Kate Bliss v Caroline Hawley - Car Boot Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is,

the show that pitches TV's best-loved antiques experts

against each other in an all-out battle for profit.

I think I see a bargain.

Each day, one pair of duelling dealers

will face a mighty challenge...

-Oh, yeah.

-..putting their reputations on the line.

-Ready for battle.

-They'll give you the insider's view of the trade...

I'm a big boy. I'm a player.

..along with their top tips and savvy secrets...

It's not all about what you spend, It's about what you make.

..showing you how to make the most money...

-It really is war.

-..from buying and selling.

You've got to be in there like a whippet.

Coming up, Kate reveals one of the tools of the trade.

This is the thermal diamond tester and it measures the thermal

conductivity of a gemstone.

Caroline gives out vintage advice.

Have a look inside.

Under the arms, where you would expect to see wear, look,

that's absolutely clean.

And Kate discovers a watched kettle never whistles.

This is a bit of a puzzle.

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

Welcome, antiques aficionados,

to a vintage mystery straight out of Sherlock Holmes,

in which two super sleuths must follow their noses and unearth some

collectable clues, all in pursuit of a handsome profit.

So, let's meet our detective duo.

First on the scene,

her English Rose charm hides a forensic eye for the eclectic.

This Nancy Drew of dealing won't rest until

she identifies the gems amongst the junk.

It's Kate "Absolute" Bliss.

Do you know what? I think I'm doing all right.

Pitted against her is a real Juliet Bravo when it comes to tracking down

a stylish bargain.

With a love of clothes, jewellery, and all things French,

it's Caroline "The Hawk" Hawley.

Oh, that's a bit short, isn't it?

Today, our plot unfolds at the Battersea car-boot sale in London,

where our profit-hungry Poirots will be sniffing out the very best buys

to sell at a later date.

They've got £250 of their own money to spend,

with all the profits going to their chosen charities.

But, remember, every car-boot sale is stuffed with red herrings

and dead ends, so whose methods of detection will guarantee a win?

It's time to find out.

-Hi, Caroline.

-Hi, Kate.

-Good to see you.

-How are you?

Yeah, really well. How are you?

Great. I've never been here before.

Yeah. Have you not? I've been once before but a long time ago.

-Yeah.

-But, in my experience,

it was actually a pretty good little car-boot.

Well, I believe the sellers come in in staggered, sort of,

timed intervals.

So you've got fresh stock coming in.

-Yeah.

-Do you buy in the first instance?

-Oh, I don't know!

-Or do you wait?

Well, I think I'm going to, sort of, keep my powder dry,

spend a little bit and then hang on for later.

The thing about a car-boot is you just never know what you're going

-to see, do you?

-No.

-It could be the crown jewels or it could all be

shampoo and white trainers. You just don't know.

You don't, but I think this one is a good mixture, I believe,

of both trade and privates.

-Yeah.

-And I think there's going to be some quite high-quality private

-stuff coming in.

-You've got your hopes up, haven't you?

-I have, actually. I'm very optimistic.

-Well, we'd better get started, then.

-We had, indeed. Bonne chance, cherie.

-Good luck.

Yes, it may be all smiles on the surface but don't be fooled by their

bonhomie. Behind their sunny exteriors lies the determination of

two femmes fatales, preparing to do anything to capture the best bargains.

Kate, for one, never lets a single detail slip her notice.

Well, I think this is going to be interesting. I'm up against a lady

for the first time and I think I've got my work cut out.

Caroline said she wanted to keep her powder dry,

but, do you know what, at a car-boot, if you snooze, you lose,

and if I see it, and I like it, I'm buying it.

Hm, Kate's not messing about today.

But nor is Caroline.

The Hawk may have led Kate to believe she was planning a cautious game

but this cunning sleuth is as keen as mustard.

I can't wait to get started.

I think I'm going to swoop very quickly.

I'm going to look for a bit of vintage, maybe a bit of jewellery,

and whatever else takes my fancy.

And it's Caroline's love of vintage that leads her towards her first

potential purchase, a well-travelled case.

Could I ask you your very, very, very best price on this suitcase, please?

20.

18? And I'll take it away.

-Go on, then.

-Go on. Thank you.

MUSIC: Holiday by Madonna

Well, I've just grabbed it.

Haven't even looked inside it.

Probably 1920s, 1930s.

I think anybody is going to buy this cos it tells a story.

Look at all the labels - it's been everywhere.

You can sit it in the corner of the room or you can take it off on your

hols with you. Either way, it's a win-win, open and shut case.

Hm, more of a shut and shut case if you haven't looked inside,

Miss Marple. And across the market,

Kate's keen eye has spotted a couple of sparklers.

