Charlie Ross vs Paul Hayes: 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

and gives you the inside view on the secrets of the trade.

All right, thank you very much.

Coming up - our dealers show you the basics of ruthless haggling.

-Five.

-Seven.

Five. Can't pay any more than five.

How the antiques game often calls for some serious muscle.

You could use it as a bench press if nothing else.

And how even the very best can still get it wrong.

Things are not looking good here.

Today's epic clash pitches the best dressed dealers in the business against each other,

as Charlie The Charmer Ross takes on The Man From Morecambe, Paul Hayes.

They'll be wheeling and dealing as if their lives depended on it

to see who can make the biggest profit from buying and selling antiques.

This is going to be a blazing battle of north versus south.

It's Lancashire's cheeriest blue-eyed boy...

Come on mate, keep your chin up. You've got a few hours left yet.

..against the Home Counties favourite super smoothy.

Thank you, my dear.

Oh, that's made my day.

Today's dealers have up to £250 of their own money to spend.

Their mission over a week of challenges is to make the most profit,

which will go to charity.

Today, Charlie and Paul have up to £250 of their own money to spend

with any profit they make going to their favourite charities.

Their battleground is the giant car boot bonanza at Denham in Buckinghamshire

where hundreds of seasoned traders have pitched up to offer their wares.

Making money is the name of the game, but who will spot the bargains

amongst the bric-a-brac and end up with the most profitable booty?

For Charlie Ross and Paul Hayes, its time to jump on the dealing merry-go-round.

Here we are, Charlie, at a car boot sale in Uxbridge. Are you looking forward to it?

Absolutely. How much have we got to spend?

-£250.

-£250.

You're a favourite of car boot sales, aren't you?

I've only ever been to one and I have to say I didn't enjoy it.

-What's your strategy today?

-My strategy is to run up and down here,

past the dog food, past the cat food and try and find something that's pre-1900.

Wel may you scoff,

but there are a lot of people here that do this as a living.

This is how I started out. The rents are very cheap,

you can park your car, open your boot and away you go.

And look where it's got you.

Exactly. On a merry-go-round with you.

-What's your strategy?

-It's to try and pick through

a lot of the stalls. I want to find the regular dealers.

They are the people I can talk to and get good discount.

Our dizzy dealers step out onto Buckinghamshire's field of dreams and

at first glance, you might think this contest is a big of a mismatch.

Paul started his dealing career in the car boot trenches, so the golden boy is in his element today.

All right, anything nice on? Thanks a lot, lads.

-Have a good one.

-Cheers.

Do you think Charlie has fallen on hard times?

I'm sure he was wearing that yesterday.

Charlie is a dealing veteran who has made his name as an auctioneer,

so he's more used to operating at the higher end of the business.

The poor fellow has just got one previous experience of a car boot sale

under his belt and it sounds like he's a fish out of water.

I don't know where to start here, really.

I think it's a question of zipping up and down, up and down, past the belts, past the England shirts

and try and find a table with some old things on.

Well, don't feel too sorry for our car boot novice.

Behind the old school good manners, the charmer is a profit predator.

He said he's looking for pre-1900 antiques

but that razor sharp eye will pick out anything that looks like it could make money.

A-ha, one fishing rod.

Even people that don't fish collect fishing rods.

-It's from the 1950s.

-Yes.

-It's as old as me.

-Yours for £50.

Is it £50? Blimey. Knock me down with a feather.

Collectors pay a lot of money for good fishing rods.

I'm sure they do but, you know something, if I bought that,

the trouble is I don't know what I'm doing.

So, what's it worth, do you think? And don't say 50 quid.

I would take £20 for that.

You'd take £20. You're coming down, 50 to 20 in one easy move.

I thought I'd wind you up a bit.

I thought you were. I thought, "50 quid?" I thought, "Blimey."

Once I put my hand in my pocket and show you the colour of my money, could I buy that for a tenner, sir?

-No.

-Oh, please, sir.

-£20.

But, I could sell it for £20, couldn't I?

-You could sell if for £30.

-I don't think I could.

I think I could sell it for £20.

A crisp £10 note.

-Go on, sir.

-You're a man.

Operating on pure killer instinct,

our car boot innocent reels in today's first catch for a tenner.

His opposition, car boot veteran Paul, is pounding the aisles.

He knows there's potential profit to be made at every turn.

I was chatting to a gentleman just then.

He says he'd been around here really early

and he managed to buy an item for £1 and he's sold it since for £50.

So, he's already £49 up.

We were still in bed.

Charlie is casting off all caution and really warming to the anything goes nature of car booting.

He spots a passerby carrying something he likes the look of and he's straight in there.

-Did you buy that earlier?

-I did.

What time did you buy that?

I bought that at about six o'clock.

Six o'clock? No wonder you got that. Can I have a quick look at it?

-Course you can.

-Let me put down my rod.

I did notice that if you undo this,

there is a little steam engine in it.

A steam engine in it?

Hey, look at that! Hey, what's it been made out of?

An old sign or something.

It's been made out of an old advertising sign.

You can see the writing on the inside.

Did you buy it to restore it, or to flog it?

To flog it. I saw a profit in it.

-Did you?

-Yeah.

-I suppose you only paid a fiver for it, did you?

A little bit more than that, but not much more.

Good Lord. So, how much do you want for it?

It's got to be £25.

-I can see that £25.

-You old profit monger.

Absolutely. That's what I'm here for.

I suppose it is. £20.

£25, no less.

-£22.

-Not a penny less.

-£23.

Hey, we know why we're here.

We know a bargain when we see one. That's £25.

I tell you what, that is £25 worth.

-All day long.

-All day long.

I'll have it, sir.

The Charmer is sailing away with his second purchase of the day.

Rank outsider Charlie's now got two buys in his booty bag,

whilst The Man From Morecambe has been busy working out where he should pounce first.

Do you know what? I've just seen a stall here selling nothing but books. I love old books.

I can see on the stall already, there are some nice leather-bound examples,

so I'm going to have a look to see what we can find.

Oh, eat your heart out, Charlie. It's The Man From Morecambe

who's the first to home in on some pre-1900 purchases.

Paul wants to snap up these two 18th century volumes right away

and he's straight in there with an offer of £40.

I can't go as low as £40 on that.

You can't? Meet me halfway?

-Halfway. £42.

-£42. Right, shall we shake on that?

Nice to see you, mate. Thank you.

Now, I'll tell you what these are.

We've got two great historical books here on the area of Bath.

These are original books that were produced in 1788 and tell the story about society in Bath at that time.

Don't forget, it would only really be the members of the gentry

that would go to Bath, who would bathe in the Roman waters

and it was very much the place to be at that time.

I think for £42, there's definitely food for thought there.

Our audacious blue-eyed boy pips Charlie at his own game.

But it seems all that strategy stuff has gone right out of the window

for the Charmer, because all he's thinking about is profit.

I'm not certain I'm sticking to my strategy.

I haven't seen anything pre-1900 yet, so therefore I haven't been able to buy anything pre-1900.

But, I've bought that, which I love, and that,

which I hope I'm going to love, or the profit I hope I'm going to love.

For a fish out of water, Charlie has made a cracking start

but his rival is putting in the yards with piercing eyes primed.

I've spotted something from a distance here.

There's one thing I'd love to know more about and that's rugs and carpets.

There's a massive collecting field for it but you've got to know

what you're doing. It's always good to ask the stallholder.

-Are you all right?

-All right.

Nice to meet you. What can you tell me about this fellow?

-Do you know where it's from?

-Yeah, very much so.

It's from Afghanistan. It's Beluchi and I brought it back from Peshawar, the Khyber Pass, in the 1980s.

And what do these represent? Because normally it's the garden of paradise.

When the nomadic tribes go through, they saw the Russian tanks

that had invaded Afghanistan at that particular time.

-So, these would have been depicting the Russian invasion that was happening at that time?

-Russian.

And they put the story of the whole invasion in the actual carpet.

-All handmade.

-And how much are you looking for that today, now it's got a story with it?

-Around £100.

I think that's worth £100 if it were an older one. But I think 25 years old, that's quite steep, isn't it?

I do have to ask you this - is that your best price or can you do something?

-I could...do £80.

-£80.

-£80.

£80 isn't a bad start,

but the eagle-eyed Man From Morecambe has spotted

something that he thinks could get the price down even further.

£50 - I'll take it off your hands, with the mothball, moth-eaten,

-and we'll shake on that and I'll bring you a cup of tea.

-£60.

£50 and it's a firm offer and I bet it's the only offer you've had today.

Go on.

Thank you very much.

Oh, he can be tough when he wants to be. Paul snaps up his second deal of the day.

