Norfolk 3 Bargain Hunt

Well, hello there. It's that time of day again.

How stupendous.

There's just about time for us

to enjoy the nature, the beauty, the tranquillity. Ah...

Ha! That's enough of that drivel!

Let's go bargain-hunting!

Hello, there. You join us in sunny Norfolk.

There are over 400 stalls here

at the Royal Norfolk Antiques and Collectables Fair,

which means that our teams today are certainly going to have their work cut out.

Do you know something? I wouldn't have it any other way.

I've got £300 for each of today's teams.

I bet you'd like to get your greasy mitts on this lot.

Well, the teams will have an hour to buy three items which they hope

will make them maximum profit away at the auction.

-For the Reds, we've got to Tim and Sula. Welcome.

-Hello.

-Hi.

And for the Blues, we've got Deborah and Sioux.

-Hello.

-Hello.

Now, you two, how did you first meet?

I met Tim while I was stacking shelves in our local convenience store.

And it's stuck together ever since?

Yeah, we've got a similar sort of dry sense of humour,

very sarcastic. But he's a lot tighter than me.

-What do you mean, tighter?

-Cos he doesn't spend his money.

-Oh, I see.

That's why I need to have the money.

-If you gave it to him, he wouldn't spend it.

-We want you to spend lots.

And what in particular do you collect, Sula?

-I do collect teddies.

-Hence our friend here.

I've brought my builders bear with his builder's backside.

-He speaks as well.

-Give it a squeeze, then.

'Come on, gorgeous, give us a kiss.'

"Come on, gorgeous, give us a kiss"?! Is that what your builder gets up to?

-Yes.

-So, what sort of things do you get up to, Tim?

At the minute, I do a lot of amateur dramatics with local theatre companies.

What have you just done?

I've recently done West Side Story at the Theatre Royal in Norwich.

-Well, very good luck.

-Thank you.

-Now, for the Blues, girls.

-It's the NHS, Sioux, that we have to thank for bringing you two girls together, is that right?

-Yes, it is.

We've been working together 22 years now.

-What do you do in the NHS?

-We're both psychiatric nurses.

-Oh, Lordy, you've got me worked out, then.

-Absolutely, yes.

Deborah, it says here that you're bit of a hoarder, aren't you?

A little bit. Don't like to throw anything away.

-Do you ever sell anything?

-We did a few years ago.

We tend to hoard everything up in the loft and have a little bit of a clear-out every so often.

Lots of the children's toys.

And we took those of to a car-boot sale and actually made £500, so it was well worth hoarding.

I wish you good luck. Now, the money moment.

£300, if I can only get it out. £300.

There you go. You know the rules, your experts await and off you go and very, very, very good luck.

So, whatever's going to happen today?

We've established our keen players, but who will be helping them through the labyrinth of delectables today?

The man fielding the dreams

for the Red team is none other than Mr Jonathan Pratt.

And poised for the challenge,

sitting pretty for the Blues, Mr Charles Hanson.

What is it we're going to look for today?

Definitely a piece of silver and if we can find something with a heart motif, I'd be really happy with that.

-What are you going for?

-Well, we're in Norfolk, so we want something country sports-ish, I think.

-Yeah.

-Or wood.

-OK, let's go for it.

-OK.

-This...

-This little coal or log box.

-Right.

Late 19th century, Arts and Crafts.

Do you like it?

My instant thing is, I've got one at home in the garage.

-You've got it in the garage, cos you don't use it?

-Yes.

You're saying you've got another one of them?

-A similar sort of thing.

-I've got a tenner says you haven't.

I've got £300 here.

-How much?

-Bottom line would be 80 quid.

Is that the best?

-It's a sunny day.

-Give me 70 quid and it's yours.

-What do you think, Tim?

-I think it's pretty cool.

-I'm a bit...

-Iffy on it?

-Yeah.

-What's your problem with it?

-Just the condition of it.

-It's beaten metal.

We haven't bought nothing yet.

Offer him 60.

Then when he says no, I'll say 65, yeah?

Yeah, all right.

-Go, Tim, it's yours.

-Drive a hard bargain.

-All right.

-Yes?

-60?

No, sir. You're a lovely man and I like you so much it's unbelievable.

-But if you don't give me 70 quid, I will swear.

-65?

-No.

How about 70? I think it's fair.

-How about 70?

-There we go.

Well done, Reds. First item down.

Clock's ticking away now. You've got 40 more minutes.

So the little meerschaum pipe here.

30.

That's not bad for a meerschaum pipe,

she says, sounding like she knows what the hell she's talking about. Is it complete?

Yeah, it's the original case and here you've got this little sort of typical Victorian lady.

I would date this to about 1900. So will you take £25 for it?

-28.

-28, OK.

-It's quite nice. It's socially interesting. What do you think?

-I really like it.

I think we should go for it, Sioux.

We've got half-an-hour to go, so we ought to now start investing.

Are you going to hand over the money to him or not?

Thanks, Mum!

Hmm, I'm sure Sioux will thank you for that comment later, Charles.

£28, then, for your first item.

Outside, Jonathan has his work cut out.

No, it's horrible. It's nice, but no. No.

You haven't got anything heart-shaped?

-I think we really want to head back into the main area now.

-Well, that's where the Blues are.

£145.

But they're having trouble finding a bargain.

Royal Worcester, a bit too expensive, unfortunately.

-£245.

-Yeah, no.

These are popular. These are what we call globular glass scent bottles.

That's pretty. I like that.

What you've got is a mushroom silver-embossed stopper.

And this type of stopper is typically Edwardian.

Do you think the stopper is what lives with it?

Difficult to say, but certainly that's a contemporary stopper or thereabouts.

Hallmarked for Birmingham, about 1906. I like it. Shall we check the price with the stall holder?

-It says £45 on the ticket, so shall we see what we can do?

-Let's go and negotiate.

-40, I'm afraid.

-40?

-Yep.

-Thank you.

40, Charles.

Yes, in a saleroom, its guide price would be sort of 30 to 50.

There is scope at 40 - that's a mid-estimate.

Sir, would you go 35, maybe?

-38.

-38. That's his final offer.

-We can think about it.

-OK, sir, we might be back. Thanks awfully.

-Thank you.

With a striking £270 to spend,

are the Reds any closer to buying their second item?

-That's pretty cool. If someone's got a boxer dog, they're going to buy it, aren't they?

-No.

I'm thinking not.

-It's a hard lady to please, this one.

-Oh, shocking.

-Sula?

-I want hearts. Have you seen any?

-What do you think of them, Tim?

-What do you think?

-I like anything heart-shaped.

-What about 25 quid?

-The both of them?

-Ooh, no.

What about that one?

-You can have the both for...35.

-The both of them?

-Ooh, no.

-There is money to be made.

-I think we should buy these, Tim.

-Right.

-My decision.

-You're confident?

-Very confident.

We're going to buy these.

-OK, guys.

-Jonathan, hello.

-I've made a decision.

-Have you?

Hearts, two of them.

-OK.

-Glass.

-Right.

-Signed.

-Signed by?

Um, a word that I can't pronounce.

Oh, it's Holmegaard. OK, 1950s.

A well-known Scandinavian glass factory.

You've got both of them, signed?

-We've got both of them, signed, for £35.

-I think you've done quite well,

and I'll be gutted if you're the only one who makes a profit.

-Thank you(!)

-Let's do it.

-We're doing it, yes!

Definitely not doing it are the Blues.

15 minutes to go, £272 to spend,

and two items still to find.

We've have lost our expert. Where's Charles gone?

They've lost their expert

and they're back where they found the perfume bottle.

-What about this, Sioux?

-Dogs.

-Dogs, windmills. Do you like it?

-I do like that, yeah. £45.

-OK, get Charles.

-Yep.

Ten minutes to go, and the teams are leaving it very late to buy their remaining items.

All right.

-What happens if we don't get anything?

-We need to!

If you had £300 in your hot little hand,

you'd try and spend the lot, wouldn't you?

But not today, because our teams have to leave some leftover lolly for their experts.

-BOTH: What?!

-Don't worry, it's all part of the master plan.

Your expert's going to trot off and buy something that he hopes

will boost your profits later at auction,

and you then have to decide whether you're going to trust his judgment.

Me, mine's a whippy. Mmm.

-They're still here, thank goodness.

-This little perfume bottle.

Charles, we saw this earlier.

And you quite like it? Why?

Cos of the dogs and the windmill.

It's a silver collar. It's nice quality and of course dogs as well.

Importantly, Sioux, with a teapot, condition - what's it like?

It's good. I can't see any chips on the spout

-and the handle's not been off.

-Quite right. Upside-down,

the all-important mark, Royal Doulton.

We know from the style, this two-tone glaze,

fairly mass-produced,

but certainly 1900, 1910, thereabouts,

and the actual collar of the body is hallmarked for London.

-What's on it?

-48.

-Do you think that's a bit too much?

With the scent bottle as well, there's scope to negotiate.

Hello, sir. If we wanted to buy both of these together,

what's your best price for the two together?

35 each, 70 for the pair?

-That's all we've got left, £70.

-OK, go on.

-Bless you.

-Thank you, sir.

-With only five minutes left on the clock,

the Reds are cutting it a bit fine.

-I love that.

-That's quite sweet, actually.

I quite like that.

It is a nice colour. "Birmingham G."

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, 1907...1906.

-Little scent bottle.

-I like that.

-Do you?

-Yeah.

-It's marked at 165.

-Shall I ask if they could go down?

If they went down to 120, what do you think?

It's your call.

130 he's gone down to.

Go for it, go for it, go for it.

I like it. I'm going to have it. On my head be it.

It's time to stop the clock.

There's no time left to shop.

Let's check out what the Reds bought.

Coming in at £70, the Arts and Crafts copper box.

Red item number two, Sula picked the 1950s heart-shaped vases for £35.

And with virtually no time left, and for £130,

the green glass and silver-mounted scent bottle. Charming!

-So, you two, you were late starters but you got there eventually.

-We did.

And you managed to spend £235,

which is quite magnificent, I have to tell you, which is really good. I'm pleased about that.

I'd like £65 of leftover lolly, goes straight to JP.

What are you going to do with the £65?

-I've got to obviously please the lady, so...

-You don't have to please anybody.

We want something that's going to make a monster profit,

-that's all you've got to...

-I'm certainly going to find that.

-Good luck with that.

Let's remind ourselves what the Blues got up to.

First up, the meerschaum pipe, smokin' at £28.

Smelling good at £35, an Edwardian cut-glass scent bottle

with silver lid.

Finally, a Royal Doulton teapot, £35. Bootiful!

Excellent negotiation skills for you girls just at the end, wasn't it?

-It was. We did well.

-You did do well.

You spent a miserable £98,

I can't believe you only spent £98.

-I'd like £202 of leftover lolly.

-Thank you very much, Tim.

-That's a lot of pocket money for you!

-It is.

Knowing these ladies, and the fact we haven't spent too much,

we want to buy something fairly classy, stylish.

A nice pair which will reflect my pair of ladies, hopefully.

Yes. I fancy you ought to shove off cos time's moving along, isn't it? Very good luck, Charles.

We're heading to Thomas Gaze & Son, auctioneers, here in Norfolk,

to try to turn our bargains into bucks!

Well, it's wonderful to be at TW Gaze's saleroom

at Diss, in Norfolk, with my old friend, Elizabeth Talbot.

Less of the old, please, Tim!

Sula and Tim, they went with this box.

How do you rate that, Elizabeth?

The condition's not wonderful.

So we haven't rated it so very highly, really.

I'm standing by for something disastrous. What sort of estimate do you think?

Being as kind as we can, probably about £50 to £80.

-That's not too unkind.

-Good, we try to be kind, here.

-Well, £70, they paid.

They may do it.

Now, the next item is the Holmegaard glass pot and its baby.

So, what do you make of that?

It's nice to have not just one but two, and I think the two set each other off well.

I've estimated it at £40 to £60, and I think that's very realistic.

-Well, if you think that's very realistic, it could make more?

-It could do, we hope so.

-£35, they paid.

-That's very reasonable.

Sula also went with the green scent bottle,

-which is in great condition, isn't it?

-It's lovely.

I like this period of glass myself.

We think 50 to £70 would be a fair estimate at auction. Bad news?

£130, so there's a bit of a dark hole, or should I say a green hole, opening up around that.

-There is. Yes, yes.

-So they're going to need their bonus buy.

-Yes.

-Let's go and have a look at it.

So, why are you so jolly, then? You pretty confident about what's going to happen today?

-I am quite confident, actually.

-Very confident with my buy, yeah.

Well, we've just had a little reminder, cos you've spent £235.

-Which is good.

-Which is good, good. Wasn't it?

-It was.

-Good, good, yes. And then you gave £65 to the maestro.

-Now, Jonathan, reveal all.

-A box.

-A box. A pink box.

A pink box. Containing 15-carat gold seed pearl and enamel brooch.

-It's a very pretty thing.

-How much did you pay for it, Jonathan?

I paid £60.

-And how much do you think we'll make at auction?

-£20 out of it, at least.

-Do you like it, Sula?

-I love it.

-Yeah? What about you, Tim?

I'm up in the air. We'll see.

-You'll be led by Jonathan.

-Of course.

-And his advice...

-He's the expert, I'm not.

We'll find out whether you need to go with it after the sale of your items.

But for the viewers at home, let's find out what the lovely auctioneer thinks about it.

It is very delicate, isn't it? Very feminine.

I like the design, the attention to detail, and it's in very good condition.

That should fetch £60 to £80.

