Christina Trevanion and Philip Serrell - Foreign Antiques Market 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.'

-Whey-hey!

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

I'm on the case.

-Whee!

-'Each week, one pair of duelling dealers

'will face a different daily challenge.'

-I'm a cheeky chancer.

-'Lovely!

'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, preeminent princess of purchasing Christina Trevanion

'battles it out with that brilliant behemoth of the bargain, Phil Serrell.

'Coming up, Phil struggles to find things to his taste.'

That is just about the worst thing I have ever seen in my life.

'Christina shows you how to drive a hard bargain

'while keeping people on side.'

-45.

-50.

-45. Go on. Go on!

'And Phil's got his work cut out selling for big money.'

-Give me 150 quid for the four.

-No.

-Is that the end of it?

-That's the end of it. You can go now.

250 quid for it, that's what I'd like to get.

'This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

'Prepare yourselves for a gargantuan intergalactic fight of epic proportions.

'Two mythical antiques experts with monumental and mysterious powers

'have landed on the little bit of planet Earth they call Paris.

'These duelling superheroes of the deal will stop at nothing

'in a bitter battle for profit.

'First up, is it a bird? Is it a plane?

'Great Scot, it's Christina The Magpie Trevanion.

'This wonderful warrior woman of the skies

'will take deadly aim at any trinket she spies.'

I'm loving it here. There's just so much to look at, it's brilliant. I'm like a child in a sweet shop.

'Pitted against her, it's the saviour of the universe.

'Saints alive, it's Phil The Fox Serrell!

'With his sensational super powers,

'our scarfed crusader will scour the market for the sale that means he'll reign supreme.'

Is that for sale? For sale?

'Our tremendous antiques twosome will traverse the streets of gay Paris

'at the Porte De Vanves flea market

'as they engage in the most colossal conflict over collectables the world has ever surely witnessed.

'They're on a quest to plunder the top purchases

'and purloin the most prodigious profit.

'They've each got £750 worth of their own Euros to spend

'and all the profit goes to their chosen charities.

'Christina Trevanion and Phil Serrell,

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

-Bonjour!

-Bonjour! How are you?

-Very well. How are you?

-I feel a little bit intimidated this morning.

-Why?

-Je ne pas parle Francais.

-La plume de ma tante.

-Whoa! SHE LAUGHS

I haven't got a clue what I'm doing here but I love these markets.

-It's great fun. There is a real buzz about it.

-Have you got a plan?

Well, we are kind of in the birthplace of the Art Deco, Art Nouveau movement.

We might see a bit of it. So keep my nose to the ground and see if there's anything about.

-Oh, right.

-Yeah. What about you?

I'm going to try and buy stuff that you can't put a price on.

We've got £750 worth of Euro, so...

-If you can't put a price on it, how are you going to buy it?

-Ah.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Come on, which way are we going to go?

Let's both go this way, shall we? Come on.

'Yes, don't be afraid, mes ami.

'Despite possessing powers beyond imagination,

'our purchasing predators come in peace to France

'and mean no harm to earthlings.

'They'll reserve their mighty rage for each other in this epic battle for profit.

'And Phil is raring to go.'

This looks like a really good market

and the thing about it is, you're in a foreign country,

you've got to look round here with a completely different set of eyes.

So I want to try and find things that you can't put a price on

and things that hopefully I can sell for a good profit when I get home.

'So while Phil looks around with new eyes,

'Christina's heart is set on art.'

I'm loving this market. It's got a real buzz about it,

which is quite nice. My dream has come true slightly

in that there seems to be a lot of very Art Deco, very Art Nouveau things,

which is wonderful to see, but we are a bit spoilt for choice,

so it's thinking what will translate well back in the UK as well as in France.

'Yes, this is a lady who knows what she wants and her X-ray specs

'have already zoomed in on something she likes the look of.

'A shabby chic cabinet.'

I'm quite drawn to this cos it's a miniature armoire, which is lovely,

but it is fairly crude. It's got a bit of a woodworm problem.

And she wants 60 Euros for it. We'll bear it in mind but I'm not convinced.

'And while Christina ponders over her cabinet,

'our Super Serrell has some sage advice.'

If you're going to come to a foreign market, you've got to get your foreign market head on.

This is not like looking around an antique fair in England.

So you've got to get used to what you're going to see.

And it's just a question of familiarising yourself of your surroundings

before you really dive in and start buying.

'And Phil promptly fails to follow his own advice

'and heads straight towards a novelty box.'

How about 40 Euros?

-OK.

-SHE SPEAKS FRENCH

Oh, is that good? 40 Euros.

I think these are really cool. They'll make a great desk accessory.

