‘The Price Is Right’ Fans Slam Contestant’s ‘Maddening’ $1 Bidding Strategy
The Price Is Right tactic of bidding $1 more than a rival contestant on the show has long been a viable strategy, but on Monday’s (July 1) episode, one player might have taken it too far.
The contestant in question was Danielle Wagner, who was the first person of the night to be called down to the stage. After failing to win anything in the first two rounds of Contestant’s Row, Wagner changed up her strategy by using the $1 bid method.
For those unfamiliar, this tactic involves a contestant bidding one dollar higher than the previous contestant’s bid to try and secure a win without going over the actual retail price. It can be a risky strategy but one that can often pay off if other contestants have overestimated their bids.
On three separate occasions, Wagner bid just $1 more than the previous bidder, going $551 over $550, $527 over $526, and $2,001 over $2,000. Eventually, it paid off for her, as she came closest and bagged herself trips to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Auckland, New Zealand.
She also got a chance to make it up to the main stage to play Showcases, where she earned herself even more prizes, including a collection of Ralph Lauren clothes, a trip to Paris, France, and two Kawasaki Vulcan S motorcycles.
However, many fans weren’t happy about the way Wagner won and took to social media to share their thoughts.
“I understand it’s a game and it is ~strategy~ but to bid $1 over the same person multiple times seems kind of shiesty to me,” wrote one viewer on the Price is Right Reddit forum. “Then to win it all this way? I guess all is fair in love and war. It’s a ruthless world out there, Drew.”
“We’re talking about the woman in the pink shirt, right?” replied another commenter. “She won her showcase. I was hoping the mountain climber guy would win. She seemed very obnoxious. Whatever, I guess, she got a total of 3 trips, and she will be interacting with lots of people. It will not go well for her.”
Another added, “I’ve always felt that the first time is fair game. It’s a tried and true strategy. If you keep doing it to the same person, it’s s****y. You should at least give them a $25-$50 cushion after the first time.”
“For me it was her attitude and somewhat odd behaviour,” said another. “Her scrunched up smile and little happy dance felt arrogant in some way…. Maybe because people usually show some sort of remorse or grace for $1-ing when they win, and she was just like yay me! I did it! whilst the other person literally provided her with her bid.”
“Absolutely maddening,” wrote one fan. “I wanted her to lose so badly. I was really rooting for the kid. But, I knew the he was either dead on or over. If only he bid $500 less! Sad day.”
Another stated, “I don’t care if it’s an unpopular opinion. I despise people who bid $1 more than someone else. If I somehow became the executive producer, it’s the first thing I’d change. I’d set all bids to be in $10 increments.”
“It’s not right!!! It sickens me to see that,” wrote another. “And the original bidder claps for him/her..if that was me I would tell the clown to watch themselves when they leave..lol lol. !!!”
However, others defended Wagner and the one-dollar bid strategy, with one fan writing, “I’m all for it. And if you want to get up on stage, you do what you have to do.”
Another added, “Getting bid $1 over is the WORST feeling imaginable. It’s how the game works though.”
“You don’t win anything unless you get on the stage. I was against it when I was younger, but today, this is the way,” said another.
“It is just smart strategy and no one should take offense to it. Bidding $20 or $50 over instead of $1 is just silly and a poor strategy and could cause them to lose when they would have won otherwise,” stated one user.
What do you think of the one-dollar bid strategy? Did Wagner deserve to win all those prizes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
The Price Is Right, Weekdays, 11a/10c, CBS
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Comments are closed on this story.
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By virtue of their placement in Contestants Row, it will give some contestants an advantage others don't have and that's not cool. I know it's legit by the game's rules and strategic, but I hate the $1 thing. I always want those people to lose getting on stage. I'd like it if they secretly wrote their bids down, then revealed them, so as to avoid this maddening practice, but if wishes were horses...
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The bids should be kept secret from the participants. They could be displayed to the studio audience and the viewers at home , but secret from the participants. The way it is done now gives the last bidder a substantial advantage .... it is not a fair playing field .
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It’s especially bad for the last person whose name is called. Everyone gets to know what they bid, and unless they get it exactly right, the odds of their getting on stage are pretty much basement level.
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The one dollar over bid has always bothered me. Do not care for it. AND I, too, was hoping the person in the pink shirt would lose.
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Everyone should have to punch in their bid, no bidding out loud. No taking turns bidding
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Keep the bids secret then reveal them individually after the last bid!!!!!Keeps suspense up
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I always thought this was so unfair. I think that the bids should not be revealed until they all are submitted that way this couldn’t happen
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When I see those kinds of bids on the show I hope that the player loses. Those people can't even think for themselves so they have to steal a number from someone else and add a dollar. I say get rid of that option.
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The $1 over is a joke. The people who do that have no imagination. It may be a strategy, but it is a rotten one to use every freaking time. Learn some prices people.
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I have no problem with it it's not cheating unless the rules changed it's these dolts that bid 1 dollar under then they have to be exact because their either over or one short of the winner
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They don’t bid a dollar under. They bid a dollar OVER.
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I hated what she did, and I think that needs to change. If I never wanted someone to loose it's it's the $1.00 under cut hogs that can't win on their own. And I'm surprised this woman didn't need security to walk her out.
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Wholeheartedly agree! It should be an even playing field for everyone.
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I have been saying for the last few years that there should be a system in place where people either write their bids down like Final Jeopardy answers or type them into a keyboard, so that no one knows what anyone else bid until all the bids are read. This puts everyone on an even playing field.
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On the price is right, you should allow at least a 10 $ spread between guess bids, no1$.
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Best Idea EVER 😀
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We have watched Wheel forever; and the $1 bid is just wrong!! Just eliminate it, and make people bid, Higher or Lower. It’s not that hard !!! Just bid a decent number, and you might win 🙂 A $1 bid makes you look BAD ~~~
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I agree with a couple of the comments above. First, as a producer, I'm changing that to a minimum of $25-$50 instead of $1 over bids if not secret hidden bids. And no, I certainly would not bid $20 or $50 over another person's bid either and take a chance and lose out on many fine prizes just so nobody's feelings get hurt! Screw that noise. You think that person you beat out by that strategy cares one lick about you smfh?! As they say, hate the game not the player. Mic drop.
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How many times are you going to get a chance like this? You do what you gotta do! But I really think it would be more fair if the bids were secret. It’s been this way for more than 50 years though, so I doubt if it will ever change.
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People didn’t used to do that dollar crap until just the last few years, and not as often as the woman in pink did it!
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I was upset with that woman, she didn't even make a real bid. Time to change some rules.
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I've always hated the $1 more bid. It feels to me like cheating, tripping the runner next to you so you'll be over the finish line first. I always cheer against the contestants that do it. I was so disgusted with this Danielle that I didn't finish watching the show. I too, would put in a rule that bids have to be at least $100 different. Change that $1 bidding immediately!
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I think it’s terrible but it works ! The one thing I can’t stand is if one person bids $1.00 then the next bids $2.00, like there’s gonna be a winner between $1 and 2 $$ !! How stupid can some people be !!
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One always hated the $1 strategy. They're should be at LEAST a $25 buffer so everyone has a chance
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DITTO!!!! I always hope they lose if they get onstage.
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Was hoping the kid would win his showcase. She was just greedy
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Why don't they alternate who gives the first bid so she wouldn't be bidding after the other contestant. Or maybe if you do a 1 dollar over bid, you have to bid first the next time?
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It is perfectly legal to place that type of a bid; so just get over it.
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You wouldn’t think so if it was you that it was done too.
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You all need a Life!!
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Get over it.
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