CHEAP AND CHEERFUL (bid tv)

Member Name: topsyturvy

Product:	bid tv
Date:	09/10/04 (2953 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: variety of items, get expensive things for less, fun

Disadvantages: postage costs, losing out on items, repetition of items

It was about a year ago I had heard a woman talking about a certain TV channel where she had saved so much money and become so addicted that she had to stop watching the channel. She told me those 3 digits and then my life was officially taken over. That magic number is 647 for sky viewers. These numbers are not just any numbers but the key to the channel that is.... bid up tv.

So, it did start a year ago and I think that is now enough experience on the channel to review it. Firstly the whole concept is that items will come up and you bid for them hoping to win. There is bid up tv and price drop tv both run by the same company and have more recently started to become similar.

So there are a range of items sold from tables, towels, to clothing it really is a wide variety. All are put up with a guide price which some may say is not true but I have noticed some items they claim to be hundreds of pounds really are so it is not a lie. When I first used to watch the channel I did notice they always sold gold chains which was a bit boring but they have stopped selling as many now which I am happier about. They are however selling these globes which should be placed in an office but so many are being sold at hundreds of pounds a time I have had enough of seeing these.

Each item for example, a watch, the man or woman selling it will talk trying to persuade you to buy it, basically selling. Sometimes one of the women who are always dressed in barely there tops to encourage men to buy just there for viewing purposes, they will talentlessly show what the watch looks like on them. They model the item which in some cases is helpful but sometimes they are pointless to even be standing there.

The watch will have a guide price (what it is really worth) at the lefthand side of the screen and then the current price you should keep bidding up to if you have been outbid. All items start at £1 and then, say there are only 50 available as soon as 50 people press to bid then it will move up by the pounds and the seller will recommend you go higher. Even if it was currently at £20 and you put a bid of £200 you would still get it for £20 so that everyone pays the same but it is just to secure it. After a while he will start to twirl the gavel while the camera closes up and the music gets faster causing a build up and he hits the gavel down and ends the auction. You will see if you have been outbid on the screen because your name will flash up.

A good thing is if you go to www.bid-up.tv you can also bid on the same auction as the one on the tv and then about 10 minutes after the auction finishes if you are not sure you secured the item you click on previous auctions under the right category for the item and then the auction you were bidding on and you should see your name there. If not then it means you have not won.

Lately, bid up tv has been similar to price drop tv by starting the item from their RRP and then it will drop down to a lower price and there is a set quantity and as soon as you phone, press to bid you will have secured yourself that item for whatever price it ends at. Your name should appear across the bottom of the screen and the auction ends when all items have sold out. This is personally my favourite way of bidding it saves the stress.

What bid up tv have also done lately is a £1 Bid Bullet Month Live which is when you hear a bullet sound pick up the phone and dial if you want the item being shown because it will end for a pound. The most annoyed I have been with this yet is when there was a juicer and I have been looking for one, the bullet noise came on and then £1 flashed up but within literally seconds, all items were gone. They also, in normal auctions have a siren which goes off and the price can drop down to half price or lower which is also good.

To bid you phone up the number at the top of the screen and this will automatically cost you £1 so do not make any mistakes. Once you get through you press in what you want to bid. If you have a PIN which you should have received when registering you press the hash key and this means you will not receive a phone call and they can look at your details automatically and process your order. If you do not know your PIN you press another button on your phone and this will mean within an hour after the auction ends you will be phoned up to confirm details and make payment.

One thing which must be realised when bidding though is that there are postage costs on top of the auction price. These can range from £6.99 for jewellery to £14.99 for bikes. Items usually do come well packed but they charge more for postage than is necessary.

A good thing is that if you are one of the highest bidders at the end of the auction, the top 5 will be picked and put into a prize draw for money instantly.

Now for my personaly experiences. I have never had to send any items back luckily but I have bought a camera, towels, a watch and a topaz bracelet and today I received a choker and bracelet set. I think that it is true the set I got today were worth £120 because they look expensive and of good quality they came in a beautiful blue velvet presentation box. These were well packaged and as the channel says the items will be there within 7 days and this took 7 days exactly.

Although there are many items which are always on the channel and it gets boring seeing the same items many times. There are those items which hardly ever show up and some completely new things which make the channel exciting. I do think the presenters can be annoying and I have ones that I prefer more than others but overall this channel is a great way to save money and to get items of high quality for less. The customer services are easy to contact all numbers on the website so that there are no problems.

Go to the website and get bidding you will be surprise that the items are actually not that bad I know that at my work it has become a channel everyone watches so it must be addictive. It is fun as long as you know how to control you money and not get into debt.

Summary: