As I recall, a few years ago a local shop of some sort tried this type of thing. Not enough entries were received, refunds were made, and they moved on, to plan "B" I guess.

Although the dollar numbers make enough sense, I speculate that there aren't enough folks out there who want their own business (and of course that means that particular type of business in that particular location) to make this kind of plan fly. If it works, great. If it doesn't, don't be too surprised.

I thought the local deal included refunding the entire amount. I could see keeping a buck or two for postage, envelopes, etc., but $10 strikes me as steep. And do I gather right that the business as a whole is valued at up to 150k, but it's "no deal" if they don't get at least 200k? So either they get more than fair market value for the place or they make a small profit ($10 per entry minus expenses, which surely can't be $10 each) from folks accomodating them by going along with their plan. The overall idea sounds somewhat charming, but paying $10 for the privilege of having had a chance to almost certainly lose $100 while ensuring the owners make a killing on the "sale" rubs me the wrong way. I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but I've got to wonder--is there something wrong here, or am I missing something?