About That Tricky Tray.. I Just Want To Say_Chapter 14 (Closed)

Use This Post To "Speak Your Mind" About A Tricky Tray or Anything Related To A Tricky Tray. Tell us about the Grand Prize You Just Won or How You Haven't Won A Thing 10 Tricky Trays Straight. Just Click On The comment link below and start typing away. However..no personal attacks will be tolerated.

Comments

Anonymous said…
The "Mother" of all tricky trays OLMV, just posted this years event.
Nov 5, 2010. Ticket sale date is Oct 15th. They have won best tricky tray 4 years in a row. I have never been but maybe this is the year to try. Any one else been at before..comments???
Anonymous said…
Went to St. Stephen's in Perth Amboy today. Over 300 prizes...it was well done and staff were delightful.
Anonymous said…
Yes, the OLMV tricky tray is the "Mother" of all tricky trays....I've been to many & this is the by far the most well run event....and the prizes really & truly are great...my friends wait all year for this and plan to be there for the ticket sales...Just fyi...They always sell out...so plan accordingly!!
Anonymous said…
FYI... Some school in Somerset or Franklin is stealing the name from the OLMV Harvest Moon Basket Raffle and is running the weekend before OLMV...

Don't be fooled! The Harvest Moon Tricky Tray on Oct. 30, is NOT the "Mother" of all tricky trays and is in no way, shape, or form affiliated with OLMV or the Harvest Moon Basket Raffle.
Anonymous said…
Went to Second Chance For Animals last night. Not as good a spread of prizes as some other tricky trays I have been to. Also looong lines to put tickets into lower prize buckets. Calling was very good though.
Anonymous said…
Did anyone go to either of the ones in Hackettstown - a school one and an animal rescue one?
Anonymous said…
Went to the Giving Network Tricky Tray last night. Lots of prizes, food, and well run. I won a couple of nice things. We had a fun night.
Anonymous said…
I went to the Giving Network Tricky Tray on Oct. 23. I didn't win anything but the prizes were high end and it was really well run. The food was a nice bonus, and each table got to bring home a prize.
Anonymous said…
Went to a tricky tray Friday and someone stole gift cards from the baskets. 2 or 3 of them. They couldn't believe anyone would do that. So sad. This isn't the first time that we've been to one and sticky hands go into a gift basket. Guard your gift cards people. Hand them out seperately or wrap the baskets from the bottom and tie on the top so no one can get into it.
Anonymous said…
I can't beleive someone would steal the cards. Did anyone see the person who did it?
It is a shame how some people
cheat or steal at tricky trays.
Lets hope they will get caught!
Anonymous said…
"Saturday, November 13, 2010
Tricky Tray Sponsored By
Concerned Black Nurses
of Central New Jersey"

What kind of racist event is this???? What if I'm a concerned white Nurse? And what are we concerned about? Now we even have racial tricky trays???? This is absolutely unbelievable that you have to state your skin color to describe your tricky tray event.How stupid would it sound if my headline to my event stated something like this "Concerned White Women of such and such a church are holding a Tricky Tray event......."
Anonymous said…
Viola elementary is holding its first tricky tray event on friday, november 19 at 7 pm. Many amazing baskets including walt disney hopper passes, yankees tickets, signed sports memorabilia, spa packages, leather goods, childrens clothes, restaurant gift certificates, cookware, tickets to big apple circus and gazillion bubble show and much much more. Tickets for presale...Contact us at violatrickytray@aol.com with any questions.
Anonymous said…
Well, good morning to all tricky tray enthusiasts. Haven't been to many events and the lack of posting here seems to reflect that many are resisting the urge.
There was a time where this was a large and happy community sharing background and details about upcoming and past events. Now it's more of an alternate advertisement for upcoming event, groups determined to hype their event and some weirdly off-topic comments that are best ignored.
Viola School - please use the form to get your event posted. Posting here, we don't have a clue where you are located/what the advance ticket prices are/... and all the other details that get us to your event.
Gift card thieves have always been with around: Event coordinators please be proactive! Any prize that is small and grabbable can and will dissappear. TT committees protect yourself. Hold GCs in numbered envelopes and don't put them on the table at all or put them in a large picture frame where they can't be removed. Shoplifters go to TTs and could not care less what the event is raising money for. Some people are kleptomaniacs and if you tempt them with an easy grab, they can't resist.
Anonymous said…
Alright, for the Nov 13th Black nurses TT. What the heck are you thinking when posting this event? I think it is beyond stupid of you for putting that as the reason for having you TT. I personally will not be going. Isn't it in poor taste to list your event as a "white" school or a "white" group of people for a "white" cause? P.S. you will be loosing about $150.00 from me!!!!! Extremely poor advertising!
Anonymous said…
Heading to the "mother" of all tt tonight at OLMV...sure has a lot to live up to. We shall see!!
Anonymous said…
Oh so you are an Our Lady of Mount Virgin..."virgin" LOL be sure to post some feedback..I have never been to their tricky tray.
Anonymous said…
I have just gotten home from the OLMV Tricky Tray and I have to say...what a disappointment :( Best TT of the year for 4 years? Who has been voting?

Ok, let me start by saying it was very well organized and ran pretty smoothly. The volunteers were all very nice. I know first hand what it takes to organize an event like this and I think they did a good job. But best of the year, for 4 years? Sorry, I disagree. My number one TT pet peeve is non-sequential ticket numbers. Some started with 1's, 2's, 3's 6's and 9's. Then the next level, same thing all different numbers. At least when the tickets start off with 399___ you feel like you have a chance. You hear him start with a 1 and you have a 6 and you're out right away.
I had heard about how they post the numbers on a large screen up front. Well they have to, everyone talks through the whole thing and the poor caller had to yell into the mic. And before every ticket he called he would say "and the winning number is..." so that got aggrevating.

The value packs were neither a value or a pack. They contained tickets for 2 levels of prizes. There were 3 levels of prizes and the super grand prize was a granite vanity and sink?

It was a large room with 400+ people packed in like sardines. I heard they had dessert items for free but I never saw any.

The prizes that people commented were "so great" and "the best I've ever seen" were okay, nothing fantastic. I'd say out of all 300 prizes, I really wanted to win about 30. The rest were filler type baskets. The usual local baseball team tickets or comedy club. No broadway tickets or major sports teams (besides the Nets) tickets.

They did have some nice higher end prizes on the green level, a 42" flat screen, an IPAD and an IPOD touch, a Coach and $1000 off tuition - those tickets were 3 for $10 (expensive). The 50/50 was $2950 to the winner so that was nice, but that was $10 also.

Again, it was nicely run with decent prizes, but I have been to better. So it makes you wonder who the people voting have been.

So with the $15 admission, I spent another $95 and came home with nothing.

Please post comments if you attended tonight event and have a different opinion or share mine.

PS They did ask each person to bring a can of food to donate to a local food bank and I think they said they had about 400 cans, so that was great!
Anonymous said…
I have just gotten home from the OLMV Tricky Tray and I have to say...what a disappointment :( Best TT of the year for 4 years? Who has been voting?

Ok, let me start by saying it was very well organized and ran pretty smoothly. The volunteers were all very nice. I know first hand what it takes to organize an event like this and I think they did a good job. But best of the year, for 4 years? Sorry, I disagree. My number one TT pet peeve is non-sequential ticket numbers. Some started with 1's, 2's, 3's 6's and 9's. Then the next level, same thing all different numbers. At least when the tickets start off with 399___ you feel like you have a chance. You hear him start with a 1 and you have a 6 and you're out right away.
I had heard about how they post the numbers on a large screen up front. Well they have to, everyone talks through the whole thing and the poor caller had to yell into the mic. And before every ticket he called he would say "and the winning number is..." so that got aggrevating.

The value packs were neither a value or a pack. They contained tickets for 2 levels of prizes. There were 3 levels of prizes and the super grand prize was a granite vanity and sink?

It was a large room with 400+ people packed in like sardines. I heard they had dessert items for free but I never saw any.

The prizes that people commented were "so great" and "the best I've ever seen" were okay, nothing fantastic. I'd say out of all 300 prizes, I really wanted to win about 30. The rest were filler type baskets. The usual local baseball team tickets or comedy club. No broadway tickets or major sports teams (besides the Nets) tickets.

They did have some nice higher end prizes on the green level, a 42" flat screen, an IPAD and an IPOD touch, a Coach and $1000 off tuition - those tickets were 3 for $10 (expensive). The 50/50 was $2950 to the winner so that was nice, but that was $10 also.

Again, it was nicely run with decent prizes, but I have been to better. So it makes you wonder who the people voting have been.

So with the $15 admission, I spent another $95 and came home with nothing.

Please post comments if you attended tonight event and have a different opinion or share mine.

PS They did ask each person to bring a can of food to donate to a local food bank and I think they said they had about 400 cans, so that was great!
Anonymous said…
I went to the OLMV Tricky Tray last night. Was very excited because it was voted best the last three years. Have to say, very disappointed. I was expecting so much more and have been to better. Even though it was in the school gym, I thought the prizes would make up for the lack of decorations and theme. The standard prizes were ok nothing outstanding and the "premium" prizes...not so premium. Stress factory tickets and dvd is premium. The green ticket prizes which were the grand were expensive and you didnt receive any in your "value pack", which then can't b considered a val pack. The grand prize was a bathroom vanity makeover....ok... the 50/50 was high which was good and the organization was very good. My biggest thing with all tricky trays is the tickets. People who plan these things please, please order or print your tickets in sequential order. Don't have all different numbers..you can do this it is not that hard. I don't mind losing but atleast let me think I have a shot. They had at least 5 different start numbers for each color for instance the red tickets started with a 2,5,6,8,3..not good. I would say this was an average trick tray #1 3 years in a row absolutely not. Sorry planners, I know it takes alot of hard work and volunteers to pull something like this off you did a good job for what you had to work with I guess and I'm sure you made a lot of money for the school.
Anonymous said…
I thought the Harvest Moon Basket Raffle at Our Lady in Mddlsx was great. I have been to other local tricky trays and based on what I have seen there were ALOT of great prizes last night & many many baskets ~ something for everyone!! I have gone the last few years and this year my cousins came along. They are so hoping that the school doesn't close so they can come back next year.
I spent $113 total including admission and 50/50 chances. I won an Amazon Kindle, cleaning basket filled with swifter items, sheets, etc, a HUGE cooler filled with drinks, snacks, tailgate items and I won a package to have work done on my car. I was sitting at a table for 10 (7 were in my party) and by the end of the night our whole table won 14 baskets! Yes we were in tight quarters at our tables, but I think that was the way to be able to accomodate as many people as possible. For a few hours of fun, I can deal! As for the ticket numbers, why does it matter if it starts with your first digit or not? You either win or you don't~ I'd think I'd rather know by the first digit called if I had a chance or not - so not to get my hopes up or my heart racing!!! LOL But to each her own!
All in all, I thought it was a great night. There were plenty of goodies at the table in the hall. The coolers had sodas and waters. When I wanted a diet soda,someone went into the kitchen to refill coolers with the diet sodas for me! It was well organized and everyone was friendly and helpful. I feel bad that the last 2 posts did not have the great time that my family and I did. Next year, if you'd like, come sit with us! : )
trickytraycherry said…
OLMV - nice job on a well planned, well organized night. I know how much time and effort goes into planning a tricky tray, as I have done 2 and getting ready to plan my 3rd.
As far as best? I disagree. I do agree with the above posts about tickets having to be in order and the val pack not truly a val pack. Either alot of OLMV parents log on and vote or the standard of tricky trays in other areas is lower than what I have attended and planned.
Again, very well planned and organized and the volunteers were all very nice. Congratulations for raising money for your school and for all of your hard work.
Anonymous said…
re verona Beth Am on 11/13

I have asked 2x, but they can't seem to answer.

does anyone know how much the extra tickets are?

they said there are 80+ baskets plus door prizes and admission is $15...and there are ticket bundles...but can't seem to say how much the extra tickets are
Anonymous said…
The Black Nurses is probably the name of the org...just like NAACP and a black police group.....its not an advertising slogan..are they supposed to change thier name so as not to offend someone?

These orgs are allowed in the US...although I don't agree that they should focus on being black, but a more appropriate name indicating those in need of any race..maybe something like Urban..or something that indicates less/under priviledged in general, not by race
Anonymous said…
Attended the OLMV Tricky Tray and had a ball. Honestly, I don't understand the negative comments. You could not have possibly seen all of the prizes and missed the free food - it was impossible. There were 3 tables(8 footers) full of deserts and at least 6 coolers of soda and water and a table of coffee. That's right, 24 feet worth of cookies, cakes, brownies and chocolates. As for the assertion that many prizes were "filler," I've been to TTs where the low level of prizes includes things like a free pizza at a local pizza joint, retail value, $12. I just flipped through the program and the lower level prizes are valued at up to $150 and I can tell you that there were no pizza's in the lot. Maybe some people are just bitter because they didn't win.

Yes, people were talking, but hey, it's a social evening out. I didn't win this year but had a great time and have won in the past. I WILL be back next year, for sure!
trickytraycherry said…
Which of those comments said they didnt win anything at OLMV, or you just assumed they didnt win and they were bitter?
Anonymous said…
USED ITEMS
I went to St Stephens in S. Plainfield on 10/23....

I won an electric razor....I jsut opened it and saw HAIRS on the blade...its obviously used..I don't know if the church knew it was used......

PLEASE DO NOT DONATE USED ITEMS--especially hygiene related items

Also, The low end table tickets were $10 for a sheet of 26--and the prizes were about $25 each--some lower!
Anonymous said…
Attended the People for Animals Tricky Tray on Nov 5 and had a wonderful time. The staff was great and they had a nice selection of prizes. It was exceptionally well run and had something for everyone. The hot food and desserts were a bonus.
Nice Job!
Anonymous said…
Where are all the tricky tray dot com people that attended the OLMV Harvest Moon on 11/5? If its been voted #1 so many years in a row, where are all of the comments??
Anonymous said…
The question is just how many people other than the OLMV PTA voted for that event to be best TT?
And of course how many other events actually thought to organize a voting campaign ...

The real question is what are the best bets for this weekend. Mt Olive is not listing what the presale or at the door costs of tickets are ... but they are doing that punishing thing where those who haven't purchased presale tickets have to pay $5 to get in and get nothing for it.
Anonymous said…
I went to the Helen Morgan event last nite. What a nice group of people and the school is lovely. The event was nice....lots of people there. Young man calling the numbers was nice, but could not remember to announce the color of the ticket he had drawn of the 5 different colored tickets (all from one level of prizes - that was tough). And if he said AW RIGHTTTTT!!! one more time as each winner was announced, I thought someone was going to scream.
Anonymous said…
Bernards High School: one word - EXPENSIVE! $10 to get in and you got coffee and cookies. $10 per sheet for prizes up to $100. $20 per sheet for the specials. And not nearly enough prizes for the number of attendees. Will say they prizes were high quality, though. Probably won't be back.
Anonymous said…
Re Mt Olive Proj Grad - what's with the "Admission Charge" for those not getting advance tickets? And you could of so easily included info in your event listing as to when and where advance tickets would be available. Ironically the events with these admission charges typically do not even provide complimentary coffee/tea to attendees.
Anonymous said…
Can't wait to go to the Stillwater TT tonight. I hear that they have great trays, and NO admission.
luv2fishlbi said…
Did anyone go to the Cheer Gym Parent Foundation auction on 11/12/10 any feedback? Thank You.
Anonymous said…
One simple question! Do any organizers of the TT's read the blogs before and after their event? I go to at least 3 a weekend and I swear they do not pay any attention to this website, only to post their event and then that's it. Stop taking our money and think it is o.k. for all the workers to win the big prizes. It is kind of funny that the items you list to draw people in to try to win go to the workers. I have had it with the school TT's it seems the good prizes always go to the workers. I had went to a TT in Pine Island in October and the people that had run it let the workers and their friend write their names on the back of the tickets. When they were pulling the tickets (of course no container and shake, just dump and swirl) they looked in at the tickets and picked the marked ones and said the persons name that won and then the number. No one else could write on the tickets so why is that allowed. We spent a heck of alot of money at that event and could not believe what we heard and saw. P.S. If you post your event on this site have enough trays to go around!
Anonymous said…
I agree with the above poster - I do not think many organizers read the blogs. If they did, they wouldnt continue to do things ( dump and swirl - workers write names - different colored tickets - accept bent tickets, etc) that the bloggers write about.
Before we did our first TT we read through months worth of posts and continue to read to know what things people really appreciate and what never to do!
Anonymous said…
I totally agree with you, in fact I will go one step further....I don't see how it is even ethical or legal for the person drawing and or shaking to have any tickets in the bucket at all and that goes for the workers too. I don't know who wrote this piece below, but I have saved it and this needs to be read by anybody having an event, it says it all:
"Ticket draw is supposed to be random and anything .. a bend, ragged tear, stickers on the back, even the indentations from writing a name can be used to mark tickets. The person drawing can be feeling for any of the above when they are stirring the tickets around and supposedly randomly selecting the winner. Sadly its a way that the sponsoring group tries to give their members the edge in winning the prizes they collected. It's also a way for random cheaters to win more. Get a big enough container to actually mix those tickets up to make it a random draw. And then stir the tickets with your hand before actually picking. The one drawing is in charge and needs to disqualify tickets that are marked by bends, curls, or ragged tears. Doesn't matter if you put it in the program, announce it every 15 minutes and have posters on the wall. The one drawing has to actually DQ bent tickets. There's always someone who does not tear the tickets apart thinking 2 tickets together are twice as big and twice as likely to get grabbed. They do it because it worked for them in the past, just like those who bend their tickets. It's not an accident nor is it innocent, its cheating. Don't tear them apart and drop them back in, don't straighten out bent tickets - pick one of the many normal honest tickets to award the tray to. Any announcer/drawer who announces that a ticket drawn has been disqualified, does more for the honesty and prestige of an event than you can imagine. This has drawn a round of applause at some events. This isn't snippy about organizers, it relates to sad experiences at a great many events. Just like shoplifting is up in a bad economy, cheating at tt's is up also. Organizers take charge and be responsible to make your event fair."
And I will add one more thing......KEEP WITH ONE COLOR TICKETS!!!!!
Anonymous said…
you can report suspected fraud...thy need to get apermit from the town....look up the state games of chance and report suspected 'fixing' when they appear to be looking for workers tickets that are specially marked
Anonymous said…
there is nothing wrong with workers betting....that is common practice......and sometimes it could happen that the workers do win a lot..maybe they bought a lot more tickets....but when they tickets are marked--that is a red flag..and maybe even illegal to only mark certain tickets
Anonymous said…
Went to Holy Family in Lakewood and was disaapointed, They had too many levels of prizes. The first level was junk and they should have avoided this level. The tickets were expensive for the quality of the gifts.
Anonymous said…
Went to the Stillwater Rec. tricky tray Sat. night. I think that nearly everyone in attendance walked out with at least one tray. I didn't realize until afterwards that it was their first TT. Great job, great prices, great prizes, and you called so quickly it was an early night!
Anonymous said…
I just helped run a tricky tray...I am VERY interested in what people thought of it and I am one that DOES check to see what comments are said. We did use all one color tickets for the regular prized items, we HAVE learned from that experience the first time. Please don't group all TT people in that manner...it is such a daunting event that is so time consuming,I do not think people actually realized what they should and should not do....there are also a lot of new people running such an event and, without prior knowledge and experience, you cannot blame them. In these days it is so hard to find volunteers, you take what you can get...
Anonymous said…
For you who asked about the Mount Olive Project Graduation Tricky Tray - there were advertisements posted in all the local newspapers and the information to contact the chairperson was listed on the TT.com if you had any questions, you could have called her...not to mention the fact that all the money goes to the students...why complain...and YES THERE WAS FREE COFFEE and TEA!
Anonymous said…
I went to Holland Schools tricky tray and I have been going there for a few years now the first year i went I was excited cause i won only to find out someone else won too because they had double tickets so then i had to pick a card to see if i won my prize again. i was told i could have my money back at the end of the tricky tray in which the lady who said i could have my money back went missing stopped going there and i went the last three years in which the lady calling the numbers mother and son kept winning a friend of mind said she knew someone that helped get the tricky tray together and she would mention something to her the lady told my friend that this lady would not be calling this year in which that lady lied cause we decided we will give this tricky tray one more try in which the lady was selling the special tickets so i thought thats good at least she wont be calling if she is selling the tickets WRONG it was time for the tricky tray to start and guess who was on stage calling the numbers and guess whos son and mother were sitting right behind me and won over 25 times on my way when buying the tickets i said is the same lady calling that called last year and the lady said what lady is that i said the one who cheated last year and this lady ran over to me and said there is no way of cheating and i said really cause he son won over 30 times last year and they were all the good prizes that were full of tickets she stated they are just lucky and i said hmmm three years in a row of luck and after they took a ten min break we came back there were two calls and they switched the one caller but left the cheating lady to call why switch one caller but not the other and there goes her mother winning again about 15 mins into the second half the lady came over to me and said we switched how its going and the caller isnt allowed to pick the number. so other lady was picking the number and giving it to the lady calling i thought it was very funny how after the caller stopped picking the number her son and mother no longer won!!!! Every year a group of us go and we spend over three hundred dollars but i can tell you that we wont be attenting!! I will donate my money to a cause that doesnt cheat. and to the lady who said there was no cheating i guess you saw it for yourself or you wouldnt have changed who was picking the numbers.
Anonymous said…
To poster Nov 14th @ 12:23, can you please let me know which TT you are running and I'll make sure we go to it. Most of the times we go to repeat TT's and it feels as though our comments at the event and on the blog go unanswered and the event unchanged. We spend alot of money at these events and it is very nice to see an answer to something we wrote on here. Thank you for letting me know there is someone out there that wants people to come back and spend their money and feel they were not shafted out of their money and time. I will always go to an up and up TT and then give good feedback as I have done in the past.
trickytraycherry said…
If you attended the 2007 Over the Rainbow TT for Penn Ave School 27 - then you want to save the date now for the Triple Crown Tricky Tray on November 12, 2011! We are organizing another great event to now benefit Colonia High School. More info to follow in the months to come and we will officially post it when we secure a venue, ticket prices and some grand prizes. Save the Date!
Anonymous said…
I just returned home from the First Annual Lake Hopatcong Project Graduation TT and wanted to say something.....First I have to say that for their first TT it wasn't bad at all! There were some great prizes and the prices were more than fair. There were only 2 things that bothered me...1. the bleachers. I was a fortunate one that I had a chair and table but the bleachers for 3 hours...ouch! But the most important thing that truly bothered me was their complete discregard about having minors participating in the event. There was one as a "runner" and MANY minors as young as 6 buying and putting tickets in the cups. THIS IS A MAJOR NO NO! You can be fined and lose your license. I did bring this up to one of the workers yet no one cared so I went about my business of putting my tickets in the prizes I wanted. What bothers me is that TT's like this one can make it hard for the ones that obey the rules in the future. It's not that difficult to make an anoouncement to let these parents know that this practice is against the law. Also, on their flier and here on this site the say "Adults only" yet they allowed minors in and to participate. SHAME ON YOU! Otherwise a good TT! :)
Anonymous said…
I have been trying for about the past 2 hours to find the rules and laws associated with tricky trays. I know there have been ones that were violated and I would like to know how to get the rules. I have followed all the links I can find but I cannot locate the description. Can anyone post the rules on this blog? Thank you and good luck trying to find it to help. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!!! "I"
Anonymous said…
13:47-6.10 Player age limitation
(a) No person under the age of 18 years shall be permitted.
to participate as a player in any game of bingo. .
(b) No person under the age of 18 years shall be permitted
to participate in any draw raffle or in any non-draw raffle
offering and awarding cash or money as a prize.
(c) Except for the serving or selling of food and beverages,
no person under the age of 18 years shall hold, operate or
conduct or assist in the holding, operating or conducting of
any game of chance held, operated or conducted under any
license issued pursuant to the Bingo Licensing Law, N.J.S.A.
5:8-24 et seq. or the Raffles Licensing Law, N.J.S.A. 5:8-50
et seq., and the rules set forth in this chapter.
•(d) Whenever an organization shall conduct any draw
raffle, or non-draw raffle which offers cash or money as a
prize, it shall cause a sign to be displayed adjacent to the
place of the allotment of prize(s) by chance as follows:
"Persons under the age of 18 years are not permitted to
participate in this game of chance (NJ.S.A. 5:8-59)." The
sign shall not be smaller than 288 square inches and shall be
posted in such a location as to be in view of all persons who
shall desire to participate.
Amended by R.l995 d.41. effective January 17, 1995.
Anonymous said…
It's funny how the link to get to the above is on the HOMEPAGE of TRICKY TRAY.COM!
Anonymous said…
I agree with the person who wrote about the Hopatacong TT<<I also was bothered by two things.. The first and formost was the fact the ad stated "ADULTS ONLY" and there were children of all ages there, as young on infants. No 2 The caller after awhile you couldn't understand him calling the nummbers it all became a blurr, His voice was annoying. Other than those two things, you guys did a really terrific job for the first time.... JOB Well DONE.
Anonymous said…
To poster Nov 20th @11:53, thanks but I could not find it when I was looking and the exclamation point give me a break!!! Anyway went to Shawnee Presbyterian Church TT today and was very impressed at the items they had. Excellent job on listening to the concerns and fixing them immediately. Also person running was very pleasant and well spoken. Great ticket pricing and had a awesome time. Won about $400.00 in baskets and gift certificates. Great job. Will definitely return next year.
Anonymous said…
What is a good idea for a mystery prize?
Anonymous said…
To respond to the person asking about what is a good idea for a mystery prize, in this economy, an american express ( or other issuer) card for cash. Always meaningful and immediately useful.
Anonymous said…
Mystery prizes need to be meaningful to any of your attendees. The nicest mystery prizes I can remember were $50 and $100 bills in picture frames. They were wrapped in different size boxes and were even better than a specific store gift card.
Some events have purchased specific items as mystery prizes - I've seen a small TV, one of the Keurig coffee systems (really thrilled the crowd) and also an assortment of giftcards. If you purchase a specific item for the mystery prize, consider providing the winner with a gift receipt so they have the option to return it if they want. It's not a common thing, but its such a nice thing to do that does not cost the event anything. I've also seen a piggy bank filled with change.
Anonymous said…
Went to Harmony Township Fire Co on Sunday. Really should be Toy TT. Went for the past 2 years and didn't remember it was a toy TT. Bad items ticket cost was to cheap and of course no shaking. Only a pail and a hand. Will not go back next year and will remember toy TT.
Anonymous said…
re: mystery prizes