It looks like it's three books, but you open it up

and it's a box for putting your knick-knacks in.

No great age to it, probably 40, 50 years old,

but it's got a really good look to it.

And I think I've got someone who might just be interested in buying that when I get home.

But we're on the way! We've started shopping! Isn't that good?

'It certainly is. Phil's booked himself into first place,

'nabbing the box for £34.19.

'Christina has been thinking hard about that armoire

'and heads back to the stall to see if she can get the price knocked down.'

-I do really like this.

-Yes.

-But I think you said 60 Euros, didn't you?

-Yes.

-Would you say 40?

-Oh, no, 40, I can't.

-I can make, er, 50 if you want.

-50 Euros?

-Yes.

-OK, I'm happy with that.

-Is that a deal?

-OK.

-Brilliant. Thank you very much.

'And Christina's off the mark, cutting a deal

'on the mid-20th century armoire for £42.74.

'Razor-sharp Phil makes sure his finger is firmly on the purchasing pulse

'before he makes his next move on a set of funky chairs.'

You see, the thing about this business is, there's four chairs over there

that have come from a factory or a warehouse,

and 20 years ago, you'd have quite quietly confined them to the skip.

But life changes and they've now become uber trendy.

'Yes, this fox knows how to hunt the funk

'and begins to circle his prey.'

Er, monsieur. Bonjour. Combien?

Cent-cinquant.

-Cent-cinquant. A hundred and...

-Er, 50.

150 Euros.

That's sort of reasonable. It's basically, I think,

the full retail value back home.

I'll perhaps bear it in mind for later.

'And while Phil is contemplating the hip and trendy,

'Christina's contemplating something else.'

I think someone must've been looking at Phil and sketching this.'

'Oh, mais oui, madame! With her eye firmly back on the prize,

'Christina homes in on some more tasteful pictures.'

-How much are these?

-20 each.

-So we've got the circa 1900 ones.

-Yes, yes.

-And then the 1950s ones.

-57.

But it is, er,

150 for ten if you want.

-If I had four pictures...

-Yes?

-..how much would that be?

-HE SIGHS

-You're hard with me.

-SHE LAUGHS

-60 if you want. The same price for ten, yes.

-OK.

Thank you, that's wonderful. I'll have a look through and see what I can find. Thank you very much.

-So you want all these?

-Well, is that classed as four?

-Cos we've got one, two, three, four.

-Yes.

Ah! So we said 40.

-No, we said 60 for that.

-60.

-Yes.

OK. Thank you very much. That's brilliant.

'And with her stylish purchasing powers,

'Christina bags the prints for £51.28.'

I'm really pleased with these. They just epitomise for me everything that's French.

And I love the fashion atelier.

Everything here, the fashion plate, it's just absolutely beautiful.

My plan is to frame them

and then hopefully find a bit of a fashion expert or a fashionista

that will be interested in displaying them.

'This dynamo diva is two-one up,

'meaning Monsieur Serrell has got some catching up to do.

'And his mind has been in overdrive.'

I really like those chairs. They're not even 15 years old.

They're 150 Euros, that's about £135.

I'm going to go and see if I can buy them for 120, 130 Euros.

Who on earth am I going to sell them to? But I think they're really cool things.

One, two, zero.

THEY LAUGH

-Yeah? Is that all right?

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

So I've just bought these chairs for 120 Euros.

Quite what I'm going to do with them, I don't know, but I think they're really cool things.

'He hunted the funk and snared the snazzy.

'Our hipster swipes the chairs for £102.56.'

I've got a 28-year-old daughter and I think I'm going to have to sell these to one of her mates,

cos I can't see any of my friends putting them round their Victorian mahogany dining table.

'Hip Phil thinks he's onto a winner, but cool cat Christina is moving up a gear.

'She's formulated a very definite battle plan.'

Having weighed up what I've seen, I think on my wish list now

is going to be a bronze, a piece of really nice glass

or an Art Deco light fitting.

'Confident Christina has her shopping list all worked out

'and her strategy has her nemesis nervous.'

Christina's plan to look at Art Deco and Art Nouveau,

I think she's going to do well with that because it's absolutely everywhere.

Perhaps that's what I should be looking at.

'Christina's single-minded determination has confounded her enemy

'and her laser-beam focus has targeted an Art Deco sculpture.'

This is absolutely beautiful.

But can you do anything on the price at all?

-The price?

-Yeah. It's 500 Euros.

And is it genuine Art Deco? It looks...

-Yeah, I think it's from 1900.

-1900? That early?

-I would've said 1920, 1930.

-1900 to 1920.

Yeah, exactly.

But price-wise, can you do anything on that?