Well, Jonathan will be delighted. £60, he paid.

-Very fair.

-And it could take off?

-It could.

And that is it for the Reds. Now for the Blues.

Deborah and Sioux, their first item is the meerschaum pipe.

-Actually, it's a cheroot holder.

-It is, yes, definitely a cheroot holder. A smaller bowl to it, yes.

-£28 they paid, are they going to make a profit?

-I think they should.

We are hoping for probably double that, £48 to £58 would be a...

Well, that's great.

Now, the Edwardian cut-glass and silver-topped scent bottle.

-Are they collectible now?

-They are, and although the style isn't that unusual,

the condition will, for a collector, be quite a nice bonus.

-You don't want these things bashed or nibbled.

-No.

-What sort of estimate?

-£60 to £80 on that one.

-Brilliant. £35 they paid.

-That's a good buy.

-That's a result.

-A good buy, yes.

We've got two potential pluses, there. This is exciting.

What about the Royal Doulton teapot?

Doulton stoneware does sort of yo-yo a bit in people's interest,

at the moment, it's not at its hottest. We think about £38 to £48.

Well, £35 they paid, so if you're right on those three counts, Elizabeth, I tell you,

this team are going to be absolutely over the moon.

-But just in case...

-Yes.

..let's hedge our bets and look at the bonus buy.

So, you Blues, right, you spent £98, miserable,

and you gave Charles £202.

Now, Charles promised that he'd buy a pair of something-or-other,

and let's see what he's got. Whoops! Oh, yes! So, girls, what do you think?

Actually, better than I thought it was going to be.

-They're not bad.

-Tell us about them.

Let me advocate their value to you. They are American.

Very much in what we call the Art Nouveau style.

-I think they'll do quite well.

-You didn't spend all the 202, did you?

They are bronze spelter rather than being bronze.

I paid £140 for them.

-Do you like them?

-They're OK, Charles.

I won't say "like", it's a bit of a strong word, but they're all right.

Good.

You've watched the master's lips, there, which is wonderful.

For the benefit of the viewers at home,

let's watch the auctioneer's lips.

So, Elizabeth,

-a pair of later painted spelter figural lamps.

-Mmm-hmm.

Is this something that lights the cockles of an auctioneer's heart?

-Not this one, I'm afraid, no.

-I had a funny feeling you were going to say that.

They wouldn't have been my cup of tea even unadulterated, but they've had some restoration,

it looks like there's been some repair, I don't think we're going to have a good sale on these.

What sort of estimate would you put on them?

I'd have thought £60 to £80.

Oh, dear. £140 is where we're at with them.

But, as I say, you can do no more, frankly, than sit on the rostrum and be as optimistic as possible.

-And sell them, absolutely.

-Good luck today.

-Thank you.

So, Sula, Tim, great name. How you feeling? All right?

-Really excited.

-So, really excited?

-Yes.

-That's nice, isn't it? First lot up is your box, Tim.

The Arts and Crafts twin-handled coal box.

I have interest on the sheet shown here, and I'll start at £40.

£40, I have, at 40. It's with me at 40. 42, 45?

48? And 50. Five, new bidder. And 60? Five? 70?

Five? And 80?

Five, and 90?

95, new bidder. 100? 110? 120?

130? 140? 140, with me at 140. Are you all out now?

It's 140, commission bids are in at 140 and selling...

-Yes!

-Rock and roll!

That's very good.

£140, you have doubled your money.

Plus £70. Now, the little baby pot.

I have good interest on the sheets,

I have five interested bids on the sheets, and I start here at £28.

£28, I have, at 28.

Where's 30? 30 bid. 32? 35? 38?

42?

42, with me at 42.

42? 45? 48? And 50? Five?

-£60, I'm at 60 now. I'll take five.

-You're going to double your money!

At £60, only. Any advance on £60?

Yes!

That's so good.

You are plus £25. Now, your other one.

Look out. You're £95 up.

The green-glass silver-topped scent bottle

with original stopper.

-I have got good interest on this one again.

-Oh.

And I'll start here at £38. £38 bid.

And 40? Two? 45? 48? And 50? Five?

60? Five? 70? Five?

75, with me at 75. Now at 75.

80? Five?

90, and I'm out. 90 in the room. At 90. I'll take five again.

95, a new bidder. 95, now, an untidy figure at 95.

The caller bid at 95. I'll take 100.

At 95, are you all done?

Oh, dear. £95 you sold that for, £95, minus £35 on that,

but you were plus 95 before, so you are plus £60,

all right?

You are £60 in profit.

That could be a winning score.

Cos you said mine was going to bomb, and it didn't bomb that much.

Now, on the other hand, you could trust Jonathan...

-Be greedy.

-He's bought you...

-We live in a greedy world.

-Shh!

-He's bought you that brooch.

What are you going to do about the brooch?

-No, we're not.

-Are you sure?

-Yes.

-No?

No? OK, we're not.

You're not going with the bonus buy. We're going to sell it anyway.

Bar brooch, set with green enamel and seed pearls, stylised flower.

I start here at just £30.

£30 on the little brooch, at 30. Two? 35?

38? And 40? Two? 45? 48?

And 50? 50, with me at 50 now, at 50.

At 50, on the brooch. 50. 55? And 60?

With me at 60, are you sure?

£60, all out in the room? At 60 on commission, and selling.

£60, wiped its face.

-OK.

-No pain, no shame. That's fantastic, isn't it?

Now, listen, don't tell the Blues a thing, right?

-Go out looking miserable.

-Mum's the word.

-Yes.

Now, girls, do you know how the Reds got on?

-No.

-No idea.

-You don't want to know, I tell you!

You have the unusual distinction of having an auctioneer's estimate

-which is above what you paid on every single one of your items...

-Good.

-Yes!

..before we even start.

The first lot up, though,

is Charles's cheroot holder, and here it comes.

We have the early 20th century meerschaum pipe there,

depicting the female in the bonnet.

I'll start at just £32.

£32, and five? 32, I'll take five.

35. 38?

And 40? Two?

42, with me at 42. 45, commission.

48? And 50. Five?

55, with me at 55, now. At £55, bid.

At 55, with me at 55. All done?

-Yes!

-£55, well done.

That's two off 30, that is plus 27.

Plus 27.

We have the Edwardian cut-glass silver-top scent bottle

with original stopper again.

It's Birmingham 1905, and I'll start at £30.

£30, bid at 30. £30 bid. 32? 35?

38. And 40? Two? 45? 48? And 50?

No? 50, with me, at 50. At 50, I have. Five, a new bidder.

60? Five? And 70? Five?

And 80? 80, on commission at 80. I'll take five elsewhere.

It's £80 on commission, the room is out?

-Yes!

-Told you that was a good buy!

So, you have got plus £45 on that.

Look out, your teapot.

..hunting figures and a silver rim.

Interest on the sheet shown, I start at £30. £30, I have.

Two? Thank you. 35? 38? And 40?

Two? 45?

45, with me at 45.

48, the hand. And 50?

With me at 50. Now both out at 50? Again, on commission at 50.

Any advance?

£50, you are plus £15 on that

which means, overall, you are plus £87.

-Brilliant!

-Fantastic.

-You've made a profit on each item,

as predicted, and you are £87 in the bank.

-£87!

-Really?

That's pretty good, isn't it? I can't believe this.

Now, listen, what are you going to do about those old lamps?

We're going to stick, we think.

-Are we? Yeah? Yeah?

-You do?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

We have the pair of Art Nouveau style

spelter figural table lamp bases there, they've been over painted.

Start me at 100?

£100 the pair, come on.

-The lamps, £100?

-Come on, surely?

-£100.

-50, the hand, thank you. At 55?

-Let's go.

-And 60?

-Come on!

Five? 70? Five?

80?

Five? 90?

90's my left-hand bid, at 90, I'll take five again.

At £90, you are buying both, remember, at 90. Any advance on £90?

Right decision. Yeah.

£90, certainly was the right decision.

You would have lost £50 if you'd gone with that.

But as it is, you ring-fenced your £87 very wisely,

-and I don't want you to talk to the Reds at all, right?

-OK.

How lovely is this, to have two very happy teams.

Look at their faces, they're all puckered up with pleasure, it's great.

Cos they both know that they made substantial profits.

Sadly, the running-up team today is...

-The Reds.

-No way!

I'm so sorry to tell you this.

You made £60, which is a considerable amount.

-What are you going to do with your share of the winnings, Timbo?

-Thank you.

Spend it on myself, cos I'm greedy.

-OK, fine.

-Nicely put!

-What about you?

I'm going to treat me and my boys to a day out somewhere.

-Are you?

-Yeah.

-Well, that's really nice.

-And you'll be paying commission to Jonathan, naturally?

-Not at all.

-Not at all!

The victors today, by a chalk, because they made a profit of £87.

And here we go, £87, Sioux.

I mean, it's come to you so easily,

but actually it is a very difficult thing to make a profit on every lot.

-It is, it is, but we are very good.

-Yes, you are. And so modest!

Anyway, we've had a great day.

-Join us soon for some more bargain-hunting, yes?

-ALL: Yes!

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