i've heard it is actually illegal to have cash or lottery tickets as table prizes...but don't quote me.
Anonymous said…
I've heard when the gaming commission shows up to inspect an event, they will require that trays be removed if they contain cash/lottery tickets/alcohol. Visa GCs, bonds from banks, and liquor store GCs are perfectly ok.
Meanwhile, the most popular prizes whether mystery or not are still lottery tickets/cash/booze

Mr TrickyTray has helpfully placed a link on the bottom of the homepage that will take you to NJ website that rules legalized games of chance ... ie raffles
http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/lgccc/
Anonymous said…
There was a blog posted about the TT given by the Concerned Black Nurses. First, we are not racist. That is the name of the organization. It has been around for at least 39 years. Maybe the person who posted that blog is a racist. That person probaby has a problem with the National Association for the Advancement of Colered People, who have helped people from all walks of life. That TT yeilded enough money to give a hefty scholarship to 3 deserving/aspiring nursing students. We give scholarships to students of any race creed color or nationality that want to be nurses. Our organization does blood pressure screenings, diabetes teaching, counsiling on HIV/AIDS and many other health related issues. We are proud of the work we do in the community and we will continue despite people like the closed minded blogger. Next year when we hold our second annual TT, we hope the TT community will support us as they did this year.
Anonymous said…
I beg to differ with the CBN blogger, YOUR NAME IS a racial turnoff
Anonymous said…
There are groups called the Italian American Association, or the Irish American Association. I don't think people take offense with those racial/ethnic affinities. These organizations are groups around which communities of people with commonalities join together for any number of reasons, philanthropic, social, etc. We should celebrate the good they do, and attend their event if it appeals to you. It is sad that this has devolved into such a dialogue.
Anonymous said…
The couple of posts (anonymous of course) do not deserve further comment. Some people just have to complain. Normally the complaints posted here focus on tickets being shaken and not also stirred or that children were present at an event.
The majority do celebrate the good and we look forward to your next event.
Anonymous said…
Happy Holidays to all!

No one is posting anymore which is sad. There have been a few events that I'm hearing about after the fact. Please share - both before the events occur and afterwards let us know how it went. Love to encourage those events that schedule when there is little competition. Those looking for a TT are thrilled to attend.
Anonymous said…
I have a tricky tray coming up. It is for The American Cancer Society Relay for Life and it is being held on March 10, 2011 at the Atrium in West Orange, NJ. Tickets are 50 a person and include a sit down dinner and a sheet of tickets. This is my first year doing this and I would love to make this a very successful event. I would love to see all of these tricky tray enthusiasts there. Please contact me at agiamba1@aol.com with any questions. Just to give an example of some of the prizes: massage envy, learning express, camp horizon, authentic signed baseball by NY Yankee Mark Teixeira, signed memorabilia from NY Giants, NY Knicks and NY Jets, plus MANY, MANY More. Hope to hear from everyone soon.

Anna
Anonymous said…
Didn't vote for 2010 - can't think of any that I went to that were outstanding. Hope 2011 has a better crop!
Anonymous said…
My sisters and I are thinking of going to a couple of upcoming Tricky Trays - none of which we've been to before. We're looking for feedback/comments from people who have been before to any of these:

Friday, March 4, 2011
JFK Primary School PTO
Raritan, NJ

Friday, March 11, 2011
PTSO of the UCAPA
UCVTS- West Hall Cafeteria
Scotch Plains, NJ 07076

Friday, March 11, 2011
Governor Livingston
Band Parent Organization
Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922

Friday, April 22, 2011
A.I.P.
N. Branch, NJ 08876

W're already planning on going to this one:

Friday, February 4, 2011
Thomas Jefferson Middle School
Edison, NJ 08817

We've been in teh past and it was a pretty good one.

Lots of baskets (or at least the # of baskets near the # of attendees), nice prizes, decent prices, well-organized events are what we're looking for. Heck, isn't everybody? :)

I'm going to search previous forums, but any feedback/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Anonymous said…
I've been to both ACAPA and Governor Livingston. I would say they were both quite good (maybe because I won at both - lol). With them both on the same night, not sure which I will attend!
Nice variety of good quality prizes. The prices were pretty good and in line with the value of the prizes. I didn't have to spend a fortune to feel like i had a chance. There were enough prizes for the number of attendees, too.
KerriMommy said…
I am hosting our 4th Tricky Tray in March and am looking for ideas on the grand prize for this year. Last year we had a 32" Flat Screen TV...what are the big ticket and hot items this year?
Anonymous said…
TO KerriMommy - I would love to win the Disney Park passes. One school put luggage, transportation to and from the airport and some other related Disney type things in one super prize along with 4 day hopper passes, and what a killing they made on sales!!
Anonymous said…
Can't wait till the first Saturday in May for the SGT Ryan E. Doltz Memorial Foundation, Inc. Tricky Tray. I think it will be their 5th or 6th and everyone has been fantastic. They always have great prizes. Will be watching for the listing.
Anonymous said…
SGT Ryan E. Doltz Memorial Foundation, Inc. Tricky Tray AWESOME time every year. HUNDREDS OF FANTASTIC PRIZES!! I voted for them for Best Tricky Tray of 2010!! Lots of fun with friends. Winning helps too. Can't wait to go this year!
Anna Giambattista said…
Hello Everyone!! I am holding a Tricky Tray for The American Cancer Society Relay for Life on March 10, 2011 at The Atrium in West Orange. Tickets are $50 a person and include a sit down dinner and a sheet of tickets. If anyone is interested in attending, please let me know. Thank you!!
Anne Zavalick said…
Hey all - the posting and link for the Friends of Somerset Regional Animal Shelter on May 14 is now posted under Events. We were voted 1st runner up for Best Tricky Tray of 2009 and sold out 2 months in advance that year. This year, we're only selling 300 tickets - 75 less than in 2009 - and they're going fast (already!) so get your tickets early - you don't want to be locked out!!!
KathyH said…
Woo hoo! I've been looking forward to the Friends group tricky tray since I attended the one in 2009. How they didn't win tt of the year is beyond me. The baskets were awesome.
Just bought my ticket so I'll be there! And I plan to win lots too.
Anonymous said…
Please post a link to the Friends of Somerset Regional Animal Shelter's TT on May 14th (or if you can't, please post as much of the address as possible so we don't have to search through a hundred events to find it.)

