Jack Alexander Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 The McCrae's Battalion Trust is delighted to offer the chance to own the first of several unique jerseys worn by Heart of Midlothian players during the Remembrance Sunday defeat of Aberdeen at Tynecastle. Embroidered on the sleeve of Michael Stewart's number '23' jersey are the names of the seven Hearts players who gave their lives during the Great War - 'Allan, Boyd, Currie, Ellis, Gracie, Speedie, Wattie'. On the right breast is a simple scarlet poppy - above the word 'Remember'. These are the jerseys that every serious collector in the UK has been waiting for. They are not to be confused with any other 'poppy strips'. They are a 'one-off' issue, the first of their kind, and will not be repeated. Reflecting the many expressions of interest that have already been received, we have been advised to set a 'reserve' price of ?250 per garment. All monies raised from the sale will help to fund the continuation of our work in Contalmaison and the ongoing commitment of the McCrae's Battalion Trust to furthering public awareness about Scotland's sacrifice in the Great War. Bidding begins at eight o'clock tomorrow evening - Wednesday 23 January - and will last for a fortnight. Full details may be found on the Trust website at: http://www.mccraesbattaliontrust.org.uk and/or http://www.heartsgreatwarmemorial.org.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy2 Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Jack, I genuinely hope you get as much dosh as humanly possible for this cause but why can't this be used as first (or only) prize in a draw? In August many fans on this board criticised Hearts and Craig Gordon for donating (one of?) his top(s) from the Barcelona game (I'd wager he had two) for auction at an opening price of ?1,000 meaning myself and 1,000s of other Hearts fans had no chance of owning it. I feel the same here. In January especially there is no way I could afford ?250, it'll go for much more I'm sure (currently at ?750) but I'd definitely donate a fiver through Paypal or something to be in with a chance. I'm sure many more would do the same. That said, good luck with the sale! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Jack, I genuinely hope you get as much dosh as humanly possible for this cause but why can't this be used as first (or only) prize in a draw? In August many fans on this board criticised Hearts and Craig Gordon for donating (one of?) his top(s) from the Barcelona game (I'd wager he had two) for auction at an opening price of ?1,000 meaning myself and 1,000s of other Hearts fans had no chance of owning it. I feel the same here. In January especially there is no way I could afford ?250, it'll go for much more I'm sure (currently at ?750) but I'd definitely donate a fiver through Paypal or something to be in with a chance. I'm sure many more would do the same. That said, good luck with the sale! I agree Shaggy2. It would be interesting to see how much would be raised via a Paypal auction where set amounts were paid. I'd definately participate. Personally, I'd also pay a huge amount for a strip - however my wife would leave me, or kill me, or perhaps both (mind you if she did kill me then leavings a given). Good luck anyway. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Alexander Posted January 23, 2008 Author Share Posted January 23, 2008 Jack, I genuinely hope you get as much dosh as humanly possible for this cause but why can't this be used as first (or only) prize in a draw? In August many fans on this board criticised Hearts and Craig Gordon for donating (one of?) his top(s) from the Barcelona game (I'd wager he had two) for auction at an opening price of ?1,000 meaning myself and 1,000s of other Hearts fans had no chance of owning it. I feel the same here. In January especially there is no way I could afford ?250, it'll go for much more I'm sure (currently at ?750) but I'd definitely donate a fiver through Paypal or something to be in with a chance. I'm sure many more would do the same. That said, good luck with the sale! Thanks, Shaggy. I don't know much about auctions, I'm afraid. We took a fair bit of advice before we chose this particular avenue. We considered eBay (with a very small opening reserve), but the eBay costs for charity auctions are unacceptably high. We considered a raffle (much like you are proposing), but we don't have any central base to sell the tickets - or any ticket-selling staff. We simply don't have any obvious mechanism to organise the kind of bidding system you suggested. It might not even be legal to solicit bids in this way. It was also pointed out that there's another problem. If you've underestimated the number of folk who'd be willing to spend their fiver (and I suspect you have), someone (and it could easily be a dealer) would pick up one of the shirts for a song and immediately turn it around on eBay for a quite massive profit. Even the ordinary (loyal but poorish) supporter who won the jersey for the price of his ticket would be sorely tempted if one of the big HMFC or football collectors announced the following day that he had a thousand pounds available to acquire it. The auction method we've chosen isn't perfect, but I persuaded the club to retain one of the jerseys to be displayed in the (promised) club museum. That one will belong to everyone who supports