John Cameron v Philip Serrell - Foreign Market Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is -

the show that takes the titans of the antiques trade

and pitches them against each other

to see who can make the most money from buying and selling.

It's amazing, truly amazing!

Today, Phil Serrell takes on John Cameron in an all-out battle

for profit, giving you the inside view on the secrets of the trade.

Coming up, Phil Serrell meets his match on the streets of Paris.

-Voila!

-Thank you.

The language barrier proves a little awkward for John Cameron.

Bit of a conflab going on here,

not sure what's going on here, but I'm hopeful.

And why you should always study your items carefully.

-How old do you think the hand is?

-20s' or 30s' isn't it?

When was the Phillips screw invented?

-Very early in France!

-Very early!

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

Today, two veterans of the antiques trade

are battling it out in La Belle France.

First up, with 35 years experience as an auctioneer,

it's the Maitre du Malvern.

It's Phil "The Fox" Serrell.

He's up against his arch-enemy,

who started trading at the tender age of 15.

It's the Premier du Portsmouth,

it's John "The Hammer" Cameron.

They've each got £750 of their own money in their pockets,

and their task is simple to buy antiques and collectables

and sell them for the biggest profit.

They'll be let loose in a French antiques market.

Woo! Woo!

But will they come undone?

I've got precious time left to spend my money

and I'm not getting anywhere.

Today's battleground is Saint Ouen in Paris,

where literally thousands of antique stores and shops fill the streets.

There's all sorts of foreign treasure waiting to be snapped up

and sold for a profit by our eager experts.

But, which man is master of the market, and which is just a tinker of the trade?

Philip Serrell and John Cameron,

it's time to put your money where your mouth is.

-Bonjour!

-Bonjour, Philippe!

-Full-up!

So, here we are in sunny Saint Ouen. You ever been here before?

I'm very much a Parisian virgin.

I've been to France, but not here. What's your strategy today?

It's a glorious day and there seem to be stalls everywhere,

so if I've got a plan, I'm just going to take a broad view

and find the cheap end of the market and buy what takes my eye. You?

I'm looking for things with a bit of impact.

But also trying to match those items with potential purchasers back home.

We've got £750 worth of euros, haven't we?

Yep, but I do have a plan, first.

-There's a couple of places I want to head straight away to.

-Go on?

Cafe bars!

No time to sit around in cafes, Foxy, you're here to buy, buy, buy.

It's a market of huge proportions

and our best of British dealers only have a few hours.

Le Fox is looking for cheap items,

whereas Monsieur Cameron wants some wow factor

for the potential buyers in contacts book.

Two very different strategies, but who has the winning formula?

With thousands of antiques, collectables

and vintage fashion on offer, there's a lot of ground to cover,

and there's no telling how the dealers work en France.

Before long, the Hammer closes in on his first deal, a fireman's helmet.

-Would you do 20 euro?

-Non.

How much, best price? Special prix.

Split the difference, 25?

-25? 25.

-C'est pas moi. Big boss.

25. Shake?

-25!

-Well done, 25!

Well done, 25 euros. OK, thank you.

Ah! A little hug to seal the deal.

Mr C might not speak French,

but he certainly knows the language of dealing.

He bags the helmet for 25 euros, just under £23.

Not a huge profit in this, but I do know a fireman

that may be prepared to buy this as a present for his son.

First purchase of the day, and already, I'm on fire.

# I'm on fire... #

With a buyer already lined up for his first deal,

he's on fire and bang on strategy, but, hot on his heels is Mr Serrell.

There are 3,500 stalls to sift through here in Paris

and he's staking out this market like a pro.

The real thing about this is, in a market of this size,

there's going to be a handful of really, seriously cheap items here.

There's going to be an absolute bargain.

The issue is, you've got to try and find it.

With Foxy on the hunt for those cracking bargains,

the Hammer is, true to form, talking tactics.

Well, trying to think about my own plan here on buying,

and I'm looking for things with quick sales in mind.

I did ask Philip what he planned to do today, and he said "just chill".

Well, we've got a few items to buy today and a big wad of cash

burning a hole in our pocket and I think,

in this blazing sunshine, the last thing he's going to do is chill.

Clever Cameron is all too aware of the Fox's sly tactics,

to lull him into a false sense of security.

He is no fool, and he knows that, beneath the soft exterior,

a cunning fox lies.

This competition is hotting up, and Phil, the hero of haggling,

sniffs out a potential deal.

This is an Edwardian centre table, marble top.

200 euros, that's about £190, £180, I don't think that's dear.

One and a half?

Dernier prix, prix marchand - deux cents.