Free food along with the speediest number calling I've ever seen...had a great time last year and won't miss this one for anything. Thanks for the heads up.
Anne Zavalick said…
Here's the link to Friends of Somerset Regional Animal Shelter TT on May 14th:

http://www.fosras.com/2011_FOSRAS_Tricky_Tray_Tickets.htm

Hope to see you all there!
Anonymous said…
Went to Team Tommy Tricky Tray last night. Alot of issues with this one. 1st, doors were to open at 5:00 opened 7 minutes late. 2nd, sheets were 1 for $10.00 then $7.00 for each one after that. For prizes that were $50.00 and under? Way to high. 3rd, took 15 minutes to call 10 prizes and was so unorganized they kept stopping because of confusion.
Anonymous said…
We went to the 6 HOUR tricky tray in Jersey City for Animals Need You on Jan 30th. It opened at 12:30 but they were just starting to set up. They finally let us eat around 3:30 and started calling around 4. There were not that many prizes that we should be there for 6 hours. On a good note, the food was good but they ran out of drinks at about 4:30 so we were stuck after that. Couldnt wait to get out of there.
Anonymous said…
I would like to attend the Lakeland Ice Hockey Association tricky tray on Sat, Feb 5. Can someone please provide me with any feedback if they attended their previous tt. The admission is $15 which doesn't include any tickets.
Thanks!
Anna Giambattista said…
I am hosting a tricky tray on March 10th for The American Cancer Society at The Atrium in West Orange. If anyone is interested please let me know. I can be reached via email agiamba1@aol.com or cell 973-650-6951. Thank you!!
Anonymous said…
Attended Scotchtown Ave School in Goshen last night.Will never go back. 1st 175 maximum occupancy in cafeteria way exceeded that. Should not be selling 50/50 tickets to children.I believe that is against the LAW! Then calling was to start at 7:45 didn't start till 8:00, then the man pulling numbers was using a voice changing machine. This is the most ANNOYING thing ever. Couldn't wait to get out. Containers to mix way to small. Not as many prizes as last year. Stunk.
Anonymous said…
trickytraycherry said...

OLMV - nice job on a well planned, well organized night. I know how much time and effort goes into planning a tricky tray, as I have done 2 and getting ready to plan my 3rd.
As far as best? I disagree. I do agree with the above posts about tickets having to be in order and the val pack not truly a val pack. Either alot of OLMV parents log on and vote or the standard of tricky trays in other areas is lower than what I have attended and planned.
Again, very well planned and organized and the volunteers were all very nice. Congratulations for raising money for your school and for all of your hard work.

November 06, 2010 11:52 AM
Re: The following post from trickytraycherry: Thanks for your somewhat nice comments though your negative comments are very odd...really is that all you could find fault w/ the OLMV tricky tray....that the numbers are out of order? And what exactly do YOU consider a val-pak? I don't see anything to support your negative comments of the OLMV tricky tray not being the best....could it be that you are hosting a tricky tray around the same time next year? (I saw your post a couple lines down).....You don't need to drag anyone else down....stay positive if you can.
Anonymous said…
Anonymous said...

Where are all the tricky tray dot com people that attended the OLMV Harvest Moon on 11/5? If its been voted #1 so many years in a row, where are all of the comments??

Re: The above comment....What exactly would you like us to say? Do you want us to defend an event that was an extremely well-run tricky tray?
For your information the people at the school were informed just afte their event that their school would be closing....so I don't think that they want to respond to the likes of negative people like you after receiving that type of info, do you?
For your information (and to the other bloggers) in past years there were over 400 people in attendance at OLMV's tricky tray....we reminded guests to vote on trickytray.com.....how else would they know? Most of our guests are not parents or PTA members....our parents are "working" the event....so get your facts straight. Our guests come from not only all over New Jersey but from New York & Pennsylvania.....AND THEY LOVE IT AND HAVE COME BACK EACH YEAR....
Anonymous said…
Congrats to SGT Ryan E. Doltz
Memorial Foundation, Inc.
Dover High School for being awarded first place...enjoy it!
From an OLMV worker
trickytraycherry said…
February 11, 2011
Re: November 06, 2010 11:52 AM
Thanks for your somewhat nice comments though your negative comments are very odd...really is that all you could find fault w/ the OLMV tricky tray....that the numbers are out of order? And what exactly do YOU consider a val-pak? I don't see anything to support your negative comments of the OLMV tricky tray not being the best....could it be that you are hosting a tricky tray around the same time next year? (I saw your post a couple lines down).....You don't need to drag anyone else down....stay positive if you can.

MY REPLY - I didnt drag anyone down - I believe I was positive. I said nice job and well organized. I also said the volunteers were very nice and congratulated you on raising money. I can give my opion and or constructive criticism. That is what this blog is for. For people to comment to help other planners or attendees as to what TT are worth going to or not. I have been to many TT and have seen value packs that are a better value - with tickets for all levels of prizes offered at a discount. There is no reason to think I was being negative - again this is my opinion. Other posts said they had issues, or comments also....again, thats their opinion.

As far as planning our TT for November 2011 - that is the date we were given. I dont need to "badmouth" someones hard work to get people to come to our TT that is around the same time. I am a volunteer and organizer and want the same for our school - to raise money and benefit the kids.
A pet peeve of mine are non sequential numbers and I have heard plenty of people over the years on this website have the same type of comment.
I dont need to win a Best Tricky Tray of the Year award to know our TT are successful. They are successful if people have fun and organizers raise money and the kids receive a benefit.
Anonymous said…
Can someone please tell me what a good value pack of tickets would consist of? There will be 3 levels of prizes. Any help is appreciated.

Thank you
Anonymous said…
I have been to trickytraycherry's events in the past and I thought they did an outstanding job each time. I don't think she needs to badmouth anyone or anything in order to get someone to attend her event. I can't comment on OLMV tricky tray because I have never been able to attend it. We would have liked to have the opportunity to attend but being that we are way out of the area, the prospect of getting down there to stand on a line for tickets prior to the event is out of the question, and quite frankly a little obnoxious to ask someone to do. If you want to sell to your own people you should do just that and not advertise and make it the tremendous inconvenience for people who would like to support your group. OLMV organizers probably do a great job with their event although every time there is a comment that is less than stellar, they become defensive on the borderline of paranoid. I think OLMV should try to relax, you obviously have your clientele and do not need other patrons as you sell out to your own crowd every time. I personally do like the opportunity to mail my check in as my group travels distances to attend events that we think look good. Everyone is always so nice and accomodating to me and even more so knowing I am coming a distance.
Anonymous said…
Congrats to Sgt. Ryan E. Doltz for winning. What a nice tricky tray and the organizers are very lovely hardworking people. Keep up the good work, we will be there again this year!
Anonymous said…
Hi-
It seems to me that this blog may not be being used for what it's meant for. I mean the person that went to the OLMV tricky tray, we get it. You weren't happy with some things and the organizers of the event are getting very defensive which is normal. But, do you have to go back and forth about it? Aren't tricky trays used as fundraisers? Isn't the reason people go to tricky tray's to support the group or organization that is running it? I'm just getting really annoyed over reading the same thing over and over again. We get it, now stop talking about it! The reality is this: People are still going to go to an event even if one person had a problem with it, because they are supporters of the organization. And just an FYI- I have nothing to do with the OLMV tricky tray. I am an organizer of a tricky tray in northern nj and joined this blog to try to get attendance up at my tricky tray and to support the american cancer society and all I'm getting is frustrated by having to read the same thing over and over again.
Anonymous said…
I agree!! We all just want to raise money for our organizations. We come on here to maybe get tips on how things can move smoother, or new ideas. Although the heading says Speak Your Mind I think people take that too far.
Congrats to all of the hardworking volunteers and many many people who donate time effort and prizes to make these events so successful, regardless of what color the tickets may be.
Anonymous said…
In my frustration, I forgot about the volunteers!!! People seem to forget that NO ONE gets paid for the time they put it. All of us volunteers give it our all and do our best. If there are people that think they can do it better, I urge you to please step up and take the lead!
Anonymous said…
I am looking at an old program and the val pack they had was as follows:
1 sheet of level 1 tickets (5.00)
2 sheets of level 2 tickets (16.00)
12 level 2 tickets (5.00)
8 level 4 tickets (10.00)
4 gift certificate tickets (8.00)
and 1 grand prize ticket (4.00)
it also included a voucher for a coffee/tea and dessert
and 1 entry either in to the calendar raffle or the name game raffle (5.00)
so purchased separately they would have been $53 - the val packs were $45 that night and $40 presale. That was a val pack to me!
Anonymous said…
"I have a Dream..That one day a Tricky Tray will not be judged by the color of its tickets, but by the content of its prizes; I have a Dream"
Anonymous said…
Has anyone ever heard of admission prices being lowered as an event gets closer?
Colleen said…
Looking forward to the St. Francis Tricky Tray this year. Last year their 50/50 prize was $8,600. I hope to win this. Or maybe I'll drive home their grand prize (a new Hyundai).

Just want to let fellow TTers know that Chick-fil-A delivered our food to the expo center last year. It was sooo sweet. All we had to schlep was our ice/drinks, snacks and noisemakers. We like their sandwiches, but loved the big nugget trays for group snacking.

Re: the val pack question. The val packs this year is $40 pre-purchase for a bag with $55 worth of tickets.
Anonymous said…
No, I havent heard of admission prices being lowered as event gets closer...but most Ive been to have either sold out or have been advance only to control the size of the crowd.
I guess if their ticket sales are low and they are looking for more people to attend they might lower the admission charge. I guess those people would rather sell some at a lower rate and get maybe 30-50 more people than have 30-50 less people come.
What is everyone elses thought on that?
Anonymous said…
JUST WENT TO A TT VALUE PACK WORTH $60.00 SOLD FOR $30 THAT WAS A VALUE PACK
Anonymous said…
Is having 100 baskets for 100 people a good amount or should there be more baskets. Also, what is a nice size crowd to have for a tricky tray?
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said…
Being an avid tricky tray attendee & a tricky tray committee member as well, I would say about 125-150 baskets for 100 people is a good number. Tricky Tray events draw attendees from all areas so it just depends on the size of your venue. If this is your first year holding an event make sure you take into account the total number of baskets you end up with, the size of the venue and any other specials you have; ie: 50/50, money aprons, etc. A well run your event will always draw repeat attendees.
gabyzee said…
The Friends of Somerset Regional Animal Shelter tricky tray on May 14th is getting close to selling out, so if you're planning on going and haven't ordered your tickets yet, now's the time!
Anonymous said…
Hi,

I have a message for the webmaster/admin here at trickytray.blogspot.com.

May I use part of the information from your post above if I give a backlink back to this site?

Thanks,
Alex
Mr. Tricky Tray said…
if you are referencing "Candida's Chocolate Delites" for the back link that is fine..if another post,please be more specific.
KerriMommy said…
I'm lookin for tips on the best way to handle gift adds and gift certificates. Any thoughts, ideas, best things you've seen?
Anonymous said…
Value Pack pricing is tricky. Most of the value packs I've purchased have turned out to be convenience packs with no cost savings - Money is tight so just wanted to warn the newbies that you need to ask a few questions

The trick is what price the committee gives to each ticket in the bundle. Say an individual small tray sheet is $8 if you only buy one at the door, but it's also priced at 3 sheets for $20 at the door and it's 4 for $20 if you in advance. Typically those 4 regular sheets in the value pack get priced out at $32 - $8 each.

Most of the point of contacts know what the value bundle is priced at while unable to tell you what the regular pricing is for any of the levels.
Anonymous said…
Most of the point of contacts know what the value bundle is priced at while unable to tell you what the regular pricing is for any of the levels.


We print in our program the actual price of all tickets, single and priced out from a bundle. Some times the ticket savings in the val pack is just $2-3 and in some cases it is $4.

But I agree, some are convenience packs and not value packs at all.
Anonymous said…
Kerri - Do you mean gifts that get added after your program is printed? And what to do with gift certificates because you want to keep them separate? Please clarify and Id love to help you :)
KerriMommy said…
I realized after reading my post it was a little vague! Sorry! I am looking for ways to display them for the auction. I don't like to set the gift cards and in past years have displayed them
In photo frames. Was looking for something different this year to avoid buying more frames and then having them walk out the door again. I'd appreciate any thoughts or tips!

Thank you!
Anonymous said…
Kerri - What is your theme?
Anonymous said…
I have been going to St Francis TT for many years now. Honestly, you can keep it! So what they have a car. You can keep that too! When you weigh the pros and cons, it's not worth it...YOU DO THE MATH!
Right now there are over 1000 people there. And now they state they have over 400 prizes. You need more prizes especially this year. I spoke with someone working on the committee and I was told that they are extending the room out into another part to be able to add even more people. Good luck to all of you. You have to wait in line at least 1 hour just to put tickets in the past. Imagine now with even more people and bigger room. You should have left it at the pines manor. It was managed better with great prizes and everyone had decent shot at winning. I think you got too GREEDY!
Anonymous said…
Over 1000 people at a tricky tray??? Am I reading that right?!?

Holy smokes - how could you even staff an event that big?!
trickytraycherry said…
Hi Kerri, do you have a theme for your TT? What we like to do is use a displayboard and keep the actual gift certs/gift cards in corresponding envelopes, so they dont walk away. One year we had a 50s theme and we made a board with records and on the records we wrote the store and value. Last one we did we made a huge haunted forest tree for our Over the Rainbow theme and wrote the stores and values out on apples. We like being able to just hand the envelopes to the caller.
Once I saw a TT that put them in envelopes and then hung them off of wine bottles on a 3 tier display. And yes, Ive seen them in frames, which can be pricey.

Really, depending on your theme you can come up with a display on lattice, plywood, or heavy cardboard, all decorated, and then incorporate something that matches, ex. pumpkins, stars. Hope this helps :)
~julie
Colleen said…
Re: St. Francis. Yes, the lines did get long. I always try to get there for door opening so I can buy my tickets, drop them in the buckets and relax and have a great time with friends and family.

From what I understand there's a new team running it and the lines will form on BOTH sides of the tables. They will also have the concession stand open if somebody forgot to bring food and drinks with them.

I've only been to about four of their tt's and they've been run really well (with the exception of the lines). They start calling on time, everything is clearly marked and we're usually done by 11 - 11:30.
Anne Zavalick said…
The Friends of Somerset Regional Animal Shelter tricky tray on May 14th is now SOLD OUT!

If you'd like to be added to the waiting list, please email somersetregional@aol.com.

Thank you to all who purchased tickets - can't wait to see you there!
Anonymous said…
Is the use of different sized homemade tickets that can be easily copied illegal?

There was an event held over 2 days. Part of the event was about 25 raffle prizes tricky tray style.

the tickets were pieces of copy paper simply typed with 2011 event, name, phone number..

plain black print on white paper

and they were not cut evenly. some were clearly larger than others.

it would be very easy to buy tickets one night...or early in th evening...go home and copy them and then return to use them..

is it legal to have tickets like this?
Anonymous said…
2 dates for one org?

St. Peter's Episcopal Church
Mother's Guild
has a TT listed for APRIL and MAY.

are they havin 2?
Anne Zavalick said…
I goofed! Friends of Somerset Regional Animal Shelter on May 14th is NOT sold out - there are STILL TICKETS AVAILABLE!

There's only about 20 left, so if you're planning on going, better order soon.

Sorry for the mixup.
Anonymous said…
So many tricky trays last night and no comments?
Anonymous said…
I went to the Milltown PTA TT last night & let me say I was very dissapointed. They had 4 tiers of prizes & then the grand prizes. The 1st tier of tickets had 25 tickets, the 2nd tier had 20 tickets, 3rd tier had 15 tickets & 4th tier had 10 tickets. They ripped tickets off each sheet for the 2, 3 & 4 tiers so the prices got higher for each tier & less tickets. When we asked one of the volunteers why they did that, she told us the tickets came that way. Really ??? I expect the prices to go up each tier but I have never seen where they give a half a sheet of tickets. I am still wondering what the point of that was.
They had about 221 baskets including grand prizes, and they had enought seating for approx. 400attendees. They had the 1st 2 tier baskets in a room with absolutley no flow so trying to put tickets in the baskets was just a big mess with no volunteers around to tell people where to go.
Most of the baskets were good, but it 2 1/2 hours to call 221 baskets. Very very slow.
But on the positive side, they did have a nice plate of snacks on all of the tables.
KathyH said…
To answer the question about homemade tickets, yes I believe it is illegal. Well at least in NJ. They have very strict rules from the NJ Gaming Commmission and I bet if you call them they will tell you that. Question, did they even apply to the gaming commission to run the event?
Anonymous said…
I went to the Milltown PTA Tricky tray last night too and I thought it ran extremely smooth. Yes there were lines for the baskets but I have been to others with the same issue. Thee were volunteers and greeters located all around and also volunteers selling tickets. I actually thought ticket prices were reasonable, especially the valu packs. They had a screen for the ticket numbers which was great and we were out by 10:30 so I thought calling was quite efficient. I thought it was very well organized and very well run.
Anonymous said…
the milltown tricky tray last night was a hot mess. if you have never run a tricky tray before please...either get advice from someone who has or go check out a couple to see how it's done. tickets were way to expensive - ratio of baskets to attendees was too low - the way the baskets were set up was a mess, no flow, people were picking up the buckets and then setting them down again in the wrong place - two level tickets where the color was so similar many people were putting wrong colors in buckets - and one volunteer wanted to take the "hold this ticket" stub from a winner after she won...get a clue people because you have now ruined the reputation of your school when next years class wants to have a tricky tray
Anonymous said…
I agree the Milltown TT was a hot mess. One of the most unorganized TT I have ever been to. While they did seem to have many, many volunteers, they did not help direct the flow for the room where the 1st 2 level of baskets were and that was a disater.
Anonymous said…
I attended the Milltown TT last night and cannot say enough positive things about it. The prizes were great and the ticket prices were very reasonable. The 50/50/ monetary prize was awesome and the attention to detail was over the top.
I had read a few "nasty"comments about it prior to my posting this one and all I can say is this: before blasting something please refer to your dictionary as you sound uneducated when you can't spell and also pathetic for obviously being part of a TT caravan!
KathyH said…
Okay, now I will chime in. It is not necessary to call people pathetic or part of a TT caravan. Critism can be called construction when used in the future to make your next one better.

I was also there last night. I have run a very successful tricky tray, first runner up in 2009. We are doing our second one this year and it is sold out 2 months ahead of time.

We learned how to make ours great by going to others, taking what worked there and what did not work and applying to ours. We asked on blogs for other people's opinions.

After our TT in 2009 we posted on this blog asking for comments, positive and negative. We took those negatives, and to be honest don't think there were any but I will look back to confirm, and used them to make this year's even better.

Do I think last night's tt was well run, no. Was it the worst I ever attended, yes for a number of reasons.

Oh, and I am part of a TT caravan. I go to others to learn what works and what doesn't. And the baskets I win, most of the products are donated to our cause.

And yes, last night I did win. My $200 value basket, when I checked online is worth $150. But that is besides the point.

Take the critism, run with it, and make you next one better.

I think the high ticket prices, half and quarter ticket sheets in the end reduced your profits. People will willingly by more tickets if they feel they are getting a good value. They did not last night.

If you walked around and looked at the number of tickets in front of people there were not many. At other TTs people buy a ton. If you looked at the buckets, they were not full of tickets.

I am sure you made good money. Yes, the 50/50 was a lot. But I think you could have made a lot more money and that is sad for your cause.
Anonymous said…
I thought the ticket prices at the Milltown TT were high because we were not getting a whole sheet of tickets, in fact the highter tier, the less tickets you got. Why not sell the whole sheet & let people feel that they have more of chance to win. Maybe it was to get people to buy more tickets, but it had the opposite effect on me & everyone in my group.
Also, just wondering, what is a "TT caravan" ?
Anonymous said…
Re: Milltown TT - I would think the organizers of this TT would like to know how the attendees felt about the ticket pricing. I heard many people complain about the ticket sheets being only partial sheets. After all, isn't the whole point of a TT to raise money for your cause?
KathyH said…
No need to get nasty. Critism good and bad should be taken with used to make your next event better. I have run many successful fundraisers and ALWAYS ask for comments, positive and negative. And every year, each event is better than the last because of it.

I assume a tricky tray caravan is anyone who saw it advertised on trickytray.com and attended. Thank you for insulting everyone who comes to this sight. At our TT I welcome the TT caravans. They are our customers, and some of our best ones.
KathyH said…
To answer the question on tickets pricing I felt they were very high for what you got. If you received a full 26 stubs to a sheet ticket for each level, pricing would have been fine.

I normally buy two or three value packs at a TT. But normally I receive FULL sheets of tickets for each tier.

I did not feel I got a value with your packs.

And I think in the end it may have hurt your sales. I hope you made money but I honestly feel if you had sold full sheets of tickets, you would have sold more.

I looked around, most people did not have many ticket stubs in front of them. Most buckets did not have many tickets. Being an organizer that would have told me something.

Oh, and to your volunteer who told me the tickets came ripped off like that with only 10 or 15 stubs to a ticket. I don't think so. The manufacturer doesn't produce them with 3 square cut sides and one perforated side.

What a waste of stubs. What did you do with all of them, throw them out?
Anonymous said…
What were the value pack and ticket prices for the Milltown tricky tray?
KathyH said…
Admission $10 and you got one full
sheet of tier one tickets

Level 1 baskets (under $50) were 25 tickets, or a regular tt sheet of tickets for $10.

You got two of those sheets for $15

Level 2 baskets ($50-$99) - 20 tickets for $10, or 40 tickets for $15 (those were regular tt sheets with the four end tickets missing)

Level 3 baskets ($100-$199) - 15 tickets for $15, 30 tickets for $25 (these were regular tt sheets with 9 tickets missing)

Level 4 baskets ($200+) - 10 tickets for $15, 20 tickets for $25 (again regular sheets with the end tickets ripped off)

Level 5 ($500+) 5 tickets for $15, 10 tickets for $25

I bought a value pack ahead of time and I think I paid $55 for it. Received one full sheet level one, 20 level 2, 15 level 3, 10 level four and one level 5. I may be slightly wrong on that. I know I got one level 5 in the pack.

