Charging for WW provides wrong incentive?

[theimitator]

This year I'm contemplating charging for WW transactions in my 14 team redraft for two reasons:

a) to put more emphasis on drafting a good team and deter excessive flipping
b) to generate another pot to split between a smack-talk award and some other booby prize

After looking through previous seasons, the owners average about 15-20 moves a season (ranging from 5-32), so I was thinking about charging a buck for each p/u or trade, collecting an extra $20 at the start and then refunding any unused portion to the owner at the end. (People don't really want to pay after they know they're going to not make the playoffs.)

But then I realized charging for WW moves would only make the few last place teams more hesitant to better themselves in mid-late season if they know they can just sit on their hands and collect their $20 back. Now I'd have some ghost ships on my hands just at the time when competition should be heating up.

What are your thoughts? I'd like to keep things simple and not have crazy exemptions or stipulations, you know?

[Dan Lambskin]

we do this and it works really well, collect up front as you said, although unless everyone has paypal it's usually easier to just credit them next year rather than send them a $5 check

we have a High Score game to help keep teams interested...also, a lot of the teams will make a weekly sidebet of $10, $20, $50, so guys will try to stay competitive for that as well