My name is Martin Scholes. I like writing reviews on Ciao. I am married, we have a cockatiel and a c...
My name is Martin Scholes. I like writing reviews on Ciao. I am married, we have a cockatiel and a cat. And a growing African Grey. Who orders the cat around!
I was talking to someone recently who told me that Bid TV and it's sister service, Price Drop were "not very good."
How did he know this? It seemed that someone who he knew had read something in a newspaper. Or something, or other. He was very hazy on the details. And the more we talked, the clearer it became that he really was not talking from a position based on knowledge!
Several weeks later I started watching Bid TV and Price Drop TV by accident when we had bought a Digital tuner for our TV set and had been flicking through the channels.
The first thing I noticed was that the auction staff were very friendly and had obviously been chosen for their friendly natures and their ability to work under pressure and without a script and with no teleprompt device! These two channels are great to watch, even if you do not buy anything, as they are the only examples of entertaining live TV that I can think of. Things go wrong and watching the presenters cope manfully or womanfully is great fun!
At first I had difficulty believing that the prices that items were going for in the falling price auctions could be genuine. Surely if you pay under £30 for a cutlery set made by a famous maker, you wouldn't receive it? We decided to step in and make a bid. I was wrong to wory. Within a week the set was with us. And still available in the maker's catalogue at over £70.00.
Since then we have bought a chef’s knife set, clothing, watches, DVDs, computer software and a device to turn our bath into a spa, all at a mere fraction of the price that we would have paid in even a so-called high street discount shop.
We bought a set of ten items of software for £19. The price in a well known computer store was £19. For each individual title!
Do I have any advice? Yes. Before you bid, watch both Bid Up and Price Drop for several days. You’ll notice that some items go for much less at certain times of the day and also certain times of the week. Only buy things that you need and are actually looking for.
I looked at a watch in a local department store and decided that although I had been looking for a watch for several weeks, I really didn’t want to pay the “discounted sale price” of over £60. On Bid TV/Price Drop I found the same watch for less than £20. I am wearing it (and a nice zipped cardie!) that I bought for £6 as I type this review.
Buying is easy. On a falling price auction there is a dedicated phone number for the item that is being auctioned. The price falls as do the items that are available for sale, the rate of decrease depends on how many people are calling the number. Each call costs £1.00.
We always factor in the price of the call and the postage and packing and the price of the item being auctioned. If we see that we are making a saving, we make a bid.
Is bidding that easy? Yes. Very! You call the number, a voice confirms what you are bidding on, tells you the current price that you have bidded on and informs you that you will be called back within the hour to confirm your details.
On your first call they take your credit or debit card details, but on subsequent calls they merely confirm that it is you calling. Unless you are able to use the special system which matches your number with a secret PIN that you key in after you have made your bid.
There are rising price auctions and speed auctions. We do not feel comfortable even trying them, so we have left them to other bidders who obviously do understand them and feel comfortable with them!
Are Bid TV and Price Drop TV worth visiting and using? My advice is, yes. It is compelling viewing, even if only for the banter between the presenters and staff!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Cheap, different, fun, helpful, fast, reliable, novel, exciting, funny, useful and easy to get addicted! Disadvantages: I honestly can't think of any!!!
stepearce 20.11.2002 (21.11.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Bid-up.tv
Feb 15th, 2005
very helpful by (100%):
