Catherine Southon v Mark Stacey - Auction 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.

-Wahey!

-And gives you the insider's view of the trade.

I'm on the case.

Wahey!

Each week, one pair of duelling dealers will face a different

daily challenge.

I'm a cheeky chancer! Lah-vely!

Putting their reputations on the line and giving you top tips

and savvy secrets on how to make the most money from buying and selling.

Let's go and spend some money.

Get in there!

Today, it's the wonderful wizard of antiques Mark Stacey

and the fairest dealer of them all, Catherine Southon.

-Coming up, Catherine's shocked by Mark's spending.

-I've got it!

That's SO much money!

Mark learns an important lesson.

Don't bid if you haven't looked at something. These wretched feet...

-Aren't they shocking?

-And Catherine takes a wild ride to make a sale.

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

Once upon a time, in a magical faraway land,

lived a fearless hero and a fair maiden.

One day, they set off to overcome untold obstacles

in an ultimate quest to buy and sell antiques for profit.

From the fairy kingdom of Brighton, East Sussex,

our very own Oberon, "Maverick" Mark Stacey.

I'm so angry I could crush a grape!

And playing Titania to Mark's Oberon, the enchanting beauty

who you won't find sleeping on the job, "Cunning" Catherine Southon.

See, Mark? A bargain!

Today, they've arrived at Stacey's auctioneers in Essex to see

who can magic up the best buys

and who will stride off with the golden goose of great profit.

Put the hammer down.

They've each got £1,000 of their own money to spend

and all the profits go to their chosen charities.

Mark Stacey and Catherine Southon,

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

This means war!

Stacey's Auction? This all sounds a bit dodgy to me.

-A bit fishy?

-A bit of a fix, isn't it?

-It's not really cos I've never been here before.

But it is spooky cos his Christian name is Mark as well.

I can assure you, I'm thrilled to be here. It's a lovely-looking sale.

-Just be very careful cos I've got a few tricks up my sleeve.

-Have you?

-Oh, yes.

-Well, I've got £1,000 to spend, as have you.

-As have I.

-£1,000.

-And I'm going to spend it!

I'm going to really spend it!

Hang on. I just want to say that for the record,

that'll be a first! Catherine spend money?! You know what she's like!

I will spend it! I will spend it and I'm going to enjoy myself.

-So...good luck, my friend.

-And you.

-You will need it!

Happy hunting!

Straight away, Mark's rattling Catherine's cage.

It looks like this bidding war is going to be no fairytale.

So how is Catherine feeling about the coming war?

I think it is going to be a battle. It's going to be hard.

So Catherine's already feeling the pressure,

but what has Mark got planned?

I bet you're just dying to know what the trick is up my sleeve.

Well, so am I! So if you find it, let me know

cos I haven't got a clue what I'm doing here.

Oh, so the only tricks Mark's got up his sleeve are the ones he's

playing on Catherine.

So before we raise the curtain for act one of this audacious

tale of auctioneering, our fortune hunting hero

and heroine have the chance to browse some potential purchases

and Catherine spies a doll's house she finds curiouser and curiouser.

What I like about this is that it's quite early,

it's about 1900 in date.

And they've catalogued it as German.

Isn't that a lovely little door with the knocker?

I'm sure that can be sort of fixed quite easily.

A bit of the chimney's been lobbed off, a bit of a problem.

But the windows are intact, the glass windows are not broken.

And I actually think that is a charming little house,

so I'm going to note that one down.

Yes, Catherine is in her element at the collectors' sale,

so it's a surprise to find her feeling grumpy.

Aren't these fabulous? Mark Stacey - Grumpy.

And I'm not quite sure who that dwarf is,

but two dwarfs from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

We've got 1950s Chad Valley dwarfs.

Ideally, I'd like a set of them...and these are a little

bit grubby. I don't really want to spend any more than £20-30,

but I've got to have them. I'm going to have a bit of fun with these.

They're mine.

So Mark may well be grumpy.

It looks like he needs a fairy godmother to guide him in the right direction.

And while he struggles to find anything of interest,

Catherine has found an antique handbag that she likes the look of.

Now, this is absolutely fantastic.

We've got a vintage lady's handbag in the shape of a beehive,

so we've got that sort of stepped design. It's very Art Deco in style.

It's all plastic. And the lid has been carved.

It's just got that brilliant look.

And while Catherine's struggling to find something that she

doesn't love, at last Mark's found something that he does like,

a clock that he thinks is an absolute hoot.

