im trying to remember a couple of things; when you bought the prizes was the order

CAR
LOT
LOT+JACKPOT

or

CAR.
LOT+JACKPOT

also was the lot+jackpot price always the same

CAR > JACKPOT > LOT, wasn't it?

that doesnt make sense

I thought it was CAR > LOT > LOT+JACKPOT myself.

Funny, makes perfect sense to me. I'm sorry if you're having trouble understanding it, though.

I believe it was Car > Cash Jackpot > Cash Jackpot + All Prizes on NBC and Car > All Prizes > All Prizes + Cash Jackpot in Syndication.

ISTR in watching episodes it started out as CAR - JACKPOT - LOT, then it progressed to CAR - LOT - LOT and JACKPOT because they figured everyone would just take the cash and run.

Confirm? Deny?

Ryan.

from all powerful wikipedia------------

The Traditional Shopping Format

Bill Fogel's $61,000 jackpot win from 1984This was used throughout the original series' run, and also for the first two seasons of the '80s version (plus the syndicated version from January 1985 until December 1985). A series of six prizes was offered, culminating in a luxury car. A contestant could take his or her cumulative winnings, buy a prize, and retire, or elect to return the next day and try to win enough to buy the next most expensive prize. On the 1973-1974 weekly syndicated series, the winning couple answered a series of questions, with each correct answer earning $100 towards the purchase of one or more bonus prizes.

On the '80s daytime version, the next steps after the car were:

First, a cash jackpot, starting at $50,000 and increased by $1000 each day until won.
The cash and all the prizes on the stage.
In the first few weeks of the show, the cash jackpot was not used; instead the show threw in enough cash to make the lot worth an even $95,000 for $500. This level was reached only once.

Only one player, Barbara Phillips, won everything on stage during the daytime shopping format. Other big winners (listed below) would retire with just the cash jackpot instead. Originally, a player can buy every prize on the stage including the cash jackpot with $650 or more. When the speedround was incorporated, it took $760 to win everything ($650 for the cash jackpot only, $540 for the car).

When the syndicated nighttime version aired, the shopping format was changed, due to the fact that virtually every champion retired with just the cash jackpot. The luxury automobile (available for $530 or more) would be followed next by all of the prizes (at $640 or more), and then at $750 or more every prize on the stage and the cash jackpot. This modification resulted in many big winners.

WIKIPEDIA HAS SPOKEN

This explains a lot, since I'd never seen the syndicated version. Okay.

Wikipedia isn't exactly what I'd call The Ultimate Authority of Accurate Information.

And, for that matter, why, if you're putting all belief that Wikipedia isn't Full Of Crap, then why didn't you just consult with it instead of posting an hour earlier?

I apologize, but are you speaking to me or toetyper?

/Just to clear up confusion.

Gosh, that first one just seems weird. Unless those prizes were REALLY good, most would have ditched for cash...at least that second one had a definite, tempting prize at the end (the cash).

that was my point

Not you, toetyper.

I have an odd feeling that this was a trivia-type thread when I saw it...

Don't know if it was his intention or not...not gonna go there after what happened last time.

I will agree with tpirfan's point...the one thing I could never understand is why you wouldn't leave with the cash every time on the NBC shopping era. They never seemed to offer any incentive to stick around (crappy prizes or whatever).

Just to add to the confusion:

IN the pre cash jackpot days i don't know if they ever really clarified if the cash (that took the total to $95,000) was a separate thing if you went for it all, or if you got the cash/gold keyring with just the car.

In the pre-jackpot days, it went car ($420) then the lot ($510? I think it was) which was all of the prizes plus whatever cash it took to bump the total up to $95,000.