With the stallholder insisting on 200 euros, it's a stand-off.

Moi, j'ai paye plus cher que ca.

There are times like this when I wish I knew what he was saying to me.

He looks a lovely man, and I don't think he's insulting me.

Dernier, dernier - deux cents. On peut pas, moi.

Man of steel. Man of steel.

Moi? Qu'est-ce que c'est ca?

Um, you don't give.

The language barrier has presented a problem.

And Phil's banter isn't working.

Donnez-moi 200 euros. Il est beau.

Here, here. 150?

-No, no, that's all.

-You don't budge?

-Je peux pas!

Looks like Phil's met his French equivalent.

Neither of them is backing down.

I can feel myself getting completely kippered here.

The stand-off continuing, Phil tries an old trick. Feel the money!

No? More?

NON!

I think that means "no".

The feel of 150 fresh euros in his hand

is not persuading the French dealer.

All right, all right.

Toi, comme ca, moi...

Son envelope!

Oui, mais j'arrive pas.

Hopla!

THEY LAUGH

Oui, on rigole.

Ha! That's it finished!

Je peux pas. 200 euros.

Je peux pas le faire. Ah!

Do I get the hat?

Unable to use his patter on his French friend, Phil is stumped.

The language barrier has undone him, and he's ended up

paying 200 euros, or just under £182, for the Edwardian stand.

Woo! Woo!

And he didn't even get the hat thrown in!

Now, Mr Cameron has his strategy foremost in his mind.

He thinks he may have a buyer for his next potential purchase.

I do know somebody back in Emsworth that actually collects

and deals in old telephones.

So, this could be something I could buy

and get an instant profit on, but price is going to be key, here.

We've seen Phil struggle with the lingo.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, Monsieur Cameron.

Excusez-moi, do you speak English? None at all?

OK. Can I see this telephone? Oui?

Not content with just the phone, our eagle-eyed expert

has also spotted some old film reel holders.

S'il vous plait. Please?

Now, this is where some schoolboy French would come in handy.

I feel a total Philistine here. I speak absolutely no French.

I'm going to make it my business this year to learn a second language.

Bet he wishes he'd thought about that last year!

These, too. And these.

Yeah?

The Hammer resorts to good old-fashioned pen and paper

and puts an offer on the table of 75 euros.

I'd like to buy them, but I've got to think about profit.

Big boss, big boss!

Bonjour!

Ce serait pour les boites et pour le telephone.

John's offer was 75, but the big boss wants 90 euros.

But, with no great British banter,

will John be able to bargain for the right price?

-Quatre-vingts et pour...

-Non.

-No?

Non, on a deja fait un peu au depart, plus encore dix pour cent.

The dealer refuses to meet John in the middle.

He's sticking to his price of 90 euros.

Looks like the Hammer has met his match.

I'm sure this gentleman is justifying his reluctance

to come down in price, but sadly, it's wasted on me, I'm a bit of a Philistine.

OK. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet here.

90 euros, I just hope I can get a profit out of this.

John's come up against an immovable dealer,

and reluctantly he forks out the full price

for the reels and the phone.

He apportions it as 40 euros for the reels, that's just over £36,

and 50 euros for the phone, which is just over £45.

I've got a friend back in Hayling Island who is building

a cinema room in his house, I'm hoping he's going to see

these as a potential decorative object for the cinema.

I've got two items that I bought specifically with people in mind.

The Hammer's cooking on gas,

and with three items hot to trot he's ready for more bargains.

He doesn't speak the lingo, but he's bagging the booty,

and he's got buyers in mind.

The Fox, on the other hand, only has one item,

and even with tens of thousands of treasures on sale,

it's a hard shop.

These are a real fascinating thing, these.

It's a travelling vanity case, and people see these in auction,

and they buy them because they think they are really cool

and wicked, and then they take them home, and they close them up,

and they put them under the bed, and leave them there for five years, and then they think

"I haven't done anything with that, I might as well sell it."

So they put them into auction, and people see them,

and they think they are really cool, and they take them home, and just on it goes.

That cunning Fox knows what to buy, and what to leave on the shelf.

He's fighting his corner to get the right bargains into his basket,

not an easy feat at home or abroad.

But, before long he sniffs out an unusual item,

that's right up his street.

I mean, this is just a real old-fashioned

antique dealer's lot, really.

It's not an oversized cup that I'm looking for a saucer for,

it's just a pewter, child's chamber pot.

I think that's a sweet little thing.

It's not in bad condition.

The pewter, watch this, is very, very soft.

You can almost, just, push it back to how it was.

