Bargain Hunters (U.S. Syndicated Game Show)

Bargain Hunters is a Merrill Heatter game show that ran on ABC in 1987.
The first (and the only real) version hosted by Peter Tomarken ran in 1987 and it was co-packaged by Josephson Communications Inc. (JCI). The second (and the first fictional) version was hosted by Todd Newton and it was co-packaged by KingWorld and it ran for four months in 2001.
The current (and the second fictional) version was hosted by Joe DeRosa and debuted in January 2017 and it was packaged by Merrill Heatter and All American Television.
== Games ==
Each episode featured six contestants, with two competing in each of three separate games. The winner of each game advanced to the Super Savers round.
=== Bargain Quiz ===
The host announced an item and asked whether or not it would be a bargain at a certain price. Players buzzed-in to guess. Getting it right won a point (indicated by a diamond lit on their podium). Getting it wrong meant their opponent received a point. The first player to get three points won the round and received a bonus prize.
=== Bargain Trap ===
Five prizes were shown on stage, each with a price tag. Four of the prizes were bargains, meaning that the price on the tag was lower than the actual price of the prize. The fifth was the Trap, and the price on the tag was higher than the prize was actually worth.
Players went back and forth, picking items they believed were bargains. If one of them picked the trap, they automatically lost and their opponent won the round, along with whatever prizes they had already chosen. If the Trap was the first item picked, their opponent won the Trap.
If both players picked two bargains, leaving only the Trap, then a tiebreaker was played. Both players wrote down what they believed was the mark-up added to the actual price of the Trap. The player who came closest won.
=== Bargain Busters ===
A prize was shown and players chose a price from three choices. The prizes were selected from stores across the country, and listed at a closeout price. The host would announce the store’s name and location before each item. Each player locked in their choice, and a right answer won a point. The one with the most points after three prizes won the round, and received all three prizes shown.
If there was a tie after three prizes, a fourth was brought out. This time the players weren’t shown any choices; the two would have to write down what they believed was the price. Whoever came closest won.
== Super Savers ==
The three winners came onstage to play the final round. Seven prizes were shown, each with a price tag. All are bargains, some bigger than others.
Each player chose three prizes that they believed would save them the most money. The player who saved the most money was declared the winner, won the three prizes they selected plus a grand prize (usually a trip, but a car was the grand prize at least once).
== Home Shopping ==
After every game, a trumpet fanfare sounded signifying a "Bargain Shopper" segment. Home viewers were offered an item at a bargain price, and could call a number to order it. Usually the item being offered was just seen in the previous game. The three items were shown again at the end of the show.Category:Merrill Heatter Productions
Category:All American Television
Category:Game shows
Category:Syndication
Category:Syndicated programmes