-If I say 450?

-Oh, it's heavy!

-It's quite heavy.

It's very heavy and it's got ceramics by it, which is terrifying. SHE LAUGHS

450 is your best price?

-I hope to get 450.

-OK.

I'm going to keep wandering down there, but I like it a lot.

-Can you put it back for me?

-I'll put it back.

-Thank you. Brilliant.

'But hang on, Christina, wasn't that exactly what you were looking for?'

I absolutely love that bronze, the swallows diving.

I think it's just beautiful and the movement in it is fabulous.

The only thing that worries me is that when I looked at the bottom of it,

the screws on the bottom looked quite new, as if they were either a replacement

or that it was newer than it was purporting to be.

It looked very 1920s, very Art Nouveau-Art Deco transition.

So I think we'll keep on walking but give it some thought.

'And while Christina ponders her predicament,

'let's turn our attention to their tallies.

'Both our antiques avengers started the day

'with £750 worth of their own Euros to spend.

'Christina has captured two treasures,

'spending £94.02,

'leaving her £655.98.

'Mr Serrell has also tethered two trophies,

'spending £136.75,

'leaving £613.25 in his kitty.

'So before part two gathers a pace that's faster than a speeding bullet,

'our dynamic duo pause to refuel.'

-I am...

-This all looks very relaxed!

-Look what I've bought!

Do you think there's a profit in that?

-How are you getting on?

-Well, fantastic! Look! Absolutely brilliant!

-Food aside.

-I'm going to spend my £750 in Euros on these, cos these are fantastic

and I'm sure if I can keep these warm till I get home,

-there's going to be a massive... I can double my money.

-Brilliant!

-There's a plan.

-How have you got on?

-Yeah, it's good, isn't it?

-I haven't bought much yet, but there's just so much to see!

-Yeah.

Art Deco, Art... That's sort of an Art Deco shaped fan crepe, isn't it?

-You're a happy man, aren't you?

-I'm going to go and enjoy this somewhere quiet.

-OK.

'Mr Serrell, we hereby dub you the creped crusader.

'And with a swoosh and a swallow, he's resumed hostilities,

'spotting a metal decorative plaque with a sporting motif.'

I think that's a stylish thing. He's asking me...

He's written 30 Euros.

And I'm going to offer him 20 Euros

cos you've sort of got to make a spirited offer.

I think they're good things.

-Monsieur.

-Non.

-HE SPEAKS FRENCH

I have to try! I have to try!

I'm going to buy that cos I think that's really cool.

'Yes, it's another cool deal for Phil,

'but he doesn't manage to minimise the asking price,

'picking up the plaque for £25.64.'

I'm really pleased with that.

I mean, the trick is going to be to find out who Mr Contaux is down here.

But I just think that's a really good image. Actually, what would look good

is if you got a glass or Perspex frame

and mounted it in that, that would look really cool.

'That Olympian effort spurs Phil on to his fourth buy,

'an early 20th century English copper milk churn

'to take back to the mother country for £128.21.'

Oh, thank you.

Well, this is called repatriation.

I've come all the way from England to France

to buy an English milk churn and take it back again.

It's cost me 150 Euros, but I'm quite pleased with that.

'Phil's super-sonic spending spree means that Christina needs to up her game

'and she quickly responds when a French letterbox tickles her fancy.'

-How much is it?

-It's very expensive. It's 80 Euros.

-80 Euros?

-Yes.

-Why so expensive?

-Because you can't find anymore.

-You can't find them?

-No. It's very difficult.

-It is lovely, but...

-60 if you want.

I would be looking at 40 max.

-No.

-No. You can't do it for 40?

-No, because I love it.

-You don't want to sell it.

-THEY LAUGH You want to take it home.

-Yes, probably!

I think it's gorgeous but it's too expensive at that, I think.

Sadly. Beautiful.

-45?

-50.

-45.

-50.

-45.

-Go on! Go on!

-Yes.

'Yes, and she does it. Our bionic woman

'sends herself into the stratosphere,

'snaffling the vintage letterbox for £38.46.'

I'm really pleased with that! We started off at 80 Euros

and I just bartered down to 45, so I'm really pleased with that.

A good deal. Lovely little French enamelled metalwork letterbox.

I'm not quite sure how it's going to be received back in the UK,

but I'm really pleased with it and I think it's absolutely charming.

'Yes, c'est formidable! And there's no stopping this determined lady now

'as she unswervingly swoops on a pair of 1930s Art Deco china doves.'

70? Would you?

Yay! Thank you very much, that's fantastic!

I love it! That's brilliant! Thank you very much!

'And snatches them for £59.83.

'Her super strategy seems to be working.'