At 20 euros, £18, I think that's really cool.

He's bagged his second item, the chamber pot which cost him

20 euros, just over £18.

It's been an epic morning in the Parisian market,

but who is the daddy of dealing?

Time for a midday refreshment, French stylee.

Let's see if our big boys are going to give anything away.

I'm enjoying the sun, you know.

It's been absolutely glorious, I'm loving it here,

really loving it, but under a bit of pressure to buy, what about you?

What I like, and what I'm trying to adopt,

is this sort of Parisian lifestyle.

You know, you sit out, you chill, you don't rush,

it's the way forward, I think.

I'd like to think so, but we've still got a few items to buy,

-and some money to spend, Philip.

-Now you come to mention it, we are under the cosh a little bit.

Indeed. We've a couple of hours left before they start packing up.

-What's your plan this afternoon? What are you going to buy?

-Things I can make a profit on.

I'd like to stop over here, I think it's really nice.

Yes, once again, Foxy tries to pull the wool over his enemy's eyes.

Don't let his laid-back manner fool you,

he's a fox on the hunt for success.

Both our boys started the day with 825 euros,

that's £750 of their own cash.

Phil "The Fox" Serrell has yet to reach top gear, he's spent exactly

£200 on just two items, leaving him £550 for this afternoon's shop.

That means John "The Hammer" Cameron is ahead.

He's bought three items, spending less than £105,

leaving him with just over £645.

It's time for the second half. Both our Brits abroad

have struggled with the French language so far, so this round is crucial.

Old Foxy cannot afford to be laid-back now.

He's zooming round the market like a torpedo on target,

and it looks like his ship might have just come in.

Combien, monsieur?

Quatre-vingts-dix euros.

-90.

-90 euros?

-Yes, but is made...

-Not old? It's new?

-Non, non, non. Ca c'est 1970 a peu pres.

Our antiques maestros have had a tough time

with the dealers here today, but now Phil is on a roll,

and he's taking no prisoners.

It's just a cool little coffee table, isn't it?

Le dernier prix, monsieur?

Soixante-dix.

-The dealer asks 70 euros for the table.

-50 euros.

You are my first...

Customer?

..customer, and a nice price, I will ask 60.

-60 euros, your best?

-Yes.

-Not to be outdone twice in one morning, Phil holds firm.

-50 euros?

-OK, cash, money.

-Gentleman, you're a gentleman.

Because you're the first customer of the day. Really, I open my shop.

It's anchors away. The captain of collectables has reeled in his third

item of the day, the boat shaped table

for 50 euros, just over £45.

You can either put a light in there,

or you could fill it with dried flowers,

but you can actually make that quite a cool looking thing.

Our antiques heroes are rising to the challenge,

but it's not long before The Hammer seals his next sweet smelling deal.

Great little decorator's object,

could either sell that to a perfume bottle collector,

or somebody just wants to put impact in a room.

He paid 40 euros for the retro perfume bottle,

that's just over £36.

Phil is on his tail, determined not to let old Hammer beat him,

he blazes a trail through the streets of Paris,

in the hunt for bargain buys.

But The Hammer charges ahead to the next potential purchase.

He's found a sofa that looks like it's on fire.

I actually saw two sofas like this the other day, not one,

but they were longer.

They properly came to about here, and they were in a house I was doing,

a deceased estate, and there was one either side of this fireplace.

They were obviously very, very expensive.

Sadly we couldn't take them to auction

because they are completely upholstered,

and they pre-date, in our country, the conditions that you have

to have fire labels on items in order to be able to sell them.

So we couldn't take this to auction, they had to go out.

To have them reupholstered would cost thousands and thousands of pounds.

Great visually, but legally, in the UK, we couldn't sell it.

So, it's a no-no from Mr Cameron,

and with no time to waste

he's off like a bullet out of the gun for his next deal,

but the cunning Fox outruns him.

He's found an item that just might come in handy.

I just think this is a really wicked thing,

because it makes me laugh, but it's also quite useful if someone

does want, in an art life class, practise drawing the human hand.

But I've got to be quite clinical about this,

and think who am I going to sell to

and, at the minute, I haven't got a clue.

Another one bites the dust.

Unsure of who might buy it, Phil leaves the hand on the shelf.

Mr C is desperate for victory, but the only thing he's bought

all afternoon is the perfume bottle,

and he's starting to feel the pressure.

Following my chat with Philip a little bit earlier,

I'm feeling a little deflated.

I'm seeing lots and lots of very nice things,

but it's all out of my price range, or the money they are asking for it

would definitely not leave me any room for profit,

so I haven't made any headway since our lunch this afternoon.

But his worries are short lived.

The well polished Hammer soon spots a tasty collection.

He's found a set of 12 fish plates, and serving dish.

Excuse me, Madame, how much is the fish set?

-100.

-100 is the best price on there. That's the best price?

-100 is not expensive.

-Oh, he could have his work cut out with this one.

Could you do 80, for me?

-80 euros?

-80 euros, OK.

-Yeah, OK. 80.

-Yes.

-Thank you.

Yes. He's done it. The well-honed antiques gladiator

reels in the fish plates

for less than £73, buy number five.

Back outside, Monsieur Cyril packs a double blow.

He's gone back to buy the wooden hand

for just under £91,

and he's picked up

a nice little earner along the way.

And urn, for just over £45.

I really like my little hand here, and it was 100 euros, 90 quid.

What have I bought a hand for!?

And this! This lump, it looks like it's been stolen of someone's grave.

That was 50 euros. I think I've lost it here.

The Fox is furiously burrowing away his buys like there's

no tomorrow, but his nemesis is determined to win.

John's battery pack may be running low

but, before long, his steely determination pays off.

His well-trained eye soon spots soon a coat rack,

and the good news is, he's found a translator.

-What's the best price?

-Vingt euro.

-20 euros.

-20 euros for me.

-Oui.

For me, you've been very kind, 20 euros, yeah?

-Non.

-Yes, yes, 20.

-Vingt, oui.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. OK. I'll buy that for 20 euros.

Still a bit of confusion there, but the deal is done.

The retro coat hook is bought for just over £18.

John's sixth item of the day.

It's not over till it's over, and with minutes to go

before the market packs up, the wily one is still prowling around.

He's found a mysterious wooden carving with a metal hook,

which has Fox appeal.

Can I give you 100 euros for that?

-Yes, yes.

-Given that neither of us knows what it is or what it does.

-I quite like that. How old do you think it is?

-19th-century.

-Not earlier?

-Perhaps.

Go on, 100 euros.

The mysterious hook

has set Phil back by just under £91.

Good luck with a buyer for that!

Mr C never did find any more items,

so, as the boys from Blighty's day outing in gay Paris

comes to a close, let's have a roundup of who spent what.

Both our experts started the day with £750 worth of euros.

Phil "The Fox" Serrell ended up digging deep,

spending just under £473 on six items,

but John "The Hammer" Cameron was less lavish with his cash,

the same amount of items, but he spent just under £232.

It's been a hectic day in Paris, but what have the old boys made of it?

I had a very chilled day, maybe too chilled,

I haven't got the first idea how much I've spent.

Well, everything I looked at today, it was either 400-500 euros,

or it was cheap. I couldn't find any middle ground there.

So, anything I wanted to buy I couldn't get near it.

I've ended up making a couple of rash purchases,

so, I think, some easy sales, but not a lot of profit.

I think, say what you like about the French,

they do know how to charge, don't they?

-All I want to do now Phil is go home.

-I'll drink to that, mate.

As our channel hopping challengers bid au revoir to France,

they now focus their minds on the ferocious fight ahead.

They tested their supreme antiques knowledge to the limit by buying,

but this is where the real work begins -

the struggle to sell their wares back on the trusty turf of beautiful Britain.

And if there's one thing that sharpens a dealer's mind more

than a lust for lucre, and a craving for cash, it's an all-out,

persistently punishing passion to win.

Back in the familiar surroundings of wonderful Worcester,

Foxy is reliving the hard work of the Parisian perusal.

The continental market, I found really tough,

not because the things weren't there, they were there in abundance,

and there were some fantastic things there, at some fantastic prices.

I bought the wooden corbel, with the little metal spike.

There was the green marble urn, the hand, the boat table,

that you could make a lovely little coffee table, the chamber pot

and the marble topped table. But will I make a profit?

In Portsmouth, The Hammer is relieved to have traded

the Seine for the Spinnaker Tower.

I found the buying at Saint Ouen, in Paris, pretty difficult.

I got a fireman's helmet, some film reel cans,

a 1960s' period French telephone, a 1990s' aftershave bottle,

a fish serving set, I'm really going to have to think outside the box with that one,

and I've got a retro set of coathangers.

How do I feel from my mixed bag? Pretty mixed up, actually.

Make no mistake, this is the most testing challenge our antiques masters have had to confront.

They'll either sink or swim.

But, if anyone can survive, it's these two trading titans.

It's the battle of profit prowess, and there's not a second to lose.

Minutes mean money.