I've fallen in love with this clock. It's very cheaply made.

It's Japanese. Probably 1950s, I would think.

It's an owl and it's called the Wink Clock.

It's one of those ones, it's a bit like a cuckoo clock,

but the cuckoo doesn't come out. As you move that, look at the eyes.

Look in the eyes, look in the eyes!

These are quite unusual things because they were made in large

quantities but when they got broke, they were thrown out.

So this is quite a rare survivor.

What a wise old expert I am!

Hmm. And not to mention modest, Mark.

Browsing over, our Hansel and Gretel of antiques skip on down

to prepare for the epic bidding battle that's ahead of them.

And it's Mark who's first to strike, as he bids for an early

19th century child's rocking chair with an estimated cost of £40-60.

£30 bid. 30, I have. At £30 now.

For auction pro Mark,

it's all about the eyebrows to keep his bidding under wraps.

At 38, are we all done? I shall sell now then. At £38.

Yours, sir.

He wins the bidding but there is a possible problem.

I haven't seen that lot at all.

But it looked quite interesting on the actual screen.

The rocking chair rocks up at £45.60 after auction house fees,

but does it live up to close scrutiny?

Now, take this as a solitary lesson, OK?

Don't bid if you haven't looked at something.

Because on the screen,

that's all I saw was a lovely 19th century child's rocking chair.

And now I've looked at it, these wretched feet are brand new.

Aren't they shocking? It's obviously broken and somebody's taken...

I don't know what they've taken... and made it on.

So it's ruined it really.

This back is quite nice. But there's nothing you can do about those legs.

I don't think I'm going to rock myself to sleep tonight on a profit.

What a shocker!

Thankfully, he has a chance to redeem himself

because the 1950s owl clock is up next.

This is the one, actually, that I really want.

I want this clock.

24, 26, 28 and 30.

-32, 35...

-It's so tacky. So Mark!

£40. 42.

There go the eyebrows again.

48 and 50. 55. 60.

-At £60 now.

-It's so expensive!

-At £60.

SHE GASPS

I got it!

-Mark!

-Catherine.

That is SO much money!

He flies away with the owl clock for £72, including commission.

But Catherine is not impressed.

If he wants to pay £60 for a winking eye, who am I to stop him?

At least I'm buying!

Determined to close the gap on Mark's two-nil lead, Catherine tries

her luck with a late 19th century trunk with a guide price of £80-120.

-105, if you like.

-Go on, then.

It's a lot of money.

No.

She's not brave enough. It's a lovely bid.

Go on, then.

Oh, she's back in.

-120, I have got.

-No.

She won't even bid an extra fiver.

What is she doing?!

We're supposed to be buying things here.

Yes, Catherine may be being cautious with her money, but Mark continues

full pelt on his buying streak, taking a punt on a pair of pastels.

They're quite attractive. They're late Victorian. They're signed and dated.

I suspect the auctioneer thinks they're going to make £50-60.

I'd be very happy to pay that for it and maybe a little bit more.

22, 25 now. At 28, I am out.

-Here.

-On my right. 32, sir.

35. 38. 40.

42, 45, 48.

He's not giving up.

55. £60. Are we all done then?

-Put the hammer down.

-At £60.

-Ooh, lovely.

I'm really pleased with those. Now that was a really late decision.

And Mark's late decision puts him into a three-nil lead,

as he pays £72 for the Victorian pastels.

But is he the picture of happiness when he sees them up close?

I think these are absolutely charming.

Pastels are the sort of poor man's watercolour

and oil because they're not as commercial as oils or

watercolours, but I just think these are beautifully painted.

They're so sympathetic.

It is signed here, but I can't say that

I know this artist immediately, but it's signed 1880.

I think that's an absolute steal. Don't you?

Anybody with a Victorian house who wants to create instant

ancestry is going to love these.

I'm absolutely thrilled I managed to secure them.

Yes, Mark is unstoppable and sticking with his Victorian theme...

Are you all done?

..he snaffles a portrait of Queen Victoria herself for £26.40.

Another impromptu purchase of mine, I'm afraid.

A framed print of Queen Victoria

and she's looking there all the way we expect her to look

at the end of her reign. This is 1887-1897.

It's in a nice maple frame, which is typical for the period as well.

It's 100-odd years old. I think I'll find a buyer for this.

I won't make an imperial profit on it,

but let's hope I can make a regal profit on it.

Way ahead of his rival now, Mark is anything but Prince Charming,

as he taunts Miss Southon over his four-nil lead.

Catherine still hasn't bought anything.

Oh!

I mustn't gloat.

But I will!

And they continue to rub each other up the wrong way.

-I thought you were spending all your money today.

-Take your time.

-Be lucky if she spends a tenner at this rate.

-Don't be stroppy!

It seems that with bidders to the left of them and gavels to

the right, they're both stuck in the middle with each other.

-Go on, Catherine.

-Shut up.

-You said you were going to spend a lot today.

-Leave me alone!

-Have a go!

-He's winding me up now.

Catherine's got to make a move and this could be a chance

when she decides to bit on a 20th century oil painting with

an estimate of £100-150.

There's a painting coming up of the Lusitania,

the sister ship of the Mauretania, by a well-known artist, Tordoff.

I'm going to have a good stab at this one.

85 is bid, 90 now. 95. 100, new bidder.

Are you all done? At £100, lady on my right. Selling at £100.

(Yes!)

I am back!

I'm going to beat the Stacey.

Hoorah! Catherine snaps up her very first purchase.

The oil painting cost her £120 after fees.

But when she ventures over to see what she's bought, she gets

a sinking feeling, as she realises she's bid on the wrong painting.

I was looking at the picture of the Mauretania, thinking it was

the Lusitania, cos visually that to me is the more attractive picture.

But I actually bid on that one,

which is the Lusitania. The Lusitania is the more famous ship.

So I think what I'm trying to say is I'm actually quite happy that

I did get that one.

Catherine salvages her chances with the oil painting and brings us

to the end of act one.

So it's time to see who's little red riding high in the sky

and who's cast under a spell of misery.

Catherine and Mark each started the day with £1,000 of their own money.

Catherine has been biding her time, buying just one item for £120

so far, leaving her £880 in her kitty.

Mark, however, got off to a legendary start,

spending £216 on four items, leaving him with £784 to play with.

Before we find out whether this yellow brick road

is leading to an emerald palace or a ramshackle cottage,

our two leads step off the stage to compare notes.

Catherine, what are you doing?

Ah, I'm just relaxing, Mark. I do feel a bit more relaxed now.

But I can't believe you can say that.

-Why?

-All I've seen you do all morning is dither.

-I have not!

-I've been busy!

-You tried to bid on two lots.

Most of the time, there's just been a squeal of,

"Oh, my God! There's people interested. I can't bid."

But it's fine because I'm feeling a bit more confident now.

The whole of the rest of the day is just going to be perfect.

I'm pleased to hear that. But I think we ought to get back on with it.

We've still got a long way to go.

-OK, all right.

-Well done, though.

-OK, thanks.

Go on.

Yes, it's time for our two auctioning adventurers

to tread back inside and continue with their story of wondrous

antiques wizardry as the bidding begins.

I shall sell now then.

Cunning Catherine's really got to get going now.

And she does when she wins an Edwardian backgammon set

costing £12 after commission.

I don't even know how you play backgammon.

Catherine, it's a game of strategy with a little bit of luck

thrown in, a bit like this one.

Nice little bit of inlay on the top. Boxwood and ebony stringing.

Open it up...

A little bit worn inside but nonetheless, it's all there.

Lovely leather beakers and there's two of these.

Absolutely lovely.

The backgammon board brings the score to two-four.

Cunning Catherine is catching up and next up,

it's the doll's house she saw earlier that she so badly wants.

£10. At 10. Are we all done now? I'm going to sell.

See, Mark? A bargain!

Yes, there's no need for a second mortgage to buy

the turn of the century doll's house, as it costs her £12.

Now, with this battle so close, you'd think Cinders

and Buttons would give up this constant jibing, but...

oh, no, they won't!

She's getting desperate.

And I can see that buying things for £10 is really going to spend

that budget of £1,000(!)

I wish he'd just leave me alone.

He does moan, doesn't he? He doesn't stop.

You don't have to work with him. I do!

Oof! I'm so angry I could crush a grape!

Things are really hotting up on the auction floor

and the way these two are getting on each other's nerves, this

midsummer night's dream looks set to turn into an out and out nightmare.

We're going to be digging at each other all day long.

I hate it! I love it really.

It is getting personal.

This means war!

Can Catherine draw even by tossing the 1950s dwarfs into her

pile of collectibles? They're estimated at £30-50.