So, I promised myself something Art Deco today and here it is.

I love it and it really appeals to the inner romantic in me,

this rather beautiful dove sheltering his companion here.

It's very stylised, very Art Deco

and I think rather lovely.

'Fantastique.

'Our antiques adversaries are level with four buys a piece

'and Phil has a theory about his rival.'

I think one of the joys of this business is that Christina and I can both look at the same stall

and we've got two completely different sets of eyes.

So what I might see, she wouldn't, and she will see, I wouldn't.

And in a way, I think that all makes it so much more interesting.

'And moments later, that rings true.'

Look at this! It's awesome!

What every girl needs, a velour telephone cover.

Very Austin Powers.

That is just about the worst thing I have ever seen in my life.

'Different eyes indeed. But there are certain things where our rivals are on exactly the same page.'

Vintage booze. Now you are talking!

If only I weren't pregnant, I'd take about four or five of these crates home.

'Phil tears himself away from the tipple in time to target purchase number five,

'a little case for £12.82.'

Whether this is for cigars or whether it's for spectacles, I don't know.

But it looks to me like it's quite a good quality leather case.

And you never know, if I've really won the lottery,

they might even be gold mounts.

'Stranger things have happened, Phil. But wait!

'Holy metal swallows! Christina's been mulling over the Art Deco bronze she saw earlier

'and now has her sights firmly set on it.

'Our super heroine flies back to the stall and she's ready for a fight!'

-What is your best, best price on it?

-Er, I said 450,

but this is not the best price.

-Would 400...

-What would you offer?

-Well... 200?

-No.

-THEY LAUGH

-Is 400 OK?

-I'm just slightly concerned that that looks like a very new screw.

-I know.

Do you think it's just been tightened up and it's just had a new screw

-to replace...

-I think so, yeah. Probably the model was broken

-and they changed it, I don't know.

-OK. Would 350 be too far away?

-400.

-380?

-380, OK.

-Brilliant!

Thank you very much. That's a deal! Fantastic!

'Jumping jellyfish, this iron lady won't be beaten!

'She's won her fifth prize, bagging the bronze for £324.79.'

This has just cost me a huge amount of money, 380 Euros,

which was marked up at 500, but I couldn't get it out of my mind all day

and I'm really glad that I went back to get it. I just think it's beautiful,

and for me, epitomises everything that is French.

It's just... The movement in it is beautiful, it's a beautiful piece.

You can have it in the middle of a room because both sides are beautiful and I love it.

'Ooh-la-la! Our foes are neck and neck in this ferocious French fray.

'With everything still to play for, Phil is going to have his work cut out.

'He cunningly ventures onto Christina's turf

'and moves in for the kill on an Art Nouveau cabinet.'

THEY SPEAK FRENCH

-250.

-250 Euros. OK.

I would like to buy this, but the price...

-It's not expensive.

-It's very expensive.

Can I make you an offer?

-200.

-Oh, no, I can't.

What's your very, very best?

-230.

-220 and I'll buy it.

-Let me get the money out.

-OK.

You're a gentleman. Thank you very much.

'The cabinet costs £188.03

'and Phil is delighted.'

I think it's really cheap. Whether there's a profit or not, I don't know, but it's really cheap.

There's just a little tip that I was once told many years ago.

If you see a cabinet and it's got glazed doors,

you automatically think it might be a display cabinet, but what I was told was that

glazed doors, solid side is a bookcase,

glazed doors, glazed side is a display cabinet.

It'll be whatever the buyer wants it to be.

'So, time is up and the Parisian stallholders begin to pack away.

'As the sun sets over the beautiful boulevards of the French capital,

'let's see who's soaring skyward and who is plunging to the ground.

'Christina and Phil started the day with £750 worth of their own Euros to spend.

'Christina has totalled five buys

'and laid out £517.10.

'Phil has swiped six buys,

'spending slightly less, £491.45.

'But from here on in, it's all about profit.

'So, before our sparring superheroes swoosh home and hang up their capes,

'there's just time to compare their wares.'

-There was some stuff there, wasn't there?

-There really was!

I could've spent an absolute fortune and bought tons of stuff.

I just loved it. Everything there was brilliant.

What's your best bit? There's a bit of a bird theme going on here.

Yeah, I went a bit oiseau crazy today, didn't I?

Yeah. I love the Art Deco or Art Nouveau bronze.

-I love your milk churn!

-It's fantastic!

-It's nice that you're repatriating it.

I'm taking it back home! It's been captured by the French.

-How considerate of you.

-This was my last thing I bought

-and I love it.

-It's beautiful. I love the inlay.

-I really, really like it. So, we've had a good time, haven't we?