Bombastic Charlie is just as tenacious when it comes to getting those prices down.

-Are you open to offers?

-I am.

Even from rude men from like me?

Even from rude men like you.

It's got a Philips screw in the bottom. It can't be Victorian or Edwardian, but it's quite fun.

The Leeway registered fire truck.

Its quite fun. Give you a couple of quid for it.

-Bit more.

-Three. Last offer.

-Bit more.

-Oh, madam, you're so hard.

I'll do it for a tenner.

I'm going to make you one last offer, put it down and run away. Fiver.

-Seven and it's yours.

-Five.

-Seven.

Five. Can't pay any more than five.

-Go on then, take it, then.

-Oh, madam, you're such a star.

I'll peel out a crisp fiver for you.

Tough as nails, these boys.

Charlie's really chugging away and Billy the fire engine is his third bargain buy of the day.

With the clock ticking, our duelling dealers need to press on.

Charlie's off hunting down the next unsuspecting car booter

whilst The Man From Morecambe is battling away from his third buy,

an original oil painting of a pub.

Do you know where it is, the Devonshire Arms?

-No.

-No idea at all?

-No.

The blue-eyed boy sniffs potential profit here, and the painting's his for a tenner.

That's lovely. All the best, nice to meet you.

I don't know if there's a psychic connection here, but the Charmer has also honed in on a painting

and at last is getting closer to bagging something antique.

HE LAUGHS

As a very bad golfer, I can relate to this.

Here we've got the comic situation

of a ball going down a ravine and one chap asking the other, "What shall I take for this?"

Well, you can't imagine any sort of club being able

to get the ball out of there.

But it's a links course. Might even be a play on somewhere like St Andrews.

But I think it's of fun and I think this is definitely old.

Not 19th century, but it's got some age.

It's in a reasonably old frame and I'm going to enquire the price on it,

because I think I could sell this.

Charlie snaps up his comedy golfers for just a fiver. A hole in one.

Now, its time to compare how our brave boys are spending.

Charlie and Paul both started the day

with a budget of £250

of their own money.

So far, Charlie's bought

four items and spent £45,

leaving over £200 still in his kitty.

Paul's bought just three items

and spent £102,

so he's got just under

£150 still to spend.

But, there's plenty of car boot drama

still to come.

By the middle of the day, our field of dreams has become a hot bed of frenetic buying and selling.

And every second that passes, there's less and less gear on offer,

so our duelling dealers have got to hunt even harder

for the quality items.

What I've seen a lot of here today are damaged items and damaged items

are generally difficult to sell on, so try and buy things perfect if you can.

Unwittingly, the Charmer's treading in his rival's footsteps as he chases his next purchase...

Quite a bit of potential here.

..discovering the same well travelled fellow who sold Paul his Afghan rug.

But Charlie's spotted something extraordinary that Paul completely missed.

I honestly don't know what it was for.

It would make a cracking bread basket, wouldn't it?

It's a shame it's not English,

but it wouldn't look like that if it was, would it?

It's inlaid with some quite interesting woods

and I can't really tell whether that is ivory or whether its bone, but I'm going to ask the price.

Sir, how much is your basket?

My Anglo-Indian porcupine...

-It is Indian, I thought it was.

-That's what I believe.

I'm sure you're right. Can I buy it for £20, sir?

-No, I couldn't do it for that.

-Are you sure?

I might do it for £30.

I have to say, I do like it.

I will make you one last offer, sir.

£25 cash.

-Done.

-You're a wonderful man.

Charlie notches up his fifth purchase of the day

and grabs his sixth from the same stall -

a post war floppy doll for just £2.

The Man From Morecambe's still got a whopping £150 rattling about in his pocket and he's racing around

trying to spot the items with the most profit in them.

First, a set of the oriental game Mah-jongg in near spanking condition.

Can I say a straight £20.

-Certainly.

-Are you sure?

-Yeah, I'm sure.

That's lovely, thank you very much.

And Paul is on a roll. At another stall, he pounces

on a pair of intricately decorated ashtrays, paying just £2 for them.

Now, what I've got here is one of my favourite items.

This is called cloisonne enamel.

What would happen, you would cast the basic shape from a brass or in some case a bronze,

and then the artist would solder the surface with a little wire,

and those wires produce cloisonnes,

which is French for compartment.

So, these little compartments then are filled with a glass paste

and that glass paste is built up with all this wonderful colour

and that's the end result. This was made in China.

