[polshaw]

I love the idea. It's really great to see something innovative here. I was almost going to say a little bit of genius, but i have a few more reservations now i have thought the idea over-- mainly that i don't think i'd see value in the 'game' (that is, saving potential) unless i really liked all the tees on offer. So that sets the proposition to me[1] as very close to any other online t-shirt retailer (would anyone suspect their favourite was going to be least liked?).

BUT in the very worst case scenario, you have a fantastic marketing gimmick to drive people to the site, and keep many of them coming back perhaps. I really wish there was a 'control' to compare this to, to see what effect this has on sales- it seems it will be hard to know how much the game is driving sales vs people just liking the tees. My current feeling is the idea might function better slightly tweaked.. eg. offer the shirts at $18 normally, or $20 with the freebie game.. only count the $20 sales toward the totals.. might offer some balance-- for example, the 'better' (popular) one won't currently have a lot of appeal WRT. the game, because most will rightly assume it wouldn't be least popular. Add the tweak and there is an element of double-guessing that might make more people believe they have a chance of 'winning'? Hope that made sense.. it's not a fully worked out idea, but worth thinking about perhaps.

Also, consider following OKcupid and having an onsite blog.

[1] perhaps not everyone is like me (or us here), though