Instead of a summer of having its name associated with a reality show based on people selling items online to fulfill some kind of whimsical wish, eBay has decided to withdraw from participating.
No explanation has been given for the demise of the reality show “Buy It Now,” which ABC has been forced to remove from its summer lineup, a Broadcasting & Cable article noted.
Online selling site eBay would have been central to the plot, which had families selling assorted possessions through the site to fund their dream projects.
As initially reported, eBay would have been part of the show, and auctions by the participants central to the plotlines.
ABC had planned to air the series on Mondays and Tuesdays. The first broadcast was planned for July 31st. Though the show is now on the shelf, a website erected for the purpose of bringing applicants to the series is still online.
When the show was first announced, with auctions for items from the families on the series destined for appearances on eBay, we noted a couple of potential problems with the format.
Shill bidding, the process of a fake bidder pushing up bids, and auction sniping, the software-facilitated way of bidding in the closing seconds of an online auction, have plagued many eBay users.
With a potentially intensive following of the auctions by a TV audience, those tricks could have caused some problems for eBay’s public image if a family had been victimized by them.
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David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