These are quite modern, probably 20 to 30 years old,

but aren't they absolutely beautiful?

Wonderful quality and for a pound a piece, a bargain, I think.

Paul is as pleased as punch and Charlie's feeling pretty chipper, too.

With a nice slice of cake to stoke his fires, he's on the hunt for his very own car boot holy grail.

Hello, sir.

Do you know, I've been looking for something that's 19th century all day

and I haven't found anything till now.

That's the first real antique I've seen.

The only thing is, is it restorable?

I think everything's restorable but it's a question of

whether or not it can be done for the money.

Charlie goes straight in with the old restoration cost sob story. Cunning.

Is it unbelievably cheap in this condition?

-It is.

-Is it a fiver?

No, it's a bit more than that, its £50.

-What?

-£50.

-5-0?

-That's the one.

Oh, blast. If I have a look, there might be something... Oh!

-How much is this one?

-That's a tenner.

I'm not surprised.

Why don't you go £40 and we'll chuck the other box in for you?

£40 for the two?

-Yes.

-Sold.

Great work from the Charmer.

He almost choked on his cake in his rush.

£40 for the two antique rosewood boxes and Charlie's finally fulfilled his 19th century buying strategy.

It just shouted at me. I was trying to work out whether it's inlaid

or whether perhaps it was transfer printed, but it's inlaid.

Look at the workmanship. And I would say, despite the condition,

this is the nicest thing I've seen here today.

Yes, Charlie's over the moon and now Paul's really got his work cut out.

The traders are starting to leave in droves and The Man From Morecambe has still got half his money left.

If you just have a look all around here, look at that! All these people are going home now.

Charlie Ross is here somewhere and I'm sure he's bought a bargain or two.

Come on, Paul, seize the day.

Charlie is still buying.

The suave southern gent is even prepared to trade on his fame if it bags him a bargain.

-Give me your autograph and £35.

-£35 and my autograph, done.

What am I going to do with these?

If ever a man completely lost his marbles and did away

with any strategy of all this 19th century nonsense, it's this.

This lady is so delightful, she has sold me

some modern knives.

What am I doing?

Yes, well you might ask, Charlie.

Your seller seems delighted with £35 and your autograph. What a lucky lady.

SHE TOOTS HER HORN

With time running out, poor old Paul is getting desperate.

This is absolutely mad.

Obviously, everyone has packed up early here today.

That's what happens - if you take enough money,

you've had enough, you've still got the rest of the day.

But there might be some bargains to be had, you never know.

Hello, there. Anything left?

-Not a lot.

-Not a lot.

Silver plated teapot there, can that be a fiver?

-At this late stage of the game, Paul is taking no prisoners.

-Seven.

I'm offering a fiver, I've got to dash. If you don't want it...

Yeah, go on.

Are you sure? I'll have that for a fiver.

-Nice coffee pot.

-Even when he's under the cosh, our Morecambe maestro sure knows his silver.

People often ask me, how do you tell a solid silver item from a silver plated item?

Well, there are three types of silver plate. One is on copper, one is EPNS, which is on nickel,

and one is Britannia metal, which is like a lead substance.

And to tell which one it is, if you just breathe on the surface.

Look for an exposed area like this.

You can see it shows through a bit of yellow where the engraving is and if you look on the top here

the yellow is coming through on the top.

I know that's EPNS, electro-plated nickel silver.

If that shows through a red colour, that's Sheffield plate, which is a bit better

and a lead colour is Britannia metal, which is a bit worse.

So, this is a middle of the range nice quality item.

With today's car boot sale breathing its last,

it's now a case of pounce on anything that looks profitable.

Charlie snaps up a watercolour of a lakeside scene.

I'm so desperate to use my money. Here comes £15.

And follows it up with a watercolour of Warwick Castle,

originally priced at £150.

I'll give you £60 cash now.

Its closing down time and everything must go.

Paul's last ditch attempt for glory is purchasing a...

well, I'm not even sure he knows what it is.

Are you going to take it?

-Take it for a fiver.

-Go on, then.

-Is that all right with you?

-Yep.

-Thank you. I don't know what it is. Do you?

-No. Still don't know.

-All right.

There we go - a career-defining moment.

The Man From Morecambe becomes the proud owner of a metal box with some dials on it.

I think for a fiver, it was a bargain. But the hardest job we've got is getting it home.

Oh, its heavy. He didn't tell me that, did he?

