The Pay it Forward Contest!

myArmoury.com is in the midst of a member-initiated donation drive to help me pay for the annual server hosting bill. It's not this site's only expense, but it's the biggest. I've already paid for it out of pocket and the donations already received have helped to offset that cost. Thanks goes out to those of you who helped.

I realize that the world economy isn't strong right now and we're all struggling in our own way. These struggles aren't limited to just us individuals but also apply to the makers and manufacturers that create products for the community surrounding a site like this.

So let's consider this contest an effort to stimulate a small part of the economy that feeds this site's community.

I've taken my own money and put it towards something worthwhile. The idea is to get some immediate cash into a respected maker's bank account, to give the generous contributors to this site more chances to win big prizes, to encourage some more donations to pay for this site's expenses, and to create a new customer opportunity for the maker.

It's a win-win-win situation for everybody but me personally. But hey, in a way, I still win if the site can pay for itself, the community stays strong, and the makers that feed the community stay financially viable.

So this is me putting my money where my mouth is. It's me throwing down the gauntlet. If you want a turn, contact me privately and we'll do the same with another maker.

Now onto the contest!! We have TWO identical prizes this time around:

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That's right! Contest entrants have two chances to win a $200 Gift Certificate redeemable on items from Arms & Armor! Each winner can use the prize as he sees fit. Use it for a dagger. Apply it towards the cost of a warhammer or a sword. Go crazy and put it towards a custom order. Get something cool and tell us about it. It's up to you!


HOW TO ENTER:

Follow the instructions shown in this button:

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If the button says you can click it to enter, that's all you have to do.

It it says something else, you can click it for further info. Make sure you're logged-in before you try to enter.


ELIGIBILITY:

You must be a registered member of myArmoury.com and have donated $10 US or more within 90 days of the contest's start date or be a current member of the Benefactors, Upgraded Members, or Premier Members usergroups. Donations made after Jul 3, 2010 are considered. Please note that anonymous donations cannot be counted.

If you're not eligible for the contest, you can click the button above for further details.

Please see our myArmoury.com Membership Plans to subscribe to a usergroup or our Donation Page.

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Entrants must be made prior to contest close on Monday Nov 1, 2010 at Midnight PST. All participants will be entered into a drawing and the winning names will be randomly selected later that same day.

Arms & Armor will take care of the handling of the actual gift certificates. They can only be redeemed towards the purchase of products at Arms & Armor. See the fine print below.

Thanks goes out to everybody who has given to this site. Good luck to everyone!!

Contest-specific rules and limitations:


1. You must be a registered member of myArmoury.com. Donations must be made while logged-in
   
2. myArmoury.com moderators and Team Members are eligible to win since they have been amongst the most generous with their donations
   
3. Should the winning entrant choose not to accept the prize, another winner will be selected
   
4. The contest system cannot allow anonymous donors to join the contest. We respect the privacy of anonymous donors and so do not store the private information of anonymous donors
   
5. The contributed amounts will never be revealed to the public by myArmoury.com. Contest entrants can choose for themselves if they wish to share this with the community
   
6. Gift certificates are in U.S. dollars. They cannot be replaced if they are lost or stolen, cannot be used or redeemed towards previous purchases, cannot be used or redeemed to purchase other gift certificates, cannot be resold or transferred to another person, are not refundable and cannot be redeemed as cash
   
7. Any purchase less than the value of a gift certificate causes the unused balance to be placed in the account of the gift certificate recipient for use in a future transaction
   
8. Once the gift certificate has been awarded to the winner, all transactions related to it are between the winner and the vendor. myArmoury.com cannot be held responsible for transactions relating to the use of the gift certificate
   
   
   
   Please read our detailed Rules and Limitations document for complete information and our disclaimer.

Two myArmoury.com contests at once? Why not??? Check out our other contest ending on October 11. Also check out the October Industry Visibility / Customer Appreciation Giveaway from Mercenary's Tailor.

