Shop at Bid
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television shopping |
| Predecessor | Bid TV |
| Founded | October 2000 |
| Defunct | April 17, 2014 |
| Fate | Entered administration; ceased operations |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Owner | Bid Shopping |
Shop at Bid was a UK-based television shopping channel that initially featured daily auction events before transitioning to fixed-price product demonstrations. Originally launched as Bid-Up.tv, it was the pioneering channel of its type worldwide and operated under the ownership of Bid Shopping.
Bid-Up.TV (2000–2005)
Debuting in October 2000 under Sit-Up Shopping, the channel began with a 12-hour daily schedule, primarily airing pre-recorded segments enhanced with auction-style graphics for bidding purposes. This later extended to almost 18 hours of live programming, supplemented by recorded content during off-peak hours.
The channel developed a dedicated audience across digital platforms, aided by promotional campaigns featuring David Dickinson, known for his role on the BBC's Bargain Hunt.
In November 2001, Bid-Up became available on NTL. By June 2003, Sit-Up Shopping expanded its portfolio by launching the sister station Price-Drop TV.
April 2004 introduced Best Bidding, a proxy bidding mechanism where participants submitted maximum bids, and all winning buyers paid a consistent price shown via an on-screen auction indicator. Products were sold in fixed quantities, awarded to the highest bidders accordingly.
During August 2004, the channel experimented with an "Auction Choice" event presenting both ascending and descending price auctions; subsequently, falling price auctions were adopted as the standard format.
Before December 2004, product listings included a "guide price" based on manufacturer or retailer averages. These references were eliminated following the shutdown of shopping channel Auction World.tv, which had faced accusations concerning misleading guide price practices.
Bid TV (2005–2011)
On 21 January 2005, the channel rebranded to Bid TV to emphasize its adoption of the Price-Drop TV model, featuring auctions with descending prices rather than traditional ascending bids. As part of this shift, rising-price auctions were discontinued. In October 2005, updated visuals displayed starting prices for falling price auctions.
Initially, presenter interactions were casual and included overlapping on-air shifts; this informal approach concluded with the Bid TV rebranding. Presenters began referring to products as 'lots' and customers as 'bidders', retaining auction-related terminology despite moving away from an auction hall atmosphere. Products were typically introduced with phrases such as "Closing next..."
Early in 2006, Bid TV overhauled its website to enhance usability and design, drawing inspiration from eBay to capitalize on its appeal within the auction market. On 10 May, pricing displays transitioned to pounds and pence to align with Price-Drop TV’s earlier update. In August, a graphic featuring Bid TV’s web address alongside a falling arrow was added after product previews.
By August 2007, Bid TV incorporated multi-choice product sales—often for items like bedding or apparel—enabling customers to select options such as size or color via telephone input. Auction graphics were revised to show starting price, current price, quantity of the primary choice, and available options. When the main choice sold out, its price was locked for all bidders; limited availability alerts appeared for faster-selling variants.
To celebrate its seventh anniversary during September and October 2007, Bid TV launched a six-weekend Megadrop promotion offering at least one product per hour from Friday 8pm through Sunday 1am for £1 plus postage—marking its first use of Price-Drop TV’s Megadrop branding.
In January 2008, previews of sister channels Price-Drop TV and Speed-Auction TV aired before auctions to promote cross-channel offerings. On 21 June, channel name graphics were replaced by the website address. By September, all three Sit-Up channels removed starting prices from on-screen displays while maintaining them online.
Tenth Anniversary
Bid TV celebrated its 10th year on air on 5 October 2010. To mark this milestone and support the growth of Sit-Up Shopping’s channel portfolio, a £5 million Warehouse Clearance event was launched on 16 August 2010, running for six weeks. This promotion coincided with the Tamworth warehouse moving to a larger site. Beginning 6 October 2010, all three channel studios underwent visual upgrades. On 3 October, presenter Peter Simon revealed plans for the studio’s demolition, with live broadcasts temporarily relocating to the Speed Auction TV studio—decorated with construction tape and dust covers to reflect the ongoing changes—until the new studio opened on 6 October.
The celebrations continued on 6 October as Bid TV aired from the temporary setup before transitioning to the brand-new studio at 6pm, featuring updated on-screen graphics.
Bid (2011–2014)
On 1 August 2011, Bid TV dropped "TV" from its name and rebranded simply as Bid. This relaunch included fresh buying graphics across all Bid Shopping channels and introduced 3D product idents showcasing the revised logo, aimed at streamlining the purchasing process. Select products gained multi-buy options, enabling customers to purchase multiple items simultaneously while incurring postage and packaging charges per item. This format remained in place until 10 March 2014.
Shop at Bid and Closure (2014)
On 10 March 2014, Bid underwent another rebrand, becoming Shop at Bid, switching to a fixed-price sales model that replaced the previous falling price format. A new premium-rate phone number was introduced, charging callers 20p per minute instead of the previous £1.53 per call. The buying procedure was altered to allow customers to contact advisors after purchase without needing a callback.
This format lasted just over one month. On 17 April 2014, the parent company of Bid Shopping entered administration; as a result, Shop at Bid and its sister channel Price Drop ceased operations immediately, leading to the loss of 229 jobs. Websites were taken down, and broadcasts displayed technical fault messages. By 23 April, both channels’ websites had been updated and removed from Virgin Media’s platform; by 25 April, they were also withdrawn from Freeview and Sky services. Shop at Bid’s electronic programme guide listings on Virgin Media and Sky remained blank.
Criticism
Bid charged callers a premium rate of £1.53 per call for bidding, in addition to a minimum shipping and handling fee of £7.99, effectively adding at least £9.52 to the displayed price of each item. Although customers could bid online to avoid the £1.53 call charge, they still incurred postage costs.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld complaints against Bid twice. In one instance, Bid TV exaggerated the guide price of "Black Agate Globes" as £1,700 but could only present evidence from one supplier who might have sold it at that price; in reality, that supplier offered it for £265, with most others pricing between £250 and £500. This constituted a breach of ASA rules due to misleading pricing information.
In 2009, Bid TV faced criticism when presenter Paul Evers appeared simultaneously on Bid TV and Price-Drop TV—both auctions claimed to be live. Sit-Up CEO Ian Percival explained that pre-recorded video was combined with live auction data—a practice discontinued following complaints and possible ASA investigation. Nevertheless, Sit-Up’s channels continued using such "graphic led" pre-recorded auctions since their inception. A similar incident in 2002 resulted in an upheld complaint by the Independent Television Commission (ITC).
On 21 May 2013, Sit-Up Limited was referred by the ASA to Ofcom for statutory sanctions after repeated violations of UK broadcast advertising regulations. Since January 2012, Sit-Up had lost 33 ASA cases primarily related to misleading pricing claims and inaccurate product descriptions.
Former Hosts
- Nana Akua
- Paul Becque
- Marina Berry (2008–2014)
- Kevin Duala
- Elisa Foreman
- Adam Freeman
- Nicola George
- Keith Harris (2005–2006)
- Chris Haywood (voiceover)
- Justin Hazell
- Andy Hodgson
- Alex Lovell (October 2000–2001)
- Caroline Lyndsay
- Paul Ross
- Mark Ryes
- Greg Scott
- Adele Sica
- Peter Simon
- Mike Smith
- Claire Stuart
Related Topics
References
- Bid Shopping
- Shopping networks in the United Kingdom
- Television channels and stations established in 2000
- British companies established in 2000
- Television channels and stations disestablished in 2014
- British companies disestablished in 2014
- Defunct television channels in the United Kingdom
- Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom