Charity auctioning Luxury Box tickets for the Skins v. Cowboys Game

[501Seats]

501Seats is a charity that gets donated tickets and auctions them off online in support of other charities. We received a very generous donation of 6 fully-catered VIP Luxury Box tickets on the 35 yard line. These tickets also include a pre-game celebrity, champagne tailgate. Total estimated value is over $2,000 per ticket.

We don't normally get tickets like these, so we're trying to get the word out about them and thought some folks here at Extremeskins might be interested.

We're auctioning them online in a blind charity auction at our website, www.501seats.com. The auction ends on Saturday at 5:00 PM, the lowest bid is $5.01, and 100% of the bid goes to charity. Please check them out if you're interested in these incredible tickets and helping us raise money for charity.

Thanks!

[Slingin33]

What charity does the money go to?

[501Seats]

What charity does the money go to?

Our charity partners for each auction are listed alongside each ticket on the site.

In this particular auction's case, the donor has requested he/she remain anonymous. And because of who the donor is and the charity it would support, the charity has to remain anonymous (or it would likely give away the donor).

However, 501Seats itself is a 501(c)(3) charity, so we don't profit on any auctions. We simply run the auctions and then pass the money on to the charity for which the ticket was allocated. For more info about 501Seats, our charity partners, etc., visit www.501seats.com/about.

Thanks!

[chipwhich]

Who is the celebrity you get to meet pregame?

[501Seats]

Who is the celebrity you get to meet pregame?

Sorry chipwhich... same deal as above. Our hands are tied on publicly noting it without potentially revealing our generous donor. Yes, it's annoying, but charities can't afford to be picky about these kinds of things

But there will be some neat folks in attendance and the tickets should be a great hobnobbing opportunity (or networking opportunity if that's more your thing).

[chipwhich]

Sorry chipwhich... same deal as above. Our hands are tied on publicly noting it without potentially revealing our generous donor. Yes, it's annoying, but charities can't afford to be picky about these kinds of things

But there will be some neat folks in attendance and the tickets should be a great hobnobbing opportunity (or networking opportunity if that's more your thing).

Ok, so given the auction ends Friday, how does the winner receive the tickets? What time is the pre-game party?

Great idea BTW. Hopefully you raise some good money.

[501Seats]

Thanks! We're a new charity (6-months old) but we think we can really raise a lot of money with something that otherwise was going to go to waste.

Regarding these tickets, the auction actually ends on Saturday. The winning bidder(s) will actually have the tickets held at will-call (we submit the name to the donor, and the donor notes them on the tickets).

All the details about the tickets are here: https://www.501seats.com/vip-football-tickets.

We should also note (shameless plug) that we'll be having more Skins tickets throughout the season, so even though this auction might get a bit pricey, most of our tickets go for below face value (since they're last-minute in nature).

[Ned Flanders]

For me to even bid on these tickets, requires ALL of my credit card information. I am hesitant to disclose the info. Is there any way to bid without disclosing every bit of my CC information?

[Slingin33]

Our charity partners for each auction are listed alongside each ticket on the site.

In this particular auction's case, the donor has requested he/she remain anonymous. And because of who the donor is and the charity it would support, the charity has to remain anonymous (or it would likely give away the donor).

However, 501Seats itself is a 501(c)(3) charity, so we don't profit on any auctions. We simply run the auctions and then pass the money on to the charity for which the ticket was allocated. For more info about 501Seats, our charity partners, etc., visit www.501seats.com/about.

Thanks!

You are saying that everything goes to a charity, but we are not allowed to know the charity? There are lots of charities out there, and there are some I wouldn't want to support. I understand keeping the donor's name out of it, but I don't understand why you have to keep the beneficiary.

[501Seats]

For me to even bid on these tickets, requires ALL of my credit card information. I am hesitant to disclose the info. Is there any way to bid without disclosing every bit of my CC information?

Ned,

It's a tricky situation. Because of the "last minute" nature of our tickets, it's not necessarily practical for 501Seats to accept a bid, select a winner, contact the winner to request payment, wait on the payment, and then give tickets. Unlike with an Ebay item (where an item that doesn't receive payment retains value and can be sold again), a ticket loses its value as soon as an event starts. As a result, every bidder must supply payment information alongside the bid, otherwise we risk losing our auctionable asset.

However, if you'll notice, 501Seats doesn't require any sort of login to bid. That's because at no point does 501Seats ever retain credit card information (aside from streamlining the process, the logistics and costs of security to store CC info would require lots of resources, meaning we'd have more overhead and less money to give to others). Payment info is immediately sent to the payment processor through secure transfers, meaning no one at 501Seats (or anywhere) ever has access to it.

Of course, we understand it's easy to say we don't see your credit cards, harder to prove. Alas, it's part of developing our brand as a trustworthy company, and that just takes time. We're trying to grow our organization, and if you're skeptical now and choose not to bid, we certainly, as consumers, can sympathize. Hopefully, as we continue to operate over the coming years, we'll solidify our reputation as a trustworthy charity and one worthy of your support.

[501Seats]

You are saying that everything goes to a charity, but we are not allowed to know the charity? There are lots of charities out there, and there are some I wouldn't want to support. I understand keeping the donor's name out of it, but I don't understand why you have to keep the beneficiary.

Couple quick points about this. Everything goes to charity... but not everything goes to a specific charity. 501Seats, like any charity, has operating expenses (bandwidth and credit card processing fees aren't cheap!) so some of it goes to defray those expenses (we just like to be honest and note that yes, 501Seats uses some of the money, but since 501Seats is a charity, that money is still helping a charity achieve its mission).

Still, the majority of the proceeds from a bid go the charity of the donor's choice. We agree that not everyone supports every charity, and we try to be very open about the charities being supported. However, some donations come with certain "strings" attached, and this is the case with these tickets. But they were too good an opportunity to pass up, so we accepted the donation even with the caveat of not being able to divulge the donor or the charity.

Still, we understand if this is a concern and accept that it might limit the appeal. If you're interested, here is a link to a list of some of the other charities we support: www.501seats.com/about/who

[chipwhich]

Couple quick points about this. Everything goes to charity... but not everything goes to a specific charity. 501Seats, like any charity, has operating expenses (bandwidth and credit card processing fees aren't cheap!) so some of it goes to defray those expenses (we just like to be honest and note that yes, 501Seats uses some of the money, but since 501Seats is a charity, that money is still helping a charity achieve its mission).

Still, the majority of the proceeds from a bid go the charity of the donor's choice. We agree that not everyone supports every charity, and we try to be very open about the charities being supported. However, some donations come with certain "strings" attached, and this is the case with these tickets. But they were too good an opportunity to pass up, so we accepted the donation even with the caveat of not being able to divulge the donor or the charity.

Still, we understand if this is a concern and accept that it might limit the appeal. If you're interested, here is a link to a list of some of the other charities we support: www.501seats.com/about/who

What is the breakout. What percent goes directly to the charities.

[501Seats]

What is the breakout. What percent goes directly to the charities.

That kind of depends on the amount the ticket sells for. Our costs are fairly fixed, so the percentage we retain of a ticket that sells for only $5.01 is much greater than a ticket that sells for $100. In the case of these tickets, if they sell for $1,000+ each (as we expect them to), that's over $6,000. A 2% credit card processing fee needs to be recouped, but aside from that, our costs are the same as if we sold a $5.01 ticket, so the percentage to other organizations is somewhere around 98%.

[Slingin33]

Couple quick points about this. Everything goes to charity... but not everything goes to a specific charity. 501Seats, like any charity, has operating expenses (bandwidth and credit card processing fees aren't cheap!) so some of it goes to defray those expenses (we just like to be honest and note that yes, 501Seats uses some of the money, but since 501Seats is a charity, that money is still helping a charity achieve its mission).

Still, the majority of the proceeds from a bid go the charity of the donor's choice. We agree that not everyone supports every charity, and we try to be very open about the charities being supported. However, some donations come with certain "strings" attached, and this is the case with these tickets. But they were too good an opportunity to pass up, so we accepted the donation even with the caveat of not being able to divulge the donor or the charity.

Still, we understand if this is a concern and accept that it might limit the appeal. If you're interested, here is a link to a list of some of the other charities we support: www.501seats.com/about/who

I understand all of this but find it a little odd someone is having a charity auction but not naming the beneficiary of the auction. What if I was pro life and the beneficiary was planned parenthood? What if the charity was a social outreach of the klan? I am not saying it is any of these, but when you won't name who get's the money, it raises red flags to me.

[501Seats]

I understand all of this but find it a little odd someone is having a charity auction but not naming the beneficiary of the auction. What if I was pro life and the beneficiary was planned parenthood? What if the charity was a social outreach of the klan? I am not saying it is any of these, but when you won't name who get's the money, it raises red flags to me.

We completely agree and regret that the case for these tickets didn't allow us to be more specific. Though it should be noted that 501Seats does screen its charities. We actively avoid charities that might be overly controversial (like the social outreach of a militant or racist organization). Who makes that decision? Well we do. And we try not to be overly judgmental, remembering our beliefs don't necessarily represent everyone's beliefs. But the biggies to avoid (like the Klan) are pretty obvious and are not included.