Hearts. We do have several jerseys - thanks to the kindness of the unsung Ali Russell and his colleagues in the admin block. It may be that we'll try a different method for one of the others. Anyone who has any practical (and legal) suggestions that might help Shaggy's proposal to work is most welcome to contact me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Thanks, Shaggy. I don't know much about auctions, I'm afraid. We took a fair bit of advice before we chose this particular avenue. We considered eBay (with a very small opening reserve), but the eBay costs for charity auctions are unacceptably high. We considered a raffle (much like you are proposing), but we don't have any central base to sell the tickets - or any ticket-selling staff. We simply don't have any obvious mechanism to organise the kind of bidding system you suggested. It might not even be legal to solicit bids in this way. It was also pointed out that there's another problem. If you've underestimated the number of folk who'd be willing to spend their fiver (and I suspect you have), someone (and it could easily be a dealer) would pick up one of the shirts for a song and immediately turn it around on eBay for a quite massive profit. Even the ordinary (loyal but poorish) supporter who won the jersey for the price of his ticket would be sorely tempted if one of the big HMFC or football collectors announced the following day that he had a thousand pounds available to acquire it. The auction method we've chosen isn't perfect, but I persuaded the club to retain one of the jerseys to be displayed in the (promised) club museum. That one will belong to everyone who supports Hearts. We do have several jerseys - thanks to the kindness of the unsung Ali Russell and his colleagues in the admin block. It may be that we'll try a different method for one of the others. Anyone who has any practical (and legal) suggestions that might help Shaggy's proposal to work is most welcome to contact me. Like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upthehill Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Maybe Hearts could have a one go as first prize in the 50/50 half time draw, with all money not just 50% going to the Trust. Then the Trust would get a few thousand pounds for the shirt, the average fan could afford tickets at a pound a pop, I would imagine more people would buy the tickets than normal and it is a well run raffle. If a collector then buys it from the lucky winner for ?1000 or whatever then fine, so be it, but it seems a decent way to raffle it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smike1874 Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 If you sold tickets at Tynecastle for two or three games at a pound a ticket then you would raise thousands and the jersey would almost definately go to someone who would treasure it and not just someone who could afford to pay what will most probably be in excess of 2k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devorgilla Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Would support suggestions of some form of raffle approach for any future strips. I'm sure thousands of supporters would be proud to own such a strip, but have little chance with this method. The suggested sale of tickets at Tynecastle would generally limit it to Hearts supporters (appreciate that some who would like the chance might not agree with that - not sure how you overcome that). A properly organised raffle might also raise more, but obviously need to see the outcome of current process before that is known! Whilst I appreciate concerns about it being sold on, a "value" seems to have been set by having a reserve of ?250. Presumably, therefore, somebody could potentially have bought it for that, and would have been as equally able to try and re-sell if they so wished. Just my point of view, keep up your good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boof Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 As one of those who couldn't even dream of paying ?100s for a shirt, I'd definitely support the raffle idea. If tickets are being sold at Tynecastle then I'm sure folk like myself who only get there rarely could arrange to have someone buy them on their behalf. As long as the Trust is raising the money that they set out to do - and I believe you'd raise more going down this route - then what happens to the item thereafter doesn't really come into it. Sure we'd all want it to go to a good home, but even auctioning it could see it go to a speculator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airthjambo Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Raffle is good idea,as I attend most home games,would gladly contribute and would'nt entertain selling if lucky enough to win!:Hearts Man spotrun: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portobellojambo1 Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 The McCrae's Battalion Trust is delighted to offer the chance to own the first of several unique jerseys worn by Heart of Midlothian players during the Remembrance Sunday defeat of Aberdeen at Tynecastle. Embroidered on the sleeve of Michael Stewart's number '23' jersey are the names of the seven Hearts players who gave their lives during the Great War - 'Allan, Boyd, Currie, Ellis, Gracie, Speedie, Wattie'. On the right breast is a simple scarlet poppy - above the word 