Introduction of the Clock

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KingEurope

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I've been thinking this for a while - ever since the SitUp channels introduced a clock for their sales (it was around 2008-ish, wasn't it?), a major piece of the channels died.

Sure, people can say the quality of products has decreased or there's far less selection then before. But the introduction of the clock is by far the worst thing to happen. When something wasn't selling, the price would always keep dropping. "Non-Stop Drops" weren't exclusive to microwave egg cookers and solar panel turtles - every item was. It meant that real bargains can and did happen, much more frequently then today.

I remember in particular, once on Bid TV, with forum favourite Mike Mason :)blush:). He was selling three or four Nintendo DS games and a load of accessories, only a few months after the Nintendo DS came out. Obviously the producers over-predicted demand way too much, and he was trying to shift hundreds of the things, and no one was buying. It went for ridiculously cheap (something like £10 for the lot), and Mason was standing there trying to shift them for literally 20 - 30 minutes. By the end of it, customers got a real bargain.

That would never happen today. No one wants it? They'd have kept it on £60, shove on a 1 minute clock and the only "Price Drop" was from the ridiculously high start price that the producer reduced 5 seconds into the sale. The price rarely truely drops, they'd have a few planned, sudden drops that the producer will shove in, but really, they have a planned price for it, and if it doesn't sell for that, they move on.


I haven't seen anyone else mention this on the forum before. But I can't be the only one who thinks this, right?
 
It's been going so long now I think that the comments made are somewhere back in the archives, and we've all become immune to it - But it's not right. It is a falling price channel now only in the sense that it will only fall to the price the producers have decided to let it fall to, whereas before potentially everything could fall down to a single pound, and very rarely did that actually happen, and I never felt that each sale lasted any longer than they do now - I never saw a presenter struggle for half an hour with one product. I must admit, the cynical side of me noted a large amount of "new buyer, or web buyer" creeping across the screen when quantities weren't exactly racing down, or the product was particularly naff, but I think I preferred the old way. I don't know why they don't just tell us exactly what they want for it upfront, and be done with it, oh hang on, then they wouldn't be able to entice buyers into jumping in quickly thinking they were going to get a bargain - of course!
 
KingEurope said:
I've been thinking this for a while - ever since the SitUp channels introduced a clock for their sales (it was around 2008-ish, wasn't it?), a major piece of the channels died.

Sure, people can say the quality of products has decreased or there's far less selection then before. But the introduction of the clock is by far the worst thing to happen. When something wasn't selling, the price would always keep dropping. "Non-Stop Drops" weren't exclusive to microwave egg cookers and solar panel turtles - every item was. It meant that real bargains can and did happen, much more frequently then today.

I remember in particular, once on Bid TV, with forum favourite Mike Mason :)blush:). He was selling three or four Nintendo DS games and a load of accessories, only a few months after the Nintendo DS came out. Obviously the producers over-predicted demand way too much, and he was trying to shift hundreds of the things, and no one was buying. It went for ridiculously cheap (something like £10 for the lot), and Mason was standing there trying to shift them for literally 20 - 30 minutes. By the end of it, customers got a real bargain.

That would never happen today. No one wants it? They'd have kept it on £60, shove on a 1 minute clock and the only "Price Drop" was from the ridiculously high start price that the producer reduced 5 seconds into the sale. The price rarely truely drops, they'd have a few planned, sudden drops that the producer will shove in, but really, they have a planned price for it, and if it doesn't sell for that, they move on.


I haven't seen anyone else mention this on the forum before. But I can't be the only one who thinks this, right?
Click to expand...

I misread the title and thought to myself but surely Mike Mason isn't new! :p

I agree with everything you say and what annoys me most us when presenters say the clock is their producers way of hurrying the presenter up. BS it is a way to pressure sale.

PJ
 
i think the clock is part and parcel of sit up... can't exactly manufacture a sense of urgency and impulse purchasing without it.
 
mr tom said:
i think the clock is part and parcel of sit up... can't exactly manufacture a sense of urgency and impulse purchasing without it.
Click to expand...

I never really thought of it that way. I always thought of the Sit-Up channels as a stack them high, sell them cheap kind of channel. They try and get as many products on screen as possible because it allowed them to give lower margins then their competitors, who happily spend an hour on one product.

I guess maybe I never thought of it that way because I watch often enough to see the same Microwave egg cookers being reshown again and again that I'm very certain and comfortable I do not want them. :happy:
 
KingEurope said:
I never really thought of it that way. I always thought of the Sit-Up channels as a stack them high, sell them cheap kind of channel. They try and get as many products on screen as possible because it allowed them to give lower margins then their competitors, who happily spend an hour on one product.

I guess maybe I never thought of it that way because I watch often enough to see the same Microwave egg cookers being reshown again and again that I'm very certain and comfortable I do not want them. :happy:
Click to expand...

Mr Tom is absolutely correct about them building up a sense of urgency but you also make a pertinent point in that, invariably, the same products appear over and over again, and more often than not for the same or a similar price so in that sense there is no real 'urgency' to speak of.

There's nothing really wrong with it but I genuinely think their self penned moniker of a 'falling price channel' is becoming less and less suitable by the week. They are now getting to the point that products often only have one price, and many that do 'fall' only do so because the starting price is, in all honesty, completely ludicrous and one that simply dosen't relate in any meaningful way to the product.

However, the last point I made regarding ridiculous starting prices will hopefully soon be clarified by the ASA (one way or another).
 