Oh, dear! You could use it as a bench press, if nothing else.

Our duelling duos breathless car boot bonanza is over.

So how have our mighty profit seekers fared on their quest?

Charlie and Paul started out with £250 apiece.

Paul ended the day with seven items

in his swag bag and spent

a modest total of £134.

Charlie bought ten items

and spent a lot more - £222, in fact.

But it's the dealer who makes

the most profit

who will emerge the victor.

Before they go their separate ways to start selling,

our brave boys grab the chance to compare their purchases.

-Well, well, well.

-Charlie, how are you?

-I'm very well. I've brought you a present.

-Oh, thank you very much.

-A rhubarb plant.

-Why a rhubarb plant?

-Oh, I can't possibly imagine.

-So, what have you bought then?

I bought a fishing rod -

it's all right - but I did manage to get into the 19th century for a couple of things.

I bought a really nice -

well, I think it's really nice - writing slope.

-Do you know, I saw that?

-Did you?

I can't believe I didn't buy it and you ended buying it.

But that is, I think, my favourite buy - the boat.

I wasn't expecting that. All right - selling time.

-Good luck, Charlie.

-Good luck, I'll see you when you've flogged it all.

Now Charlie The Charmer and Paul, The Man From Morecambe,

must make as much profit as they can

on all the items they've bought here at the boot sale.

As well as his boat and 19th century boxes,

Charlie must sell a fishing rod,

Billy the fire engine,

a golfing picture,

this Indian porcupine basket,

a 1950s advertising doll,

some kitchen knives,

a watercolour of Warwick Castle

and a painting of a lakeside scene.

As well as his enamelled ashtrays,

Paul must sell two antique books about Bath,

an Afghan rug,

this painting of a pub,

a Mah-jongg set,

this silver-plated coffee pot

and the mysterious metal box.

Having bagged all their car boot booty, our mighty maestros now face an even greater challenge.

They've got to sell the lot,

with the aim of making as much profit as they possibly can

and all of that money will be going to their chosen charities.

They'll both be pulling out all the stops to find buyers for their items, putting together deals on the phone

and by email. But until the cold hard cash has changed hands, no deal is truly sealed.

The Charmer claimed he was a fish out of water at the car boot,

but that didn't stop him snapping up ten items.

Back at Ross HQ, he's showing off his fishing rod and he reckons

he might have hooked the perfect buyer.

Do you know who I'm going to attempt to sell this to?

-George?

-HE LAUGHS

George Lamb, fine cricketer and regular fisherman in Scotland.

I've told him I'm coming and bringing him a very, very special rod.

-I mean, I know nothing about rods.

-Is it special?

I haven't got a clue. It might be worth a fiver.

-We said we'd be with George at ten o'clock, didn't we?

-We'd better get cracking.

Well, it's lucky someone's keeping this show on the road.

Time for the Charmer to snap into action.

Now, one man who's always up with the larks

is our champion of the north, Paul Hayes.

MUSIC: "Wake Up, Boo" by The Boo Radleys

He's hoping that the owner of a traditional seaside toy shop,

who's also a keen antique toy collector,

will be tempted by the Mah-jongg set he bought for £20.

If I was to ask you £50 for that set, how would you feel about it?

-A little bit steep.

-Right.

-Maybe a little bit lower.

OK. So where would you see that, what would you be happy with?

Probably about £40. I'd give you £40 for it.

£45, or am I pushing my luck?

Pushing your luck. £40's my limit, really.

That's what I love about coming up to Morecambe - straight talking.

-It's got to be £40?

-£40.

-That's it?

Right, I think we'll shake on that.

-Thank you.

-You'll have hours of fun with that.

-I'm sure I will.

-That's a tasty bit of business from our Paul,

but it's not the first time he's turned a profit on the Morecambe promenade.

The scoop is that our blue-eyed boy used to run a successful ice cream stand only yards from this very spot.

But, beating the Charmer? Now, that would be something to blow your cornet about.

That's not a bad mark up.

I don't know how you're getting on, Charlie,

but I'm doing what it says on the tin, putting my money where my mouth is.

The sun is shining down on Paul, but for how long?

Charlie has tracked down his first potential customer.

And George, a keen collector of fishing memorabilia,

is about to come face to face with our ravenous profit predator.

Caught anything, George?

-Not yet, Charlie. How nice to see you.

-How long have you been here?

Oh, about half an hour, something like that. Had a couple of offers, but...

Have you? Well, have a go at that.

I was prepared. This is definitely a Rafael Nadal bicep job.

THEY LAUGH

-You're using two hands.

-Precisely. Because you can see, if you were going to cast like that all day,

-muscles would begin to protest. We're not as strong as our forefathers.

-No.

THEY LAUGH

-What do you think of it as a rod?

-What is interesting is,

if I put it on the ground, you'll see what I mean.

There's no reason why that rod shouldn't be straight, but it isn't.

Oh, not good. George has noticed that all is not what it should be with the rod.

Come on, Charlie, reel him back in.

Anyway, cutting to the chase, would you be interested in buying it?

Well, I hope you would, you said you might be.

Well, I am, because I think it's such a bit of history.

Well, I'm going to ask you a price, George. I have not got the first idea.

You'll either snatch my hand off or laugh

and I would like to charge you £35 for it.

Charlie, I think £25.

-Do you?

-Yes.

-What about splitting the difference and making it £30.

-Done.

-Done. I think that's great.

Well, how could we ever have doubted you, Charlie?

The profit poacher trebles his money

on his first sale - what a start.

I don't know anything about fishing, but I do know a good rod when I see one. Mr Hayes, another profit.

Next, Charlie heads east to the historic market town of Woburn,

where he seals another cracking deal

for his porcupine basket

with one of his contacts.

-£70.

-Go on, then, let's leave it at that. Cheers.

Yes, the Charmer is on a roll. But if he rules the south, up north there is only one king.

Mr Morecambe has pitched up in Sheffield,

where he's persuaded a specialist dealer

to take a look at his Afghan rug.

Would you consider stocking something like this?

Absolutely. The one thing dealers would normally look at is how finely a rug is woven.

-OK.

-For instance, if you look at the back of the rug,

that is, you can see how many knots be square inch, as it were.

If I show you, if you look at the difference between the two.

-This is a lot finer.

-Absolutely.

There's a lot more work that's gone into that as opposed to this one.

The other slight problem on this rug are the areas which

have moth damage. You can see there's some here, some there

and there's various parts of the rug that I've noticed.

It's basically moth laying eggs on that and once they hatch,

it's the larvae that actually eat the wool around that area.

So, we would need to spend a few hours repairing this, basically,

but I am sure we could come to some sort of deal. How much would you like for it?

I was hoping for about £100. Is that a fair price or...?

It's a reasonable price but, as I say, we do have to put a little bit of effort into it. Shall we say £75.

Shall we say £75?

-Well, do you know, I feel like I've learnt something here today. Shall we shake on £80?

-Go on, then.

Paul knows exactly when to push for more.

£80 for his Afghan rug lands him a £30 profit.

His next stop is just down the road in sunny Morecambe.

I've come to sell that wonderful bit of electronic equipment that I bought.

I've done my research. The Mole Major was developed by Peter Mole

and they were massive manufacturers of film lighting.

So, this has actually been used on the set of a major Hollywood movie. Isn't that amazing?

And I thought, who do I know that's in the film and television industry? My mate, Martin.

Martin trains stunt performers for films and television.

Paul knows that he's always on the lookout for old film props.

-Shall we do that at £25?

-£20.

-You won't regret it.

That's the best thing you've bought all day.

£25 is five times

what our car boot maestro

forked out at Denham.

Paul is dashing all over the country in search of victory, but Charlie is taking things a little easier.

-I made you a cup of tea, because I know you're not really a coffee man, are you?

-Thank you.

He thinks that his painting of Warwick Castle will make the most profit

at an auction house in Warwickshire

and he's asked his old friend and fellow auctioneer David to put it into one of his sales.

Success will depend on getting access to the right type of buyer.

Private buyer will buy this rather than...?

Sure, sure. Private buyer. Of course, I can't say, but... .

No, but you get plenty of private people coming to your sales.

-Very much so.

-Good.

Because always with a private buyer, you're knocking out the dealer's profit, if you like, aren't you?

Sure. Well, I mean, as we always say, if you are a private,

if you go to a sale and identify who the dealers are, and if you bid one more bid than the dealer,

you are getting something more cheaply than you would get it if you were buying it from that dealer.

-By the time he's added his profit margin, VAT and paid his rent and all the rest of it.

-Sure.

Good. We'll get the form then, David, give you a signature.

Happy with his lot, Charlie gets his painting into the sale without even

leaving his back garden. That charms works wonders.