-I've had a brilliant time!

'This monumental challenge is just about to ramp up several gears.

'Our battle-hardened hagglers now need to focus with pinpoint precision

'as they race back to Britain to baton down the hatches

'and start their selling sprees.

'From this point on, profit is king.

'That demands a precise plan of action to orchestrate energetic advances on their finest contacts.

'There's no time to waste. They must line up their weapons

'and choose their targets with the utmost care,

'because one foot wrong could bring their whole campaign crashing down.

'Christina The Magpie swoops back to Shropshire

'to survey her feast of finery.'

I'll start with these fashion pictures over here, which are actually dated 1904 and 1905,

so a really early insight into what was happening at the turn of the century with women's fashions.

And then we go on to the rather beautiful Art Nouveau-Art Deco transitional swallow sculpture.

I just think that's beautiful. The fluidity in that water

is just stunning. Love it.

And then we've got the Art Deco doves, 1930s, 1940s.

I'm hoping that I've got a private buyer in mind for that.

And then this wonderful 1940s

fairly utilitarian letterbox, but quite shabby chic.

And then slightly obscurely, bought the armoire, which was a bit of fun, really, bit frivolous.

But it is a slightly later reproduction

of a French armoire, a miniature one.

So all in all, I'm very happy with what I've bought in France. I just need to find some buyers.

'Yes, you're not the only one. Down in Worcestershire,

'Phil The Fox retreats to his lair

'and he's pretty pleased with himself.'

Now, these chairs, I think they're fantastic, they're really funky, cool, retro, vintage, warehouse.

But are they Malvern? I mean, therein might lie a problem for me.

And this Art Nouveau cabinet, which I think is a fantastic thing.

Do you know, in my memory, it was, like, this wide and this high.

So I think I might have been perhaps over-egging the price on that.

I love this plaque and that's my real Olympic gold medal hope.

Hopefully I should do quite well with that.

The barrel, what I'm going to try and do, it's got the dairy that owned it impressed onto the top

and I'm going to try and trace them to see if they want to buy a bit of their ancient history back.

And these two little bits of leather here, they're really desk accessories

and I think they'll do OK. So fingers crossed.

'Our antiques supremos seem cool and calm,

'but the heat is on, the pressure is building.

'They must steam their way through their contacts

'and research the best buyers to make as much money as they possibly can.

'They can set up all the potential sales they like, but a deal counts for nothing

'until that all-important handshake.

'It's Phil who hits the road first.

'He kicks off with a short hop, skip and a jump to Upton-upon-Severn.

'The Art Nouveau cabinet that cost just over £188 is quite heavy,

'so he's already had it delivered to an antiques shop owned by one of his regular buyers, Lee.'

Now, I think this is a really good quality thing.

What it does need is a bit of TLC, cos I wouldn't think this has seen any polish in a long while.

And I think that, fantastic quality rosewood in my eyes.

And what I love about it is the fact that you've got

the sides, which you wouldn't ordinarily see, are just as good as the front.

So if someone's taken time... These bevelled plates I love.

The hinges are great. And just open it up and look at the strap that runs all the way down the door.

Look at that. Even that locking plate. I think that's fantastic quality.

-When would you date this to?

-Er, it's certainly sort of Art Nouveau,

1900, 1910, something like that.

-So it's a good piece of French furniture, isn't it?

-Yeah.

What you going to give me for it?

Erm, well, I think, allowing for the work,

a good polish, it would probably be in the region of £200, I would say.

-Really?

-Yeah. That'd be nice.

I think you've got to come closer to £300, Lee.

Erm, no, I think I'm just about there at that, Phil.

I think, at a push, probably 220.

You bid me 260 and I'll do a deal with you here and now.

-Absolute death on it would be 230, Phil.

-250.

240.

-Is that the end of it?

-That's the end of it. You can go now.

I'm going to. You've really put me through the mincer there.

'Yes, Phil met his match there.

'He does as he's told and leaves licking his wounds.

'But it's sweetened with a profit of £51.97.

'Will Christina meet her haggling match with her first potential sale,

'the doves that cost just under £60?

'The Magpie flies south to Shifnal near Telford

'to meet Sue, who adores all things Art Deco,

'and she has quite the collection.'

-So, I guess it's French.

-Yes..

-Yes, French.

-Very Parisian. I actually bought it in Paris, as well.

-Oh, right.

-It's about late 1920, early 30s.

-I should say, yeah.

-About 30s or something.

-Yeah.

-Crackle glaze.

-Yeah, exactly.

-And a pair of doves.

-There is a little chip on the back of the tail there.

-A-ha. Oh, I can see.

