Jason's post earlier today about The Price Is Right reminded me of something I've been thinking about for years: what are the best and worst prizes you can win on the show?
This is all personal opinion, of course. Where I might frown or shrug at a prize I might win another person will scream and jump down about. But I think there are certainly some prizes we can all agree are pretty lame. Below are the six that come to mind. Five of them you'll probably agree with, but I bet several of you will have a problem with number six.
1. Sauna/hot tub. This could be great for someone with a big house and a yard (and extra room), but who else could use this? I've been waiting three decades for someone to sarcastically say to Bob (and now Drew) "yeah, that will look great in my studio apartment."
2. Jet ski. Wow, talk about a product designed for a specific type of person. You'd have to really be into sports of this type (and live near water) to use something like this. I bet this is a prize that a lot of contestants sell on Craigslist. "For sale: one unused jet ski. I won it playing the Grocery Game on The Price Is Right! Must sell."
3. A chandelier. WTF?
4. Karaoke machine. I think this will be fun for about six days (four if you have kids), and then you're going to say "this is all I won on The Price Is Right?"
5. Trampoline. This is one of those gifts that are offered and you can kinda see the excitement drain from the face of the contestant who might win it. A trampoline! That looks like ... fun.
6. A car. Yeah, that's right, a car. Everyone screams and jumps up and down and wets their pants when Rich announces that the prize is a car, and I was always excited as a kid when that was the prize (ah, the days when a new car was well under $10,000), but now? I see it as just another bill to pay: taxes, insurance, gas, maintenance on the car, and who knows if you can even get a car close to your home or have to drive the thing from the West Coast. Maybe it's an L.A. thing, getting excited over cars. If the show was filmed in New York City they'd probably have less car prizes.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-24-2008 @ 11:41AM
Bill said...
Trambopoline!
The car was actually the first thing I thought of when i saw the title. It's not actually bad, cause you probably sell it and come out ahead by a few grand, but it's just the hassle of the whole process that would bother me.
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1-24-2008 @ 11:45AM
Oreo said...
A chandelier has always bothered me too.
However I haven't seen a trampoline on the show in 15 years.
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1-24-2008 @ 12:12PM
JPN said...
I won $6,000 on TPiR in 2001 and it was so awesome. I played Pass the Buck for a car, which thankfully I did not win. The best thing was, they took the taxes for my contestant's row prize (a $750 desk clock) right out of that so I got a check for about $5400. I didn't need a car, I didn't want a car, but they said they'd arrange for local pickup if I had won it.
After the taping, they hustle you back to a little room and you have to decide right then whether to accept the prize and the financial obligations of the taxes, or waive your prize and walk away. Some people win those gazebo-saunas, or furniture they don't need or want, or whatever.
Nowadays I think it's easier to take something you don't want and get rid of it for money, with eBay, Craigslist, etc. I don't know that I would really waive anything that's worth a lot of money.
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1-24-2008 @ 12:14PM
Mark said...
I agree for the most part about your post. How about the top 5 prizes that you would want to win?
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1-24-2008 @ 12:21PM
Scott K said...
Well if you have a car that isn't as nice as the one you win, just sell it to help cover the taxes on the new car. Like the contestant commented, the cars can be picked up locally. I think a car would be a great thing to win. May be a little trouble, but the costs and hassles of winning a free car are less than those of buying a new car.
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1-24-2008 @ 12:26PM
Duane said...
When I was little, I remember asking my mother about why people were so excited to win the car. I'd figured out that they must have had a car to drive to the game show in the first place, so why did they want another one?
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1-24-2008 @ 1:43PM
Oreo said...
You didn't take a school BUS to school? :)
1-24-2008 @ 12:39PM
Tristan said...
I use think it was bad whent he people used to win the cheap sub 15000 dollar cars (yes Ford Focus and Neon, Im looking right at you). Luckily they seem to have these come up less often.
I always thought it was a waste to get to the final showcase and see that both contestants are bidding on baby grand piano, furniture and carpet, and then maybe a year's worth of some arbitrary product.
Ultimately though< i guess its the matter of winning that counts.
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1-24-2008 @ 12:47PM
Price is Wrong said...
I am sorry...but are all of you kidding??? Oh poor me...I just won a car...now I have alllll this stuff to do. Gas, and up keep...or oh my gosh pay taxes on it. Woah is me. If I want to sell it and make THOUSANDS of dollars that I did NOT have before I have to fill out alllll this paper work. What a bummer. I too am glad you didnt win the cars. Whew! Close call on that one!
Give me a break! You could sell the car and gain thousands of dollars back! Regardless of the taxes. The same goes for all the prizes. I think this was lame. I thought you were going to say something like "a dining room set" or "China". That TOO can be sold but the styles they show are ugly. But a jet ski?
I live in a studio apartment in a very large city. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE a car. You guys are nuts. Hell, I would love a chandelier. It can be made into cash for you!
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1-25-2008 @ 11:17AM
kate said...
Thank You!
1-24-2008 @ 12:50PM
lucyfan62 said...
I've actually seen them offer a small plane as a prize! Talk about limited appeal!! I'd love to have a hot tub! Best prizes I think would be cash and trips. And a pinball machine! I always wanted my own pinball machine.
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1-24-2008 @ 1:10PM
h8rain said...
One of the early Drew episodes, this lady won a Corvette AND a Caddillac XLR (Like $120k in cars!). The tax bill on that would be awful, but heck sell one, pay the bill, keep one car, and STILL come away with cash.
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1-24-2008 @ 2:00PM
ORKMommy said...
I always thought the college kids who win a dining room were the poor suckers. What college kid wants an old lady dining room? Maybe give it to mom, but unless mom is 80 yrs old, she wouldn't want the ugly thing either.
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1-24-2008 @ 2:12PM
lcravens said...
What about the sucky "Brand New Catamaran!!" I don't even know what that is.
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1-24-2008 @ 5:12PM
Brent McKee said...
Catamaran - a twin hulled sail boat (well usually a sail boat). Very quick and maneuverable, not particularly useful if you don't have a nearby lake or ocean. At least with a Jet-Ski you can use it on a river too.
1-24-2008 @ 2:34PM
Mike S said...
Ugly furniture set (hopefully you can just get an equivalent set from the mfgr)
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1-24-2008 @ 2:34PM
corbin said...
yea the boats always struck me as the worst prize what if you live in say iowa?
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1-24-2008 @ 9:04PM
gewurztraminer said...
There are lakes in Iowa.
1-24-2008 @ 2:40PM
vacelts said...
My 6 would be
Luggage -- if I traveled to the show then I already have it.
Ski equipment -- I too uncordinated to ever try. I'd just break something
Exercise Equipment (treadmils/home gyms, etc.) -- What kind of prize requires work from me?
Carpet (not rugs) -- What if you don't have a room that needs it?
RVs/campers -- I'd rather stay at a hotel or camp in a tent. Besides some of those campers I'd need a new vehicle just so I could tow it.
Musical instruments (except grand piano) -- if I haven't learned to play an instrument by now, I'm not going to just because you give it to me as a prize.
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1-24-2008 @ 2:50PM
Joel Keller said...
I think a Rascal scooter (something they've offered before) would be a particularly crappy prize, especially for someone young.
I'm not even sure you could sell it and get the cash; after all, all those scooter ads they show on TPiR say that Medicare takes care of the cost of those things.
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