Last edited:
I agree it needs clarifying

Pretty hard to criticise them for always having the same price though? Just this week there have been a post stating something was sold for £10 more the day after it had been sold previously

Just basically watching Price drop now really and the amount of times they sell out (especially fashion) were they drop the price very very late (last 2 or 3 items) tells me they could easily leave the higher price and still sell out.

Cant have it both ways

Personally i dont have a problem with items selling at different prices according to demand but believe me plenty on here would
 
KingEurope said:
I never really thought of it that way. I always thought of the Sit-Up channels as a stack them high, sell them cheap kind of channel. They try and get as many products on screen as possible because it allowed them to give lower margins then their competitors, who happily spend an hour on one product.

I guess maybe I never thought of it that way because I watch often enough to see the same Microwave egg cookers being reshown again and again that I'm very certain and comfortable I do not want them. :happy:
Click to expand...

as wirral has rightly said, the urgancy is plastic. the same item will probably be on price drop 15 mins later... but they give the impression that you may never see it ever again.

there is many nauances to their methods, before you said it, it never occured to me that they can nearly double qvc's output in an hour.
 
mr tom said:
also keep in mind.. we have the luxury of coming on here and reaffirming that the egg cookers are indeed shite.
Click to expand...

And they often have a starting price of £19.99, which is an absolute joke. Even the most fervent Bid cheerleader must surely agree that that is preposterous.

So they fall from £19.99 to £1 or even 1p and Sit-Up would have us believe that this kind of nonsense supposedly qualifies them as bona fide, falling price channel?

Codswallop.
 
didn't tesco recently get fined for saying something was half price when it had only been "double" for about 6mins haha.
 
Wirral70 said:
And they often have a starting price of £19.99, which is an absolute joke. Even the most fervent Bid cheerleader must surely agree that that is preposterous.

So they fall from £19.99 to £1 or even 1p and Sit-Up would have us believe that this kind of nonsense supposedly qualifies them as bona fide, falling price channel?


Codswallop.
Click to expand...


What a picture of dichotomy LOL.
 
a bit like iw selling a halogen for £110 unbelievable

if anybody think egg cookers are anything other than what they are then should be locked away
 
KingEurope said:
I've been thinking this for a while - ever since the SitUp channels introduced a clock for their sales (it was around 2008-ish, wasn't it?), a major piece of the channels died.

Sure, people can say the quality of products has decreased or there's far less selection then before. But the introduction of the clock is by far the worst thing to happen. When something wasn't selling, the price would always keep dropping. "Non-Stop Drops" weren't exclusive to microwave egg cookers and solar panel turtles - every item was. It meant that real bargains can and did happen, much more frequently then today.

I remember in particular, once on Bid TV, with forum favourite Mike Mason :)blush:). He was selling three or four Nintendo DS games and a load of accessories, only a few months after the Nintendo DS came out. Obviously the producers over-predicted demand way too much, and he was trying to shift hundreds of the things, and no one was buying. It went for ridiculously cheap (something like £10 for the lot), and Mason was standing there trying to shift them for literally 20 - 30 minutes. By the end of it, customers got a real bargain.

That would never happen today. No one wants it? They'd have kept it on £60, shove on a 1 minute clock and the only "Price Drop" was from the ridiculously high start price that the producer reduced 5 seconds into the sale. The price rarely truely drops, they'd have a few planned, sudden drops that the producer will shove in, but really, they have a planned price for it, and if it doesn't sell for that, they move on.


I haven't seen anyone else mention this on the forum before. But I can't be the only one who thinks this, right?
Click to expand...


I pretty much agree with everything you've said - before the introduction of the clock that was a genuinely a chance that items could go somewhat lower than what the producer would hope. Similar waaaaay back in the day of rising price auctions - items did genuinely sell for a £1.

The introduction of the clock basically removes any chance of getting a 'real' bargain - and also removes any of the excitement. It basically changed the format of the channel - they used to have specific limited quantities, with the price varying for each auction, now it's much more like a fixed price shopping channel - understandable - but less exciting.
 
KingEurope said:
I've been thinking this for a while - ever since the SitUp channels introduced a clock for their sales (it was around 2008-ish, wasn't it?), a major piece of the channels died.

Sure, people can say the quality of products has decreased or there's far less selection then before. But the introduction of the clock is by far the worst thing to happen. When something wasn't selling, the price would always keep dropping. "Non-Stop Drops" weren't exclusive to microwave egg cookers and solar panel turtles - every item was. It meant that real bargains can and did happen, much more frequently then today.

I remember in particular, once on Bid TV, with forum favourite Mike Mason :)blush:). He was selling three or four Nintendo DS games and a load of accessories, only a few months after the Nintendo DS came out. Obviously the producers over-predicted demand way too much, and he was trying to shift hundreds of the things, and no one was buying. It went for ridiculously cheap (something like £10 for the lot), and Mason was standing there trying to shift them for literally 20 - 30 minutes. By the end of it, customers got a real bargain.

That would never happen today. No one wants it? They'd have kept it on £60, shove on a 1 minute clock and the only "Price Drop" was from the ridiculously high start price that the producer reduced 5 seconds into the sale. The price rarely truely drops, they'd have a few planned, sudden drops that the producer will shove in, but really, they have a planned price for it, and if it doesn't sell for that, they move on.


I haven't seen anyone else mention this on the forum before. But I can't be the only one who thinks this, right?
Click to expand...
I don't agree with your thoughts.. Clock is not all bad you can't say it worst addition..
 

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