A lot going on right now!

This is a cool contest! I am already considering something from Arms & Armor anyway. This would push me over the top! Thanks for the chance Nathan! Thanks for contributing to myArmoury everyone one who has and everyone who will...this site is the BEST!

Ok, I'm in. Not sure what'd I'd use the prize for... nothing on the Arms and Armor site looks particularly appealing, but I'm sure I could learn to like something. :lol:


Edit: Check that. Their Rondel Dagger is very impressive, and I'm liking the Danish War Axe. High Gothic Mace looks good too... Man, I was a little worried there when I looked back at what I wrote. "[N]othing... looks particularly appealing" on a site chock full of medieval weapons? Better grab a barf bowl, I've gotta be sick or something.

Well, I had just taken a quick glance at their website and nothing really caught my eye or jumped out at me right off, so I typed that up. (I knew A&A was known for polearms, so I was looking in there for a poleaxe that had a hammer head and a long backspike, which disappointed me when I found that they apparently don't make one standard.)

Then it occurred to me that if I won the prize everyone would be thinking "Sounds like he doesn't really want it... I'D KILL FOR IT! Why is the world so unfair?!?!?" Add in that I really felt a little weird saying there was nothing interesting to me on such a highly praised arms & armoury type business's website and I knew I had to look again.

You know the rest of the story: I looked closer and promptly started going "That looks good, oooo... didn't see that the first time around..." I only listed what really interested me by the way. I also considered a few other items, like that concave buckler, but the three I mentioned would be my main focus if I actually won the contest. Probably go with the Rondel, to tell the truth. That thing is purty.

I think even though only two people will win this contest, it is still a good way to give A&A some PR. This is probably only the second or third time I've actually looked at their website with an eye for what I'd actually purchase. Sorry A&A, I've got no good excuses. ;)

At this point, the odds of winning this contest and our other ongoing contest are outrageously high.

Since a lot of people haven't entered the two contests going on right now and there are a total of four prizes, the odds of winning something are about 1 in 25 at this moment. That's some crazy good odds. :)

Thanks Nathan, that's very generous and this is a terrific contest. A&A is a wonderful company - and if the winner can't find exactly what they want on their web-site, Craig et al. are up for custom jobs, so you can't lose with this contest. -JD

Yes A & A does full custom work but at times one can get some more modest changes to one of their standard models like edge hardening on a polearm or and axe for example or using a different blade on a specific rapier hilt i.e. mix and matching when it makes sense historically or in handling.

If the mix and matching would produce a badly handling sword or something very aesthetically unappealing I think A & A would decline to make the changes as they do want something to come out of their shop to be of good quality and historically correct.

For a fantasy piece they might be more flexible but generally I don't think it's what they specialize in.

Oh, just my opinion here, and Craig would have to confirm exactly what kind of custom projects they would accept and I can't speak for him or A & A.

But I can say that I'm very pleased with the Langue de Boeuf polearm and the Rondel dagger they made for me that where full custom work.

Again, great contest idea. :) :cool:

Since this one hasn't been bumped in a few days just a reminder that this is another reason to donate to the fund drive.

As mentioned on one of the other fund drive Topics we have attained the objective but there are only a small number of donators so the odds of winning something is very high compared to most lotteries or contests out there.

Any extra funds will certainly find good use to enhance the site or give out more prizes and a small cash reserve is always nice to have.

Since the objective has been attained the pressure is sort of off but wider participation is always welcome and there are those prizes to win. ;) :cool:

By the way thanks to all those who have donated money and/or personal stories about why they value this site. :cool:

The pressure is not off! Someone doanted .50 cents! We can't end with such an uneven amount! ;)

Now that the First Contest has its winners, this is the one to watch. For all those that are eligible, make sure you enter this one. The prizes are as good as straight-up cash.

There's only two more weeks left on this contest!

Two lucky winners will each receive $200 to go towards a shopping spree. Nice!