And she wastes no time in getting her fingerprints all over them.

How much are those?

Those ones are £10.

They have got, erm, gold posts.

-Nine carat.

-But I'm not sure. I think they're probably CZs.

Will you take a fiver?

-I'll take a fiver, as it's you.

-Lovely.

-Lovely, thank you.

Kate has snapped them up.

Could our jewellery sleuth have uncovered something really special?

I had a quick look at them on the stall before I bought them and I was

almost absolutely sure that they're not diamonds.

I can tell by the way the stone is cut, the shape of it,

and also the clarity of it.

When I go on a shopping trip,

I usually have one of these, just in case.

This is what's known as a thermal diamond tester and it measures

the thermal conductivity of a gemstone.

You put the little needle

on the top facet of the stone.

Now, if this was a diamond, those lights would shoot up and hit red.

And, as you can see, it isn't.

But do you know what? With studs like this, actually, sometimes,

it's the look that matters.

With those economical earrings,

Kate's hardly spent big and she continues this thrifty streak

with the purchase of some mid-century bookends,

taking them into custody for just £3.

These, in their day, would have been really smart.

They are Italian leather.

But the thing I love is this hinge.

It's known as a piano hinge and if you think of the hinge on a grand

piano lid, it's been beautifully engineered so every piece fits

together really nicely.

Those little screws tell me that it probably dates from

the post-war period, 1950s, I would think.

Now, I quite like their faded glory, but I think, to sell them,

I might have a bit of a restoration project on my hands.

With that cut-price purchase,

Kate is leading two items to Caroline's one,

but The Hawk's future could be looking bright.

It's very, sort of, stylish, isn't it? 1970s.

On this rainy, grey day in Battersea, what is the best price,

sir, on this very sunny, sunshiny dinner service?

-45.

-Can I make you a little cheeky offer?

-40?

-OK, go for it.

40, thank you.

MUSIC: Lovely Day by Bill Withers

Wow, how lovely is this?

It's right on trend, 1970s, made by Midwinter - six dinner plates,

the terrines, the big plates, the small ones,

it's got everything going for it.

And at £40 the lot, how much is it a piece?

I haven't worked it out but it's not a lot.

19 items, 40 quid, that's £2.11 per piece, of course.

Caroline then wrestles the lead from Kate's clutches with vintage

purchase number three, splashing out £12 on this '60s baby bath.

Now, it's got a look of G Plan, retro look about it.

I'm going to try and find the maker of this.

And I just think it's an amazing thing, in its original condition,

complete with a little plughole.

It's great. I can't imagine who's going to buy it.

But that's the fun of it, isn't it? Isn't it?

It certainly is, but Caroline had better watch her back

because Kate is coming up behind and fast.

She's discovered the store where The Hawk bought her retro stoneware

and has identified not one but two potential purchases,

starting with some 1970s salad servers.

Hi, there. What's the best price on those and maybe the kettle as well?

Oh... That would be 22.

You've got five on those, but they're not by any particular

-manufacturer, though.

-No, but my best is four on that one.

OK, what about the kettle?

I can go down for 20?

I was thinking more like a tenner.

No, it would have to be a bit more than that. I'm selling it for...

-This stuff belongs to a friend of mine.

-Right.

So I have to check with her.

OK. Well, Harry's just got to check the price with a close friend

that he's selling these items on behalf of. Fingers crossed.

Oh, that has to be 15.

And these have to be four as well.

Aah... Done.

-OK?

-19 for the two, fantastic, that's great.

Kate scores a domestic double with her '80s kettle and '70s cutlery.

Well, I'm really pleased that I found this stall.

And it was the salad servers, actually, that first caught my eye.

Silver plate, combined with what I think is probably rosewood for the

handles - I think these would look great in a contemporary kitchen.

But it's this that I think is my real winner, and, on the bottom,

here, we've got Alessi.

Now, that's an Italian manufacturer known for high-end kitchen wares

and this is no exception.

It's a melodic, whistling kettle, and that's why you've got

two apertures there when it's on the boil.

The style is very contemporary,

and I think this could be one of my best buys today.

And with four items bought to Caroline's three,

Kate stays with this vintage stall for her potential fifth buy,

a '60s lampshade.

I quite like the look of this.

Do you know, there's something fantastically kitsch about that.

What's the best on it? You've got 20 on there.

-What's...?

-My best would be 15.

Well, I'm going to make you an offer of ten.

-Has to be 15.

-In for a penny, in for a pound, we'll do it.

-OK, great.

-Thank you very much.

It's not the kind of thing I would usually go for at all,

but there could be money in it.

She may be out of her comfort zone but she is convinced she's done

a sweet deal.

Now, many might think I've just paid £15 for a giant lemon sherbet.