Serrell and Cameron crack into their contacts box,

and fish out their phones, but until they shake on it,

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

The countdown to some spectacular sales is on,

and it's John Cameron who gets in on the action first.

With his name up in lights, he takes on the lead role, and sets off

for the Hampshire haven of Hayling Island,

but can he reel in a sale for his £36 film cans?

I'm off to meet my friend Katia, to see if I can sell these film cans

that I picked up in Paris.

They're installing a cinema room in their house, so I'm hoping

these are going to be a nice decorative object for that room.

Katia has worked on some big blockbuster films in New York,

so this could be an interesting sale.

Now, usually when I go and see somebody they're asking me

questions about the item, but, in this instance,

I'm hoping you're going to educate me,

because with your filmmaking background, you know all about these.

They're still used, but not once their rusted like this,

they wouldn't be used, because they would just damage the film.

Nowadays they are plastic, most of them,

and actually, if you're screening in the theatre in film,

they get delivered to the movie theatres in big cans.

I wonder whether you would polish them, or paint them?

-Would you leave them as is?

-I think I would,

because I think the charm is that they look old and rustic.

We got five of them there, I was looking for about £25 each.

Around £125 for the lot. How does that sound to you?

-How about 100?

-£100, you give me 100 for them.

Katia, with eyes like that, how could I say no?

-How could I possibly say no?

-Yes, it's a deal.

Well, that may not have been a blockbuster performance,

but I certainly brought in the money for the box office.

Yes, that's the ticket, movie man.

The film cans reel in a profit of almost £64.

The Hammer races off to plan his smashing sequel.

But who will be the best boy at the end of this all-action shoot-em-up?

The Fox is riding his own wave

and hopes the £45 boat table will be travelling back overseas.

Michael is a dealer all the way from New Zealand.

They meet in Phil's sale room.

This is the little beast I've got for you.

Somebody must have told you what sort of thing I like.

It would make a great coffee table. You could light it and illuminate it.

You could turn it that way up, put some shelves in

and you've got a great corner shelf.

I thought there was some mileage in it, albeit nautical mileage.

We need a bit of history, Phil. What is it, where did it come from?

I bought it in a market in France.

-It's plank-built, or clinker, don't they call it?

-Yeah, clinker built.

Clinker built, where the timbers or the planks overlap.

There's no great age to it.

I was hoping I could get, like,

£110, £120 for it.

People at home would go, "Man, I'd never sell that."

I think we could probably talk round about 65 for something like that.

-No, no, no.

-No?

I do like your style. No.

£80.

70 quid and we've got a deal.

-You're on, mate.

-OK!

-I like the way the hand came out.

I had no option but to shake it then, did I? Yeah, go on, fair enough.

Oh, a crafty trick there,

but the boat sails off and Phil anchors a profit of nearly £25.

That's a great way to do a deal.

He shook my hand. I thought we were shaking on 75,

and we were shaking on 70.

So it's cost me a fiver.

But he's taught me a new trick. I like that. Never mind.

Both our heroic hawks are off and running,

but no time to rest on their laurels.

They need to build on their early sale success.

John Cameron has the slightest of leads

but he's determined to hammer home the advantage.

MUSIC: "Hanging on the Telephone" by Blondie.

I've come to an antiques centre in Emsworth

to see a guy called Andrew who specialises in...

vintage telephones.

When I saw that lot, I thought, "French telephone."

Maybe, just maybe, I'll do a sale. Wish me luck.

Oh, all right then. Good luck.

John had a hard-going haggle with the French trader

but was still forced to fork out just over £45

and the phone will need rewiring to work in the UK.

-I suspect you've seen this before.

-Yes, the classic French number.

-Do you want to have a look?

-Yeah.

-The U43, designed literally straight after war, hence 43.

-OK...

Very common, this model. But it's a nice one. Nice and clean.

-The condition's good, isn't it?

-Yeah.

The main thing with Bakelite is, it gets chips off it.

It all seems to be there, and that's straight. It sometimes gets snapped.

Is this something you think you could sell?

I'd certainly be able to sell it on.

Obviously, it depends what price you're looking at.

I'm looking for about £100 for this phone.

-Right, we're at two opposite ends of the scale here.

-Are we?

-Yes.

I'd normally pay about £40 for these.

I paid more for that in France. Could you go to £80 for it?

The highest I could possibly go to,

and it leaves me pennies in profit,

-would be £60.

-£60...

I can see this reselling at about £65.

£70?

-I can't. 65.

-65's your best offer.

£65, you've got a deal. I've made no profit,

-but at least it's a sale.