£20 bid for this lot. £20, 22.

25, 28.

£30. At £30 now, late bit at £30. Any advance on 30?

-£30, thank you.

-I know there's only two, but they're good characters,

they're in very good condition.

So Catherine takes two of the seven dwarfs hi-home for £36,

including costs.

-Have you got the other five?

-No.

Oh, they're still at it!

I'm selling one to you cos it's Grumpy!

Ha-ha-ha...

Hmm, it's four-all and Mark starts huffing and puffing

and hoping to blow the price down of a railway track fixture,

estimated at £50-80.

-At £40.

-£40!

-It's here with me at 40.

Any advance on 40? 42, 45.

At £45 now. 45, last chance then. At 45, 48, I have against you, sir.

-Selling, 48... 50 is now bid. At £50 now.

-Why am I buying this?

Railway item for £50.

Put the hammer down, for God's sake!

Thank you.

He pays £60, including costs.

But will it transport into victory or end up

as a dead weight around his neck?

I'm not chuffed with this lot.

Because... Well, it's just a cast iron railway sleeper.

I presume the plank of wood would have gone in there.

But we do have GWR, Great Western Railways. And it does say 1909 here.

So it's Edwardian and it does weight a tonne.

I don't think anybody's copied this. I suppose it's just great fun.

It'd make a great doorstop.

So as the auction approaches its end, the pressure has pushed

Mark into purchasing something that he isn't 100% sure of.

But he's not one to tread water

when he spots a lot featuring a pair of buoys estimated at £30-50.

He's frustrated however when a phone bidder pushes the price up and up.

Bid against you, sir.

75 now. 75 is bid.

One more? £80 is bid.

-It's a no.

-And up it goes!

-One more, sir. Don't lose it for a fiver. At £85.

-I don't care.

I don't care.

Knockout bid. Are you all done? Selling for £85.

The vintage life buoys and helmet cost a disgruntled Mark £102,

including fees, but coast-based Mark doesn't look too

buoyant about his latest purchases.

What have I done? I really don't know.

These attracted me cos I thought they'd be great fun.

In Brighton, if I can't find someone who wants an old fireman's

helmet, I don't know where I can find a buyer for it.

And a pair of buoys? Well, it was made for me in Brighton, wasn't it?

Will I be sailing in profit or will I need these to save me from drowning?

Our fabulous fable is drawing to a close,

but Catherine, refusing to be outdone by her rival,

is determined to get her mitts on the 1950s handbag, estimated at £30 to £50.

I'll start the bidding in the book at £40.

The bid's at £40. 42, 45.

48, coming in now, sir. 50, new bidder.

52, 55, 58.

Against you. sir. At £58, it's the lady's bid then at £58.

And selling at 58.

£58 going to 5834.

And she's done it.

Catherine bags the bag for £69.60 in total

and brings the day's buying action to a close.

That's me done.

With Act Two at an end, let's find out who's climbing the magic

beanstalk and who's on the yellow brick road to nowhere.

Our two heroes set off on their saga with £1,000 of their own money.

Catherine started slowly,

but kicked into gear, buying five lots at a cost of £249.60.

Mark started strong and kept his pecker up, buying six lots for £378.

But the question is, who will be able to summon up enough

selling magic to conjure up the biggest profit?

And, at the end of this epic tale of purchasing,

our intrepid two take time to reveal the treasures they bought.

-Dah-dah!

-It was a tough day, wasn't it?

-Oh. So, what did you buy?

-Well, I did well, what can I say. This was my first purchase.

-Yes.

-Why?

-I've been asking myself that.

-I saw the back of it and I thought, actually it looks quite nice.

-Yeah.

I couldn't quite imagine that these hideous sort of rockers were

-going to be later.

-What about the handbag?

-I love it.

-It's brilliant, isn't it?

-I love it. It's so fantastically of its type.

-I envy you that.

-What is that, Mark?

-To me now, that is becoming a work of art.

-It's just so dull.

Anyway, moving on swiftly, your owl.

It's very poor quality.

-But...

-But, it's a bit of fun.

These automaton-type clocks can be very, very popular.

-I think that was a very wise buy.

-Mmm, a wise old owl.

-It's been great fun, hasn't it, come on?

-It has.

-Really, really been good fun. It has been a giggle.

-And, Catherine...

I can't wait till we do it again.

Good luck!

So the buying part of this antiques adventure is over

but hubble bubble, it looks like trouble as the selling

is set to begin.

