Scotland 4 Bargain Hunt

No guessing as to where I am today.

Red kilt, blue kilt, let's go bargain hunting!

We're in Scotland's biggest city, Glasgow, at the Clydeside Antique Centre.

Now, this is no wee antique centre, this. Oh, no!

25,000 square feet

crammed with objects, giving our teams plenty of opportunity

to poke around and find something to make a big profit with. Och aye!

The teams will have just one hour to hunt out three items and 300 Scottish pounds to spend.

They will then head to the auction house where their items will be sold

with absolutely no reserve and they might or might not make a profit.

For the Reds, we've got friends Alan and David,

and for the Blues, we've got mother and daughter Frances and Lisa.

-Welcome, guys.

-Hi, Tim.

-Very nice to see you.

-Yes.

-Why did you want to come on, Alan?

My aunt, she used to run an antique store in my hometown of Strathaven

and when I was off school, I used to go down and help her out in the shop.

And what sort of thing will you be looking out for today?

I think I'll maybe look to pick up something silver

-as a safe bet, something that will hold its value.

-Yeah.

And I think Dave here wants to find some toys for himself.

Hopefully, yeah. Something nostalgic, perhaps.

Brilliant. So, what sort of things do you collect?

Since I was about, oh, six or seven years old

I've collected Star Wars toys.

When I was a kid I absolutely loved the films, and I was lucky enough when I was younger

that you could pick figures and ships up for next to nothing.

So, will you be going for some Star Wars material, or toys, if you can find it today?

I can't imagine we would find anything like that,

so I think we're maybe going to look for something a bit older,

-possibly, '50s...

-A bit more traditional.

-'50s or earlier.

Oh, '50s, really, really old(!)

-Oh, ancient, yeah!

-Now for the Blues.

So, Frances, you and your daughter have had kind of parallel careers recently, haven't you?

Yes, we both worked for a while in the housing association

and then when I decided to become a student, she decided a year later

that she wanted to do the same.

And what are you studying?

I'm studying furniture restoration at the moment

-And are you going to stick at that?

-Well, to do the degree

I have to go to High Wycombe, to New Bucks University.

-And, I guess, Lisa, you're moving with your mother to High Wycombe?

-Yes.

Och aye! And would you be doing a bit of furniture restoration

-in High Wycombe like your mum?

-No.

-No?

-Actually, no.

Ah! What are you going to do, darling?

I'm doing Acting For New Media.

Isn't acting just acting?

Well, no, this is acting for this century involving...

In theatres now, you can get multimedia, where you get 3D effects.

Also working with green screen, as well.

Great. We're going to have fun today.

Now, the money moment. Here's your £300. £300 apiece.

And off you go, and very good luck.

So, will these canny Scots have what it takes to impress me? Ah!

We're not leaving them to take the high road on their own.

They'll also have the help of an expert who will give them some good advice.

Well, we always live in hope with these two!

Paul Laidlaw will be helping the Reds

and with the Blues is Keith Baker.

Well, we've got an hour to go, so we'd better make the most of it. Let's see what we can find.

There you go. You take the big lump.

Frequently these are printed pieces...are marked

by the company that manufactured them.

-Is that it there?

-Made in the USA. I mean, no surprises there.

-Could you buy that?

-Depending on the price, it's the kind of thing I would go for.

-It's quite charming.

-It certainly jumps out at me. It's eye catching.

What kind of price would you reckon?

Uncharted territory for me, so I'll go on instinct.

I think that could be worth £50 to...£80.

What do you reckon? It's a nice big lump.

Condition's OK.

Have you got a price on your bit?

I think if you head that way, you'll find out who owns that

and what they want for it.

After some hard negotiation, Dave buys the truck for £50,

so that's one down, two to go for them.

Now, is Keith in for a bumpy ride?

Anything that's interesting or unusual tends to be what I go for.

This is what we'll look like if we lose, of course.

LAUGHTER

Ah, Keith, you started off looking on the bright side,

don't give up just yet!

Is that silver, or...?

I don't think it is. It should have some little...

Tiny little silver mark on it.

Do you think you'd think, "They're interesting," and bid for them?

I do, I think they're quite interesting. So, do you reckon they're old at all, or...?

Oh, yeah. I'd have thought they'd probably be roundabout 1900 in date.

They're all based on paintings.

So, let's hope they're not too expensive

and then we can be very pleased that you spotted them.

-Do you like them?

-Yeah, I do.

So what do you think in terms of value?

I could see that they could perhaps make £100 or something like that.

-Let's find someone and see if they can give us a price on those three, shall we?

-Sure.

-65 on these.

-That's the best, is it?

-Yeah.

-I think we could make something on them.

-I think you spotted them and you find them equally charming, don't you?

-Yeah, they're lovely.

I've probably underpriced them now you've accepted it so easily!

Well done, Blues. First item in the bag, but not much haggling, though.

Once more, it's toys that gets the boys' undivided attention.

-What do you think of that?

-Arnold Palmer.

Let's see what's inside.

-It's looking good, is it not?

-Yeah.

Well, what do we have?

That is a golfing toy, a trigger action chap.

Here, watch this. There you go.

What a stroke!

Independent action on the head. Look at the quality.

That beats a PlayStation,

This dates to...

-late '60s, is it?

-Late '60s.

Early '70s. And what else do we get for our money? They're clearly...

It's in good nick.

That looks like a water feature.

A couple of bunkers there, as well.

Rough and bunkers.

-What do you think to that?

-It's got a lot of character to it.

-A lot of golf enthusiasts would love that.

-It's a real collector's item.

Well, it comes down to the price, OK?

And the price is...

-£20.

-£20.

We're interested at 20. Anything we can get off,

it's a further bonus, but we'll try and make that happen, shall we?

-Oh, aye.

-Let's go that way, find the guy that owns this.

-Fantastic.

No discount for the boys, I'm afraid.

It seems £20 was par for the course for the golf game.

-So, you like that, do you?

-Yeah.

-What about you, do you like it?

-I'm not too keen on it.

Aren't you? So, what do you like about it?

I like the shape.

I like the butterflies.

-It's lovely.

-1970s.

-Yeah.

It says on the label by Bernard Rooke, so he's a contemporary potter in that time.

You see, very abstract totem pole-like sort of lamp bases and things like that by him.

The big question is, how much is it

and how much do you reckon it'll make at auction?

It says £90. Now, I can't say I've seen a vase like this before.

I've seen lots of the lamp bases.

I'm not entirely sure what this would make.

We need to get the price down to give it a chance.

Hi. We love this vase.

-Yes, you do, do you?

-I do.

Is that the best price you could do on that for me?

No. That's the ticket price.

So, to you, seeing as you're bargain hunting, we'll do it for 65.

-Thanks very much.

-Thank you so much.

-You're so welcome.

Both teams now have got two items.

The Blues have spent 130, and the Reds have spent just £70.

Let's keep going then, shall we? Thanks, let's go.

-Look, it's a letter scale.

-You like the scales, don't you?

I think it's because...

now everything's sort of digital and it's the movement and, you know, the mechanism, and it's so precise.

I find it as charming as you, but I don't know whether it would have any auction value, really.

Shall we think about it, just in case?

Come on, ladies. After a leisurely start, time is ticking away,

which is something the Reds are aware of, so they're considering a job lot.

Right, well, let's do it in the order we found them in.

Your Anglo Indian spectacles carrier.

Now, you can see how it works.

That's the clip for the waistband or lady's belt.

And that's assayed at London.

Date letter M, so that's London 1888.

Is there any significance of the patterns on it?

Well, it tells a story, doesn't it just?

Because those are Indian deities.

Oh, right, OK.

-It might be worth a punt.

-I think it's on the money, really.

I think it's worth 40 to 60 at auction.

Now, next we found our Victorian tea service.

Silver plate on copper.

I see a problem straight away. A bit of damage there.

I'm not too sure about that. There seems to be a lot of damage.

Fall back on our little dish here. Now, that's a nice little object.

Simple, yet effective.

A touch of the moderne there. Not quite high deco.

Now, what's our year?

It was assayed at Birmingham.

It looks like a... capital F.

You have a look at that and I'll grab the book.

1930. Bang on!

Now, the weight...

It's not a paperweight. It's got some meat, but price, £38.

I think that's easy.

So, what's our verdict or consensus now?

I think we would like to see what price we could get for

the spectacle holder and what we called the bonbon dish.

Yeah. Shall I go try and find someone?

-Yes, sure.

-You guys keep looking, OK?

-Yeah, OK.

Look at the owl on here.

Keith finally managed to drive Frances away from the scales.

-Probably a pottery you've heard of.

-But she's not happy about it.

-It's Poole pottery. Have you heard of Poole?

-Yes.

Quite nice, isn't it, really?

Let's say... I haven't looked at the back yet, but I hope it's Poole now I've said that!

Yeah, there you are, Poole Aegean ware.

1960s, I think these are.

Very often they will have sort of painters' marks on the back,

but surprisingly this one hasn't got it.

It's quite a charming image and, you know, owls are sort of very popular with people.

But that's £105. It's probably about the right price.

But the scales, I like the scales, but I don't know whether they... They might not be sort of...

-auctionable, really.

-No.

But this might be a consideration if we could get the price down.

So, we'll try and get someone to give us a price on that.

The girls might not give a hoot for the owl dish,

but with only minutes left, they'll have to make a quick decision.

The boys, however, are spoilt for choice.

The bonbon dish will have a more universal appeal.

Your private buyer is your buyer for the bonbon dish.

They're the people with money to spend.

I think your spectacles case, that's going to the trade.

So, I think we should probably go with our head over our heart and go with the bonbon dish.

I'm going to leave it. I've said enough.

-Do we go for the safe bet, or...

-I think we go with the bonbon dish.

We'll go bonbon dish, yeah.

So, the Reds have their third item.

Keith's having a last ditch attempt to persuade the Blues that the owl is a safe bet before time runs out.

Here it is, the horrible owl. The very horrible owl.

Frances is adamant, but can Lisa throw logic into the mix?

For the price that we're getting it for and the fact that it's Poole I think we should go for it.

-I think...

-£70, I think it was, wasn't it?

That's a real serious drop on the asking price of 105.

Happy with that?

Yeah. We'll go with you on this one.

I wouldn't say happy was the word, but, yeah!

-My head's on the line if we make a mistake, is it?

-Yeah.

-OK.

And the boys have paid their £38 for the bonbon dish just in the nick of time.

Well, I have to tell you, boys, time's up. Shopping's over.

That's us got our last item.

-What, you just bought it?

-Yeah.

-You jammy toads. Anyway, that's it!

Let's have another look at what the Reds bought.

The Reds loved the truck,

but will this tin toy make them any profit on the £50 paid?

At £20 for the golf game,

I reckon the Reds could hit a hole in one at the auction.

And after much deliberation, Alan got his piece of silver

with the Reds buying the bonbon dish for £38.

Hi, there! On this programme we have something called the bonus buy.

You don't know what the bonus buy is?

Where have you been for the last two years? On the moon?

The bonus buy, simply put, is the expert taking any leftover money

from the shopping and going off and finding a surprise item

which he produces at the auction and if the team go for it

and it makes a profit, they get to keep the profit.

If they go for it and it makes a loss, well, frankly, that's just tough.

Well, that's enough sitting around from me.

Let's see how much leftover lolly the Reds have got for Paul.

£192 of leftover lolly, please.

There we go. £192, Paul.

Tip that in there. What are you going to do with that cash, £192?

I've spied something that's a really pleasing decorative object.

-I think the guys will love it.

-Well, good luck with that.

And, Paul, thank you. Let's remind ourselves what the Blues bought.

Three satisfied bargain hunters.

Well, almost!

Lisa was delighted with her French engravings at £65.

Frances finally got her way,

paying the same price for the butterfly vase.

This £70 beauty whipped up some strong opinions, but who's going

to be eating their words at auction? Will it be Keith or Frances?

Well, you spent a magnificent £200, girls.

You are great. £100 piece of leftover lolly goes to KB.

What are you going to do with that, Keith Baker?

Try and find something to set the world alight.

Good luck with that, Keith.

We're heading across town to the Great Western Auction Rooms

to see what our auctioneer Anita Manning thinks of our teams' lots.

Now, our team Alan and David, they went with Paul Laidlaw, your countrymen,

and the first item is this removal van.

This was made by Marx toys company, an American company.

They mass produced these toys.

They were never expensive at the time,

and this one comes from perhaps the 1950s, 1960s.

How do you rate it money-wise?

I've estimated £40 to £60.

-Well, £50 was paid by the team.

-Yeah.

-And they're hopeful.

And they've also gone for another wacky toy by the same manufacturer.

We seem to have an articulated golfer here whizzing along.

-This is Arnold Palmer.

-Arnold Palmer.

We've been playing with it all week!

-How's your swing?

-Not very good!

-How much do you think it'll bring?

I think we've estimated it at 20 to 30.

-£20 paid.

-A good buy.

I've a funny feeling it's going to do very well, but we shall see.

-Yes.

-And, lastly, the little silver bonbon dish. Classic, isn't it?

It's such a sweet little thing with this castellated rim

and the little handles, which remind me of drawbridges.

Well, they paid a princely £38.

-How do you rate that?

-That's very good.

I've estimated it at 50 to 70, so I think they did very well.

Well, just in case it goes belly up, we ought to go and have a look at the bonus buy. Here it comes.

You gave Paul £192, what did you spend it on?

I love this.

-It looks lovely.

-Yeah.

It's a clock case.

Don't be alarmed by the fact that there's no mechanism in there.

Mechanisms are universal and easily acquired.

We're looking at a little diamond here, let me assure you.

This is bronze spelter, circa 1920 by my reckoning,

but the modelling there, I think, is tip-top.

-It's quite nice to look at, I suppose.

-Quite nice!

I suppose when you say you could put a clock in there, it's functional.

It cost me £25.

-Superb.

-Well, you don't have to punt on it right now.

You decide later. For the viewers at home, let's find out what the auctioneer thinks about it.

Anita, all you need is a clock movement to go in it because it's a handsome case, isn't it?

I think it's lovely. It has the art deco influence on the base here.

-So, how do you rate Mr Laidlaw's bonus buy?

-Estimated 40 to 60.

He'll be delighted about that because he only paid £25.

Anyway, that's it for the Reds. Now, for the Blues, Frances and Lisa.

-Their first item are these three weird French plates...

-Yes.

Yes. They would have been the engraving plates, perhaps for bookplates because of their size.

They're nice and neat.

-Difficult to estimate.

-Yes.

-50 to 80?

-Very good. £65 paid.

-Yeah.

So, it's pretty well on the button. Great.

Now, what about the Poole Aegean pottery plaque, really, not a plate?

Yes, it is a wall plate, and Poole is very popular just now,

and this period of Poole, from the 1960s, is hot.

Is it? Hmm!

Well, were they wise to pay £70 for it?

Well, it wasn't too dear.

-I've estimated at 60 to 80, so we're still in the ballpark.

-They're right in the middle.

-Yes.

-And the last item is this rather chunky vase.

I like studio pottery. This one was done by Bernard Rooke.

They are collectable. People do like them.

Estimate on it 50 to 70.

OK, £65 paid.

So, pretty well throughout all three items they're on the button.

-But, as we know, the auction can be...

-HE LAUGHS

..an extraordinary experience, so I guess we'd better check out the bonus buy.

-Now, Frances and Lisa, you spent £200.

-Yes, we did.

And you give £100 to Keith Baker to find your bonus buy. What did he buy you?

THEY LAUGH

-I wanted to buy that!

-You wanted to buy this, didn't you?

And we sort of steered you away for something else,

but I thought it would be interesting to take this as the bonus buy.

Have another look at it, because you liked the mechanical way it worked, didn't you?

So, what was it again that you said you thought it was for?

Well, it's a postal scales.

-How much did you spend?

-£30.

That's not bad.

For viewers at home let's find out what the auctioneer thinks about it.

-They're not unattractive, are they?

-I think they're lovely.

-They have a sculptural quality about them.

-Yes. And in good nick.

Appealing to the eye.

All right, you sold it to me, what do you think you're going to sell it for in the auction?

-I've estimated 25 to 40.

-Keith paid £30 and he's reckoning on a profit.

I think he stands a fair chance of getting it, don't you?

What interests me, Anita, is how you see the market at the moment.

Are we likely to get a good result today?

I know that the auction will be busy.

The bidding will be fierce and I will be doing my best.

Gosh!

Now, Alan and David, how are you feeling?

-All right.

-Really good.

-Are you hot to trot?

-Oh, yeah.

-Excellent.

Anyway, first up is the American tinplate removal van,

and here it comes.

An American tinplate toy and it's by Marx toys of the USA.

It's in perfect condition.

Start me at £20, then. 20 bid. 30. 40.

£40.

-Any advance on 40?

-Oh, dear.

50, fresh bid. With you, sir, at £50.

Any advance on £50? All done at £50?

-£50.

-Paul Laidlaw, that's close.

£50 and wiped its face.

No profit, no loss. Well done, Paul. Arnold Palmer, now.

Again it's the Marx toys company, ladies and gentlemen.

It's the official Arnold Palmer Pro Shot Golf Game.

Hours of endless fun.

Start me at 20. 20 bid. 30.

Any advance on £30?

Any advance on 30 for Arnold Palmer?

I'll take five. 35.

Any advance on 35? All done at 35.

-35.

-Well done.

£35. You are plus £15. Well done, Paul Laidlaw.

That's very fair. Now, the bonbon dish.

Are you going to double your money or not?

-Here we go.

-It's art deco.

It's by James Dixon & Son, one of the best silversmiths in Sheffield.

Start me at £20? 20 bid.

Any advance on 20?

