What would you pay for this?

Last night at my wife's DC-based nonprofit gala fundraiser, this live auction item came up:

• 4 tickets to any NFL game in the 2017 regular season (OK seats, not bad and not great)
  
• 4 Jet Blue tickets to/from the game
• 2 nights in a Hilton property close to the game for your party of 4 (I'd guess that's two rooms, but it wasn't specified)

I live in DC and immediately considered the Mexico City game, to get the most bang for the buck on the travel. Or should I just go see a Pats home game? Or Dec 11 in Miami and build a vacation around it? There's also Tampa, LA, as warm weather options.

2017 New England Patriots Football Schedule
JetBlue | Where We Jet: Flight Destinations

So imagine for a minute that you don't have significant budgetary constraints on this: what's it worth to you? How high would you bid?

I'll provide the actual sales price after you've had a chance to weigh in.

Got to chose the Banner game right?

If you go the road trip route do you really want to go to Mexico City?

Tampa, Miami, or New Orleans better vacations.

I'd probably chose the Steeper game cause the I got the banner game covered and this is the best game on our schedule. Already probably going there anyway so mine as well.

I'd easily pay 2 grand for this for the banner night but probably not for any other game on the schedule but I'm a little spoiled as a STH.

2000-2500 seems reasonable

I'd vacation just about anywhere but Florida. Something about that place depresses the **** out of me. Plus, I doubt it's a true "NFL fan experience" in Miami.

I was at a trade show this past week and they had an auction for 2 sets of 2 Red Sox/Yankees tix in the Dunkin Donuts owner's suite with r/t airfare from anywhere. $2900 for each set was the winning bid.

So it's gotta be more than that....

I'd probably go to Colorado to be a voice in the wilderness.

4 large for me. 1K/person sounds about what you'd be paying anyway, and this gets me some IOU's from friends of mine.

Four tickets at Mexico City would be a great family trip. Airfare alone would be $2500 - $3000. Total trip + hotel and game would be pushing $7000+.

I would say $3000 would be a steal.

'I'd bid like $4,000 or so. Then I'd avoid Mexico like the plague. Anyplace where you need K & R insurance - and it is so common they don't call it "kidnap and ransom" insurance is not a place I want to be. Do you like history? Banner drop week 1 and tourist Boston for revolutionary war stuff before weather gets bad.

4 tickets to the game- $600
4 plane tickets to mexico- $2000
hotel for two nights- $800

Probably around 5k but i'd never spend that kind of money

I'd guess $15-18k

PlanB said:

I'd guess $15-18k

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You travel first class everywhere, don't you?

Tickets to the Mexico game last year were $50-$325. I'd imagine they're more based on the match-up, and those are just list price. And assuming they're just regular airfare, not the business class upgrade, not the "we-get-to-beat-the-****-out-of-you" downgrade, so I think the value of the package is probably around $5K-$6K.

But I wouldn't pay more than $4K. I mean, I could just buy the stuff myself for that price, gotta get a deal!

betterthanthealternative said:

Last night at my wife's DC-based nonprofit gala fundraiser, this live auction item came up:

• 4 tickets to any NFL game in the 2017 regular season (OK seats, not bad and not great)
  
• 4 Jet Blue tickets to/from the game
• 2 nights in a Hilton property close to the game for your party of 4 (I'd guess that's two rooms, but it wasn't specified)

I live in DC and immediately considered the Mexico City game, to get the most bang for the buck on the travel. Or should I just go see a Pats home game? Or Dec 11 in Miami and build a vacation around it? There's also Tampa, LA, as warm weather options.

2017 New England Patriots Football Schedule
JetBlue | Where We Jet: Flight Destinations

So imagine for a minute that you don't have significant budgetary constraints on this: what's it worth to you? How high would you bid?

I'll provide the actual sales price after you've had a chance to weigh in.

Click to expand...

i would never consider stepping foot in mexico. to dangerous.

Old dealers out to settle a score with you?

Going to the banner drop game when I live 45 minutes from The Razor would be a HUGE overpay for me if I won the bid !!

That's the only pkg I would want....

betterthanthealternative said:

Last night at my wife's DC-based nonprofit gala fundraiser, this live auction item came up:

• 4 tickets to any NFL game in the 2017 regular season (OK seats, not bad and not great)
  
• 4 Jet Blue tickets to/from the game
• 2 nights in a Hilton property close to the game for your party of 4 (I'd guess that's two rooms, but it wasn't specified)

I live in DC and immediately considered the Mexico City game, to get the most bang for the buck on the travel. Or should I just go see a Pats home game? Or Dec 11 in Miami and build a vacation around it? There's also Tampa, LA, as warm weather options.

2017 New England Patriots Football Schedule
JetBlue | Where We Jet: Flight Destinations

So imagine for a minute that you don't have significant budgetary constraints on this: what's it worth to you? How high would you bid?

I'll provide the actual sales price after you've had a chance to weigh in.

Click to expand...

