Bid Fair. Well. Maybe
 Mar 4th, 2003
Advantages:
Handy for coach potatoes
Disadvantages:
No way of testing quality
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
Quality and consistency of programmes
Range of programming
Quantity of advertising
Value for money
  baddog
About me:
"You fellers gonna draw them guns, or you gonna whistle 'Dixie'?"
Member since:16.07.2000
Reviews:41
Members who trust:55
Review rated by 97 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
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There is something about the British character that causes some awful selective blindness about everything that we do. Some mental ragged remnant of the British Empire that makes us believe, despite all evidence to the contrary, that we have the best football, cricket and rugby teams in the world. We make the best cars, ships and chocolate. Our railways are a by-word for reliability and our policemen are brave, incorruptible, loyal public servants. We have the best television in the world.
I am as ready as the next man to don the rose-coloured spectacles, but that last one is giving me real problems. Was it ever true? When I look back to the supposed golden age of television, the sixties and the seventies, what do I see. For every ‘Steptoe and Son’ there was a ‘Love Thy Neighbour’ and ‘On The Buses’, for every ‘Morecambe and Wise’ a ‘’Little and Large’ and ‘Cannon and Ball’ (if you’re too young to remember these don’t worry, you missed nothing). We did have imported TV to digest, mostly American sit. coms. and police dramas and mediocre as a lot of these were, they usually had a veneer of professionalism that gave them a certain glamour. Some were so good that they would stand comparison with any contemporary show; I’m thinking now of ‘The Untouchables’ or ‘The Addams Family’. In the eighties we were given the chance to be smug and insufferable about the funny foreigners, courtesy of the condescending Chris Tarrant with ‘Tarrant on TV’. How we sniggered as Chris showed us a game show based on contestants guessing the price of retail goods, as a studio audience erupted in hysteria. Only in America we thought, shaking bemused heads in wonder. Now what’s this we chuckled, mad Orientals enduring pain and humiliation for our delectation? Only in Japan was this possible. And then the ultimate, an entire channel devoted to shopping. It could never happen here.
Well it did, didn’t it. The advent of satellite and cable TV brought demand that had to be met. If I have one hundred or more channels then common sense says that they’re not all going to be quality.
So we have ‘Trash TV’.
Repeats, cheap imports, ever more ludicrous ‘reality’ shows, celebrity cookery, not quite celebrity gardening and, and who-the-hell-is-that DIY (did I make that one up?). They’re all laudanum for the lethargic and at the bottom of the list are the shopping channels. The first of these was QVC which stands for Quality, Value, Convenience, although the more inventive among you can improve on that. This channel will show you a product, tell you how many they’ve got and how much they are, and then try to sell them to you. That’s pretty straight forward and most of the other shopping channels will follow the same pattern, only differentiated by the enthusiasm and professionalism of the presenters.
Bid.Up TV is different. Bid.Up TV is going to entertain you as it separates you from your hard earned cash, and you’re going to like it.
Not just a shopping channel, Bid.Up TV is a combination of hard sell and auction site with an interactive web-site. It has a regular staff of presenters and back up crew, who I shall describe in detail in a moment, after I’ve explained how the whole thing works. #~ Products ~#
Bid.Up TV sells a lot of jewellery, mainly gold and silver bracelets and necklaces; loads of watches, sometimes from a name that you recognise but mainly from a company called ‘Beverly Hills Polo Club’. It also has a lot of cookware, luggage, bikes and plenty of miscellaneous items.
#~ Auction ~#
Two types of auction, ordinary or ‘Hot Lots’.
Most items will start from a fixed price (£1) and there will be a set amount of items, e.g fifty. As more people bid the price will rise and those holding the lower price will drop out of the auction unless they make an increased bid (bid up). When the auctioneer thinks that he has reached a reasonable price he will close the auction and the top fifty bidders will buy the item at the price that they have bid.
Hot Lots is similar, but on a set time and it will have a three-minute countdown at the end. #~ How To Bid ~#
Either by telephone or interactive web-site. You will have to register to use the web-site, but this is a simple process and there are many advantages in doing so.
The telephone is automated, so you don’t speak to anyone whilst making a bid, just follow recorded directions. It does mean that you have to be present during the auction, and attempt to second-guess what other people may be bidding. There is then the danger of getting caught in the auctioneer’s hype and bidding too high for an item.
If you use the web-site, it will allow you to enter a maximum bid, and automatically bid up as you drop out of the auction. This allows you to make a cool decision on what an item is worth and how much you are prepared to pay.
You can also use the web-site to find out how much a similar (or even the same) item sold for at a previous auction, because although they may say that they only have twenty of a particular item, you can bet that there will be another twenty tomorrow and fifty the day after.
There are also lists of coming auctions, so you have time to do a little research into the real value of an item. #~ Value ~#
Can you get a bargain? I can’t answer that because a bargain is only a bargain if you believe it to be one. What?
The auctioneer will give a retail price on the screen that he avers the item is worth, and I’ve no doubt that they could prove that it is being sold at that price somewhere. However, you avid bargain-hunters out there will know where to search for a cheaper price. With items such as jewellery this is rather difficult, but branded watches, designer clothes or any trade mark product can usually be tracked down. An example would be watches with the ‘Ben Sherman’ logo, which Bid.Up TV think are worth upwards of £60, these sell in Tesco for £19.99. So I suggest you do some research, don’t rely on the guide price and if all else fails go by your instincts.
The price you pay will depend on many factors, how many items, how many bidders and even the time of day that they are held. Last auctions are early in the morning and my impression is that lots tend to be cheaper after mid-night. #~ Come On, Can You Get a Bargain? ~#
Yes, I believe that you can if you have patience, luck and use your intelligence. I have seen mountain bikes, which I doubt would retail for less than £130/150, sell for £60/70, and other items I believe have sold well below their retail value. Of course many lots go for ridiculously inflated prices, but that is down to the naivety or stupidity of the bidders, not the company.
#~ Refunds ~#
All items sold can be returned within fourteen days for a refund, however unless they are faulty you will have to bear the postage costs yourself.
If you buy jewellery which is later valued at less than their estimation, they will refund the difference. However they encourage you to use their recommended valuation company, which, if they are doing considerable business with Bid.Up TV, are unlikely to value it as less. #~ The Web-Site ~#
This is rather good. Well laid out and easy to navigate, it can occasionally be a bit slow to load, I think because information is always changing. Instructions are clear and information is plentiful, even giving you background information on the presenters, which is what I’m going to do.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Sophie Raafat
This was the first presenter that I saw on my screen, and she is apparently instantly recognisable from her modelling career. Not to me, perhaps I just don’t read ‘Vogue’ often enough. My first thought was that they were going for the sympathy vote. Here was this beautiful woman, horribly disfigured, perhaps in a fire but bravely showing her face to the world. The doctors had done a good job rebuilding her lips, but still, it was a tragedy. Then the truth dawned on me, Botox. This woman wasn’t a victim, she had done this to herself deliberately, she thought it would improve her looks. Christ on a bike, what is wrong with these people? Doesn’t anyone have the balls to tell them they look like clowns from a circus? (Looking at her tonight I see that she doesn’t actually look as bad as she did, I think it’s wearing off, but three months ago it would have given you nightmares).
Apart from the lips, she’s pleasant enough, with the sort of voice you want to hear when you’re making an obscene phone call. (Come on lads, we all do it, don’t we? Don’t we? No? Whoops, just me then.)
Peter Simon
Sounds a bit biblical, Peter is an avuncular Bill Haley look-a-like. With a sparkle in his eye and a raised eyebrow, Peter is the one you want to entertain the kids at Christmas with the magic tricks. Be a bloody good trick to sell some of this tat. Lynn Taylor
Good looking, but pushy. Unless you’re into dominatrix, it’s time to turn over. (The more I read that last sentence, the more Freudian it sounds.) Not for me, I already spend most of my life being bullied by women.
Gerry McCulloch
I’ve no love for this guy, with his grating Scottish accent and lips on a par with Sophie’s, he irritates me. There is something creepy about him, a Presbyterian intensity that says, ‘Bid more for this or you’ll burn in hell for all eternity.’ Mike Mason
Young London spiv. Born to hustle, he’s going to do you a favour. He’s giving it away, honestly. Watch it if he’s selling CD’s, he will sing along to them, most unnerving.
Adam Freeman
The youngest and least irritating of the crew, Adam is usually pretty cool and laid back. Loses the plot occasionally, I watched one night when he was obviously being barracked by a cameraman and responded with, “ Well lets see you talk about bloody saucepans for eight minutes.” Makes him human. There are a couple of other regular presenters, but they’re not that interesting, you can look them up on the web-site.
Over all you have to ask the question, would I let any of these people baby-sit my kids?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ #~ Personal Experience ~#
I wouldn’t write this if I hadn’t tried it. I watched in order to sneer, became fascinated by the sheer awfulness of it all, and before I knew it I was hooked.
I successfully bid for a set of nine educational CD’s for my five-year-old son. I had a good idea of the market value, having just bought three ‘Reader Rabbit’ CD’s for £24, so I was happy to get nine for £21 plus £6.50 p and p.
They arrived within five days, as advertised. Three of the nine cases were damaged and three of the CD’s refused to load on my computer. I have a reasonably high spec machine and have not had a problem loading anything new before. Of the ones that did load, most were hopelessly unsuitable for my son, or his age group. Advertised as for 3-7 year olds, and complying with the National Curriculem, they demanded an adult reading level and quite advanced hand/eye co-ordination. I phoned Bid.up TV for a refund. They answered quickly, were polite and helpful and gave me instructions on returning the product, including a reference number. I posted it off and my bank was credited within ten days, which I thought was reasonable.
If you are going to use this channel/site, let me suggest that you take some time getting to know it, don’t just jump in the deep end. Turn the sound off, the information will still be on the screen, but your judgement wont be impaired by the mindless drivel and hype.
Oh, and don’t blame me if the Gucci watch you paid £200 for is selling for thirty quid down the market.
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by (2%):
30.07.2007 13:07
This is such an addictive channel! I sit there for ages thinking that maybe the next thing that comes on will be good, it never is!
09.06.2005 00:17
No, it is Ciao, as I can't see any other reviews either. Never mind, I'll come back one day and try to read it.
09.06.2005 00:15
Hi, I can't see this review at all. Is Ciao playing up, or have you deleted it?