TikTok Shoppers Thought They Were Bidding on iPhones. Instead, They Won Teddy Bears
TikTok Shoppers Thought They Were Bidding on iPhones. Instead, They Won Teddy Bears
https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-surprise-sets-iphones-teddy-bears/
Publish Date: 2026-06-16 07:00:00
Source Domain: www.wired.com
A TikTok livestream host waves an iPhone box in front of the camera as around 250 viewers place their bids.
“This could be yours, chat,” the host says. “Wake it up.” The host’s face is hidden from view, with just their hands visible in front of stacks of iPhone, iPad, and MacBook boxes. The TikTok 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.
The winner was pissed. “I just paid $147 for a stuffed animal,” they wrote in the stream’s chatlog. “When I was bidding, you said that I could win that iPhone, and it gave me a BB3 Zodiac,” they said, referring to the Labubu-style plushie that retails for about $20. “That’s a scam. Please return my money.”
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. “Man, hell no. This is false advertising. Why would I pay $55 for a damn charger?” wrote another angry bidder. “Calling my bank now.” The demand for refunds was a common refrain.
This is all part of TikTok’s feature, called a “Surprise Set,” 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.
Many of the streaming set-ups for these TikTok “Surprise Sets” look very similar: a pile of expensive products is shown on screen, with…