It was the first time I've seen tickets like that.
KerriMommy said…
I went to the Washington nursery school tr sat eve and had a blast! They has 191 baskets plus quite a few grand to super grand prizes. 50/50 was 1000$! Well run, very organized, started on time and called the numbers fast. I also got my answer for how to displayed gift cards & certificate! So glad I went...great job!
Anonymous said…
I have been to many Tricky Trays and organized 2 of them and I agree with KathyH above, you need to take the good *and* bad criticism to make your next event even better. You don't need to call people illiterate for making a typo. That's the type of negative publicity that keeps people away.

As for this particular event that has sent everyone into a tailspin, here are my thoughts:
I thought the ticket prices were higher than at most events I've attended. If the "caravan" feels like they're getting a bargain, they WILL buy more tickets.

Being claustrophobic (and admittedly a bit impatient), I thought the line waiting to drop tickets in the white buckets was way too long. When your space is small, as this room was, you need to either put less baskets in there (and use another room), or sell less tickets to the event so you don't have a big crowd in a small space. It looks like you had twice as many attendees as you did baskets.

One last comment, a woman at a table near me had to give her prize back. I don't think that's fair when her ticket was verified. When something like this happens, you should have extra prizes put aside for just such an unlikely situation as this. It's bad practice to confirm someone's ticket and then 30 minutes later, send the cavalry to strip it from them.
Anonymous said…
went to old bridge dance tricky tray. they had no value packs really need to have that economy is bad and lets people feel like they are in it. The prices were high no loss to them if they offer value packs. Too many children and I know South River Township doesn't allow children to gamle they are lucky they didn't get caught because they would never have been able to run another tt their again. very very un-organized. People were winning and not getting there prizes it took about 4hrs to call the prizes?? Nice prizes and hard work put into it. Next year they should have cups in front of gift certificates so you can choose which one you would like to win. They had them all on one table and they would call 10 numbers so fast. wait and then call another ten and so on. so I was the first called but I sat in back of room the third and fourth person sat in front and got the first choice not fair....
Anonymous said…
Just to clarify, the Milltown tricky tray admission price was $15 and the value packs sold were $30. I did attend and agree that the room tier 1 and 2 were in was too small for the volume of guests. I thought calling was pretty efficient and didn't drag on. I also thought that the majority of prizes were good ones. Knowing that this was their first attempt, I thought it was well run. Hopefully, the organizers will use the posted comments to make improvements on their next event.
Ilovemyboys said…
I would just like to say that I too attended the Milltown TT and thought it was beautifully run!!! I thought the baskets were put together nicely and the volunteers who put their time in were extremely helpful!!! I also thought that the screen that clarified your numbers was great!!! The young women who called the numbers spoke clearly and repeated herself numerous times when people weren't paying attention!!! I thought it went smooth and was so excited for them and their school that this was their first time coordinating a TT!!!!

After all this is for the children and the schools benefit that they do these functions!!!

Positive and negative criticism of course should be taken with a grain of salt, but when you come on here and say that "it was a hot mess" that hurts the feelings of all those volunteers that put in their time to make this fundraiser work!!!

Sorry I just had to make this right!!!

God Bless you all!!
KerriMommy said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
KerriMommy said…
Ok friends, I have another question I'm hoping the pros can help with. I have been given the opportunity to get an iPad for our event as a Mega Prize. Tickets would be $10 each or $15/2. We currently have 2 grand prizes (Keurig Platinum & iPod Touch 4G). Tickets for these are $5 each or 3/$10.

Would you rather see the iPad added as a Mega prize or we have the option of adding 2 $100 Visa gift cards to our Level 2 table (tickets for this are $1 each, 15/$4).

I appreciate all the feedback on these posts and have been reading them endlessly to ensure our event is top notch.

Thanks!
Anonymous said…
KERRI MOMMY WHERE IS YOUR TRICKY TRAY GOING TO BE HELD AND WHEN?
KerriMommy said…
Our Tricky Tray is on March 27th for the March of Dimes in Easton, PA. It's posted on the tricky tray event list but feel free to email with questions didariok@yahoo.com.

Kerri
Anonymous said…
Go with the $100 visa GCs. yes, people love electronics, but cash is king!
Anonymous said…
Was anyone at the American Cancer Society Tricky Tray on Thursday night at the atrium? Just wondering how it went?
Chris Hampton PTA Tricky Tray said…
Please come out to our Hampton Township PTA Tricky Tray (Sussex County, Newton, NJ for Mapquest) this Saturday 3/19th! Check out our event here to see all our great prizes and prices of our tickets! We will not be pulling any bent tickets...we will shake the tickets until our arms (mine since I am the shaker...be nice don't yell at me LOL) fall off and we will try to pull off a great Tricky Tray. If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to email me at clogsdon6@yahoo.com. See you Saturday!
trickytraycherry said…
HAVE A GREAT TIME - remember all your hard work will pay off but remember to enjoy it, because the event goes so fast!!!!
Anonymous said…
We have a group called tricky Tray madness for the people that enjoy going to tricky trays.
The group is open to anyone.

www.meetup.com/Tricky-Tray-Madness
Anonymous said…
Hampton event was a real winner! Excellent quality prizes and well organized. Loved the variety and quality of your regular trays to the point you should be on the top TT of the year list. Thank you for having the guys out directing parking. At big events, that keeps things from getting crazy.
I've gone regularly and always got the impression that you were open to suggestions which is how you ended up with the superb event you annually hold. With the best of intentions, here are some constructive thoughts re last night:

Since we had a printed schedule, everyone appreciated that you didn't announce who donated each prize. It would of been quicker if you announced tray # and donator rather than the creative title for each tray which left us wondering what was in it. Just a thought - whether 100 or 500 prizes, no one wants to be driving home after midnight.

You had fantastic organization with many spotters to quickly verify each win. And the announcer moved things along for hundreds of prizes. But then it hit 11pm. The announcer started explicitly waiting until the winner was verified and the prize delivered before even announcing the next prize, let alone drawing the ticket. Earlier the announcer was doing his job of moving on to the next drawing while those incharge of ticket bins were making sure nothing was dumped until win was verified. Maybe you could swap out announcers after 200 prizes? After 11 he started recalling numbers 4 and 5 times, where before you had established a 3X and you redrew policy. The later it went, the more people were distracted and not paying attention. Also after 11, one of your runners became incapable of verifying a number without requiring it to be recalled from the stage. She just fell into a pattern of holding everything up and requiring that the number be reread from the stage that none of the other runners were doing. She was tired - and she fell into a routine that took twice as long whenever there was a winner in her area. I've seen large events where positioned staff that verify wins write down the number called so they can verify without the actual ticket and without holding up the drawing for the next tray.
Loved the event - loved the # of prizes. Loved that you did not insert 'breaks. Could you of started at 5 instead of 6?
Chris - Co-Chair Hampton Township PTA Tricky Tray said…
Thanks so much for your comments. That is a great idea to have someone write down the number in the aisles....I never thought of that and you are right that would have helped speed things up! I know I did get tired and dizzy actually from shaking and that is why I stopped before #360. We didn't have another caller and we really should have since it is a big job and there were so many trays. We were torn about just calling the # of the tray or mention the name and I totally agree some of the names are vague and I came up with them LOL...you just run out of ideas to be honest! I won't be running the next one, but I will write it down in my notes that I plan on passing along. Thanks so much for all your compliments and I am so glad you enjoyed our Tricky Tray. We are so lucky to have such generous businesses, staff, families and our wonderful Tricky Tray Attendees!
Anonymous said…
Thanks Chris, for gracefully accepting comments.
I'm remembering one other thing - the smokers. When I left the sidewalk area directly outside the school doors was littered with butts. All events should enforce the NO SMOKING ON SCHOOL PROPERTY policy by making announcements. Make them walk out to the road if they have to indulge. We froze as that cold and smokey air blew into the gym. Those near the doors complained however an announcement from the stage would of put the smokers on notice that the signs you had posted needed to be obeyed.
KathyH said…
I think there is no need to say the basket name, what is in the basket, or who donated what was in the basket. Just the number is sufficient.

As you said, most basket names are vague anyway. And usually there is a program to you can use to follow along.

At our tricky tray we called 350+ baskets plus 30 door prizes in 2 hours and ten minutes. Just said the basket number. People were grateful to that it moved along so quickly.
Unknown said…
Our Lady of Mercy Dinner and Gift Auction tonight!!!
The Birchwood Maner-Hanover Township NJ

A benefit for the children of OLMA with a portion of the proceeds being donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure

$50 admission includes dinner, dessert and a door prize ticket. Walk-ins welcome.

We have many pretty door prizes for our door prize winners.

All who participate in our survey will be entered into a raffle to win a beautiful gift basket. (Put this at the bottom-under the value pack info)

193 regular baskets with values $100 to over $350 ($10/sheet of 25 tickets) color NOOK, Chamilia bracelet with 7 charms, Children's hand crafted rockers with matching magazine rack (waiting to be personalized) and many more...

16 grand prizes with values from $400 to over $800 ($5/ticket) Michael Kors bag, Xbox 360 250 gb with Kinect, Apple iPad and more...

5 super grand prizes from $1500-$2500 ($10/ticket) $2500 VISA gift card (5-$500 cards) and more...

1 extra super grand tuition raffle for 1 year free tuition for 1 child ($20/ticket)
Value-$5,790.00

50/50 with 1 winner ($2/ticket)

Value Packs Available and come with 4 regular sheets, 3 grand prize tickets and 1 super grand ticket. Value is $65-being sold for $50.

Ticket colors match the basket ribbon colors and balloon colors for each different tier

Many ticket purchasing stations available.

Doors open at 530. Dinner begins at 7.
Anonymous said…
Attended the St Theresa School Tricky Tray on March 19th. I will never attend it again. I don't think they were licensed first of all. Didn't notice it on the ticket. They were auctioning off cash and lottery tickets as "big prizes." Each of the classrooms were used as "prize rooms" which was overwhelming. I had no idea that they had 4 rooms for "red tickets" felt like a scam to purchase more tickets. They sell out every year, probably because they have listed over 400 prizes. They don't mention that they repeat the same prize multiple times. I counted about 4 electric can openers and several "bed in a bag" prizes, just to name a couple. The doors opened at 3pm but the calling doesn't start until 730pm, which lasted until after 11pm. They also only do "reserve seating" which they assign. I'll give them they are organized, just too much going on. I left with a few prizes and a headache.
Anonymous said…
Michele: re Birchwood Auction
This event has been noted as sold out for weeks now. Why are you posting such detailed info when ... well, what is the purpose? Do you have tickets available at the door? It appears that you are still soliciting for more people to attend.
Anonymous said…
Attended the Hackettstown Soroptimist TT last evening. It was a nice small affair with nice prizes. My only comment, they should have used a bucket or bowl to mix and stir the tickets. They were picked straight from the bag. Also, coffee, water and soda were offered for sale. No goodies. Some cakes or cookies would have been nice and might have motivated more sales of liquids. Otherwise, nice job.
Anonymous said…
Went to a Tricky Tray ar St. Raphaels last night. They are definitely going to win Tricky Tray of the year for 2011. They had huge, chockfull packages. I went to this event last year and thought it was great, but they out did themselves this year. The group that runs it is the most friendly, helpful people anywhere. The event is to benefit the school children and they had them decorate the event with handmade flowers which gave our table the message that the students appreciate us helping their school. They gave away survival bags which was a cute small touch, the layour of their baskets was the best I have ever experienced. They coordinated balloons on tables and ticket colors so there was no question about where to put your tickets. The Mystery Prize was nes this year - a trip to NY - but they really kept it a secret which was fun. Last year they had balloons for TV at $20 and this year they had cute rubber ducks. The 50/50 was $2,000. who could complain about that, they had low prices which made us buy more. They had plenty of extra tickets and walked around with them so you didn't lose your place in line. Genuis!

The only negative things I can say is the coffee was really bad and the kitchen last year served us dessert and food and it was nice so we didn't have to leave our table and tickets. they gave free pizza last year and this year they didn't - not a big loss, although some people were complaining. Also, the callers. They had two women, one was a guest she was a jeweler and she was awful. We wanted them to pull a big hook out and get her off the stage. The other women is not a public speaker. She was a microphone hog, while the others were calling she stood over their shoulder the whole time. Another caller was their priest. He was far better than the others, you can tell he is experienced.

Our table won 4 baskets. Everyone of them was huge. We couldn't even fit them on the table.

Overall this is the most organized, best Tricky Tray. I hope they made a lot of money. Good, hard work always pays off. Good Luck St. Raphaels. We will definitely see you next year!
Anonymous said…
My group of friends and I attended the affair at Saint Rapheals as well. The prizes were huge and plentiful. The committee were yellow shirts which made them easy to identify they were extremely pleasant and helpful. It was somewhat crowded and hot but there were plenty of prizes for that size crowd. The announcers were fine but the women announcers were not as easy to understand in the back. They gave a goodie bag at every seat and the program was easy to understand. The best thing was the prize room setup. It was far better than last year's setup. I won two prizes. Both were very big we could hardly carry them out. I would like to know when we can vote them Tricky Tray of the Year as the past blogger noted? Does anyone know?
Mr. Tricky Tray said…
The links for voting for Best Tricky Tray of the Year are available towards end of December after the last tricky tray of month on record.
Anonymous said…
Info on St. Peter's-Perth Amboy

They have THREE TT's listed. Has anyone ever been to one? The prices are also low. Are the prizes any good or is is just a bunch of cheaper items (much less than $25/basket)? So they have a lot of baskets?

I did email them and will try to call when I get a chance during the day, I'd be surprised if they answer the email, may other TT's haven't.

As for saying the name of the basket--i think its good about 10% of the time, it breaks up the constant call of numbers and helps reorient as to where you are on the prize list...maybe just the more popular baskets....

an occasional off topic statement breaks up monotony that builds.
Anonymous said…
Quick Question - when you go to a tricky tray at like a hall- like the Landmark or whatnot, is there a dress code? Are jeans and a nice shirt okay?
Anonymous said…
Anyone looking for a different kind of night out? The Flocktown-Kossmann PTA in Long Valley is having a comedy night on April 8th at St Marks in Long Valley. $20 gets you a 2 hour comedy show, complimentary coffee, tea and water and 10 tickets. After the show we are raffling off about 15 prizes, including an x-box, nascar tickets, ipod touch, kindle and others, all high value, as well as 2 grand prizes of 4 disney hopper passes and a 42" LCD TV, there will also be a 50/50. Just posted on trickytray.com and all the info should be up there by tomorrow. Just in case someone wanted some good laughs and a fun night out, you can also buy tickets at the door the night of if there are some still available, and you can bring food and drinks. Hope to see you there!
AEConnelly said…
Stillwater PTA holding its annual Tricky Tray event happening Friday, April 8 at 6pm. Stillwater School, 904 Stillwater Rd., Stillwater, NJ 07875. Questions, please email 910raw@gmail.com
Note: Limited parking. Arrive early. Parking on street is OK. You won't get ticketed or towed. Just respect the Fire lane laws and fire hydrant laws and don't block any driveways or parking lots. Thanks so much!
Anonymous said…
I also attended the St. Raphael Tricky Tray event and had a great time.  The whole thing was so well organized and you could tell that countless hours of work and planning went into organize such a large event.  I was able to walk away with some great prizes and also a few new friends!

 

I would like to respond to the previous post addressing the callers:

“Also, the callers. They had two women, one was a guest she was a jeweler and she was awful. We wanted them to pull a big hook out and get her off the stage. The other women is not a public speaker. She was a microphone hog, while the others were calling she stood over their shoulder the whole time. Another caller was their priest. He was far better than the others, you can tell he is experienced”

 

I believe whoever made this comment may be biased and also not taking into consideration how difficult it is to speak in public and the pressure that comes along with managing/conducting such a fast paced and large event.  Also, this is a church based event, correct?  Just saying, not very nice to call names and pass judgment…

 

Callers, I think you did a FABULOUS job and please be assured that this previous poster does not represent the majority.  Thank you for making this evening a success.
Anonymous said…
Re: St. Peters, Perth Amboy..Doors mostly are 4:30 or 5pm. It starts at 6 and its finished by 7:30, sometimes sooner. What does that tell you? Always been a quick one. Maybe you will win a box of cheerios as a door prize or a $60 50/50 or 2 bedpillows as a special.
Colleen said…
St. Francis Metuchen - AWESOME!!!

The 50/50 winner, not me :( ,took home over $11,000.

I also didn't win the car, but won a few great baskets.

The family baskets (over 400) were really well organized with two groups of tables with lines on both sides. No wait at all.

Can't wait until 4/20/12 for the next one!
Anonymous said…
re St Peters

just as i guessed..they did not respond to my email....

why do people have email if they will not respond?

maybe they should combine it all into 1 TT with bigger baskets
Anonymous said…
Where is everyone going this Friday night? (April 8th) Are there any tricky tray's worth my time/money??
Anonymous said…
to All organizers:
I have heard that the cheaters are removing tickets from bags when they put in their tickets. We need to make sure the bags/buckets are secure.
Anonymous said…
ROXBURY HS THIS FRIDAY NIGHT!!!
Anonymous said…
roxbury was great last year & north warren is friday night too. they are both fun. not sure which one ill be @ at but it will definetly be one of those two!
Anonymous said…
there are alot of trickyrays this weekend. anyone have any suggestions?
KathyH said…
Re the comment about cheaters removing tickets, I've never seen that but not surprised. I am one of those idiots who at times because I am not paying attention drop the wrong color ticket in a bucket. I never remove it myself, I always ask someone in charge to do it for me.

As for our tricky tray, we invested in plastic containers with lids. Figure we'll use them again and having secure lids was important. A big fat pain to cut slots in the lids but doable. We have even left the color basket number on each bucket as this saves a step a future tts.

We bought our buckets at Restaurant Depot.
KathyH
trickytraycherry said…
I have heard from 2 different tricky trays that there is a group of women who come to tts and one goes in a purchases a value pack. Then she texts her friends in the parking lot what color tickets are in the pack and they BRING IN THEIR OWN COLORED TICKETS and end up winning alot because they are dropping so many of their own tickets in. Talk about cheaters!
So to all of those people who thought we were crazy because we prefer sequential numbers, now you know why.

Take note of all of your start and end numbers for every level and color. Put them on a master sheet. If you pull a number that doesnt belon, you either void that ticket or let them have the courage to claim the prize, then escort them out.

We will have no tolerance for that at out November 12th event.

So if you ladies are on here....we are on to you.
Anonymous said…
i ran a tricky tray once. there was a group that won A LOT of prizes, but their numbers were similar to all the others....

I once won a lot, but I had spent a lot..near the end, I was getting embarrassed.

but I do believe people would bring in their own tickets....

most of the stuff is nice to have, but not worth cheating to get.
Anonymous said…
Organizers - what we did to stop people bringing in their tickets was to stamp the back of each ticket. It was very time consuming but it stops the cheating. We just bought a stamper from a craft store.
I would have loved to see the faces of the cheaters if they were there.
trickytraycherry said…
I suggested the stamper too. My co-chair looked at me and just said "Really?" hahaha - great idea, still might so it :)
Anonymous said…
You can print your own tickets with unique numbers. There is a ticket program that can be purchased for $50 and purchase blank perforated ticket sheets. The numbers can start at 100, 1000, or whatever you choose.
Anonymous said…
Went to St. Anthony's, Northvale Tricky Tray on April 8. Thank you for all the effort the committee put into running the event. I hope you did very well, and I hope the children of the school benefitted from it. The $40 ($100 value) ticket package was a great deal, keep it that way! I have a few comments for the event if you are going to do this again next year. There are a few rules that were not followed. ALL tickets should be dumped into a bowl or bucket and tossed to have a "fair mix". Since they were NOT, the people who were last in putting their tickets in the containers were winning everything (their tickets were on top). The early birds got nothing. The children running the prizes were not given the winning stub to match to te winners stub, they were just giving the prize to whoever claimed it. A lot of the prizes were not wrapped in cellophane making it easy for things to fall out and break. 80% of the prizes were pocketbooks. Mix it up a little. Needless to say I will NOT attend this one next year. Good luck and please consider the changes.
Anonymous said…
This is to the above comments on cheaters... Where are these things happening? do you know which sites they took place at..I know it sounds like alot of work, but I do agree that each ticket should be stamped so someone cannot cheat and bring their own tickets. That is so crazy... Own table alone spends alot of money but we do it because it always goes towards a cause...SHAME ON THESE PEOPLE WHO FEEL THE NEED TO CHEAT BY BRINGING IN THEIR OWN TICKETS.. I SAY STAMP
THE TICKETS,,,,STAMP THE TICKETS,,,
Anonymous said…
Could one of these ladies be the "DUCK LADY" AKA "PIPPI LONG ARMS" We have not seen her around in awhile. I know she was was escorted out by police. She does have a following too! Could it be she and her crew are BACK???
She would carry a brown bag around and bend over the open bucket, dump the tickets in the bucket in her brown bag and put a handful of hers in the bucket... She would wait until the end right before the would start calling to do this.
She was caught and that was awhile ago... It sounds like she came up with a new scheme and back in action..
Anonymous said…
I myself buy allot of tickets at certain tricky trays, Some times lucky some times not. Its all how much you spend and luck. I was at a tricky tray and a man won both grand prizes TV and Lap top, He didn't cheat but allot of people get jealous and say he cheated. Yes the people who run the Tricky tray should write down the beginning and last number in each color level. Then the person who writes down the winning number called (by the way should be done at each tt) should keep track of the sequence numbers. So sad people find it in them to cheat.
Anonymous said…
I attended the Sandshore Elementary Tricky Tray Saturday night. Even though I had advance tickets, all of the tables, except for a few seats were reserved. When I questioned it, they stated that they bought reserved seats for $5. I knew about reserving tables for eight people and that would make it $5 each, but I didn't have 8 people. The alternative was to sit in chairs around the gym. Seems that they wanted only their people to attend. Not very warm and friendly. And, goody bag items were only on the reserved tables. I will think twice about this one next year, especially when there are so many others to choose from. Actually, their prizes have been better in the past. Sorry to be so negative, but I didn't feel very welcome.
KathyH said…
The whole thread about the cheaters really makes me angry. A lot of work goes into running a tricky tray. And a lot of people spend money to support the cause. To think people cheat is unbelievable. I guess I was raised better than them.