But, actually, for me, this is a great piece of British retro design.

The manufacturer is actually a company called Rotoflex,

and the designers were John and Sylvia Reid.

Now, they specialised in a type of spun plastic and if you look at this

closely, the texture is quite fantastic.

Now, mid-century modern pieces which have a retro look are really

flavour of the month at the moment

and I'm hoping if I find the right enthusiast,

this might just leave Caroline in the shade.

Yes, Kate's shady purchase brings us to the halfway mark,

so let's find out who is close

to solving the case of the missing antiques,

and who is scrabbling around without a clue.

Both our dealers arrived with £250 of their own money to spend.

Kate has spent frugally -

£42 on five items, leaving £208 in her kitty.

Caroline has bought less but spent more -

three items for £70, leaving her with £180 for the rest of the day.

Hey, how are you doing?

-All right.

-How are the energy levels?

It's a bit fast and furious, isn't it?

-Yeah, isn't it?

-There's loads more people coming over there.

I haven't even made it over there, have you?

A little tiny bit and then I came back here. I think it's better around here, actually.

-I'm going to check that bit out.

-Do you know what I think?

-What?

Why would people come later? I think the most serious dealers are going to be here early.

-Do you know, you have really thought about this.

-I have indeed.

You've kind of psychologically analysed this.

I can see why they call you The Hawk.

-I'll see you later.

-See you soon, bye.

Ah, the epitome of civility in public,

but what private thoughts lie behind those diplomatic words?

I know Kate is heading off over there but I think the best strategy is to

stay round here with the early birds and I think by this time they are

going to be a bit desperate to get rid of the rest of their stock.

So I'm going to be on the hunt for people who want to go home.

Do you know what? What she says about the best things coming first

makes perfect sense. And I'm really pleased I've cracked on and bought

what I have done so far.

All fired up, cheeky Kate is hell-bent on arresting

anything retro before Caroline spies it.

So, when she spots a vintage clothes stall,

it's not long before she's got it surrounded.

You know, you can't tell the size until you try it on.

Oh, yeah. I like that.

It's quite warm, too, isn't it?

-Cosy.

-Yes, and we're not getting any summer.

So what's the best on that?

The best on that, well, I was asking for a tenner on that.

Oh, my word. Did you say a tenner for the two?

No way!

You're having a laugh! For the two of them, £15.

How in is tweed at the moment?

-That's the question.

-And inside, it's all nicely lined.

Yeah. I'd still like a tenner for the two.

You've got such a lovely face, I'll do you 12.

-13 is good.

-Do you know what? 12 would be great.

I am keeping the hangers though.

OK, I'll let you keep the hangers, if you'll let me have them for £12.

Yes?

Thank you very much indeed.

The jackets have had their collars felt by Inspector Kate

and she thinks she's onto a winner.

Back in my home county of Herefordshire,

tweed is actually coming back into fashion.

These are quite a commercial size, they are not too big or too small.

And my favourite is this lovely green herringbone pattern.

Having said that, I think the buttons are pretty hideous.

And that's the first thing I'll change.

And for the right vintage enthusiast,

there's a good profit there.

That buy has put Kate on six purchases,

while Caroline trails on three.

But not for long, as she's spotted these retro school chairs

and is hoping to go to the top of the class.

-Are these your chairs?

-They are, yes. They are £2 each.

I think we had something similar at school in the '70s.

Yeah, I would say, early '70s, yeah.

-Definitely.

-Just need a bit of a touch-up, don't they,

-at the bottom.

-You could just repaint the metal on those, yeah.

-They've got all the little feet.

-The little feet are still on there.

Canny Caroline looks for something to sweeten the deal.

I've spotted something else.

I know it's modern, but the little cake stand, the heart-shaped one.

It's quite a good shape on that.

It is. I know it's a new thing, but I think it's rather cute.

-That's five, that one.

-That's five.

What would you do if I got this and the chairs.

Can you do a better price?

I can just do the lot for 12, that lucky pound off.

12. Eight...

I think my prices are so low in the first place...

Make it a tenner.

I'll do it for 11. I can't shift on that.

OK. Go on, £11.

-Thanks.

-Thank you.

It was only a discount of £2 but Caroline knows that every penny

counts in this game.

Well, I'm going to have to eat my hat.

I said there wouldn't be anything exciting to find in this new bit,

but, within moments, I found these.

Now, I think these will be good in a nursery,

they'll be good in a private house.

I just think they are really fun.

The only problem with them - these legs, so I'm going to paint those,

I haven't decided what colour yet, but they are just lovely.

This cake stand, it's as new as new can be.

But for £3,

not even I can go wrong and I've got a brilliant idea

-what I'm going to do with this.

