Auction World.tv

Auction World.tv
Launched	1 November 2001
Closed	19 November 2004
Availability At time of closure
Satellite
Sky Digital	651 (2001-2003) 660 (2003-2004)
Cable
NTL	Channel 924

Auction World.tv was a British television channel which auctioned a variety of products by telephone bidding.

The channel claimed to sell high-quality products at very low prices and promised reliable delivery, however doubt was cast over these claims after investigations reported by papers and television programmes such as the Daily Mirror and Watchdog. These reports led to an investigation by Ofcom who handed the company a £450,000 fine, forcing it under administration and out of business.

Auction World. TV sold a variety of household and leisure products, using the television as the way of advertising to/engaging the viewing audience, selling apparently high-quality products with guide prices of up to £20,000.

An auctioneer presenter would describe the product, and then provide a guide price as to how much the item would sell for "on the high street", stating that the guide price was an average of a minimum of three high street retailer prices. There would be a defined number of units of the product available. Both this and the guide price were shown on the TV screen, together with a traffic-light clock normally set at three minutes - but could be stopped by the auctioneer/presenter.

The auction would then start, using a rising format - the price would rise from a minimum start price, normally well below the guide price - this is the auction price. Viewers would bid on the item at a price they choose, which needed to be above the auction price. The auction closes when the auctioneer presenter decides to close it.

Auction World was popular and apparently successful, and began expanding with further channels. AuctionWorld Reserve sold higher guide priced items, and Chase-it.tv used a similar presenter/guide price/clock format, but the price would rise and fall randomly between the guide price and a (supposedly) unknown lower figure. Viewers would therefore pay the price shown on the screen when they dialled, which was not as in the other formats guaranteed to be the price every other viewer paid. However, because of the time delay in transmitting and receiving the viewing signal at home; the channel was often many seconds behind the studio's "real" time. This often meant the price listed on-screen wouldn't necessarily be the price listed in the studio and led to many buyers ending up paying a (usually) higher price than they had expected to.

Auction World itself expanded, particularly selling gemstones in various formats - globes, as well as unset but finished diamonds. Most of these items were sold with a validation certificate.

Auction World.tv's downfall came about because of two reasons - the setting and validity of the guide price, and the ability to deliver items in a timely manner. The disappointment for buyers was the ineffectual ability of the regulatory authorities to either take action on complaints, or piece together the scale of the failure of the company to trade honestly or provide what they sold.