Please don't take this wrong, but that sounds like you are trying to run a game show instead of a professional company - "be the ninth caller to win tickets".
It's the way things are done here. Look around a little more before you start tossing potentially damaging metaphors. Michael's lights are simply the LEAST expensive custom lights that are out there. He's kind of cornered the market on affordable, custom lights that are sure to wow anyone who sees them, in the case of the DEFT, that means anyone who's in a half mile radius!
At the advice of some of us, he's running the sale the same way that CPF legends Data (Cool Fall) and Don Mcleish (McGizmo) do. Check out their threads and see if you still have complaints since their lights run at $400 and above. Not that their lights aren't worth it either. This thread seems to attract a large number of people new to this forum. I can only assume it's because Michael has priced his DEFT affordably . . . you know, for the people=FTP.
My advice to you, "dad," is to just subscribe to the thread, ask Michael to add you to the notify list (you probably can't PM yet so just post it here on the thread and see if he'll accommodate you), and make sure you get email and/or updates on your phone. That's how I snatched up my second DEFT. The alternative is waiting 6-8 months for your turn to pay and then another 2-3 months until your light is ready. Frankly, this way is much better.
Like I said, just look around Data's (Cool Fall) and Don's (McGizmo) forums.
EDIT: Am I the only one who hates it when people say "please don't take this [the wrong way]?" What exactly is the "wrong way," in this case, "dad?" Not to be confrontational (well, ok, maybe just a bit), but the only way this comparison wouldn't be insulting is if saabluster were either an aspiring game show host, DJ, or other carnival barker, or if he were a former one who wouldn't mind the comparison. If you're going to insult someone, don't say things like "I'm just saying," "promise you won't be mad," or "don't take this the wrong way."
I can actually count on one hand the amount of times someone has said "don't take this the wrong way," and there actually WAS more than one way to take what followed.