-Sounds intriguing.

And Caroline really has her finger on the pulse now,

nabbing this vintage dress for £8.

It's a stunning piece of 1960s.

Now, not only the style tells me that, but the feel of the velvet.

This is not nylon velvet, it's not polyester, this is cotton velvet.

Beautiful, beautiful quality.

A little tip when you buy vintage,

open it up and have a look inside, under the arms,

where you would expect to see wear or residue of deodorant.

That's absolutely clean.

I think this has probably hardly, if at all, been worn.

I personally have a collection of 28 little black dresses.

-What? Did she say...?

-28 little black dresses.

I would love this to be number 29 in my collection.

But, sadly, sell it I must and I can't wait to find the girl

that's going to wear this. It's stunning.

And what better to go with her 29 little black dresses?

Why, these seven pairs of vintage shoes of course.

They are Caroline's for £30 the lot.

The lady was telling me that these came from a shop on the Kings Road

in the '80s. Patent leather, leather lined, brand-new.

They really are the business. I'm delighted.

And with this job lot of jazzy footwear,

she is first to finish buying.

Well, I've bought really, really unusual stuff

and I have absolutely no idea what Kate's bought.

And, I have to say, I'm really excited to see.

Caroline is all bought up but Kate is still on her final stakeout.

Hello, hello, hello. She's found something.

-Quite heavy, isn't it?

-It is, it's chunky.

-Yeah.

Ideal as a seat, maybe?

Yes, I suppose it could be a seat, couldn't it?

I didn't think of that.

-What could you do for me?

-30?

I'm thinking quite a bit less actually.

-Can I be cheeky?

-You can try.

Can I say ten?

Just cos it is quite faded and I do think it's quite modern.

I could go to 24.

I could come up a bit and say 15.

Probably nearer 20.

I think that's probably my best, to be honest.

Could you do 15? Final offer.

-OK.

-Done. Thank you very much.

So, Kate sticks to her guns and gets 50% off the original asking price.

Well, this little chest has the look of old pine or satinwood,

but, actually, it's a modern teak imported wood.

The key is in the weight of it.

If it was old pine, it would actually be relatively light.

But if I try and lift this up, it's actually quite heavy.

Now, this is a bit faded. It's not old.

It's a bit tatty around the bottom.

But paint it, and I think I've got a very good buy.

And on that confident note, the boot fair buying comes to a close and our

super sleuths have collected their most profitable prime suspects.

But before they reveal their items to each other,

it's time to tot up the totals.

They both started the day with £250 of their own money to spend.

Kate is hoping to make her mark with seven items, costing a modest £69.

But Caroline thinks she'll be on top

with her seven items that cost £119.

But all that matters now is profit.

Our dynamic dealers have spent their dosh,

so it's time to present their purchases.

-Well, Kate...

-What a day.

What a day. I can see, you know, there's a few similarities.

We've both got a bit of vintage.

-Yes. Yeah.

-Maybe that's where it ends.

-What do you think?

-Wow!

It's a bit of an eyeful, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It's my lemon sherbet.

-I can see that.

I mean, just the texture of it is amazing.

It really is like a lemon sherbet.

-Yeah, I can feel it tingling on my tongue.

-So can I. Yes.

Then when I saw these earrings, I thought, "No, we only had 250 quid!"

A carat each. What do you think?

Leave the diamonds in the safe and wear those on a night out.

-Brilliant.

-Well, anyway, enough of mine, let's have a look at yours.

-Go on, then.

-Tell me about these shoes.

Seven pairs. Have you got lots of friends with the same size feet?

I think they are great quality.

Patent leather, leather-lined, they are jazzy.

But this, Caroline, I absolutely love.

Do you?

Yeah. And it's my size.

-It would look lovely on you.

-I like that.

All in all, I think we've both done rather well.

I kind of hope so.

Certainly an eclectic mix.

Come on. I'm buying you a cup of tea.

Thanks, Kate.

So our antiques aficionados hit the high road for home,

where they have to come up with their strategies for selling at a profit

and banking the biggest amount of money for their chosen charities.

This stage of the challenge is highly demanding,

but results can be stellar.

Find the perfect buyer for the perfect item and there are

plentiful profits to be made.

In her nest in East Yorkshire, The Hawk is picking over her haul.

Wow! My car-boot bootie.

And isn't it bootiful?

The cake stand -

I've found the most gorgeous wedding venue and I'm going to add a little

sweetener to it.

And I think that is just going to fly.

Dinner service - it's Midwinter, Flower Song is the pattern.

The designer is Jesse Tait.

It's a very full service.

We've got six large plates, six small, the terrines, it's stunning.

And I'm looking for a really cool, hip, young couple to buy that.