Seats: $125 each ....$500
Plane: $500 each (cross country).....$2000
Hilton: $300 per night.....$600
------------------------------------
Total: $3100 cost though my cost estimates lean to the high side

But....knowing how live auctions turn into ego induced frenzies ...plus factoring in the tax deduction element that allows rich folks to operate on a different plane...
My guess....$15,000

Side story: My kids attended a private school full of obscenely wealthy families with massive egos...and this school would tap into their wealth with amazing auction nights. Being a cheap fu#* at heart, I would open the bids for many amazing auction items, always as close to calculated cost as possible, just to feel I was part of the game knowing full well the final bid would be 4 to 5 times my bid.
One item could not be priced....an exclusive 12 month parking spot at the front door of the lower school that included a sign with the winning family's name. Two trophy wives (mortal enemies) with gazillionaire hubby's went head to head and got the bidding up to $25 k at which point the headmaster decided to open a 2nd space netting $50 k. The next year, they just sold spots $25k a piece....selling 4.
These women, feeling deprived of the opportunity to defeat their nemesis publicly next battled for first row seats at 5th grade graduation etc etc et. After 12 years,the school managed to fund multiple million dollar buildings thanks to the rivalry of these two women.

convertedpatsfan said:

You travel first class everywhere, don't you?

Tickets to the Mexico game last year were $50-$325. I'd imagine they're more based on the match-up, and those are just list price. And assuming they're just regular airfare, not the business class upgrade, not the "we-get-to-beat-the-****-out-of-you" downgrade, so I think the value of the package is probably around $5K-$6K.

But I wouldn't pay more than $4K. I mean, I could just buy the stuff myself for that price, gotta get a deal!

Click to expand...

I've been to enough charity auctions and when you mix alcohol and egos, the bids can get waaaayyyy out of line

borg said:

Side story: My kids attended a private school full of obscenely wealthy families with massive egos...and this school would tap into their wealth with amazing auction nights.

Click to expand...

Your hair-raising tale makes me want to go hug the headmaster of my kids' school. Even though there are some seriously wealthy families in the parent community, he has absolutely ruled out holding an auction because they're such freaking nightmares. This school goes to great lengths to level the playing field for all students, and every kid has to do service shifts around the school like post-lunch cleaning, etc. The very idea of special parking spots set aside for the richest families would curdle the headmaster's blood.

Anyway...aside from the school auction multiplier factor, I think people are underestimating the basic cost/value of the auction item. The face value of the football tickets isn't relevant when you're cherry-picking a single premium game, the market value is. Then remember the games that are played in London this year. A weekend trip for four to see the Ravens game at Wembley including airfare from Boston and a stay at the Wembley Hilton would run you close to $7,000.

patchick said:

Your hair-raising tale makes me want to go hug the headmaster of my kids' school. Even though there are some seriously wealthy families in the parent community, he has absolutely ruled out holding an auction because they're such freaking nightmares. This school goes to great lengths to level the playing field for all students, and every kid has to do service shifts around the school like post-lunch cleaning, etc. The very idea of special parking spots set aside for the richest families would curdle the headmaster's blood.

Anyway...aside from the school auction multiplier factor, I think people are underestimating the basic cost/value of the auction item. The face value of the football tickets isn't relevant when you're cherry-picking a single premium game, the market value is. Then remember the games that are played in London this year. A weekend trip for four to see the Ravens game at Wembley including airfare from Boston and a stay at the Wembley Hilton would run you close to $7,000.

Click to expand...

Personally I don't care if the richest parents pay the school for a parking spot. It benefits the school in the end and that's why I bought the cheapest house in this town to begin with. For the most part I haven't seen any affluenza issues and my kids are both well equipped to deal with any social bullying issues should they come up. They both know they can resort to the nuclear option (Break a kids nose) if they feel the need to do so but they are far from needing it. They both are always in the top of their class academically, both are physically fit and both know how to fight. So I'm not worried about their social status.

Anyways I contribute as much as I can and those efforts are recognized. People in this town seem to be well balanced.

patchick said:

Your hair-raising tale makes me want to go hug the headmaster of my kids' school. Even though there are some seriously wealthy families in the parent community, he has absolutely ruled out holding an auction because they're such freaking nightmares. This school goes to great lengths to level the playing field for all students, and every kid has to do service shifts around the school like post-lunch cleaning, etc. The very idea of special parking spots set aside for the richest families would curdle the headmaster's blood.

Click to expand...

You should get a new headmaster who takes the initiative to explore every avenue of fundraising. Selling parking spaces is no different than selling naming rights to campus buildings which I'm sure your guy has no issue with. The auction I referenced raises $2-4 million each year which helps reduce tuition, the ultimate leveler of the playing field, by about $3,000 per student while bolstering an incredible financial aid program that assists 400+ students. On top of that, the school funds transportation for its students to various charitable endeavors throughout the year so students can perform their 100+ hours of community service required to graduate. ...no need to clean dishes. So, as unseemly and hair raising such auctions may sound to some, their impact can be transforming for the entire school population and their families.
I truly wonder if the parents driving their Range Rovers to drop off at your school would really be so off-put by such a blood curdling demonstration of wealth as an auctioned parking space?