\n<\/p>\n
A TikTok livestream<\/span> host waves an iPhone<\/a> box in front of the camera as around 250 viewers place their bids.<\/p>\n \u201cThis could be yours, chat,\u201d the host says. \u201cWake it up.\u201d The host\u2019s face is hidden from view, with just their hands visible in front of stacks of iPhone, iPad, and MacBook boxes. The TikTok<\/a> auction starts at $1. As the timer counts down, the price quickly shoots up, with a bid of over $100 scoring the win. After the bidding closes, a digital prize wheel appears and spins through multiple possible products before landing on what the high bidder just won: a teddy bear.<\/p>\n The winner was pissed. \u201cI just paid $147 for a stuffed animal,\u201d they wrote in the stream\u2019s chatlog. \u201cWhen I was bidding, you said that I could win that iPhone, and it gave me a BB3 Zodiac,\u201d they said, referring to the Labubu-style<\/a> plushie that retails for about $20. \u201cThat\u2019s a scam. Please return my money.\u201d<\/p>\n This person was not alone in their frustration. Multiple viewers of the stream were outraged when they placed high bids hoping to score Apple devices, only to learn their reward was the chance to spin a digital prize wheel that landed on something cheap. \u201cMan, hell no. This is false advertising. Why would I pay $55 for a damn charger?\u201d wrote another angry bidder. \u201cCalling my bank now.\u201d The demand for refunds was a common refrain.<\/p>\n This is all part of TikTok\u2019s feature, called a \u201cSurprise Set,\u201d where auction hosts create buckets of up to 500 products and whoever bids the most walks away with a random pick from the available prizes. These streams often include a few big ticket items, like iPhones and iPads, to lure viewers in. The rest of the items are less desirable, like charging cords and pencil cases. This feature was added late last year to the platform and remains an invitation-only feature for sellers on TikTok.<\/p>\n Many of the streaming set-ups for these TikTok \u201cSurprise Sets\u201d look very similar: a pile of expensive products is shown on screen, with different hosts rallying a couple hundred concurrent viewers to bid higher and higher amounts. If a viewer taps on a small button in the lower left corner of the screen, they can see the live probability of winning each item as well as the full list of what items are still available.<\/p>\n The popularity of \u201cSurprise Sets\u201d on TikTok are emblematic of how gambling-like interactions currently dominate the experience of going online, where prediction markets<\/a> and sports betting<\/a> reign. People can even wager on the outcome of reality TV<\/a> shows.<\/p>\n WIRED reached out to TikTok for comment on Wednesday of last week to share examples of frustrated viewers who felt scammed. One day later on Thursday, TikTok rolled out a change to its livestream policies<\/a> and what hosts are allowed to do for \u201cSurprise Sets.\u201d (It\u2019s a policy update that TikTok claims was already in the works.) Hosts are no longer allowed to include iPhones, iPads, televisions, diamonds, gift cards, or precious metals as part of the prizes available for viewers to win during surprise auctions. Following this rule change, hosts seem to be following the new guidelines, with no iPhones appearing in livestream \u201cSurprise Sets\u201d seen by WIRED.<\/p>\n \u201cTikTok Shop requires all sellers, including those running Surprise Sets, to accurately present what is being offered. We will take enforcement action on violations of our policies, including removing products and suspending accounts,\u201d TikTok spokesperson Ben Rathe said in a statement to WIRED. If a buyer feels like they were misled, they can reach out to TikTok\u2019s customer support to review the purchase.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n