The barrage of bidding was nothing compared to

the salesmanship about to be displayed by Catherine and Mark.

Back in the magical realm of Brighton,

Mark is assessing his acquisitions.

Well, the auction was much more enjoyable than I thought it was going to be

and, I think, I managed to find one or two really interesting items.

I love the pair of portraits

and I really hope I'm going to make a lot of money on those.

They're charming.

The Victoria print was a little bit of a spur-of-the-moment buy

but I think I might have found a buyer further up the coast.

I love this winking clock. I mean, I wanted it as soon as I saw it.

The chair, on the other hand, has got the awful,

modern replacement legs and I hate them.

The other mad thing I bought was this bit of railwayana.

I've got a few ideas of how to sell that and, hopefully,

it will chug me along a profit.

The other items that I'm really pleased we've got,

because I think they're great fun, are these pair of buoys.

That really is my lot.

Catherine, I hope you're happier with yours than I am with mine

but I think I might come out of it with a bigger profit.

Fighting talk from Mark, who's hoping to conjure up a high magic number.

But has Catherine got the right ingredients to create her own potion of victory?

This is the best thing I bought, this backgammon set, £10,

what a bargain.

That is going to make a huge profit.

The beehive, 1950s vintage handbag.

It just oozes style and quality.

My little dwarfs - why did I buy them?

I have absolutely no idea who I'm going to sell them to.

The dolls' house...

Quite frankly, it is a little bit knackered

but I'm going to take it to a restorer.

I'm going to get it tarted up a little bit.

There's got to be 40, 50 quid profit there.

The big problem is my painting.

It's not very nice.

I think, just like the Lusitania, it's going to be torpedoed

and I think it's going to haunt me forever.

So Catherine's worried but mirror, mirror on the wall,

who will be the fairest winner of all?

Well, whoever makes the most money, that's who and, remember,

no deal is truly sealed until that all-important handshake.

Mark is first to get going.

He's keen to kick-off the selling

when he takes the 19th-century portrait of Queen Victoria

from East Sussex to West Sussex.

I've brought my Queen Victoria print to where else

but the Queen Victoria inn.

No, not Walford, Bognor Regis.

Let's go in and find out how we do.

The picture cost him £26.40 so will licensee Donna

help him pull a pint of profit?

-And here's the print.

-Oh, it's lovely.

I think it was produced,

either for her Golden Jubilee or her Diamond Jubilee.

Either way, it's over 100 years old so it's actually an antique.

I've dug around a bit about Queen Victoria and I found,

as a child, Queen Victoria used to visit Bognor quite regularly.

-I've heard that too.

-She referred to it in her diary as, "My dear little Bognor".

-Mm-hm.

And we're in Bognor and I think this is the right place to try and sell it.

Definitely! Definitely, it will fit in. It's a nice picture.

What has your manager told you you can go up to?

He's actually told me 50.

-Oh! Quite firm, is he?

-He is quite firm.

-I think we can say, "Yes" to 50 quid.

-That absolutely fantastic.

-I just want you to do me one more favour, Donna.

-Mm-hm.

Can you say in your best cockney accent, get out of my pub?

-Get out of my pahb!

-Oh, I'm off.

THEY LAUGH

Yes, Donna clearly went to the Dick Van Dyke School of Cockney

but Mark's the picture of happiness with a profit of £23.60.

Now, Catherine isn't going to let Mark keep his lead for long. Oh, no.

She paid £69.40 for the 1950s handbag

but will London-based vintage accessories dealer Linda

take it off her hands for a profit?

Linda, when I phoned you up initially and said I had

-a beehive handbag, you got very excited.

-I did.

When I show you this, I hope you're going to be excited.

It looks kind of like a beehive

but the beehive one has got a curved top.

When was that made, Linda?

-Probably the same time as this, which is '50s.

-Right, OK.

They were only made in America and there were different makes.

Some of them have names on them.

-I don't think this one does.

-No, I did have a look on that one.

-But it is a very nice one.

-Is it something that you would buy?

It is, yes. I do have collectors that like them.

I know what I would like, which is about £100.

Would you do 85?

Shall we say 90 and then call it a day?

-OK.

-It is lovely, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Are you happy with that, Linda?

-Yes.

Thank you very much indeed.

Catherine bags a profit of £20.40 and she's not stopping there.

She tracks down Canterbury-based James

who organises a group of backgammon enthusiasts.

