I have used it as a springboard for ideas but as I have little trust/faith in the companies [or cowboys] that have traditionally advertised with teletext I don't buy through them, OK it will make my research more difficult but it will not be a great loss to me. It will just mean a bit more work..

footnote.
just booked our holiday for May, my usual suppliers were only offering late flights [this as many people only want the cheapest price] we don't like late flights so i used Skyscanner to suss out what flights were available to me, e-mailed them with the date flight numbers and hotel I was interested and they came back with what I consider a cracking deal

I think the most others will shop like you also I think the way people buy their holidays have changed and people are a lot more savvy than what they used to be.

I see how it could have been a useful tool for ideas/researching.

I used to buy all my holidays from Teletext before the TV went digital.
All the top companies had there own page and I have had some amazing holidays to different parts of the world at prices a lot cheaper than going to the same travel agents in town.
When I look on the Teletext website now I am not tempted as they seem mostly to be internet companies who I would never book with.
I now get great deals by looking on Thomson website and getting the shop to price match.

We have had one holiday booked off Teletext about 12 years ago....my wife booked it as a cheap "surprise!" after I found out that I was going to be made redundant (the first time!!).......bit of a disaster; room only deal in Halkidiki during a Greek heatwave..long drive from the airport at Thessalonika arriving at about 10pm to find a room that looked like a prison cell with a view from the "patio" area of a derelict building about 15 feet away -no air con,no fans available,mossies in full stride, the Greeks locally were up to all hours, loud music, because of the heat...and finally we had a couple of 20 somethings next door.......thin walls - get the picture?
Ever since then ,I have done masses of research,initially with brochures,latterly online, to ensure that we never have such a bad holiday again!!-and we have never again risked a Teletext holiday!!

Like Brian we have used them to research prices and look for deals and did use them several years ago to book some really cheap last minute deals, once you understood their tactics you knew you weren't going to get the advertised rate but there were still some good deals and a big part of the appeal was the large number of companies, some of which were the major players trading under a different name.

Would I use them now after looking at their plans - NO chance.

Our best holiday from Teletext years ago as to the Seychelles.
Our daughter was getting married there and the prices were very very expensive.
I saw a holiday with Tropical places which were part of the Tui group and we had 2 weeks for £695.
We met people in the hotel who had paid double that booked at the travel agents.
Another fab deal was to Cancun ,again with Thomson.

We had a great holiday doing a Nile cruise and stay holiday some years ago which we booked thro Teletext when they were big on TV. We had our own private guide throughout the holiday and a private car picking us up and taking us back to the airport. I had never heard of the company and haven't since but couldn't fault them, it was a risk we took but it definitely paid off. Having said all that, wouldn't use them these days, too much choice with internet.