We will be sure to keep a close eye out for cheaters at our TT. We may stamp our tickets or keep track of the numbers, the cheaters will have to figure that out.

It would give me great pleasure to catch someone in action. I am sure non of the attendees would mind if we stopped the TT for a few minutes, called that person out, escorted them and their whole party out the door. We will call the police too. We will take your picture. We will get you name and info and license plate number. And we will circulate it to all.

Be warned!
KathyH said…
I have a question, in our opinion what makes a tricky tray a good one vs. a not so good one. Take out the factor on if you win a lot. Even the crummiest tt seems good if you are a big winner.

We've been to a bunch of tts. Started going mainly to learn how to run them and to see what works and what doesn't.

I'll start, having good traffic flow for the baskets. Also having a caller who speaks clearly but also calls the numbers quickly. Nothing worse than sitting there having them name the basket, list the items inside, comment on half of it, wait until each number is checked before pulling the next one, etc.

What do other think makes a TT a great one.
KathyH
Anonymous said…
We are organizing a tricky tray. Any suggestions on companies in NJ that donate?
Anonymous said…
In response to Sandshore Tricky Tray comment. If you were there early enough, there were seats available at tables that were not reserved, as well as chairs around the gym. Also, tables were set up for late comers who did not have reserved tables, if they asked. However, goody bags were already out on all reserved tables, and could not be taken off to put on a non-paying table. One of the "perks" of having a reserved table is having goodies on table, plus, having a table prize, early admission, and no general admission fee. You did not have to reserve a table of eight. Many people reserved a 1/2 tables of 4. Also, I'm not sure if I misunderstood, but it seems you think that only "Sandshore people" could reserve a table. That was not the case; many non-Sandshore people reserved tables or 1/2 tables. I think the fact that people took the time to seek out and set up additional tables for people who did not reserve to be friendly and welcoming.
kathyH said…
Re the question about companies in NJ that donate, if you do a google search you can find a PTO blog called the Ultimate donation list. Go through that list and start writing to companies. We sent out over 200 donation request letters. Got a lot of no's but also a fair amount of donations.

Hitting up local businesses is also a good thing. Except that I have found some days I am the third or fourth person in that week, once that day, asking for donations. Businesses are being inundated with requests and it has had a negative impact on donations.

We have a tremendous support group or volunteers or regular donaters with our organization and most of our donations, all new things, have come from there.
Anonymous said…
Was wondering if anyone has ever been to the Noah's Ark Animal Welfare Association, Inc. tricky tray in Succasunna?? If so how was it??
Anonymous said…
reserved tables/adding tables

You should have enough seating for the number of tickets you sell...that is common SENSE...if you have 300 and sell 300 tickets, you are sold out...or at least you should tell any one coming to buy tickets what the status is....

any possible table should be set up before opening--complete with goody/door prize, if they are not used, you recycle them next time--maybe use them as add ons to baskets the following /

and if you have more people than you have room for--that is a fire hazard

people shouldn't have to ask for tables to be set up.

i normally only go with 1 other person...so i am excluded from reserving a table if the minimum is 4...not to mention I am disabled and can't maneuver to manipulate tickets and hold things if i don't have a table.
Anonymous said…
re seating

you should have enough seating at TABLES for every ticket you sell

RE:stamping tickets..

one place drew zig zag lines through the roll tickets...if there was a question..the line had to match up on the pair of tickets..

also.for the sheet tickets....you can just stamp the hold ticket on front...no stamp, no prize
Anonymous said…
adding tables, etc. for Sandshore Tricky Tray.
I don't mean to beat a dead horse, I merely wanted to give a heads up to perhaps make it better for everyone. I see from other bloggers that they felt the same way. I was there at 5:10pm (how early was I suppose to be there). When I asked about a table I was not given the option of someone setting up additional tables. I was just told that there were some (really, how many) seats at tables available. How would you feel if you made many laps around the gym looking for an unreserved table only to find none. Then you were given the option of sitting on chairs along the wall. So, most folks brought there own food and that would mean juggling everything you brought. Also, when I bought my early tickets, no one told me there was an option to reserve a seat for less than 8 people. I think if you really give this some thought as if it were happening to you, you would feel the same way. If you want to make extra money, instead of reserving tables, just charge everyone an admission fee and discount the tickets only for early sale. Then for the tables, it's first come first serve and no one will feel like a second class citizen. Maybe you feel it's not worth changing your strategy, but that's up to you. Again, I'm just trying to help. I realize what a big job it is, but I attend many of these events supporting a wide array of fundraisers and I usually don't complain, but I really was not happy with the set up.
Anonymous said…
Sandshore....Also, an addition to the above comment. Sorry, but the announcers were not funny. They were making comments and jokes? and only made people sigh and wiggle around hoping they would just get on with it.
Anonymous said…
This is about a week late, but CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ROXBURY SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION AND REBELS TRICKY TRAY for a job well done. For your first annual tricky tray you did an outstanding job. Prizes were great (big prizes a little pricey) but good. Food also great. Everybody was helpful, I can't say enough. Looking forward to next year. GREAT JOB!!!!!!!
trickytraycherry said…
Kathy H - I will add what I always like at TT to make them a success.

Have coordinating ticket colors with either table cloth colors, basket ribbon colors and balloon colors...this way there is no confuion as to what ticket goes in what level.
Have volunteers standing at the front or end of each level selling tickets for that level, so people dont have to walk to another location to buy one more sheet.
Also, when you purchase or print tickets make them all in the same numerical set. All blue tickets start with 698_ _ _ not half with that and others with 209 _ _ _.
Haven plenty of runners so your caller can keep things moving quickly.
And keep ticket prices low so people will buy more!
And if you get a donation of something specific to your town or school like a free membership to your local swim club or a free half year tuition, although it may be worth $600-$800 those types of things should not be grand prizes, because they arent appealing to everyone. Not to say every prize has to appeal to every person, but I have been to several TT where 2 or 3 of the 5 or 6 grand prizes were these types of donations, and they do nothing for me.
If you are lucky enough to get those, place them on a lower level and try for things more universally appealing as grand prizes like 40" tvs, laptops, weekend trips, IPADS, digital camera packages or designer handbags.
Just my 2 cents - what does everyone else think adds to a good TT?
Anonymous said…
To the above post by trickytraycherry: You hit the nail on the head!!!!! One thing I have to add is for the number callers to NOT DESCRIBE THE BASKET, then call the number.....THAT'S WHY PROGRAMS ARE PRINTED FOR THE ATTENDEES!!!
trickytraycherry said…
Oh yes! That is a big one too! We went to one and although the caller didnt give the description he did say " and the winner is....." before he gave the winning number. That got annoying after Basket 10 hahahaha!
KathyH said…
I agree, basket name, description of what is in it, who donated, etc. do not need to be announced. I also went to one recently where they not only announced the number by saying "winner is" the also said "congratulations to the winner". That got old after 3 baskets.

Nothing is worse than having the number calling go slow, go on so long that you are there past midnight. By that time you are almost at the point where you say I don't care if I win or lose I just want this to end.
KathyH said…
Question re basket pricing for a super grand prize of a one week condo stay, value $1000. You have a choice of a lot of differant condos, there are some restrictions in that some condos can't be used at certain times but you still have a lot of choices.

The committee wants to price tickets at $10 each with a value pack of three tickets for $25.

Others of the committee feel this is too high. I think the pricing is in line with other tts in central Jersey.

What do others think?
trickytraycherry said…
Is it a $1,000 condo stay in another state? So I'd still have to get myself there by either driving or flying? These type of prizes are tricky ( ha, no pun intended). I think $10 each for a grand prize is high if it is with other items. If it is a stand alone separate prize then $10 is fine.
We had a 6 piece Lenox Wizard of Oz set that was over $900 and we sold them separate as a $10 ticket.

Hope this helps. When is your tt?
KathyH said…
Yes, the condo stay is good for a whole number of places, Aruba, Spain, Orlando, Palm Springs, Arizona, etc. There are a lot of choices. But as someone else said, some people may think this is a super grand prize and others who don't travel, not at all.

Any idea how many tickets your lenox set sold? I don't collect lenox or anything like that so for me, that would not have been grand enough to buy one ticket. But I like to travel so I'd do the condo.

I guess we also have to figure in the perceived value of the prize.

We may in the end go with the lower price and give people incentive to spend $20 on a couple of tickets.

Thanks.
Anne Zavalick said…
I attended the AIP Tricky Tray at the Midland School last night, and I have to say it was one of the most pleasant tricky trays I've been to in a LONG time, for a number of reasons.

1) First and foremost, the baskets were really nice. I was speaking to one of the organizers last night and she told me they only do this event every other year. Let me tell you, the quality/quantity of the baskets definitely showed that. I've been to some tricky trays recently where I swear one basket was a teapot and the basket next to it was the lid! That was not the case last night.

2) Their prices were pretty much in line with the going rate, and definitely in line with the value of the baskets. I don't mind paying a few bucks more for tickets if the baskets are worth it.

3) There was plenty of room. For putting tickets in the baskets, for seating, for everything! I really appreciate being able to actually GET to the baskets to put my tickets in AND I appreciate not being crammed into a room like sardines.

4) All of the callers were very good. Clear speaking, SUPER quick - they had over 450 baskets and were were still out of there by 10:30 pm. They did it just like it should be done - read the basket number (and ONLY the basket number - not the name of the basket or what's in it, or who donated it!), read the ticket number, and as soon as somebody raises their hands saying they have that number, move onto the next basket.

I only had one minor complaint, which is how the door prizes (which were plentiful and very nice, by the way) were called. After the first level of baskets, they called a bunch of door prizes. Then halfway thru the second level, they called like three door prizes. Then back to the baskets. Then somewhere in the middle of the third level, they called a bunch more door prizes. It was a little confusing and had people scrambling to find their tickets (since all levels were included in the door prize drawings). Again, I REALLY consider this a teensy, minor complaint and it certainly didn't detract from the overall enjoyment of the evening.

Bottom line - we'll definitely be looking for this event on tt.com in two years and we'll definitely be attending again!

Excellent job, AIP - and I hope you raised boatloads of money!
trickytraycherry said…
Kathy - to answer your questions about the tickets for the Lenox, my records indicate we sold 236 tickets, which means it brought in 2,360 and we ended up only paying $450 for the $900 set...so that was a plus for us!

I am having a similar "discussion" with my 2 other co-chairs for our November event. We are doing a special where you can purchase a horse for $5 and at the end of the night there will be a race and if your horse is chosen to race and it wins, you will win the money ( more details, but i dont want to give it all away) If we sell all 100 horses we bring in $500. I want the full $500 to go to the winner or at least Win $350, Place $150 and Show $50. The other 2 say we are here to make money we shouldnt give it all away, but I say, make the people happy and give them a chance of a biger prize! Maybe we will sell more horses that way....Your thoughts???
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