She has a scheme to sell them her Edwardian backgammon set.

-James, hello, I'm Catherine.

-Hello, Catherine.

I know absolutely nothing about playing backgammon, I must confess.

-Is it a difficult game?

-No, it's very simple

but the more you know about it, the less you know, in a way.

-It's supposed to be the oldest board game in the world.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Well have a look at this.

-Wow!

-It's an Edwardian backgammon set.

-It's going to be about 1910 in date.

-Wonderful. Gosh.

It's in original condition. I mean, this hasn't been touched.

I must draw your attention, first of all, it is a little bit moth-eaten there but it's the original baize

and look at these gorgeous leather beakers. Aren't they lovely?

Fantastic.

The backgammon set set her back £12 and scheming Catherine

is planning to deploy her auctioneering abilities to score up

the best possible profit.

Who is good to give me 48? 48, 48.

50, any more at £50? Five...

Catherine's persistent patter helps push up the price

and it's soon over the £100 mark.

All done then, selling then, £120!

Well done.

APPLAUSE

Yes, Catherine's ace auctioneering skills

win her an incredible profit of £108.

So with Catherine one sale ahead, it's time for Mark to up his game.

He's bringing the owl clock that cost him £72

to specialist Nick in East Sussex and is hoping

to tick up a timely profit.

# You've got to beat the clock! #

I fell in love with it simply because it had the trademark

-and the name Wink Clock on it.

-Right.

Can you tell us anything about it?

I can. Well, hopefully...

That's the weight connected to a chain and rather than having

-a spring, it has a weight using gravity.

-Oh, right, OK.

-To drive it.

I think, as it says, Made In Japan.

Some of them are made by the Tezuka Clock Company

between '45 and '52.

The most desirable ones of these have Made In Occupied Japan on the back.

This one doesn't, unfortunately.

Still, it's very handsome.

Is it something you think you could get working again

and would be interested in for the shop?

I would certainly think so, you know. It is missing its pendulum.

It would have another pendulum that comes down which regulates the time.

OK.

All the bits are there other than its little pendulum, which I may be able to get hold of.

Obviously, I'm not going to get over the £100 mark for it.

What sort of figure would make you feel comfortable?

If you were happy to go with £80 because he has been quite loved.

Well, look, it's not the biggest profit in the world

-but let's settle on 80.

-That will be brilliant, thank you, Mark.

-Thank you, Nick.

So Mark flaps home with a profit of just £8.

What an experience that was. It might not have been the biggest profit in the world

but I have learnt a bit and actually, you know what, I'm still winking.

Mmm... So Mark's head is just above water but he keeps on paddling away.

Next he's planning to sell the pair of vintage lifebuoys.

He bought them as a mixed lot with a fireman's helmet but Mark decides

that the buoys are his best chance of floating off with a profit.

Do you know, I thought I would have found out a lot more of the history of these

but I haven't been able to find out much at all.

I have found a potential buyer.

His name is Tristan and he runs hen nights and stag parties

and I was rather hoping these couple of buoys might end up as stage props.

What do you think? It's a perfect idea.

Let's go and see if I can make

a very buoyant profit.

So will events organiser Tristan throw him a lifeline and buy them?

I thought they might be like be like a campy prop somebody could use in a carefully stage set.

Yeah, we do do stage props and we do have hottie lifeguards.

I was hoping for say a couple of hundred pounds.

HE LAUGHS

-What?

-I paid £102.

-No, you didn't.

-I did.

-No, you didn't.

-I did.

-No, you couldn't have.

-I want to try and get as close as I can to it.

-£70.

-Oh! Oh, dear.

Could we get a bit higher, do you think?

Make it 80 and we've got a deal.

-I don't think I'm going to get any more out of you, am I?

-No, no.

Thank you very much.

And do you know, I'm so thrilled, I've got rid of them. HE LAUGHS

-How much did you really pay for them?

-£102.

-Did you really?

-Seriously.

-Somebody get this man a doctor. Please!

Actually, someone get this man a lifeguard.

Mark has fallen overboard with a terrible loss of £22.

With this frenetic frenzy of favoured selling well under way,

it's high time we found out how our seasoned sellers are faring.

Catherine is doing well.

She sold two items and made a healthy profit of £128.40.

Mark, however, has sold three items

but has only made £9.60 profit so far.

Mark is lagging behind at the moment

but don't write The Maverick off just yet,

as our two wonderful wizards of antique wares

embark on their second selling round.