With two items sold,

Charlie has generated £65 of profit.

Paul has sold three pieces

and made £70 worth of profit,

so this epic battle

is still too close to call.

Charlie and Paul are now wrestling for the advantage.

Just one killer deal could seal the competition.

Paul's renowned detective skills have led him to a pub in Derbyshire. Its name - The Devonshire Arms.

The very same pub, he hopes, that's featured in the painting that he bought at the car boot.

Let's have a look. I did see some red-roofed buildings that way.

-Is there more this side?

-Yes.

His plan is simple - to prove to the landlord beyond a reasonable doubt

that the subject of the painting is his pub, then go in for a hard sell.

So, if you have a look here, I think that gabled-ended sort of barn there

looks like that that's one, isn't it?

Yeah, it was a farm before it became a pub and that was the group of buildings

-that serviced the farmstead.

-Right. So this building has been totally changed, then?

Yeah, this is a totally different building to what that was.

-I think the footprint looks more or less similar to what we've got.

-Yeah, it certainly does.

The landlord seems convinced by Paul's top notch detective work, but will our very own

antique super-sleuth be able to convince him to part with his money?

If I was to ask you £60, how does that sound? Is that about what you were thinking?

I was going to say £40.

You were going to say £40? That's how you reckon it, is it?

Can we meet in the middle? A round £50?

-Yeah, that's all right.

-Case closed. £50.

That's another deal that nets our Paul more than 500% profit

and the hardest working man in antiques

takes another great leap forward.

Now, speaking of hard work...

So far, the Charmer has been fishing, he's had a chum round for tea and now he's cruising the golf course.

But don't doubt Charlie's motivation. He might look laid back, but he means business.

He's here to visit Pete, a well known music producer and collector of antiques who also loves his golf.

Over to you, Charmer.

Your putting is still good, isn't it?

I'm the best and then I woke up.

-How are you?

-I'm very well, indeed.

-Beautiful.

Now, you know I said I had a print?

-Yes.

-Which I thought you might like. Want to have a look at it?

-I'd love to.

-Come and sit under the tree.

There you are, you and me.

THEY LAUGH

No, he's got hair.

Peering down a ravine, the ball stuck in the ravine, look at that.

-Oh, blimey.

-What shall I take for this?

A couple of whiskies, I think.

-That is brilliant.

-Is it something I could sell you?

Yeah, very much so. I like that very much indeed.

It would go on your wall.

-Oh, absolutely.

-I'd like £30 for it.

-£30?

-Yes.

-Well, do you know what? I was expecting you to say more.

What a turn up - Charlie's buyer sounds like he was ready to part with even more money.

But ever the gentleman, the Charmer is happy

to settle on just six times

what he paid for the picture. Good work.

What a clash of selling styles we've got here.

Whilst the Charmer barely breaks a sweat sealing his deals,

The Man From Morecambe is popping up all over the place.

Defending the slimmest of leads, Paul is in Frome in Somerset to try and sell his coffee pot.

But why has our northern lad come here to sell his wares?

Well, the clue is in the name.

-Space on the shelf, definitely.

-Shall we shake on that, then?

We certainly will. £15. Lovely. Thank you, Paul.

Thank you, nice to meet you. Any chance of a cup of tea while I'm here?

Of course! Oh, no, coffee, surely.

Paul notches up a £10 profit

and then he's back on the road.

In Oxfordshire, the Charmer isn't going anywhere. He's on babysitting duties.

But our doting granddaddy is itching to find out how his painting of Warwick Castle performed at auction.

Remember, Charlie needs to make more than £60 to make a profit.

I've got my assistant on my knee here, David,

and its proving rather difficult, I have to say, at the moment.

Things are not looking good here.

Sold for £48.

HE SIGHS

HE ALSO SIGHS

Ouch! £48 with auction costs added -

that's a total loss of nearly £20.

No wonder team Ross are unimpressed.

But there is brighter news for Charlie

when his chef's knives deliver a £20 profit

and the two rosewood boxes

make just under £10 to add to his pot.

Paul's profit purple patch hits the skids when he fails to find

a buyer for his two cloisonne ashtrays,

but he seems to have worked out

a cunning new selling strategy.

After finding a buyer for his coffee pot at a coffee shop,

where do you think he's going to sell his old books about Bath?

Genius.

As far as I can gather, this is a form of book, like a satirical play, really,

on the characters at the time, but I did notice we have

two beautifully written pages here of names.