Moving on to my baby bath.

On further researching the matter,

I've found that this was designed in 1955 and sold from '55 to 1960.

Honestly, I'm having a little bit of trouble finding a buyer of it.

But I will persevere and I will find a buyer.

These little chairs hail from the 1970s.

They look rather plain at the moment with this dark grey thing.

But watch this space cos I've had a brilliant idea and I am going to

transform them totally and make them the most stunning chairs

you've ever seen.

Big promises there from Caroline.

She also has to line up buyers for her '60s velvet dress,

vintage suitcase and shiny '80s shoes.

In her Herefordshire kitchen,

Kate is also sizing up her car-boot collectables and considering

restoration and repairs.

Well, I'm back home and I'm just taking stock of all my purchases.

Now, the jackets, I think I've got some classy buttons which not only

am I going to put onto that one,

but I think they'd really lift the brown one as well.

The chest, I think, is great.

But it'll look so much better when it's painted.

And it would be quite nice to find a quirky setting for this,

where not only could it be used as storage but for a seat as well.

My bookends, I've thought about restoring and, actually,

I'm going to leave them exactly how they are.

You've got to be careful when you are restoring old leather because if

I don't match the colour exactly, these could look a disaster.

But my all-time favourite piece is my kettle.

It's so stylish.

And what I really want to do is sell it to someone who is going to use it

and where this melodic whistle can really be shown off.

I can't wait to hear it.

No rest for the wicked.

I'm really keen to get started and make some money.

But, first, I'd better get my paintbrush out

and set to work on this fella.

So, Kate is off to find her sewing kit and a pot of paint.

She also needs to find buyers

for her '70s salad servers, modern earrings,

and retro lampshade.

It's time for our elegant experts to fire up their laptops,

pick up their phones and sniff out

the buyers in their goal to accumulate

the most cash. But, remember, until they've shaken on it,

and the money has changed hands, no deal is truly sealed.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

-For her first sale,

where else would Kate take her £3 bookends but a town

famous the world over for its connection to books and literature?

I'm right on the border between England and Wales in Hay-on-Wye,

which is known as the town of books

because of the mass of book shops here.

But I'm not taking my bookends to a book shop,

that would be too easy.

I'm going to take them to a pub.

That's an interesting decision.

Kate is meeting Scarlett,

manager of the pub that has been in her family for 30 years.

Hay is the town of books, isn't it?

-It is, yeah.

-So you must get a lot of literary minds coming in

-and having lunch here.

-We do. It can make for a bit of a busy lunchtime,

getting a lot of people who are quite opinionated about their

literature, and talking about different subjects.

Well, I've brought you a pair of bookends and I think they've got

a lovely bit of sort of faded glory about them.

In their day, which was probably the early part of the 20th century,

they would have been quite striking and really of some quality.

You can see they've been edged with gilt and they've got this lovely

fleur-de-lis motif on them.

I know you've got a few little nice antiquey pieces around the pub.

-Yeah, we do.

-So what do you think, Scarlett? Do you think they'd fit in here?

Well, I think they are both really lovely bookends.

We've got a lot of rich reds and kind of nice antiquey bits that

people love to come and have a look at. And this could really work well

with our current collection.

How much are you looking for them?

I was hoping for around the £60 mark.

How does that sound to you?

Would you take 40 for them?

Could I push you up to 50?

A nice round 50?

How about 47? We'll settle on 47.

47, that comes down a wee bit, I'm happy with that.

Yeah? Perfect. We've got a deal.

-Lovely, thank you, Scarlett.

-Thank you.

Wowzer. Kate sells the bookends for a novel profit of £44 and they find

their way straight onto the shelf.

-They look perfect.

-Yeah?

-Really nice.

Miss Bliss may have got her first sale under her belt,

but Caroline is hot on her heels.

The Hawk goes south,

to creative hot spot East London, where there are more vintage

homeware dealers than you can shake a stick at.

A vintage stick, that is.

I'm here in East London to see Jihan with my Midwinter dinner service.

It's just the sort of thing that she buys.

So, hopefully, she's going to fall for mine.

The 19-piece set cost her £40.

-So, it's arrived safely.

-Yes, it all has.

Now, I've done a bit of research and found out that

-the designer is Jesse Tait.

-That's correct.

She was revolutionary in design work, moving away from the kind of

traditional chintz and floral designs.

-You collect but you also sell, don't you?

-That's right.

-This is your business.

-Yes, so we collect Midwinter tableware.

But then also sell mid-century tableware, mid-century furniture,

so it's actually, like, really good stuff for us.

I was hoping to get 190.

We'd kind of be looking to pay more at the kind of 140 price...

-Right.

-..for this kind of stuff.

-Yeah.

