I 'invested' in Sky Digital some 3 and a half years ago, once I had, I was amazed b the wide variet of channels! Upon flicking through the 647th channel- Bid UP TV (as it was then) I came across what appeared to be an online eBay, auctioning off saucepans, watches, golf lcubs and kiddies toys, absolutely enchanted by the bright orange set, I decided to sit down and have a watch. I wasn't overly impressed and found myself flicking though the rest of the channels and forgetting all about Bid Up TV.
A few weeks later, I was making some horrible student concoction when my saucepan broke, really annoyed with myself, I binned it, along with my food, ordered a chinese and settled in front of Sky. Channel hopping again, I came back to channel 647 where there was live auction for a set of 5 stainless steel saucepans & steamer..I ran like Grease lightning to the phone and dialled the number on screen and there my life as a bid tv shopper was started.......
Bid Up TV became Bid TV, it started off as an auction channel, broadcasting 8am through to 1am, where viewers would ring in the number on screen, this correlated to the auction which was on TV at that time. The telephone number is an 0901 number, costing approximately £1.50 per call, initially viewers would key in, using thie phones key pad, enter the highest price they were willing to pay for the item and then hopefully, sit back, wait and hopefully win. The guide prices did and still do really, tend to be exagerated, all in the name of making people feel like they've had a real bargain, not something they just bought because they became involved in the thrill of a TV auction AND saw thier name on TV, if they were lucky, they might have even get a mention from the presenter, sorry auctioneer. So that was the beginings, Jewellery, DVD players, Kitchen Gadgets were the order of the day, I personally found that a lot of the items were complete tat, some of the bracelets and necklaces were hideous and sometimes the auctioneers would struggle to get viewers into the auction.
Now it has become a channel where viewers drop in on the items the want to buy. Basically the item starts off at it's guide price, a quantity is stated on an arrow on the screen and the price keeps dropping until all the items are bought or at least until Bid TV get to a point where they don't want to go any lower, you can tell this does happen, something something will start off at £40, drop to say £15 then stick at that price until the end, so don't be fooled into always believing you are getting a bargain, ensure you add on postage and the price of your phone call too.
The presenters now are a lot more entustatic, maybe a bit too much at time but they are there to sell you something, to convince you you do really need a set of ornamental shoes or you need to replace the entire electrical content of your kichen. The set remains bright orange with hues of yellow and blue too, just don't try watching this after one too many at the pub or the morning after the night before as you may find yourself reaching for the headache tablets!
After seeing it once, I really didn't think this channel would last but I did place my first order for the saucepans, paying £36 pounds on a guide price of £85. I did have to pay £8 in postage and packing though and this still remains for all items, some, larger items do incurr a larger handling charge of £8.99 or £9.99, but the £7.99 standard fee is the norm.
After you place your bid, you are telphoned back by one of Bid TV's call centre staff, they ask t speak to the person who placed the bid, you then give them your name, address, e-mail adress, contact number and of course your card details, Bid TV accept the following cards for payment:
Visa Visa Delta Mastercard Maestro Solo Electron JCB
Staff are friendly & enthusiastic, congratualting you on your winning bid, telling you how much you have saved against the guide price etc. They are very good at confirmating back all information to you too.
If this is your first purchase, you will need to set a PIN number with them, this means when you place your next bid, you can tap into your phone keypad if you DON'T want a call back, they will automatically debit the card on your account for you, after you enter your PIN and confimr your purchase.
If you give them your e-mail address, you will get an e-mail conforming when your good have left their warehouse, this is when your card is charged, they do not charge you until the good are gone from them, which is good.
Delivery time is normally within 7 days to the UK mainland although rural area of Scotland as well as the islands might be subject to a longer delivery time. On average, I have found deliver time to be roughly 4 working days, their carriage is undertaken by the Reality delivery group but they do not require a signature upon delivery.
As well as a telephone drop in, viewer can also 'drop in' via the internet, to do this, you can either pre-register my filling in a lengthy online form or if you are a repeat buyer, you can use your customer ID and PIN you set over the phone to bid. Bidding is slightly different on the web to on the phone, on the web, to place a bid, you type in the maximum amount you are willing to pay for the item and if it drops below that price you're a winner, if it stays above, you're not.
The website includes a TV schedule, so you can see what products are on when for today and tomorrow, they have a comprehensive listings section which is divided in to section such as Home & Garden, Electricals & Clothing, you click on these and you can find a whole load of pages with items where you can bid immediately. There is a clearence bargain section too, where limited items are up for bidding on a rising price system (like eBay, the more bids, the higher the price), normally these items are in quantities of 1 or 2, hence why the prices get pushed up. There also sometimes, Mega Drops, where the price plunges to £1 almost immediately and bidder scramble to get on the phone.
With all this bidding up, dropping in, it can be slightly confusing, but it's not really, you remember TV, drop in, Web Bid up and you're there.
So what is the quality of their goods like? Well, here's list of some of what I have bought & how I would rate them as well as the peices I paid compared to the guide ( I very sadly keep a list on my PC):
Remington Lady Shave I paid £16, Guide £45- Excellent Mocha Waffle Double Duvet Set I paid £12, Guide £40- Good but heavy for summer Cream Jacquard Curtains, fully lined 90"X90"- I piad £10, Guide £100- Best Buy yet!
Everything I have bought has been of good quality, I have yet to come across anything bad, maybe I am lucky in as much as what I want to buy is fairly easy to get right!
I have encountered their customer service department from a non delivery perspective too, your telephone advisor tell you to expect your goods within 7 days and to ring them if you've not received them after that time, well I bought a POD watch for a friend's birthday and after 10 days it hadn't arrived. I got hold of their service centre who immediatel were able to track my item, found it had been labelled with the wrong house number and immediately sent out a replacement for me, which arrived by special courier the next day, wonderful, along with a letter apologising for their error and a £10 credit toward my next purchase from Bid TV, superb service.
I have been buying on and off for the last 3 and a half years, mainly homewares, sometimes clothing, some electricals too, I am always careful to only buy what I would be buying anyway, otherwise it's not really a bargain, but despite using the now defunct AuctionWorld TV, Bid TV have a superior service to what they offered and this has only got better over time.
What I would mention is that if you see something you like and want, you bid, don't leave it in the hope of it coming back and being cheaper, because these items are normally on limited stocks, there is never a certainty that you will see it again in a few days time, also always minus a few squids off the guide price, or better still get an Argos catalogue next to you when you want to buy and compare the prices there. The best way to enjoy his channel is to look up on the website beforehand, decide what you want, set your spending limit, then either bid by phone or web and don't budge from that limit, its not owrht paying over the odd's for an item, even if it doesn't come back, similar items are always available.
All in all, a good shopping experience now inital troubles with the channel been ironed out.
Bid TV is part of the Sit Up Channels group, with it's sister channels being Speed Auction TV & Price Drop TV.
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