Now, what do these names actually represent here?

Well, we're thinking that this book, Bath Characters, which is sketches

of the times, sketches of people in Bath and happenings in Bath,

and probably a previous owner has gone to the trouble of finding out who a lot

of the people were and has written their names down.

So, the characters that they're based on

would have been given fictitious names but maybe these are the real people

-they are actually based on?

-I think that's probably what it is.

-Obviously you're interested in buying them.

-I'd buy them...

An antique's worth is often based on its rarity,

so could these beautifully handwritten notes in Paul's Bath books

be decisive in today's competition?

Charlie has popped over to his next door neighbour, John, for his next potential sale

and it's no surprise that this retired engineer

and enthusiastic restorer is thrilled by Charlie's handmade toy

and he has an interesting take on where the boat may have come from.

-So, you think it might have been made by a German?

-If you think about it, Charlie,

it might have been made by a guy who'd got time on his hands,

very little raw material and if you think about a submariner

waiting for destroyers to come by and take a pop at him...

He would have been looking at a destroyer.

-That's right.

-Through the periscope or whatever.

So, you could be interested in it. You are interested in it, I can tell you are.

And Charlie was right.

But even though he nearly doubles his money

on the boat and 35p profit

from the sale of his cuddly toy

and no profit at all

from his fire engine,

means it won't be enough to beat Paul,

who makes a profit of £23 from his antique books.

Shall we shake on that, then?

-OK.

-Thank you very much.

So, it's Charlie Ross who's in the last chance saloon.

Suddenly our laid back Charmer is moving very fast indeed.

And while a mad dash to the local car park isn't very Charlie,

he's ready to sell anywhere just to pip Paul at the post.

-Are you ready for this?

-I'm ready for an odd picture.

-It's upside down.

-Oh, it is!

-THEY LAUGH

It's probably just about 19th century, do you think?

I'd probably say maybe just over the 1900 mark, but then again I'm buying and you're selling.

That's absolutely right. Try me with a cash offer.

The pressure is building on the usually unflappable Charmer.

Charlie spent nearly

all of his £250 budget

at the car boot but with just

one sale left, his chances of victory

are hanging in the balance.

Paul invested just £134

of his £250, but his seven buys

have performed well.

All of the profit that Charlie and Paul have made from today's challenge

will be going to a charity of their choice.

So, without further ado,

it is time to find out which of them has made the most cash

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

Good to see you, welcome back.

So, what did you think of the car boot sale, then?

-Oh, I had a result at the car boot sale.

-Did you really?

Yeah. Do you remember seeing my watercolour of Warwick Castle?

-I really liked that.

-Yeah, it was good. Do you know what it sold for?

-Go on.

-£43.

-You're joking.

THEY LAUGH

I really liked the look of it. I did well with the nice rug, the Afghan rug.

Oh, yeah, that was interesting - it had tanks on it.

I learnt all about the symbolism, about rugs in general.

Fascinating. There's a whole subject there to be learnt.

I must say, when you said it was 18th century and I saw a tank on it,

-I thought, "I'm not sure about that."

-Medieval tanks.

Anyway, shall we have a go?

-You count it down.

-One, two, three.

Whee.

-Oh, no, you've done me.

-£20.

I worked out the maths wrongly here. I'm sure I beat you.

Do you know what, if you'd have knocked that painting down by £20 more you might have had a chance.

Never mind. How about the next car boot sale?

So, it's a narrow victory for Paul. Why? Because Charlie's trip to the car park

didn't quite deliver him the profit he was after.

-£16.

-Yeah, £16, I'll have a chance.

£16 on the watercolour

gives poor old Charlie a profit of just £1.

But it was a first class performance from today's Put Your Money champion, Paul, The Man From Morecambe, Hayes.

There we are! A victory for Mr Morecambe! Charlie The Charmer Ross

has maybe lost a little bit of his charm.

But I've done very well and made some good profit for my charity

and learnt a lot about Afghan rugs in the process.

As for the Charmer, well, there's always next time.

Paul Hayes, master of the boot fair.

But I didn't do badly and my charity has made a few bob.

But it's not all over yet, Mr Morecambe.

Yes, that's the spirit. Charlie has the chance to gain revenge tomorrow

when he and Paul will be battling it out at a Belgian antiques market.

Quality, quality, quality, that's what you're looking for.

If I could sell it for three times the price, I'd come back and take you out to dinner.

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