Former 'Price is Right' contestant reveals how much people get paid to appear on Bidders' Row
Simply getting to the "The Price is Right" isn't enough, since many aspiring contestants do not make it beyond contestant's row. According to TVInsider, the Bidder's Row was introduced by Carey during the earlier days of the game show. The round featured four players bidding for items on the stage, however, not all of them got picked to enter the final games. Meanwhile, viewers wondered if the 'bidders' ever got paid for appearing on the show, and a Reddit thread answered this question. “If you make it to contestants row but not on stage to play a game, do you get any kind of a consolation prize?” the original post read. “You get $300. I won $300,” a former player @rejectmariosonic revealed.
The same user also disclosed that since cell phones are prohibited during filming, players are unable to snap selfies or photos with the presenter or show models. They wrote, "Normally, no one gets photos with Drew. You can't bring your phone in studio and they don't usually offer anything outside of taping the show." Following this, @oneiota1 agreed and wrote, “Currently, it’s $300 if called down, but don’t make it up on stage. They also do a random door prize drawing after the show of a random audience member not called down to contestants row for $100."
Another former contestant, @Educational_Creme_76, enlightened that he won a consolation prize and added, “This was me in 2010. I was the first 4 called up, never made it up onto the stage. Got some consolation prizes, including CUTCO knives which I still have and use today." @Kizzy33333 backed up the claim and disclosed, "My wife was on in the 80s. She got an electric dictionary in plus $25 each of KFC and Spice Island gift cards." However, the current format of the game show has discontinued this practice. Reddit user @jaysornotandhawks alleged, “I don’t think I’ve seen it recently, but there was a time where, if you were watching on TV, just prior to the second showcase showdown, they would announce that ‘contestants not appearing on stage will receive.”
As per Collider, "The Price is Right" players have to pay taxes on the cash and non-cash prizes won during the game. In case a contestant wins an expensive prize, then they become liable to pay higher taxes. A non-cash prize cannot be swapped for a cash prize, according to a government regulation. The custom of providing winners with a "tax letter" that explains the specifics of their award and the amount of taxes that have been assessed has been adopted by the game show. Before the contender may claim the reward, they must first pay the tax amount specified in the letter. In a shocking case, a contestant had to pay around $17,000 or $20,000 in taxes for winning a total of $57,000 in prizes. In 2013, Sheree Heil, a school teacher, had to shell out approximately $61,400 in taxes after winning a $157,300 Audi R8 Spyder. Hence, appearing on the winning podium is more tricky than winning a consolation prize.
