Buy or bid TV

[12noon]

I just wondered what everyone thought about bid TV or price drop TV ?

Here in the UK we have a few TV channels that all they do all day is try to sell you things. We've got one called price drop tv where the price of an item starts high and the more people that pledge to buy, the cheaper the item goes.

Don't you think the starting price on most of these TV sales are well over the odds and then drop down to just under what you can buy the same item in the shops ? I know you are still getting a bargain sometimes, but wouldn't you say that some of this is dirty tricks selling ?

They will show you something like a mans gold watch and tell you that the starting price is £600. Then after dropping the price a few times, they can sell you the watch for about £75. Wouldn't you think that some sort of mind games have taken place and they have led you to believe that you are getting a £600 watch on the cheap ?

What's your thoughts about it ?
 

[Andy]

I don't fully understand: as you bid, do you have to pay something to take part? Maybe this is how the item is funded? Otherwise, the product is probably worth a lot less than it first seems.

[SensoVision]

I wish to know more about how it works too. As we doesn't have such programs here and right now it's really look like a mind game when seller try to suggest you that you got expensive items very cheap.

[12noon]

I'll try and give you a run down of how price drop tv works.

The TV channel is on all day and a presenter will demonstrate a product every half hour or so. When a product first comes on TV, the price will be high-ish and they will have lots and lots of the same product. People will then start phoning in, wishing to buy the product and as more people phone in and the stock levels start going down, the price will start to drop. When they have run out of the product and the price has gone as low as it can. The final price is charged to everyone.
 
So, if you buy the item first, you only pay what the last person paid.
 
I think it's because they buy in bulk that they can drop the price to under what you would pay in the shops. It's usually cheaper than buying something new on Ebay.

Have a look at : http://www.price-drop.tv/
I'm sure they must do something like this in other countries.
Oh and also try speedauction.tv and bid.tv

[SensoVision]

now I've got it. I've check site and believe that they buy items in bulk and get low price. They have limited stocks so price wouldn't fall lower than they wish. If goods wouldn't be sold totally they got same revenue and still could sell ones left in stocks and get more revenue...
But I believe this scheme wouldn't work in our country, as first thing people would do is join in some sort of network e.g. through website) and bid on particular goods to get low price(of course if prices would be really low).
BTW prices I've seen on the site sometimes are same or lower as in local shops, but I've seen some really cheap products also.

Anyway it's nice to have such channel here, I think that could buy some items there.