-Mostly because it's not complete

with coffee cups or teacups.

But it is a very nice piece.

Could we settle on 150?

I think we can do 150.

-Brilliant. 150.

-Thank you very much.

A successful sale and Caroline can dine out on her delicious profit

of £110.

Still on a retro roll,

Caroline sells her '60s velvet dress to Hannah,

the buyer for a vintage clothing shop in Oxford...

Could we close the deal at 35? Would you take that?

Yes, do you know, I would. Yes.

..making £27 profit and going one deal ahead.

In a bid to add value to her chest of drawers,

Kate has spruced it up with a fashionable shade of paint,

and has made her way from home across the border into Wales.

Now, I've had a bit of a quirky idea for my little chest of drawers.

I've had it delivered to a very blowy glamping site

just outside Hay-on-Wye.

Now, I've come to meet the owner, Kesari,

and I'm hoping my little chest is going to fit very nicely

in one of her tents.

Kate originally paid a modest £15 for this item,

but now she's painted it and added a cushion,

could there be a profitable treasure in the chest?

-So, what do you think of it, Kesari?

-I think it's stunning. It really,

really goes well with, you know, all of our furnishings,

how we decorated all of the tents.

It's a sweet little chest of drawers.

Obviously, you've got a little bit of storage in there,

which I should imagine you need.

But also it is just the perfect height for a little seat,

so you've got an extra bonus there to use it as a little perch as well.

Normally I would paint the furniture and you've done it in exactly

the same colour as I would have used.

Well, I was hoping for somewhere between 150 and 200.

Given that it's finished completely,

I'd probably pay between 120 and 160.

If I push you to the 160, I'll throw the cushion in as well.

-How does that sound?

-Brilliant, deal.

Done.

And the chest is soon installed in its new home.

Great.

Chest plus paint plus cushion delivers Kate a stonking profit

of £132.01.

And she's delighted.

Well, I'm just really glad that all my elbow grease and hard work

has paid off.

With the scores at two deals each,

Kate is off to Daventry in Northamptonshire.

She's set her sights on selling the chic whistling kettle that she

picked up for £15 to Avril,

the owner of a distinctly different cafe.

-Hello there.

-Hello, Kate.

-It looks superb.

-Thank you very much.

-Would you like to come on board?

-I would love to.

-If you come down backwards.

-Backwards is best, is it?

That's lovely.

-Great. This is lovely, Avril.

-And into my little galley.

-Into here.

-You can see the working area.

Yes. So this is the kettle.

Well, I think we should give it a go.

Sounds good to me.

Remember, this is a whistling kettle,

so all they need to do is wait.

So, what's it like being on the water?

And having to cook in here?

You can sway a little bit but it is a fun, friendly thing,

which is why I'm interested in your kettle.

-Yeah.

-Because that's also a fun, friendly thing.

Well, I think it is a really nice, stylish piece.

It's by Alessi, Italian designers.

And, actually, this piece dates from 1983,

designed by a chap called Richard Sapper.

But that whistle on the end,

which should be a two-tone melodic whistle...

Well, I'm looking forward to it.

-It's steaming.

-We're getting a lot of steam.

Yes, but how long does this kettle need to start producing its

distinctive tune?

MUSIC: Hot in Herre by Nelly

This is a bit of a puzzle.

It seems the kettle was in the car-boot sale for a reason.

It ain't whistling.

Yes, the silent kettle has been found out.

But Kate is not about to let a sale disappear.

I mean, is it still something you might be interested in buying,

Avril, even without the whistle?

I think I would be still interested in buying it, Kate, yes.

OK. Well, I think we'd definitely better bring the price down,

from where I saw it at, as it doesn't whistle.

How does £40 sound for it, for a stylish Italian kettle?

That sounds very fair.

All right. £40 then, Avril.

That's super. Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

-Well, any chance of a cup of tea?

Absolutely.

Well, that contrary car-boot find makes Kate a profit of £25

and at least it boils water.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

Still rather red-faced from the great Daventry kettle disaster,

Kate puts in a call to Caroline to see how her rival is doing.

-Hello.

-Caroline.

Hi, Kate.

You won't believe it. Do you remember my whistling kettle?

-I do.

-Yeah. I had a wee bit of a hitch.

-What?

-It didn't whistle.

-Oh, no.

-How embarrassing is that?

But I managed to just sell it anyway.

Are you selling lots?

I'm all right. I'm selling and I'm busy, busy, busy.

Yeah, you sound far too confident, actually, Caroline.

-Oh, yeah?

-Well, listen, great to talk to you.

And you, Kate.

-Bye.

-Bye. She thinks I sound confident.

Well, I do. What have I got to worry about?

SHE WHISTLES

A bit worried now.