-Exactly.

-£65, OK.

Our muscle man hasn't quite got into the swing of things.

The phone hangs up a profit of less than £20

but the Portsmouth pugilist takes it in his stride.

I knew when I bought my telephone in Paris

that there wasn't going to be a huge profit in it.

I did manage a sale. I could have tried going elsewhere

but somebody once told me,

the first profit is the best profit, no matter how small.

That's the spirit, JC. He's a chipper chappie

but the Fox isn't feeling quite so chirpy.

In fact, Mr Serrell is having some sinister sensations.

And it's all because of the rather spooky urn

that he bought for around £45.

Just outside Worcester, he visits Steve the stonemason.

But will the urn turn Steve's head or give Phil some grief?

It slowly dawned on me that what I think I bought is off somebody's...

I think that's off a grave, isn't it?

-Could well be.

-Yeah, I thought it was. And I thought,

there's only one man who can get me out of trouble with this,

or I'll die with that.

-Marble?

-Yeah, I think it's Verde Fraye, Italian.

-Yeah.

It's definitely off a grave.

-Oh, great.

-I would say so, an ashes urn or something.

-I've got to sell you this, haven't I?

-You can try.

What would one of those cost you new?

I would say you'd be looking at about £150, £160.

Just out of curiosity,

could you carve something like that?

-Yeah.

-Or is that done on a lathe?

Old ones would have been carved by hand, all new ones are on a lathe.

So that would be on a lathe, spinning round at millions of miles an hour

and you'd get a chisel, would you?

-Yeah, a chisel.

-And you'd work it as it spun round

and how long would it take you to make that?

To make that, by hand? Hmm.

Probably a day and a half.

-Really?

-That size.

You said it would cost you 150 quid new

so that's got to be a starting price.

Yeah, if I had a buyer for it.

I'll give you 80.

Actually, do you know what?

I'm not going to ask you for any more

cos I thought I was going to die with this, so if you want to buy it...

What on earth will you do with it?

-I don't know.

-Really?

-No. Keep it.

Well, that's put a smile on his face.

The wily one can't believe his luck.

The urn fires home a profit of almost £35.

It's a close-run thing so far.

Neither of our cunning contenders can build up a convincing lead

and the Hammer now turns his attention to his panic buy,

the set of fish plates from the early 20th century

that he bought for nearly £73.

He said he'd have to think outside the box on this one

and he's got a glint in his eye.

He thinks he's come up trumps.

The other day when I was visiting my local butcher and fishmonger,

I had an inspiration.

I had a nibble on the line. Let's see if I'll get the fish in the net.

This is what they traditionally would call a supper set.

In the evening, as I often walk past,

the window's bare.

Oh, I see what you're saying. Are you trying to flog me these, then?

What do you think of them?

I like them. They're pretty good, to be fair. What are we talking, then?

-Well, you've got a complete set here.

-Yeah.

-And the gilding's not rubbed.

-Is that important?

-Yes, very important.

-I'm not too au fait with gilding.

-A common mistake people make today

is they put things like this in dishwashers.

When you're decorating porcelain,

they apply the layers of enamel, all the colours,

with the ones that need firing at the highest temperatures first,

then put the colours on in reverse order.

With these transfer printed, you would have just put that on once.

If it was hand-painted, they'd do it in reverse. That's your gilding.

-Wow. You've blown me away with your knowledge.

-Don't be too baffled.

That's why when you put it in dishwashers, the gilding comes off.

So do you know when they were made?

-Yeah, these would be early 20th century.

-Yeah?

-So they're kind of getting on for 100 years old now.

-Really? Blimey.

-As a set, I'm looking for a couple of hundred quid.

-What about...

-140?

-Can you do any better than that?

I tell you what, why don't we do...150?

Is that your best price?

-I reckon it's a fair price.

-Yeah?

Yeah, they look beautiful, so yeah.

150 quid?

Cash?

Cash. Good man.

He shoots, he scores.

Never mind nibbling, Paul bites his hand off for the fish plates

and John nets himself a tasty profit of more than £77.

As we mount our midway milestone, let's see how well

our wheeler-dealers are doing.

Phil the Fox has only sold two of his items

but he's cranked up a profit a nudge over £59.

John the Hammer is making more headway.

Three items down and a healthy profit, more than £160.

The Worcester wanderer finds himself in the danger zone.

Hang on in there, Foxy.

Pick yourself up, dust yourself down and plough on with the planning.

At this point in the game, it's every man for himself.

One false move and you're finished.

John is a massive £100 out in front,

but he needs to tread carefully

or his early success could all fall down around his ears.