Like a selling express,

Mark pulls into Brighton Station hoping to persuade train driver manager, Ryan,

to choo-choose the railway heavy metal that cost Mark £60.

-#

-Take me right back to the track.

-#

You wouldn't believe I go to the gym four times a day, would you?

No, we wouldn't!

-Have a look. This is Great Western Railway, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Do you know what these other numbers mean? Is this the date?

I believe that is the date. That's for the gauge.

Then the SN is where it would be made, probably Swindon.

It's a track chair, which the track sits in.

-That's the modern version, there.

-So actually, the rails...

-The rails sit in that.

-Oh, right.

-And it's made out of cast iron, I think.

-Yes.

-It's really quite a weight.

-It is.

-So shall we start with £80?

I think you can go a bit lower than that, Mark, I think.

Well, what about 70?

-65.

-£65.

-And will you use it?

-I'll use it as a doorstop.

-Perfect, I have to say, "Yes" at 65. Thank you, Ryan.

-You're more than welcome.

And Mark notches up a £5 profit and is back on track.

# Take me right back to the track, Jack! #

Well, Catherine, it's all aboard the profit express here at Brighton station.

Do you know, I've always wanted to do this, listen.

HORN TOOTS

And while Mark's tooting his horn,

Catherine is off to her next potential sale in East Sussex.

# Hi, ho, hi ho, it's home from work we go. #

Well, here I am in Lewes. The sun is shining

and I've got Grumpy and Bashful and it's off to work I go.

Catherine paid £36 for the 1950s dwarfs.

So, will antique toyshop owner, Sue,

be bashful or happy to hand over a profit-winning price for the pair?

-There we are.

-Oh, Chad Valley dwarfs.

-There we are.

They're nice. They're in nice condition.

Aren't they in lovely condition?

-They're painted faces, aren't they?

-Yes.

-No boxes, though?

-No, I don't have the boxes.

-It's nice because they all came in boxes.

-I'm sorry.

-They did all come in original boxes?

-Yes, they did.

-If you lift up one of their little tops.

-Oh, look!

-The Chad Valley name there.

-We've got the Chad Valley name, as clear as a bell.

-Now this one is obviously Grumpy and is he Bashful?

-Yes, I think he is.

His little cheeks and he looks quite cross.

A bit like Mark Stacey, really.

THEY LAUGH

Would these be something that you would be interested in?

-Well, it does depend on the price.

-Right.

I was going to say about 100, really.

Can I pinch you up another little £10? Would that be all right?

-Yes.

-Thank you very much.

And Catherine's far from grumpy with a profit of £74 to add to her pot.

Catherine's stupendous selling streak continues.

She sells the £12 doll house to furniture restorer, Chris,

for £20, opening the door to an £8 profit.

But, while Catherine is flourishing, Mark is floundering.

Let this be a lesson to you when you're buying at auction -

always examine the pieces before you bid for them. I wish I had.

I bid on this from the screen.

It wasn't until I found it that I realised it was quite badly restored.

I've brought it to Steph, who's a dealer in this sort of thing and a fair organiser

and I'm hoping she'll buy it off me.

The chair cost Mark £45.60, so will he be able to rock up a profit?

-I'm not going to tell you what I paid for it.

-OK.

I want you to have a look at it, examine it and give me your feelings.

I think it's lovely. Is it early Victorian?

I think it probably is, you know.

I would probably date it sort of 1840-ish, something like that.

Sure, yeah. It's lovely. Certainly I'd be very interested in it.

It's a shame these are replaced but it's well done, anyway.

-It does work, at least.

-I think it's a lovely thing.

I think it would be worth a lot of money

if it hadn't been played about with.

-It would be a couple of hundred pounds.

-It's still very beautiful.

It would look great with my stock.

-Is there any chance we can say 35?

-I think that would be fine, yeah.

-Would you be happy with that?

-I would be more than happy with that.

Well, I'm happy to sell it to you.

Happy to be rid of the rocker,

Mark loses £10.60 and notches up his second loss.

Always look at what you're buying before you buy it.

Will I never learn?

With only one crucial item left each,

this competition is reaching boiling point.

Our expert detective, Catherine, has a plan.

She's come to Southend, having found the perfect person

to, hopefully, buy her painting of the Lusitania.

I have got in touch with the auctioneer that

I bought this from originally and he has pointed me

in the direction of Philip and, apparently, he collects such paintings.