To alleviate her worries,

Kate sells her 1970s salad servers to contact Amanda in Herefordshire

for £25, dishing up a healthy profit of £21.

And that brings us to the halfway mark,

so let's find out how our selling queens are doing so far.

Kate has sold four items, stacking up a profit of £222.01.

Caroline has sold only two items and has a smaller profit of £137.

So Kate is two deals up but, determined to strike back,

The Hawk is in South London

with her mid-century baby bath that cost £12.

She hopes to make a splash with vintage furniture shop owner Moses.

Hi. This is the baby bath I was telling you about on the telephone.

It was designed in 1955.

-Right.

-And made between 1955 and 1960.

-Mm-hm.

-I think it's a very original piece.

-Yeah.

I think it's a very interesting mid-century modern piece.

-Yes. All the ticks. All the ticks.

-All the ticks?

So, what do you think about it?

It's an unusual piece.

I'm not sure I would put a baby of mine in there.

I think it's going to be a planter.

Well, I was thinking between 80 and 120.

-Ouch.

-Oh, ouch.

I felt that.

Whatever you're thinking, divide it by two.

Divide it by two?! Oh! Could we do...

..75?

I'm just trying to think on the resale value.

So I'm thinking 65 and...

-..save you taking it back.

-70 and you've got yourself a deal.

70? 70 breaks the bank.

65 breaks my heart.

£66, I think we've got a deal.

£66 and you have a deal.

-Done.

-Thank you.

With her heart still intact,

Caroline rinses a profit of £54 from her vintage bath.

Also in London, she targets a Phileas Fogg-themed bar with her

decorative 1930s suitcase...

-I'll shake on 80. Thank you very much.

-Excellent.

..and picks up a £62 profit from marketing manager Tom.

They are level pegging with four sales each,

and Kate is in Worcestershire,

hoping for a sweet deal on her colourful '60s lampshade.

Remember, it cost her £15.

Here on the high street is quite an unusual tearooms.

It's retro at one end and vintage at the other.

Now, I'm hoping that, somewhere, this is going to fit in.

She's meeting tearoom owner and design buff Susan.

-Hi, Susan.

-Hello, Kate.

-Hi, there.

-Pleased to meet you.

I mean, this has got to be the retro end.

This is definitely the retro end, yes.

Yeah. I love your three-piece suite and your wallpaper.

-Thank you very much, yes.

-How did all this come about?

Well, basically, I'm a baker by trade, so in the tearoom, I make all

my own cakes.

But I've also come through breast cancer and while I was in

remission, I did an interior design course at college.

So I've got an interest in retro and different styles and things.

And this actually looks quite in keeping, doesn't it?

-It does, yeah.

-What do you think?

-Very space-age, yeah.

I love it. I love the colour.

Well, I don't know what you think.

I was hoping for somewhere between sort of £80 and £120.

-Right.

-How does that sound to you?

Yes, I think that sounds really good, yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Obviously, it's in nice condition as well.

Yes. So what do you think?

A round 100?

Yes, I think so. Yeah.

-Are you happy with that?

-If that's OK with you, yeah.

I'm delighted with that, if you are happy.

-Lovely, yeah.

-I think this has got to be the ideal place, Susan.

I think it will fit in well, yes.

-Yeah, definitely.

-Fantastic.

-Thank you very much.

An item in great condition matched with the perfect buyer makes for

a stress-free haggle and Kate's switched on an £85 profit.

And in the moneymaking mood,

she adds a further £35 to her profit pot when she sells her

stud earrings to an antiques dealer in Dorset.

Caroline is now two deals down and who would be in her shoes,

as she tries to sell her fancy '80s footwear to Ian,

owner of a vintage clothing shop in Whitby?

There are seven pairs.

-They obviously like the blue ones.

-Yeah, there's a lot of blue.

When I bought them,

the lady said they were sold on the Kings Road in the '80s.

-Yeah.

-And a lot of unknown designers put their shoes in and they were

sold from there. As you can see, there is no maker.

Yeah, I think apart from some slight marking there,

they are in fantastic condition.

How much do you think they are worth?

Well, I was hoping to get around £20 a pair.

How would you feel about more like 15 a pair?

Right, 15...

-105?

-105, yes, right.

I'm going to have to be...

Could you do 16?

And the maths as well?

16, I can do 16, but I think I need a calculator.

-Right, OK. 16, thank you.

-Thank you very much.

That's £112 and she adds £82 to her profit pot.

And from high fashion to high calories,

Caroline has gone all Mary Berry with her cake stand,

raiding her own pantry to rustle up some home-made heart-shaped treats

to sweeten the sale for Laura,

owner of a wedding venue in East Yorkshire...