But the Hammer is red hot

and heads straight to his local fire station to meet fireman Paul.

Whilst he is with him, our profit rocket fans the flames

with his French helmet, which cost nearly £23.

So what do you think of it?

Yeah, this is very similar to our old helmet, the Cork style.

But looking at this one, it looks like...

a bit of a toy.

A toy? Well,

it is made of a resin, yeah? You can see that.

And it does have a name there. Petitcollin Paris.

So, interesting you should say that about a toy

because that actual company,

founded by Nicholas Petitcollin in the 1890s,

was a toy manufacturer making celluloid dolls and things like that

into the 20th century. However, in the 1960s,

they were commissioned to make the official French helmet.

Even if it was a toy, you could buy this for your little boy Ellis.

Yeah, that's a good idea, yeah.

-So do you like it?

-What sort of price are we looking at?

I'm looking for about £70 for it.

That's possibly a little bit steep for me.

-What about £50?

-£50?

-Best you can do?

-That's the best offer.

I'll take your money, then. All right, nice one.

Mr Cameron seals the deal by almost doubling his money.

He's hot to trot, and does so with more than £27 profit.

Paul, I've always wanted to be a fireman, and I do quite envy you.

-I don't suppose you could give me a bit of a crash course?

-Certainly.

Reckon you can work with me?

Definitely, you could fit into the watch.

It's every boy's dream but can the Hammer hack it?

# But you came along and moved me, honey... #

I'll be on that pin-up calendar, Serrell, just you watch me!

# ..Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire! #

But the real heroes think he's too big for his boots

and give him a cold shower!

Whoo-oh-ho-ho!

And now is the moment for the Worcester Warrior

to stage his right-royal recovery.

He's come to Herefordshire to push for a bumper sale.

He's brought his two wooden items - the hand

and the carving with the hook, that together cost him nearly £182.

I really loved these when I bought them in France.

I know I paid all the money for them

but I think they're really good objects

and I'm in Leominster at the antiques centre

to see an old mate, Ben Cooper.

I just hope that he shares the same amount of enthusiasm for them,

that I do.

Phil meets his contact, Ben

but does he have FAITH he's found SOMEBODY TO LOVE his prize pieces?

-It's a corbel, isn't it...

-Yeah.

-..that would rest on a wall?

I think someone's whacked that in there.

But I think it's quite good fun now,

cos it's like a pricket candlestick.

And this, which is... These are artists' lay hands -

I think they're really fun things.

I'm hoping to get for them...

sort of like, £250.

-How old do you think the hand is?

-I was thinking '20s or '30s, isn't it?

Do you know when the Phillips screw was invented?

-Very early in France, very early.

-Was it very early?

'20s or '30s? Ben, what are you trying to tell me?

-Give me a look.

-Nice, little, shiny Phillips screw.

Oh, Philip, has the revival hit a rut in the road?

You can try and convince yourself, Phil,

but I'd go... '60s, maybe even into the '70s.

I was hoping to get £250. Do you think I'm way off the beam?

-I'll be nice, cos I quite like that.

-Which, that?

No, the hand. They always amuse me.

I'll bung another £20 in, £220.

I think you're being really fair, actually,

cos I hadn't spotted that that wasn't as old as I thought it was.

What's the expression? I know when my bread's buttered and I'm going to cut and run.

-You're a gentleman.

-There you go.

-Thanks, Ben.

WHAM!

A bumpy bit of business

but Phil hands himself a profit of over £38.

Useful money but he's still got a long way to go.

John Cameron remains in pole position but -

could his coat hook that cost £18 make the wheels come off?

I'm back in Southsea at the heart of the vintage clothing scene

to see a friend Lucy,

to see if she wants buy these coat hooks that I bought in France.

The sort of thing she'd sell in her shop and that she collects herself,

so I might be able to get a good profit out of them.

Whatever I do, as long as I get a profit, I'll be off the hook,

that's for sure.

-I found this in Paris.

-Ooh!

-What d'you think of that?

-I like it! Yeah!

What d'you think...

There's some theories about when these balls came around and why.

You see them on so much '50s furniture.

Yeah.

There's a theory that it came out of the splitting of the atom

and physics, space exploration with the planets and the solar system.

Yeah. I do like this sort of thing.

We have a lot of it in the house.

-I'm looking for £60 for them, Luce.

-I'll have to haggle a bit.

-I'll give you £50.

-£50 sounds like music to my ears...

-Deal!

-You've got yourself a deal.

-Just for you.

An easy sale, Cameron knows his customers.

