Is anybody there? (Auction World.tv)

Member Name: bonz

Product:	Auction World.tv
Date:	20/04/02 (753 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: if my product came i would have got a good sale, -, -

Disadvantages: you do not receive your goods after they take your money, presenters are boring, except for one, Anoushka's high pitched voice

After using the channel bid-up.tv, I was surprised to find a new auction channel. Well, so far I've been really pleased with bid-up, so I thought I'd have a go with Auction world. Auction World only started about November 2001. It is basically a channel where the viewer has to bid a price for the item on sale.

Usually there is a minimum bid needed and a certain amount of items available. If the number of bidders exceeds the number of items, the auction begins to rise. If there are less people bidding, you get it for the minimum bid. The down side to this is you have to pay for the phone call or calls, each time you place a bid. There is a scroller at the bottom of the screen stating who has bid what and where they come from. The presenters also tell the viewers who needs to bid up.

The channel used to be only on air between 4pm and 12am. Recently the times have changed- from 1pm-1am. In addition they have a Buy It Now slot in the morning, where there is no auction. You just buy it at the price they say (higher than what was bidded when it was on auction)to get rid of stuff they don't want anymore. Just one word of warning! Those already clued up with another auction channel, don't think they have the same sort of service. I bid for a product about 6 weeks ago, and have not yet received it! The call operator told me within 14 days! Not to worry, I thought, maybe it is just delayed. However, they took my money out of the bank the day after I made a bid. I phoned the call centre to ask what was wrong. They did not even have my details on their computer and had to re-type them in! Then all they did was send an e-mail to head office and they will phone me on the Monday. Did they? NO! So I phoned again. This time someone said they'd forward an e-mail to head office and they will get back to me within a week. One week later I hear nothing! So I phone again. Again,an e-mail was sent off and it has been another we
ek! Well now I'm coming up to the seventh week of waiting wanting to know where my product (which cost a lot of money) has gone! I am still waiting to hear what has happened to it.

I am pregnant and I do not need this frustration. But it seems that this head office is just an excuse for the call operator to get rid of you. If my product does finally come, I'll let you know.....One thing is for sure, they are not going to get away with it.

//////////////UPDATE////////////////////////

Last night I was flicking through the channels and 'accidently' passed AuctionWorld. What made me stop on it was an announcement. It said that they have had a lot of delivery problems with a lot of their products, particularly with their globes. They hope the problem will be resolved in 21 days. We'll see shall we? They also gave out the customer service number (who just forward on an e-mail to someone who never replies), and the e-mail address (to which nobody replies)for those people who have not received their goods. So its not just me then!
/////////////////UPDATE/////////////////////
After telephoning the customer service line (which is what the announcement on TV told me to do), I expected the call centre operator to just forward another e-mail. This time, the caller sounded a bit more excited as he had some information to tell me. He assured me that since I ordered the product 13th March, it should be coming to me soon. He backed this up with the fact that all those people who ordered things back in Januart and February have now received their goods, so March is next to be delivered. Blow me, I didn't think they had that much of a problem! What sort of company has that sort of back logs?????????
Its really funny, because one of the items the company are particularly having trouble with are the gem stone globes. One of the presenters says she ordered one and it came to her door absolutely stunning. So
, the presenter got hers then! (or did she...) Anyway, it was also mentioned that a certain bidder was now bidding for their ninth globe!!!!!! Wonder how many he's received???
//////////////////UPDATE/////////////////////
Today, at long last I have received my globe! It is a Lapis Lazuli 220mm one, with a gilt stand. No list of gemstones came with it, which was disappointing. Good job I ordered one from Hong Kong! Also, two things which I noticed about it:
1) On the TV, they pointed out that the sea, which is covered in Lapis Lazuli powder was speckled. Mine isn't, its totally blue. 2) the globe swivels in two different directions, but I thought the gilt edge also moved in two directions, but it moves in only one. Apart from that, its very nice, but I wouldn't like to go through all that again!

Summary: