up the following scheme...
step 1: Bad apple places a $300 order and clean house picking up a ton of dopts, denying other clients the chance, but then the bad apple doesn't pay it off.
step 2: Rather than paying it off, the bad apple locks out normal-behaving clients from a dopt-raffle by buying $300 worth of tickets.
step 3: The bad apple then profits from claim-squatting on all of the dopts AND claim squatting on the raffle.
...
so yeah. If you have an outstanding order: no tickets. I mean, it took me longer to draft this FAQ than it did to come up with this scheme - so there's bound to be a bad apple to think likewise.
Q: So what if I want to get both a dopt and tickets? Like, I check the listings and I see a dopt I want to get that's now on clearance and I also see a new dopt raffle that appeals to me.
A: Pay for the tickets first. Then place an order for the dopt going through the normal process.
... that's it, really.
Q: So what if I were to do this, then that, then this and this and that...
A: The easiest way to understand raffle tickets and dopt orders is to simply pay up for prior orders within a single day.
The procrastination of paying off prior orders is the single biggest source cause of questions that I get. If all prior orders are paid for, there's generally no questions to ask.
It can also be frustrating to me as my intention for allowing delayed payments is to help accommodate edge case real life scenarios (literally, it started because a client would see my dopt sets while at college and wasn't able to pay for them until they got home that evening) ... the intent is not to create a bizarre mini game of delaying payments as late as possible until it's absolutely necessary to pay up.
Q: But what if I miss out on a dopt raffle due to bizarre circumstances?
A: To quote a smart man - "Life is pain, your highness."
I mean, it's not like you're guaranteed a dopt in a raffle anyways. It is a raffle and you can very easily not win. If you happen to miss out, just keep your chin up and keep an eye out for future openings. ^_^
...
I also haven't figured out a way to accommodate leniency on dopt raffles that wouldn't result in additional grief on the client's part. So, yeah. If you miss out, you miss out.
Thanks for your time!