He bought the coat hook with Lucy in mind

and it's paid off - a profit of nearly £32.

The Fox has one last chance to boost his profit

and this is where things get exciting.

Our wily wheeler-dealer has saved his best items till last.

The Parisian haggle over the marble table

almost made him lose his own marbles and it was his priciest purchase.

He's bundled it together with his chamber pot

and is back in Leominster to meet Andrew who's also a dealer.

So, will he make a mighty manoeuvre on the Hammer?

-These are my last two bits from the market in France.

-OK.

Ben said you might be able to help me.

-That banding is missing off there...

-Mm-hm.

..and a quick fix is to take the other three off,

-stain that up and sell it as it is.

-Yeah.

It's got the little sabot feet. Those there.

And I've got those four. So I'll put those there.

I think it's a nice marble top,

I notice you've got a bit of marble over there.

-That's a nice one!

-Oh, behave!

-ANDREW LAUGHS

-Behave.

I think it's sort of... down to price really, Phil.

I think what you've got to look at with this

is what the finished article's going to be and it's cost.

I think that's absolutely fantastic.

-I think that's really sweet, I like that.

-Isn't it lovely?

-I must ask, have you got the saucer?

-I have.

-Well done!

It's fantastic, isn't it?

It's probably out the carriage, isn't it?

I would think so, yeah.

Mm, Andrew looks like a man who knows what he wants.

So, will he help Phil walk away the winner?

All will be revealed later in the show.

John has racked up some good sales

and has got a whiff of the sweet smell of success.

He's hoping his last item -

the giant aftershave bottle that cost him just over £36 -

will see him home and dry.

Although my shop display aftershave bottle

was designed and sold in the 1980s and early 1990s,

the actual design of the piece and indeed the name,

is firmly rooted in the age of jazz,

the '20s and '30s when cocktail parties were in full swing.

So what better place to try and sell it

than to a dealer that specialises amongst other things...

in Art Deco items?

-Now, I described this to you on the telephone.

-Mm-hm.

I'm wondering if this is what you had in mind, but this is the item.

-It's a lot bigger than I thought it'd be.

-Like it?

Yeah, it's lovely, yeah.

-Well, as I'm a plastic freak.

-D'you like it?

-I love Perspex and plastic.

Yeah, I do, I really like it.

Well, I'm looking for £80 for it.

Mm. You couldn't come down a little bit...

to £70?

-£70 - you've got yourself a new perfume bottle.

-Oh, thank you!

-Thanks, John.

-Jenny's weakness gives John another edge.

He wraps up the contest with a pungent profit of nearly £34!

Our titanic trade-off

has turned full circle.

It's been relentless but only one of our experts will emerge triumphant.

They both arrived in Paris with £750 worth of euros to spend.

The Fox bought six items and spent nearly £473.

The Hammer also made six purchases

but he spent less than half of Phil's total, just under £232.

Buying and selling is one thing, it's the profit that really counts.

All the money that Phil and John made from today's challenge

will go to a charity of their choice.

So, without further ado, it's time to find out who is today's

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is champion.

-John, how are you?

-Phil, much better for seeing you.

A long time since France, isn't it?

I found the buying really tough and the selling, not much easier.

If buying's tough, selling's going to be so much harder, isn't it?

I mean, for me...

Oh, it sort of bandjaxed me.

I haven't got good feelings about this.

Well, you spent a lot more money so I conceded defeat to you on the day.

-I'll do three, two, one.

-OK.

-Three, two, one. Bang! Uh!

-Oh!

-Unbelievable!

-I'd accepted it.

You're excited, aren't you?

-Well, Phil...

-You are!

I really thought on the day, I hadn't spent enough

and you're going to beat me on the turnover alone.

I think it's time you bought me a beer.

Yes, a convincing win for Mr Cameron,

so what did happen with Phil's prize pieces -

the marble table and the chamber pot?

-I want to sell the two together, all right?

-Mm-hm.

And I'm not even... I'm just going to ask you for one bid.

Give me your best shot.

-Two and a half.

-I'll take it.

-OK.

I think you've been really fair with me.

I want to shake you by the hand.

£250 was good but it wasn't enough.

The table and the pot made Phil a profit of bang on £50.

And so the French market proved too much for the British Fox.

I found the continental market really, really tough.

I could find lots of things to buy that I would have quite liked owning

but you know, that's not what this game's about.

At the end of the day, turnover's one thing but profit's another.

So although it was a surprise, it was a pleasant surprise.

No time for our boys to relax,

they must get in training for tomorrow's monumental trial.

It's the challenge to end all challenges - the showdown!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]