I think it's probably quite an old one, cos it's a little bit dirty.

-And Le Jan. It's signed.

-Oh, yes.

Le Jan was actually a collaboration between a chap called Andre Fau

and another chap called Marcel Guillard.

And they established this company and they were famous for this crackle glaze,

-so it's very characteristic of the company.

-I like it.

Oh, good. Brilliant. Cos it's quite a powerful sculpture, isn't it?

It is. It is. And I like the way that it's not symmetrical.

-Yeah, it's slightly off-centre.

-This one wing is doing that.

-So...

-I was hoping to get in the region of about £150 for him.

-I was going towards 90.

-OK, all right.

-So how do you feel?

-Could we meet somewhere in the middle, maybe?

I can go up to 100. 100?

A bit more in the middle! THEY LAUGH

Erm, 115.

115. Would you stretch to 120?

120. I'm happy with 120, yes. I think that's a fair price.

-Fantastic! So £120.

-Thank you!

-It's a deal!

THEY LAUGH

'Birds are clearly Christina's thing.

'The Magpie flaps her wings and takes flight,

'doubling her money with a profit of £60.17.'

One down, one to tick off the list.

A lot more to go.

'Our tip-top traders are almost level pegging at this early stage,

'Christina just slightly ahead on profit.

'But The Fox is hoping to raise the bar with the high-jumper plaque

'that cost more than £25.

'His next port of call is further up the River Severn at Worcester.'

I've been umming and ahhing whether to sell this as it is or get it framed up,

and I've come to the conclusion, if I can get a good price for it, it's got to go.

So I'm going to go and see an old regular customer of mine

and just see where we go.

'He's here to meet Gabrielle, a dealer he's sold to many times before.

'She really knows her stuff, so can The Fox wheedle out a profit?'

-I've been to France.

-Uh-huh.

I was a little bit hamstrung

because the dealer I was speaking to, and I think I got this right,

he was clearing a factory and he found in this factory

a whole load of these plaques.

And I looked up Mr Contaux,

a Georges Contaux, and he was apparently a late 19th century French foundry worker

who won a medal in the 20s.

He did a wide variety of things.

He did animals, masks, all sorts of different things,

but I just thought that had a really good look

and a really good sporting interest.

-So, you know...

-You're doing a good sell.

I know. So you're interested in it?

-I think it's lovely, yes.

-I don't really know what to ask for it.

But I've got a feeling I should be trying to get £100, £120 for it

-or something like that, cos I think it is a good thing.

-I think you've done very well.

Blimey! Praise indeed! That is praise indeed, trust me!

-I'm not a haggler.

-No, I know.

-You know that.

-Go on, best price.

-Best price, one off, £100.

-Thank you.

'Our own little athlete clears the jump first time

'and the plaque powers in a profit of £74.36.

'Phil is gathering momentum. Also in Worcester,

'he sells his glasses case to an optician's shop for £15,

'making a profit of £2.18.

'Might need a magnifying glass instead of specs to see that one.

'But our magpie is flying above the clouds.

'She swiftly sells the brass swallows to an antiques shop in Shrewsbury,

'agreeing a price of £375.'

-Perfect.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you, Mark. Thanks.

'And giving a profit of £50.21.

'Then our bird woman swans over to Whitchurch to visit a shop

'specialising in shabby chic items.

'Christina's hoping to tempt the owner, Jane, with the armoire

'that cost nearly £43.'

-What's your thoughts?

-Yeah, it's very cute. Can I have a look inside?

-Yeah, course, go for it.

Oh, look, it's even got little areas for shelves.

-I don't think it's particularly old.

-Right. I was just about to ask the age.

I think it's probably mid-20th century.

-It's not going to be hugely old.

-I could see jewellery in here,

smaller things I can see in here, little scarves and things.

So price-wise, I was really hoping to get somewhere in the region of maybe £70 or £80 for it.

Well, I'm just thinking as a shop display thing,

I would probably go for 65.

-65?

-65, 70?

-70, if you could stretch to 70, would be brilliant.

-Mm-hm.

-70 would be fine.

-Brilliant! It's a deal!

-Excellent!

And I'm so pleased it's going to be used.

And I'm delighted. You'll have to pop in and see what we fill it with.

I'll probably be buying what's on it next time I come in. THEY LAUGH

'Yes, beneath that hard-nosed business exterior,

'Christina Trevanion is a girl who likes to shop.

'The armoire makes her a profit of £27.26.

'It's going great guns so far.

'Whilst our selling soldiers take stock of their strategy, let's see how the money's working out.

'Christina The Magpie Trevanion is chirping along very merrily.

'Three items sold and £137.64 profit.

'But Phil Serrell is stalking close behind.