'Remember'. These are the jerseys that every serious collector in the UK has been waiting for. They are not to be confused with any other 'poppy strips'. They are a 'one-off' issue, the first of their kind, and will not be repeated. Reflecting the many expressions of interest that have already been received, we have been advised to set a 'reserve' price of ?250 per garment. All monies raised from the sale will help to fund the continuation of our work in Contalmaison and the ongoing commitment of the McCrae's Battalion Trust to furthering public awareness about Scotland's sacrifice in the Great War. Bidding begins at eight o'clock tomorrow evening - Wednesday 23 January - and will last for a fortnight. Full details may be found on the Trust website at: www.mccraesbattaliontrust.org.uk and/or www.heartsgreatwarmemorial.org.uk Jack, How up to date is the trust site, with regards to the latest bid. It states at the moment, i.e. 14:17pm Sunday 27 January 2008, that the highest bid was today at 20:00pm, which doesn't quite tie in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Alexander Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 Jack, How up to date is the trust site, with regards to the latest bid. It states at the moment, i.e. 14:17pm Sunday 27 January 2008, that the highest bid was today at 20:00pm, which doesn't quite tie in. Hello pj, Our MB Trust webmaster created (and maintains) our site for free - which makes him (incidentally) one of the Contalmaison project's biggest donors. This involves no small effort on his part. He doesn't have the time to update the site constantly (and we don't pester him to do so). The bids are therefore updated daily at 8.00 pm (assuming there is any change). It's not like a eBay thing, where the amounts can change by the minute. It is, however, completely transparent and fair. Clearly the only point at which the time becomes absolutely critical is 8.00 pm on Wednesday 6 February (when the auction is scheduled to close). Every bid received by our webmaster up to that point (including 7.59 pm and 59 seconds!) will count. A full explanation is available on the website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Berry Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 If the object is to raise money for the trust, shouldn't they ask the club to instruct Umbro to do 1,000 replica's of this particular shirt, and sell it for eg. ?50, with ?10 going to the Trust. They would sell like hotcakes and that's ?10k straight away to the Trust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alwaysthereinspirit Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Any idea on what date other shirts will go up for auction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portobellojambo1 Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Hello pj, Our MB Trust webmaster created (and maintains) our site for free - which makes him (incidentally) one of the Contalmaison project's biggest donors. This involves no small effort on his part. He doesn't have the time to update the site constantly (and we don't pester him to do so). The bids are therefore updated daily at 8.00 pm (assuming there is any change). It's not like a eBay thing, where the amounts can change by the minute. It is, however, completely transparent and fair. Clearly the only point at which the time becomes absolutely critical is 8.00 pm on Wednesday 6 February (when the auction is scheduled to close). Every bid received by our webmaster up to that point (including 7.59 pm and 59 seconds!) will count. A full explanation is available on the website. Jack, Thank you, hope my original post didn't sound like a dig, because it certainly wasn't intended as such, was just seeking clarification that the amount shown, i.e. ?750, was indeed an up to date figure (as I may wish to make a bid at some point prior to the closing date). From your reply I can safely assume it was the figure as at 20:00pm yesterday evening. I will check the site again over the next few days to see if there has been any movement bid wise, and check my bank balance as well to see what scope I have to bid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Alexander Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 Would support suggestions of some form of raffle approach for any future strips. I'm sure thousands of supporters would be proud to own such a strip, but have little chance with this method. The suggested sale of tickets at Tynecastle would generally limit it to Hearts supporters (appreciate that some who would like the chance might not agree with that - not sure how you overcome that). A properly organised raffle might also raise more, but obviously need to see the outcome of current process before that is known! Whilst I appreciate concerns about it being sold on, a "value" seems to have been set by having a reserve of ?250. Presumably, therefore, somebody could potentially have bought it for that, and would have been as equally able to try and re-sell if they so wished. Just my point of view, keep up your good work. There have been several suggestions about mounting some sort of raffle at Tynecastle. In principal it's a good idea and it's one we considered. In practice it's much more complicated. Quite apart from gaming regulations, you have to wonder who's going to organise the raffle. Who's going to sell the tickets? And where? And for how long? Who (in the admin block) is going to collaborate with us? Those people are busy enough as it is - especially now that Ally's gone. Where is the money going to be kept? This is an organisational minefield. And remember that the guys on the MB Trust are unpaid volunteers with many other commitments. None of them (with one possible exception) are remotely as daft as me. Upthehill's suggestion about the half-time draw is equally sound - until someone complains that they really don't want to buy a ticket for a shirt because they would prefer to have the money. You can't please all of the people ... However we are looking into alternatives. We have a few shirts, so it may be we'll be able to organise something that will give the 'ordinary' punter a shot at one of them. Watch this space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Alexander Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 If the object is to raise money for the trust, shouldn't they ask the club to instruct Umbro to do 1,000 replica's of this particular shirt, and sell it for eg. ?50, with ?10 going to the Trust. They would sell like hotcakes and that's ?10k straight away to the Trust. I think you are underestimating the generosity of the club in giving us these strips, Chuck. They also donated 400 'plain' poppy jerseys at the Hall of Fame evening. It would be downright rude of us to go back (like Oliver Twist) and ask for more. Also, HMFC would have to pay Umbro for the thousand strips. They wouldn't get them for nothing. At the moment the MB Trust enjoys an excellent working relationship with Hearts. Campbell, Ali, David, Ross (and others, including Mr R. himself) have been very supportive of our efforts. I can't see it continuing if we start taking their kindness for granted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Berry Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I think you are underestimating the generosity of the club in giving us these strips, Chuck. They also donated 400 'plain' poppy jerseys at the Hall of Fame evening. It would be downright rude of us to go back (like Oliver Twist) and ask for more. Also, HMFC would have to pay Umbro for the thousand strips. They wouldn't get them for nothing. At the moment the MB Trust enjoys an excellent working relationship with Hearts. Campbell, Ali, David, Ross (and others, including Mr R. himself) have been very supportive of our efforts. I can't see it continuing if we start taking their kindness for granted. I'm not suggeting that you would ask the club for any sort of "freebie", the club still sells the shirts through the club shops, but add a premium on top (eg ?10) which goes to the Trust. The club still make money, Umbro still make money and most importantly, the Trust make money as well. Few people can go to the Hall of Fame evening, and even fewer can afford to bid for one of these match worn shirts, I'm just suggesting a way in which anyone can own such a shirt and all parties make money. One of the names on the sleeve is, I understand, a relative of mine and I would like to own one of the shirts, alas I cannot afford to bid, and my luck in raffles is non-existant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paris 84 Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 is it possible to tell me; 1) How many of the strips are left to be sold and 2) Which players are already sold? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upthehill Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 is it possible to tell me; 1) How many of the strips are left to be sold and 2) Which players are already sold? I think only Goncalves has been sold so far, to China for ?1000 at a public auction in the Gorgie Suite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Rock Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Every bid received by our webmaster up to that point (including 7.59 pm and 59 seconds!) will count. A full explanation is available on the website. Hi everyone: the highest bid on the website is updated if it needs to be updated (ie. if we receive a higher bid). The reference to 'as at 8:00 pm today' is because that's when I check all the incoming emails for fresh bids. I've changed the page and taken 'today' out of the sentence... not sure if that helps...? The current highest bid was received on the 23rd of January. The 'last updated' date on the website is a bit misleading, I grant you - it really refers to the rest of the content of the site, not the auction bid. Apologies if that confuses a bit - hope this now clarifies the situation. If it's any consolation, I couldn't afford the shirt either.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators JKBMod 3 Posted February 6, 2008 Moderators Share Posted February 6, 2008 This auction has now closed. The highest bid received by 8:00 pm on Wednesday 6th February, was: ?875 The winning bidder has been notified by email. http://www.likeyoudo.org.uk/gwmc/strip.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Rock Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 This auction has now closed.The highest bid received by 8:00 pm on Wednesday 6th February, was: ?875 The winning bidder has been notified by email. http://www.likeyoudo.org.uk/gwmc/strip.html Beat me to it, Mod3....! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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