Suggestions for contest prizes?

Dave, you seem to be everybody's "cult hero" , so to speak, so I'm thinking that whatever prizes you offer, you should include something personal as well. Maybe a signed certificate or an autographed picture of you (and Trish?). Something that means the recipient owns something of you that can't be bought, as someone stated above.

Lots of great feedback here - thank you everyone for the invigorating discussion and great ideas.

Victor: I hear you on the "review after only one visit". I think it's more likely, however, that people will post reviews of nurseries that they may have visited for years but never have posted a review for. I think that's the more likely scenario.

As for recognizing PF contributors, etc, we've done that many times. We've had lots of contests in the past, and we have the Uber gardener award program for some 40 members who have made outstanding contributions to mostly PF but also the rest of the site. We continue to appreciate all contributors to all areas of the site. They make the site the useful resource that it is for all of us.

I'll post more details about the Go Gardening contest later this week. As part of that, I will mention that any reviews posted during the past 3 months will be counted toward the contest.

Dave

If I won a prize, I would love a DG Subscription Extension, or a donation to the Ecology Fund: http://www.ecologyfund.com/ecology/_ecology.html would be good too, or the American Farmland Trust: http://www.farmland.org/

My half a cent worth here. I think that a lifetime membership would not be such a good idea. What would happen if the winner turned out to be a real beast in future posts? With a lifelong membership how could you stop a "trouble maker"?
Will be following this with interest to see what you all come up with, and good luck to everybody who enters!

We're not offering any lifetime memberships. :)

LOL! I think that's a GOOD thing! I still like the idea of a prize of a one year subscription extension! Or a donation in the winners name to a good cause!

I work for Chocolates...LOL

This sounds like a very good contest....good luck to all who enter. Jo

An aside concerning folks not following up...
Maybe it would be good if members who rate companies were sent follow-up e-mails 6 months later and asked if they had further experience with the business. BizRate does this, periodically sending a tickler and asking people to come back and review any merchants they've used lately.

One problem with PF follow-ups that was brought up in that thread was that they were not given the same weight as a new review. Also, they are not 'bumped', so one has to scroll down and find the original review to find any new follow-ups. This could mean going through many reviews to find the original say, from years ago, to see the follow-up which was posted yesterday.

cash...its always good

I like to win a gift certifacate to lowes or home depot

I envision 10 winners, spread the love :-)

How about a free classified ad?

Shoe one time gave a neat box for seed collecting.. I thought that was great. I think I saw one in a catalog but don't remember which one.

Include one neat random prize for a name drawn from all who participate. Encourage people who only have a few places in their community and can't possible get the most entered.

Other than Home Depot, Lowes and Wally World...we have no garden centers here...Grammy...you give me hope! LOL Jo

I agree - in fact, I suggested to Dave that we consider making all the prizewinners "random drawings" Each submission will put your name in the hat: the more you participate, the more you increase your odds of winning. But everyone who participates, even in a limited manner, will still have a chance at winning a prize.

Sounds great Terry!
Will Dave be posting a new thread with all the information for the contest? If so could y'all please post the url here so we will know when it begins?

Absolutely ;o)

I really like the suggestion of anyone who participates has a chance to win!

Also, Dave, you mentioned you wanted GoGardening to include garden centres from around the world. I like the idea of the subscription extension or the Visa gift certificates because they are 'borderless', neat and clean, no shipping required, etc.

Sandy