30. 40. 50.

£50. £50 for the art deco. 50.

60, fresh bidder.

60. I'll take it in five.

Oh, 65.

Mr Bottomley, 65.

-65, fresh bidder. 70.

-Yes!

He is a punter.

-Any advance? 75.

-75!

Come on, keep going!

-75. 80. £80.

-This is a battle.

With you, sir, at £80. Any advance on £80? £80.

£80 is splendid, isn't it?

So, 38's two short of 40, you've made £42 on that.

£42! 42, 52, 57.

-You are £57 up, boys.

-Nice one.

That's a pretty good one, isn't it, £57? Feeling good?

-Feeling warm, comfortable?

-This is fantastic.

Are you going to risk it? £25 on the gee-gee.

Here it comes.

Lot 143 is this art deco bronzed clock case

with the thoroughbred atop.

Start me at £20. 20 bid.

20 bid. 30. 40.

-50.

-Doubled your money.

-£50.

Any advance on £50? All done at £50?

All done at £50? £50.

£50 is plus £25.

You are 50, 60, 70. You're £82 up.

82 smackers! Is he a genius or not?

He's a genius, and he's a legend.

A genius and a legend! That's quite something, isn't it?

Don't tell the Blues a thing, all right?

-So, Keith, your Aegean Poole pottery plate with the wise old owl on it.

-Yeah.

Are you still comfy with that, then?

I am. People collect owls, people collect Poole, I think it's got at least two things going for it.

First lot coming up and here it comes.

The Poole Aegean wall plate with the owl decoration.

Will you start me at £50 for the Poole plate?

30, then. 30 bid. 40.

50. 60. 70.

£70.

With you sir at 70. Any advance?

Just there, look!

All done at £70? £70.

Well done, Keith! On the nose.

Wiped its face. No profit, no loss.

He's looking relieved, though!

160, ladies and gentlemen, a charming lot.

Three mounted engraved metal plaques.

Start me at £50. £50 for the engravings. £50, surely.

£40, then. 40 bid. 50.

60. 70.

£70.

You're in profit, just.

Any advance on £70? All done at £70?

-£70.

-Well done, Lisa.

That's perfect.

You have a £5 profit, which is very good. Look at how pleased she is!

Bernard Rooke, a London potter, ladies and gentlemen.

Will you start me at £50? 30, then.

-30 bid.

-This is not looking so hot.

Any... 40. 50.

£50. Any advance on 50?

I'll take five. 55. 60. 65.

-65.

-You're there!

-Well done.

-70, fresh bidder.

Any advance on £70?

All done at £70? £70.

Well done, Frances.

£70, it's a £5 profit, which is brilliant. £5 on that.

So overall then, guys, you have £10 profit, which is very good, isn't it?

The estimates versus what you paid were not brilliant, all right?

You could have made some losses. You've come out with a tenner.

There's nothing to be ashamed of. That could be a winning score.

What are you going to do about these postal scales?

Do you want to bank your £10, or risk it with the postal scales?

-What do you want to do?

-Stick with what we've got. What do you think?

I think we'll stick with what we've got.

A Canadian postal scales set.

Can we say 20?

20 bid. Any advance on 20? 25. 30.

35. 40. £40.

-Any advance on £40?

-It's a profit.

Any advance on £40? All done at £40?

£40.

Oh, bad luck, girls. £40 it made.

It made a profit of £10.

You could have doubled your takings. You should have trusted Keith!

Anyway, there we are. You've made an overall profit of £10.

That could be a winning score. Please, don't talk to the Reds, OK?

-OK.

-OK.

-Have they been talking to one another? Have you been having a chat?

-No.

So, neither of you know quite what the scale of your winnings are versus the other?

I have to reveal that the team that is the runner up today are the Blues.

You made a profit of a tenner.

You could have made £20 if you'd trusted Keith but, nevertheless,

you decided to go against him and you have a profit of a tenner.

And there it is. Enjoy it.

Thank you very much for joining us. But the winners today are the boys!

And quite substantial profits you've made, too, haven't you?

Overall, up £82.

-Look at the face!

-Pretty chuffed!

Pretty chuffed!

I'd say you're chuffed, though, that's fantastic.

Are you going to do this professionally in the future?

-We might do, yeah.

-We might do.

-We've don't want to put Paul out of business.

-No, no, no, quite.

-It's been brilliant fun.

-It's been fantastic.

OK, great. Here's your £82, anyway.

Brilliant. Thanks very much for joining us on the show.

-Join us soon for some more Bargain Hunt, yes?

-Yes!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd