3 ms·

Ask HN: Initial thoughts on my new web app: TweetFreeCars.com

2 points by tfc 17y ago

TweetFreeCars is designed to give away new cars and trucks to a few of my Twitter followers. It incorporates the use of Twitter for marketing purposes and an online auction to select the winners of the giveaway cars. The domain URL is http://TweetFreeCars.com and at the moment this redirects to a friend's development server. Please share your comments, questions and suggestions so I will know if I'm on the right track, thanks.

icey 17y ago
A) It needs a serious hand from a real designer B) I can't escape the... scammy feeling of the whole endeavor. "Non-profit"? "Donors" that have to "donate" $27 bucks to bid for the possibility to win $20,000 towards a car that you have to go out and actually buy at a dealership yourself? It's nothing personal man, but I wouldn't touch this thing with a 50 foot pole, and if I caught my family using something like it, I'd probably smack them in the back of their head.
- tfc 17y ago
  Yes, the design will improve with time, that's for sure. Would a flat fee for participation sound better? How about "Pay $9 to bid in our next auction" ... and get away from the donations and non-profit approach? The reason for selecting your own car is so you end up with exactly what you want, from the dealer you want to go to for maintenance and repairs. Do you think it's better to name a specific car, and therefore remove the winner's right to select his own car and dealer?
  - icey 17y ago
    I think that you just need to clarify what's going on. Calling something non-profit carries certain connotations; namely that the proceeds will somehow benefit a charity. My assumption is that you're trying to spin this as being towards a car instead of a raffle to win $20k for legal or tax purposes. You may want to talk to a lawyer to see what other options are available to you.
    - tfc 17y ago
      I changed it from not-for-profit to commercial. It's still free for everyone to bid, with an optional $9 seat upgrade which moves you to the head of the line so you can bid sooner. My lawyer says that since bidding is free and the payment is optional and only changes your position on the waiting list I should be okay.
vaksel 17y ago
so you'll need $7.3 million a year just to make this idea work...do you honestly think there is that much potential there?
- tfc 17y ago
  Not at all. I took out the part that says "we will run an auction every time we've accumulated enough donations" because I thought it was too much info to begin with. Plus I thought the 'once a day' plan might encourage more people to participate. My real plan is simply to run an auction every time we've accumulated $22,000, so $20K for the winner's new car and $2K for the company. That's about as simple as it gets. Should I say this instead?
  - TrevorJ 17y ago
    Be as transparent as possible. If it's not once a day, don't say that it is.
    - tfc 17y ago
      I've changed it to be very clear instead of suggesting future goals (such as one car per day) and I like it better this way. There's no more donations either, now it's a simple auction service with free bidding - and a $9 option for impatient folks who would rather bid in the next auction than wait their turn.

2 points by tfc 17y ago

icey 17y ago

A) It needs a serious hand from a real designer B) I can't escape the... scammy feeling of the whole endeavor. "Non-profit"? "Donors" that have to "donate" $27 bucks to bid for the possibility to win $20,000 towards a car that you have to go out and actually buy at a dealership yourself? It's nothing personal man, but I wouldn't touch this thing with a 50 foot pole, and if I caught my family using something like it, I'd probably smack them in the back of their head.

tfc 17y ago
Yes, the design will improve with time, that's for sure. Would a flat fee for participation sound better? How about "Pay $9 to bid in our next auction" ... and get away from the donations and non-profit approach? The reason for selecting your own car is so you end up with exactly what you want, from the dealer you want to go to for maintenance and repairs. Do you think it's better to name a specific car, and therefore remove the winner's right to select his own car and dealer?
- icey 17y ago
  I think that you just need to clarify what's going on. Calling something non-profit carries certain connotations; namely that the proceeds will somehow benefit a charity. My assumption is that you're trying to spin this as being towards a car instead of a raffle to win $20k for legal or tax purposes. You may want to talk to a lawyer to see what other options are available to you.
  - tfc 17y ago
    I changed it from not-for-profit to commercial. It's still free for everyone to bid, with an optional $9 seat upgrade which moves you to the head of the line so you can bid sooner. My lawyer says that since bidding is free and the payment is optional and only changes your position on the waiting list I should be okay.

vaksel 17y ago

so you'll need $7.3 million a year just to make this idea work...do you honestly think there is that much potential there?

tfc 17y ago
Not at all. I took out the part that says "we will run an auction every time we've accumulated enough donations" because I thought it was too much info to begin with. Plus I thought the 'once a day' plan might encourage more people to participate. My real plan is simply to run an auction every time we've accumulated $22,000, so $20K for the winner's new car and $2K for the company. That's about as simple as it gets. Should I say this instead?
- TrevorJ 17y ago
  Be as transparent as possible. If it's not once a day, don't say that it is.
  - tfc 17y ago
    I've changed it to be very clear instead of suggesting future goals (such as one car per day) and I like it better this way. There's no more donations either, now it's a simple auction service with free bidding - and a $9 option for impatient folks who would rather bid in the next auction than wait their turn.