Could you make it 50?

-Yes.

-Yes. Yes.

..for a profit of £47 with sugar on top.

They are now both down to their final items.

In Herefordshire, classy Kate

is giving her tweed jackets an extra twist.

They are in really nice condition

but I think the buttons let them down.

They look a bit cheap to me.

I think leather-covered buttons,

I think will just make it look a whole lot better.

The new buttons cost almost £8, so Kate needs to do a good job.

Jackets up to scratch, and now owing her just under £20,

Kate is in Ledbury,

hoping for a stylish profit from vintage storeowner Kelly.

Kate, hi. How are you?

Good to see you. These are the jackets I told you about.

Right, lovely, OK.

-Would you like to come inside and have a look?

-Sure, thank you.

I was hoping for around the sort of £40-£50 each.

I would probably be looking at between £20-£25 each.

Could I say 60 for the two?

Push you just a little bit.

We can do that, I think. I think we can stretch to that.

-OK. Lovely.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Thank you very much.

And after allowing for the cost of the new buttons,

the stylish pair nets Kate a profit of just over £40 and she reaches

the end of her selling journey.

Well, that's it, I'm all sold up.

And I'm feeling all right.

The only thing I'm slightly worried about is how Caroline has got on

and I can't wait to find out.

Well, our Hawk is also nearing the end of her campaign, but before

she does her final deal, she has promised us a miracle transformation

of her £8 school chairs.

And after a decoupage session with her friend Amanda,

she is ready to unveil her works of art.

MUSIC: Sit Down by James

The chairs now owe her just over £24 and to find out if she is

sitting on a profit, she brings them to Staithes in North Yorkshire.

She's meeting vintage tearoom owner Trudi,

who also sells furniture from her shop.

Lovely to see you.

-Hello.

-Well, I hope you've got time to have a look at my lovely chairs.

-What do you think?

-I think they look really effective.

And would you sell them as single chairs?

I think I would probably sell them as a pair.

I don't know many people who have got four children.

-Don't you?

-But I think a couple of pairs,

I think they would fly out of the shop.

Well, I was thinking something like 120 for the four.

Ooh, 120...

And is there a bit of a deal in that?

Yeah. Is 110 any good?

I was thinking a round 100.

-A round 100.

-Would you be happy with that?

-OK. I would.

-That would be lovely.

-Thank you.

Caroline's weeny little chairs make her a big fat profit of nearly £76

after upcycling costs.

Our car-boot bonanza has ended but before we find out who is sitting on

the antiques throne and who is languishing in the dungeon,

let's have a reminder of what they spent.

Starting with a budget of £250,

Kate bought seven items costing nearly £90,

including new buttons and a cushion.

Caroline also bought seven items and spent just over £135,

including her upcycling costs.

But who has made the most profit?

All the money that Kate and Caroline have made will go to charities of

their choice, so without further ado, let's find out

who is today's Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is champion.

-Hello, Kate.

-How are you doing?

-Good to see you.

-And you.

-Hey, that car-boot seems like ages ago.

-Gosh, well, it was.

-Well, it was, yeah.

I was on a mission that day but, do you know, when I got home,

I realised that I'd sort of made a bit of work for myself.

Do you remember my lovely cylindrical chest?

-Yes.

-With the really nice shape.

-Yes.

-Well, I ended up painting that,

which took a little bit longer than I thought.

-What about you?

-Well, I did a little bit of upcycling myself.

-Yeah?

-Do you remember those little chairs, the school chairs?

-Yeah.

-Well, I got some decoupage papers,

cut it all up and covered them,

the tops, the bottoms, painted the legs,

they looked absolutely brilliant.

-Wow!

-But it took hours and hours and hours.

And so addictive.

-Really?

-Yes.

-Sort of quite therapeutic?

Yes, it is. It's fantastic.

But the whole house is now in danger of being decoupaged.

-Shall we see how we've done?

-Shall we?

-Come on.

-I'm really nervous now.

-OK, are we ready?

-One...

-Two...

BOTH: Three.

Oh, you thrashed me!

Must have been your decoupage.

I think it was. All those hours.

Well done, you. Well, you know what they say,

-a bit of elbow grease pays off.

-Yes, it does.

OK, I'd better buy the tea.

Well done, you.

Yes, Caroline is today's winner and it was her old school chairs

that were an education in how to make a profit.

Well, the car-boot queen has struck again.

I'm very, very pleased with that result.

It was the chairs that did it.

Well, that's a great win for Caroline

and I'm really pleased for her.

It sounds like she put the hours in.

And I think I need to learn about decoupage.

Well, after that defeat,

Kate will want to whistle up a victory tomorrow when she

and Caroline enter a battle of the bidding at an auction in Kent.