'He's also sold three items, tucking away a profit of £128.51

'So there's just £9 in it.

'Our wandering warriors must buckle down and work up a selling sweat

'because anything could happen.

'Christina has a clear selling strategy and hits the phones once more.

'Our Phil usually has a steely determination,

'but he's turned his attention to the things he's least keen on.

'The four metal chairs that cost him a little over £102.'

# What a feeling

# Being's believing

'So, who in Malvern will flash the cash for the industrial chairs?

'Simon deals in 20th century items

'and meets Phil at Fox HQ.'

-Simon, these are they. These are they.

-Oh, right.

-Now...

-These aren't exactly what you usually buy, are they, Phil?

No, but I love them. I think they're really good, trendy things.

I bought these cos I like them.

-Well, antique-wise, they're not... They're not, are they?

-No.

I mean, they're barely vintage. But I wouldn't underestimate them

-cos I think they've got a look, haven't they?

-How old do you think they are?

Not very old. It might be an older frame

and somebody's spot-welded them on.

Upcycled them, I think the word is these days, isn't it?

I was sort of hoping that they might make £40 to £50 a chair.

-Make me an offer.

-110.

-How much?

-110.

That's £27.50 each.

Yeah, well, that's trade price.

-Give me 150 quid for the four.

-No.

-Oh, right. Do you want to think about it?

-No.

My end price, my very, very end price, is £118.

My end price is £122.

-£120.

-£122, because then that gives me 20 quid profit.

Look at this. Oh, you're a gentleman!

# What a feeling

'Yes, it's not quite £20 profit, Philip.

'£19.44 to be precise.

'Mr Serrell soldiers on.

'Back in Worcester, he sells the novelty book box to an estate agency

'looking to decorate their meeting room. The box makes £90.'

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

'Giving a profit of £55.81.

'Phil's quick wits and cunning have opened up a clear lead over his flighty rival.

'But our magpie won't let that ruffle her feathers.

'She flies the coop and dips and darts her way over to Chester

'with her letterbox that cost just under £39.

'Appropriately, she's heading to a French restaurant to meet the owner.'

There we go, Jason.

-What do you think?

-Very old.

-It is quite old, isn't it?

-Authentic.

-But it's authentic, exactly.

I like it. You can see what I'm seeing.

But I thought of you when I bought this. It would make a perfect comments box for a restaurant.

Well, it's certainly the right size for a comments box

and it's got a lovely authentic feel about it.

-Just, again, the fact that it's real and it just makes a funny noise.

-Yeah.

And a little bit of rust on there, which I think, again,

-just shows that it's actually been used.

-Yeah. Exactly.

-I would say it's probably, what, 60 years old.

-Maybe a bit older.

-Yeah, 1930s, 1940s.

-Yeah, 20s, 30s, I think.

Yeah. It's lovely, isn't it? Might it be the kind of thing that you would use?

Certainly, I think, for a comments box,

especially if we had it near the front door, because it gives the illusion of letters by the door.

So I suppose the only thing we need to talk about now really is the money.

-Cold, hard cash.

-Bring on the cash!

-SHE LAUGHS

But I was hoping to get maybe £70 or £80 for it.

BOX SQUEAKS And you get the free squeak.

-That's not free!

-THEY LAUGH

I would be happy to pay £60 for it.

£60. OK. Can I just nudge you slightly more than that?

-61, maybe?

-THEY LAUGH

Oh, you're a generous man. Go on, meet me in the middle.

-So 65.

-Only cos you brought it here for me.

Ah, brilliant. Is it a deal at 65?

-It's a deal at 65.

-Brilliant! Thank you very much. That's fantastic.

'Yes, another deal done and dusted.

'The letterbox posts a profit of £26.54.'

Ah! Perfect comments card box, perfect profit!

'Our sly fox still rules the roost for now,

'but he's down to his last item,

'the milk churn he spent more than £128 on.

COW MOOS # Old MacDonald had a farm

# Ee-ay-ee-ay-oh

'Phil's brought the churn to a farm near Droitwich where owner Mike

'and daughter Gillian make ice cream.'

This was on the pavement and I thought, "That's ridiculous."

It's Wincanton Dairies or Dairy Products,

and apparently this was used in a chateau somewhere in the regions of Paris.

And I just think it's a real cool thing. Would it have been used as a milk churn?

Oh, I'm sure it would've been used as a milk churn, certainly.

Here's the marking here for the number of gallons and so on.

It's just a bit of an upmarket churn, I'd say.

Only the best for you, Mike.

-But when did milk churns go out, then?

-Around here, about 1982.

I thought this would've been 1920s.