We'll just have to go and see.

She's a genius!

Catherine paid £120 for the painting but will businessmen Philip

want to help her set sail with a profit?

-There we are.

-Lusitania.

-Lusitania!

-We all know what happened to the Lusitania, don't we?

-It sunk.

-It sunk without trace.

-Was that sunk by the Germans?

Yes, it was torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1915.

Over 1,000 lives lost.

-Is the artist known, is he?

-This artist is Frederick Tordoff.

Now, he was born in 1939

and he's known actually for his whaling scenes.

-That's really what he's famous for.

-That's lovely, isn't it?

Admittedly, this frame is pretty ghastly but, I think,

if you reframe that, you've got yourself quite a nice painting.

-I think that'll go very nicely in my boardroom, actually.

-Oh, would it?

Yes. All according to how much it is.

Ideally, I'd like around the sort of 200 to 250 but make me an offer.

-I'm happy with 250.

-Are you?

-Yeah. Done, there you go.

Nice work, Philip.

Catherine takes a titanic profit of £130 for the painting

but there's a condition.

I just want you to do me one little favour, as well.

We're going to specially open the rollercoaster for you

and we're going to give you a couple of laps.

-I really don't like rollercoasters.

-It's quite a calm one.

Oh!

# Scream if you want to go faster, baby

# Scream if you want to go faster. #

Oh!

Oh, it's going up and down like Mark Stacey's profits.

The lengths this lady will go for a sale.

We're approaching the end of this wild rollercoaster ride

of buying and selling, and we're heading

for a helter-skelter ride of the final result

but Mark still has to sell the Victorian pastels that cost him £72.

He's arranged a meeting with Hove-based contact and collector of Victoriana, Sue.

When I bought them, I thought they might have been a wedding.

-Yes, on their marriage.

-They're newly married.

But, the more I looked into them,

the Victorians and our ancestors liked symbolism, didn't they?

-They did.

-I have a feeling, because of the use of the moon brooch.

-Yeah, Moonstone brooch.

-Moonstone brooch and the little handkerchief.

Do you think, actually, that he's passed away?

I do, and the fact that she's wearing black.

-I think that's a widow's cap she's wearing.

-It is.

-I haven't found much about the artist but they are both dated.

-Yes.

And signed.

It's a shame, really, that the frame is here for this one

-but there's no frame for that one.

-No.

I know you've got to get them glazed and obviously find a suitable oval frame for the lady.

Is this something you feel you can make an offer on?

So will Mark's Victorian pastels provide a palpable profit

and will it stand him in good stead against Catherine's sensational selling skills?

All will soon be revealed.

Our two tussling experts set off on the saga

with £1,000 of their own money.

Catherine Southon acquired five items at a total cost of £249.60.

Mark Stacey purchased six lots costing him £378.

But all that matters now is profit.

All the money from today's challenge will go to our dealers' chosen charities,

so let's find out who is today's Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is champion.

You are smiling, aren't you? I can see.

I had a wonderful time at the auction.

-Catherine, you dithered for England.

-I did not dither.

-You dithered.

-I was focused. Anyway, how was it for you?

-I had an awful time.

-Oh, darling.

-Oh, such sincerity! not!

SHE LAUGHS

I actually did quite well.

You remember that painting that you were nasty about?

Don't tell me, for goodness' sake, you actually made a profit on that?

I did and I did quite well and I went on a rollercoaster.

-You actually made a profit on that stinker?

-Yeah.

Don't be nasty! You're just jealous that you didn't see it.

Shall get on with it?

-Yes, I'm quite excited about this.

-I'm not.

-Ready?

-Mm-hm.

-One, two, three...

-Oh!

-Oh, Catherine!

That's ridiculous.

-Oh, Mark.

-I can't believe that.

I'm not happy.

You buy the drinks.

Catherine is victorious because although Mark managed to sell

the Victorian pastels for a profit of £48,

it wasn't enough to touch the high-performing Miss Southon.

I should be good at auctions, I was an auctioneer for 16 years or more

but I wasn't very good at this one, was I?

And Catherine managed to pull out all the stops

and absolutely trounced me.

Mark, you need to try a little bit harder.

I made almost £300 more than you. Oh dear, oh dear.

Oh, well, tomorrow Mark has a chance of redeeming himself as our duelling dealers

go head-to-head at a car boot sale in Sussex.

I'm loving it!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd