Stand and Deliver!

Inspired by the Bandito Mousepad Gang that menaced Phlat Stampley, the next generation fund raiser is a maximum card featuring Dennis Moore, the misguided Robin Hood wannabe of Monty Python fame - with 3 stamps affixed that feature lupins. (Botanical note: Texas Bluebonnets, the state flower of Texas, are of the lupin family: Lupinus texensis).

DM (Dennis Moore) will travel from place to place and "steal" items of philatelic value. Unlike Phlat Stampley, the items won't be sent to a cental location and auctioned off together, but the person "hosting" DM will auction the item themselves and send the proceeds to the AHA. The host will also be welcome to auction off non-charitable items at the same time. This will provide additional exposure for the non-charitable items and thus make this a win-win situation.

Why is this a good deal for sellers and non-sellers?

I'm not a seller, but I had a few stray scraps laying around, so when I listed the Phlat Stampley auctions I also listed some personal auctions immediately afterwards. I clearly marked them as non-charitable auctions, and they didn't get nearly as much attention as the charity auctions, but I still felt like I got more attention to my non-charitable items than I normally would. I would be surprised if I didn't make more than enough extra from my auctions to cover my charitible contribution! Now THAT'S a win-win situation!

For dealers it's a great opportunity to showcase a particular specialty by offering something tempting as a donation and then offering related items that close immediately afterwards, or store discounts during the auction period or whatever you want to do.

For non-dealers it's a great chance to sweep out the extras. By donating a nice item or two you can get more folks looking at your auctions.

Instructions for "victims" of Mr. Moore

This is a robbery! Dennis Moore and his trusty steed Concorde have come to steal one or more of your philatelic goodies. Mr. Moore will force you, at gunpoint, to auction off the goodies and send a check for the proceeds to the address below. Be sure to announce this robbery on the “Official StampWants Dennis Moore Thread” and feel free to auction off any other items you wish to sell at the same time. Just be sure to clearly indicate which items are for charity. There are no minimums or cash donation requirements, but we do suggest that any donation should expect to fetch $25 or more at auction. If it sells for less than that or yo just can't donate that much, no problem. We want as many folks as possible have a shot at this one!

It’s important to keep DM moving, so the charity auction (or auctions) must be a THREE DAY AUCTION. You will have plenty of opportunity to build interest for the charity auction plus any additional auctions you choose to run (or any store discounts you choose to offer). If possible, mail DM to his next location on the day before your charity auction closes. DM won’t get there until AFTER your auctions close so you will get maximum attention to YOUR auctions, but we can cut down on dead time that way.

Additional discounts on store items or free shipping or whatever you wish to offer is totally up to you. This is your opportunity to pitch your wares to a large audience.

How to get the money to the AHA

For the first several months there won't be a web portal to accept donations, so we will set up a savings account specifically for AHA donations. Just send a PM to Doug or Lars and we will let you know how to make out and mail the check. Be sure to put AHA donation in the memo on the check and flag it as a charitable contribution in your register.

Waitlist

Contact Lars (larsdog) via StampWants to add your name to the waitlist!

History

Travelling Mousepad

Doug took one of the StampWants Mousepads on a Grand Tour of Downtown Cleveland! It was corny, but a lot of fun.

Doug then had the idea to make it a Traveling Mousepad, with various StampWants members taking and posting photos of this very well-traveled mousepad at various homes, offices and vacation spots around the world! Mousepad at the Seattle Space Needle, Mousepad at the Alamo, Mousepad at the Great Wall of China... who knows the possibilities!? Then the member signs it, and sends it to the next person (hopefully in a rather small amount of time so we can get it to lots of places). TM returned to Doug after almost a year of travels and was auctioned on StampWants with and 100% of the proceeds going to the American Heart Association Heart Walk. Lars flew to Cleveland to join Doug on the Heart Walk and to discuss the "next thing" - Phlat Stampley.

Visit the Travelling Mousepad wiki page.

Phlat Stampley

Phlat Stampley (PS) was a mascot-type character on one side and a grid with 20 boxes on the reverse. He was little larger and thicker than a mousepad (and rigid, making photos easier), but instead of collecting signatures on the front, each participant got a "hand-back" or "favor" cancel in one of the squares on the back and added their name.

PS was taken out for photos just like TM and was auctioned off at the end just like TM. The big difference is that PS came back home each trip, because in addition to getting a cancel on the back of PS, each participant donated items of philatelic value. All of the philatelic items and PS himself were auctioned off with 100% of the proceeds going to the American Heart Association. As if that wasn't enough, each participant also received a VERY special cachet cover with a VERY special postmark to keep as a souvenir.

Our target was $1000 to the AHA, and we finished with over $3000!

Visit the Phlat Stampley web site.