Oh, well, my grandfather used churns like this.

He'd have taken two churns to Droitwich with horse and trap to sell milk round the houses.

I would like to get somewhere between 200 and 250 quid for it.

-That's what I'd like to get.

-I'd have to sell a lot of ice cream for that.

Yeah, but it'll make your ice cream taste better.

What would you give me for it?

-150?

-You've got to try a bit harder than that.

-What do you think?

-Oh, I don't know. 180?

-It's up towards 200.

-Give me 190 quid and I'll shake your hand and give you a kiss. How's that?

-Go on.

-That sounds good to me.

-There you are.

-That'll do.

'And a kiss seals the deal.

'Phil churns up a profit of £61.79

'and that gives him a very clear lead.

'But Christina is waiting in the wings with her last sale.

'And no-one should underestimate The Magpie,

'as she is a shrewd operator.

'Everything rests on her French fashion prints from the early years of the 20th century.

'They cost her just over £51,

'and Christina's pulling out all the stops

'with a three-hour journey to the capital.'

When I saw these in Paris, I completely fell in love with them.

I just thought they were beautiful and so representative of their time. But there were quite a lot of them.

So I've brought them to London in the hope that they'll be slightly more scarce

and therefore more sought after.

'Christina has come to see fashionista Kal,

'whose company in Marylebone sells second-hand designer labels.'

So, Kal, you're obviously a lover of quite contemporary fashions.

Are you also a lover of vintage fashions?

I'm a lover of anything that's beautiful.

So whether that's a dress that was made this season

or a vintage dress, I think it's more a case of being in love with fashion.

So what really struck me when I first saw them

was that even though they look quite similar,

every little bit of detail is different and they're so beautifully made

and constructed to fit so beautifully.

Er, I mean, they're sort of 1904, 1905.

So are these part of a collection, then? Since they're numbered?

The fashion tailor would have issued this book

which then tailors would have shown their clients, their lady clients,

and a lady would have gone through and said, "Right, OK, I like the sleeves on this one,

"I like this style of jacket, these buttons."

And it would've been custom-made to fit her.

These would've been, I suppose, the fashion shows of their day.

-Something they presented to buyers?

-Yeah, exactly.

I was sort of hoping for maybe £30 or £40 for each of these.

And then maybe £25, £30 for these. Something like that.

I mean, sort of £100 to £150 would be brilliant.

'So, what will Kal say? Are the prints the geese that lay the golden eggs,

'or is Christina just a sitting duck? We'll find out in a moment.

'Both our hardened hagglers started the day with £750 to spend.

'Christina The Magpie made five purchases for £517.10.

'Phil The Fox bought more and spent less,

'six items for £491.45.

'All of the profit that Phil and Christina have made from today's challenge

'will be going 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.'

Good to see you. Well, Paris.

Oh, gay Paris. I loved it. I loved Paris. It was just fantastic.

-And I loved what I bought.

-What did you buy? What was your best bit?

My best bit, it all got a bit birdie, didn't it?

-Yeah.

-So I bought the doves and the swallows

-and I think those are probably my favourite pieces.

-Did they fly?

I made a profit on them, I don't know whether they flew.

-But how about you?

-Well, I really...

The milk churn was great cos I took it to people who made ice cream.

-Oh, well done.

-Some farmer friends. And they bought that, which was fantastic.

-We'd better have a look, do you think?

-Are you brave enough?

-I'm not looking forward to this. On a count of three?

-Yep.

One, two, three! What have you done? What did I do?

-Oh, well done!

-Blimey! Oh, that's not too bad, is it?

-Well, oh, you won. Well done.

-Yeah, but it doesn't happen very often.

-You want to watch this programme. Come on. Drink time.

-Definitely.

'So, no dressing it up, the fashion prints clearly ended in disappointment for Christina.'

I'll offer you 70 for it, because I think we could...

SHE SIGHS Can we go a little bit more?

-75.

-Is that absolutely flatly it?

-76.

-Deal.

-Yay! THEY LAUGH

'The prints make a profit of £24.72,

'but Phil outsmarted Christina overall.'

I absolutely loved Paris, really enjoyed the experience.

And I happily would've kept everything that I bought.

And even though I made consistent profits on everything I bought,

sadly it just wasn't quite enough to beat Philip.

Well, I had some luck there, didn't I?

What are the odds on going to Paris

and finding an English milk churn on the pavement,

buying it, and bringing it back home and selling it to some people who make ice cream?

That, and my Olympic high-jumper,

I think they saw me into the gold medal position.

'Yes, he wins today, but will The Fox take gold again tomorrow

'as our two beasts of the bargain lock horns at an auction in Cirencester?'

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

.