Westpoint 30 Bargain Hunt

We've travelled to the southwest today to the outskirts of Exeter

and our teams can't wait to get stuck into the hundreds of stalls

here at Westpoint Arena, so, what are we waiting for?

Let's go bargain hunting! Yeah!

Now, the rules...each team gets £300

and an hour to shop for three objects which they take to auction

and the team wins that makes the biggest profit or the smallest loss.

So, let's take a quick squint as to what's coming up.

The Reds need advice from their expert.

What do you think?

We don't know what we're looking at.

While the Blues are much more decisive.

-No.

-No.

-No?

-It's the real thing or nothing.

-Why?

-I really like them.

-OK.

'And will their decisions pay off later at the auction?'

I think we should.

Come on. No!

'But before I give too much away, let's meet the teams.'

40...

So, hoping to stamp their mark on the fair today,

we have two teams of friends.

For the Reds, we have Andy and Stuart

and we have Susan and Helen for the Blues.

-Hello, everyone.

-ALL: Hello!

-Ha, ha!

Good-oh! So, Andy, where did you two meet?

I come down from London, I went into the Royal Mail and we met there.

-Did you?

-Yeah. And we've been friends ever since.

-How long have you been a postman for?

-30 years, Tim.

-That's a long old time, isn't it?

-I know, I know.

-I mean, it's a huge community benefit, isn't it?

-Oh, it is, it is.

I mean, we cannot conceive in the countryside not having

-the postie come.

-No, it's a massive community and, for some people,

and I'm the only person they see.

-Have you got your own little van?

-I've got my own trolley.

-You've got a trolley, have you?

-Yeah, I'm around the town centre.

How many miles do you reckon you've worked, then, doing the postie?

It's probably around 50 miles a week.

-50 miles a week?

-Yeah, plus.

-Stuart, you're no stranger for this delivery lark, are you?

-No, I'm not.

-How long have you done it for?

-16 years.

-Any particular place you do

-your rounds?

-Yeah, I do it around a little rural village,

a town called Holkham and there's about 350 houses there.

-And you drive around in one of those lovely vans.

-I've got me van, yes.

And you know everything that goes on in your area, yeah?

Yeah, I know a few people now by first name terms sort of thing now.

But it's not just letters that you do, is it?

No, I do, um, logs, firewood with me dad in the afternoons.

-We do about 60 ton a year.

-So, you're splitting logs when you're

not driving round delivering letters.

Yes, I'm not asleep like Andy.

So, what sort of things are you going to shop for today, then?

We've got no preconceived ideas, but, um...

..gold and silver you're up for.

Gold and silver's pretty good, I think at the moment.

-Anything postal, if we come across it...

-A bit of Clarice Cliff...

A bit of Clarice Cliff, postal, gold, silver...you're going

to have your work cut out to find that in an hour, you know!

Anyway, smashing to meet you. Well done.

Right then, girls, so, um, Helen, where did you two girls meet?

-We met at a toddler group, um, I...

-You were very young, were you?

I still am. What are you trying to say?!

Oh, you're very, very young!

Yeah, we met at a toddler group, um,

I want along cos I just moved down to Devon, um, with my family.

I didn't know anybody and I thought, I need to go

and meet some people and talk to somebody and I met Susan.

-Straight up, it was friendship.

-Absolutely, yeah.

But you manage to get away from

the Devonshire countryside quite often, don't you?

I do, yes, I'm a flight attendant.

Um, I've been doing that for about 18 years

and so it's ditch the wellies and the wax jacket,

out come the stilettos and the wheelie bag and that's it, I'm off.

Now, Susan, what do you get up to?

Well, I like all things creative,

so I dabble in a bit of graphic design, a bit of lampshade

making, I'll have a go at anything really that involves craft.

And I also work for a handbag designer, which is really, really

good fun. there's nothing better than handbags in my world.

So, you design them, and do you get to keep free samples?

I have got the odd one or two, yes.

-That must be the most magic bit of it.

-It really is.

-It's not only handbags you design, but hats too.

-Yes, that's right.

I've been designing hats for friends and family

for a couple of years now, so I was very excited to

be able to design a hat for the Royal Wedding a couple of years ago.

You weren't!

My friend's auntie wore my hat

and my hat sat about five rows behind the Queen.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Was she green with envy?

-Oh, absolutely.

And are you both ready to take on this Bargain Hunt challenge?

-Oh, yes.

-What sort of things are you going to go for? Old bags, yes?

-Old-fashioned items?

-Hmm...

I don't know, we might look at some old toys, um,

-maybe a bit of silverware. We'll see what we find.

-Yeah.

-You're pretty eclectic.

-Yes.

-Open-minded, that is the way to be.

Anyway, now, the £300. Here comes the money moment.

£300, grab that,

and your experts await and off you go

and very, very, very good luck.

Ooh, I fancy a handbag myself.

So, before the teams get stuck in, they need some experts and hoping to

climb the dizzy heights of success for the Reds we have Kate Bliss...

..while flying high for the Blues, we have David Harper.

-So, Stuart and Andy...

-Yes.

-..there is oodles to look at here.

-DAVID:

-What kind of things are we going to be looking for?

-Well, I quite like vintage toys, kitchenalia...

-OK. Susan?

Maybe some silverware.

-I'm looking for militaria.

-OK.

-Anything that catches my eye.

-Yes.

Not particular, open mind.

-You two are the dream team.

-Yes.

-Are you ready for some real bargain hunting?

-We are.

-Let's go.

-What about you, Stuart?

-A bit of Clarice Cliff,

-something bright.

-Clarice Cliff... You like colour?

-Yeah, colour, that's what I want.

-Sounds great, guys.

-Shall we get stuck in?

-Yes, we can.

-Come on.

-Let's go.

That's brand-new, but I love it.

The clock has started, teams,

and the Blues have found their bearings already.

-Lovely.

-Gorgeous.

-He's very cute. Shall we have a look at him?

-Yeah.

Oh, I love his hand-knitted jumper!

Right...

And he's called Susan's bear!

BOTH: Oh, wow!

Now, you know how to tell an early bear from a late bear?

-No.

-OK, a few pointers.

-A nice long snout...

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Long limbs, so, you know, independently moveable...

-Yeah.

-Nice big hunchback is a good sign.

-OK.

And the best sign to look out for on a really early bear

is on his tummy...we can see that he doesn't have what I'm looking for,

is you see like a big stitch mark, it looks like he's been repaired...

-Right.

-But he hasn't been, they're machine made and at the final

-moment of manufacture, he's hand-stitched on his tummy.

-Right.

-He's nicely worn. I love the fact that his eyes are googly.

-Yes.

-Don't you?

-Yes.

I mean, he could absolutely mesmerise you, couldn't he?

-Absolutely.

-He's did it already.

THEY LAUGH

I think he is absolutely gorgeous.

Described as late '40s, I believe that. Shall I go price?

-I think you wave him in a face and go...

-Shall I go and google Ian?

-Yeah, Google Ian.

-Right, are you ready? "Yeah, I'm ready."

-Go on.

As David goes off on a bear price hunt.

The Reds have homed in on a rather stylish bookcase.

This is really nice arts and crafts style

with these little copper plaques and it's also

a really sweet size, but it's got quite a hefty price tag on it.

-Yeah, that's too much.

-248...at auction, it would probably

-be 100, 150, something like that.

-Yeah.

Was the dealer transfixed?

It works, actually.

-Was she mesmerised?

-She was totally mesmerised, yes.

-And she said a fiver.

-She put him up a fiver, yeah!

80, what do you reckon? Is he going home with you?

I think he's going to have to, isn't he?

-Oh, yes, it's the googly eye thing. Yeah.

-Got me.

As soon as I saw him, those googly eyes, they got me. Have we got him?

-We got him.

-Well, that is fantastic. First purchase, well done, you two.

So, we are now a team of four!

-Wow!

-Yeah!

Oh, David! You are unbearable!

Now, how are the Reds ticking along?

It looks like they found a travel clock.

So, this I would say is maybe '40s, um, by the style here.

We've got Arabic numerals, of course,

and a little brass bezel going round.

Um, it just depends on the price. Shall we just...? Hi there.

How much?

-45.

-45.

Shame that leather's damaged,

because the actual clock itself is in great condition, but that

just lets it down a bit and I think for 45 it's a bit too much, yeah.

It's too much for the Reds, but are the Blues sitting pretty?

So, come on, I'm going to test your skills here, then.

How old is the chair and what's it made from? And don't say wood.

Well...is it oak?

Yes, it is. How can you tell?

-The grain, the colour...

-Yeah.

-It's beautiful.

What date would you put on it?

Ooh, I don't know. What do you think, Helen? About...

-..is it Victorian? I wouldn't know.

-It looks that, doesn't it?

-Victorian, I would say.

-Circa 1900 or something. How much is it?

-£295.

-Hmm.

Shall we continue and look for some silver?

-We can't afford that anyway.

-No, we can't.

Good idea, Blues.

And have the Reds found a winning formula?

-Ah, the old milk churns.

-Milk churns!

-Milk churns.

-Now...

-You can use them for flowers or anything.

Yeah. Did you two use to deliver milk?

-I used to work in a factory years ago...

-Did you?

-Was that what you used?

-We didn't use...

Well, we did tip milk into them. We didn't actually use them to deliver.

-They're quite fun.

-They look quite commercial, aren't they?

I mean, they can be used in a garden or anywhere, can't they?

-The only thing is, it's been painted.

-It has been painted.

-Ah, is it, um...? It's steel.

-That is, um...

-what I would call a reproduction.

-Yeah, cos it's not aluminium, is it?

Absolutely. Just smell that.

-Yes, oh!

-That's fresh paint.

-Fresh paint.

So, you've got to sniff these things,

you've got to feel these things. Live and breathe antiques.

I never thought I'd be sniffing milk churns.

-Onward.

-Neither did I. Moo-ve on!

-Yes...

-Oh, my gosh! Well, I've seen something I'm in love with,

but I don't think we can afford it. Do you know what I'm looking at?

-DEALER:

-Probably the owl, is it?

-Yes! That! How much is it?

£850.

-We'll take ten!

-You've got expensive tastes, Blues!

But I have got something you can have for £8.

-Now you're talking.

-Is it a Sampson Mordan perfume bottle?

No, it's a lovely little lace...

uh, button hook.

-Ah.

-Oh.

-All fully hallmarked...

with a date of 1902, Birmingham.

OK, let's have a look at this.

-Can you just see the hallmarks there?

-Yeah.

-Hmm.

-Susan, have you got good eyes?

-Yes.

-Can you see that?

-I can see some bumps in the silver.

That's all you need to see.

So, that's standard, British, hallmarked silver...

-about the best you can get in the world.

-Right.

-Um...

You could also have this one, which is also a button hook, um,

a slightly larger version.

You could have the two for £10.

-A deal?

-OK, right.

You two really are having an effect on this fella.

THEY LAUGH

OK, so this is exactly that

but a bigger version.

So, if that is to pull tight gloves, this, I suppose,

is to pull tight shoes...it could be even a corset of some sort.

And that is a piece of art!

-It's beautiful.

-It is beautiful, yeah.

And I can tell you, I've never bought two more lovely button pulls

in such good condition for that price before.

-So, I think, personally, we have to have them.

-I do too.

-Me too.

-Yes?

-Yes.

-Great!

-Shake the man's hand.

-That's it, fantastic!

-Thank you very much.

-You're very welcome.

-Thank you.

Now, that's a bargain.

-Good job, blues.

-That's two down. However, still nowt for the reds.

Is this going to lighten them up, I wonder?

-So, Ruskin Pottery, which is exactly what this is, is collectable.

-Right.

This is quite nice in that it's a functional object,

-it's not just decorative...

-Yeah, yeah...yeah.

..and it is, of course, a lamp base.

Now, obviously it needs rewiring and auction houses have a policy

where they test electrical items for safety.

Got you, yeah.

But this one, obviously, has the old wiring in it,

dates from around the 1930s, so it would have to be rewired anyway.

So, we have got 165 on there, fellas.

The actually colour, is that faded?

Or is that meant to be like that?

That is exactly how it was made.

That, sort of, gradual changing colour of the glaze.

Now, Ruskin was known for what was called "art pottery".

So, it was pottery that was made as an art form, not just functional

objects but he was interested in it as forming a piece of art.

And you can see that this has got quite a sculptural quality to

-it, hasn't it?

-Yeah, that's fine, yeah.

And these And the other good thing is that it is marked

-on the base...clearly.

-Yeah, it's clear, yeah.

-What do you thin, Stu?

-Yeah, I'm happy with that.

-Would you go for 120?

-I'd go 130.

-125?

-No, 130, I'm afraid, really is the lowest.

-See, at auction...

What do you reckon?

I mean, if the right person likes it, it might well give us

-a good profit. On the other hand it might make £80.

-Yeah.

-You know, it's a tricky one.

-Yeah, very tricky.

I like the fact that your eyes were drawn to it, though.

And, erm, we don't know what we're looking at.

THEY LAUGH

-He's honest as the day is long.

-Ain't he just.

Erm, 127.50.

Don't do 50s.

Go on, if it makes you happy, yeah.

-£127, were not allowed to do 50s.

-127, yes.

-Thank you very much.

-OK.

-We've got a deal!

-You've done it.

-I'm speechless.

Me too, Kate.

But well done, reds. First item bought.

Now, is Harper testing those blues again?

They're Wedgwood, aren't they, rather than real Clarice Cliff.

Ah, right, well. OK, what is real Clarice Cliff? That's the question.

Because on the back of those plates, I can promise you,

it will say Clarice Cliff.

-Can I just have a look.

-Right.

-There's Clarice Cliff, limited edition.

-OK.

-So...

-No, no.

-Why?

-It's the real thing or nothing.

OK, and what's the real thing?

Erm, well, with the proper stamps on the back, from the factory in

-Stoke-on-Trent, 1930s, honey glaze.

-OK, yes, so from the early days.

-I mean, they're quite modern, aren't they?

-Yes.

So, I think that Wedgwood and companies like that bought out a

selection of plates that you collect.

-That's right, so, it's a very late version.

-Yeah.

-It's got a Clarice Cliff feel to it.

-Mmm, but it's not the real thing.

It's not the real deal.

-It's not going to make any profit, I don't think.

-No.

It's a good value for money plate.

Right, come on then, we shall move on.

They know their stuff, David.

And modern Clarice Cliff, made by Wedgwood, is not for them.

Meanwhile, it looks like the reds have heard about the deal

the blues got. They're at the same stall.

-What do you think of this?

-Well, that's very sweet, isn't it?

So, this is a little cruet set, guys,

lovely little cut glass bottle there.

-You've got a silver stand and it's Victorian silver too.

-Right.

That's quite sweet, ain't it?

It's the sort of thing people still use today, actually.

-Oh, right, yeah.

-So, it's still commercial.

-Yeah. What's it up for?

So, it's up for, we've got 135 on there.

What could be your very best on it?

-Very best could be £80.

-OK.

I'm getting that you're not particularly in love with this.

-Am I getting this right?

-I've spotted something in the cabinet over there.

-OK.

-So, if we could have a look at that first.

-OK, would you mind

just holding on to it for us, just for, say, five minutes.

These posties just can't make decisions, Kate.

Now, has Susan spotted some old Clarice Cliff?

-That's a nice design, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Let's have a look on the inside there.

There's her signature, so it's in date.

It's the time when Clarice was really active and it's very,

very pretty.

-It is very pretty.

-Price wise...

-Yeah.

-How much is it?

-It's a lot, actually. It's £125.

Mmm...

I think we should carry on looking, don't you?

-Do you think so?

-Yeah, it's very nice and we can always come back

but I'm sure there are other bargains out there.

It's all about that price tag, blues.

Isn't it, reds?

Well, it was made in 1905, in Birmingham

and it has a price of 345 on it.

So, you have a go the most fantastic taste, Stuart, but for our budget...

-No.

-Unfortunately, it's not helpful.

Do you know, the best buy, to give us

a good chance of profit is the cruet.

It is, yes and it's our second buy as well, so...

Well, I want to go for it. It's just you, holding everyone back.

Oh, am I? Yes, that's me, yes.

-It's my choice, you said that.

-THEY LAUGH

Right, stop the argy-bargy, we'll say, "Yes, please."

Yes, we'll go with the cruet.

Thank you very much.

You're very welcome.

Thank you, proper job.

Proper job, indeed, reds.

That's two in the bag or should I say, sack.

-Two items down.

-I know, it's brilliant that we've got two

but we haven't got much time left, really, to find another one.

-I feel really under pressure now.

-Yes.

-So, we need to find something.

-Yes.

-Quite quickly.

Now, we've got about 12 minutes and the panic has started to set in

but it's a great feeling cos we are now flying by the seat of our pants.

Indeed we are, David.

And what's Andy spied?

Hey, look at these Stu?

-I've heard about this, I don't know if I'm right...

-Yes.

..but they using these on the catwalks.

They're trying to fuse fashion and Victoriana

and it's sort of like sci-fi.

There's a whole movement, sort of cult, they call it steampunk

so you think these are going to be really in?

-I think they will.

-Yeah.

Let's have a closer look at them.

They very much in the Victorian style.

You get a lot of reproductions of this sort of thing, just to warn you.

I'm impressed you pick these out, Andy, because they're not

the kind of thing I expect two postmen to pick out.

Well, his eyesight is going, I must admit.

LAUGHTER

I'm glad you said that, Stuart.

Let's have a quick squinny over here.

That could be our desperate buy.

# Oh yes, wait a minute Mr Postman...#

-Let's have a delve in here then, because time really is...

-Yes.

..precious now. Are you drawn to anything like that?

-I've got one of those at home.

-Have you?

-Yes.

-How old is yours?

-I don't know.

-Where did you get it from?

-My father gave it to me.

-Right.

-Hm.

-How all you think that is?

-It looks quite old.

-Yeah, it does look old.

-I think it's an antiquity.

And it's possibly 1,000 years old, it might be 2,000 years old.

And look, there's your price ticket 50 quid.

For an ancient piece of pottery.

-Wow!

-Are you intrigued, interested?

-I am, are you?

-I am, actually. Yeah.

I think it's nice that it could have lot's of history.

It's a food jar of some sort. There's another one there.

Yeah, be nice as a pair.

I'll ask the chap, what could be the trade on those two?

Who's your opposition?

-Kate Bliss.

-80.

LAUGHTER

And that would be the best.

-Now, now, we all love Kate.

-What do you think?

-They're not going to be everybody's cup of tea, are they? I really like them.

-OK.

The big danger is, we pay 80 quid for them, we believe that they're

antiquities, they've got 2,000 years to them,

other people don't believe and don't understand and they'll only pay 20 quid.

However, if they're catalogued as being as being genuine antiquities,

-they might make 120, 140.

-OK.

-Right.

-What do you reckon, live on the edge?

-Come on, let's live on the edge.

-Let's do it.

-Oh!

-Are you going to live on the edge?

-We're gonna live on the edge.

-Shake his hand.

-We like a risk taker.

-We do, we do.

Always good to live on the edge, Blues. Job done.

Now, Kate has found something of interest for our posties.

We've got three pieces over the Cabinet here that we're looking at.

We've got this lovely pig pin cushion which is smaller than the one

we looked that previously, but it's marked at 195.

So let's discount that, but what we've got here are two little stamp holders,

now given you're postmen, I think they're pretty appropriate?

-Yeah, they do fit, don't they?

-They do.

Now, this is the nicer example because it's a double one,

so you could fit two stamps in here.

Do you see, it's got two compartments.

And this one is properly hallmarked for English silver.

However, it is £95.

This one, is smaller with one compartment.

-It hasn't got the full hallmark but it's a lot cheaper.

-Yeah.

-And the gentleman has said we can have it for 50.

-Right.

What do you think?

I think you've got slightly more chance with the cheaper one.

-With that one.

-I do, what do we think?

-What you think?

-I...

-..we'll go with this one, shall we?

-Which one?

-The smaller one, yeah?

-So that is 50, he can do that for 50. Last, final answer...

-Done.

My final answer is, don't you think we should have the double one?

You prefer the double one?

Well no, it's not my decision, you like small one?

-I'm thinking of the profit.

-Are you decisive in your jobs?

-It depends.

-I am.

SHE LAUGHS

So final answer, we're gonna go for this one?

-We're going for the little one, yeah.

-OK, we've got it, final item.

-We've done it.

-Brilliant.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

-Sigh of relief.

Well done, Reds.

# Here I am, signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours. #

Cor! Stop the clock. 60 minutes have gone by in a flash.

Let's check out what the Red Team bought, Eh?

They spent £127 on the 1930s Ruskin pottery lamp base.

The Victorian silver and cut glass cruet set set them back £80.

And the Edwardian silver stamp case in the form of an envelope cost them £50.

Well, chaps, that was exciting, wasn't it?

-Brilliant, really good fun.

-Yeah, you had a great time.

-Now, which is your favourite piece, Andy?

-The cruet set.

-Cruet, what about you, Stuart?

-Yeah, I think I'm going with that one.

-Is that going to bring the biggest profit?

-I think so, yeah.

-How much did you spend in total?

-We spent £257.

That is such a good amount of money. £43 of leftover lolly.

-That's mature, 257. Isn't it?

-There was no stopping them.

Lovely, I love it. OK, there we go, that's slightly warm. Very good.

That's a depleted haul for you, Kate Bliss.

-But that won't stop you, girl, will it?

-Not if I can help it.

-Quite!

Anyway, good luck, good luck, good luck, meanwhile,

we're going to check out what the Blue Team bought, aren't we?

The little bear was just right for the Blues at £80.

They pay £10 for the two Edwardian silver handled button hooks.

And finally, the pair of terracotta twin handle pots cost them £80.

-Now, tell me, Susan, which is your favourite piece?

-The teddy bear.

Susan's bear, so yes.

-It's got to be, it's got your name on it. OK, what about you?

-Yeah, it's the bear.

It's the favourite, it it's not going to bring the biggest profit?

-No, it's not.

-What's going to be the biggest profit?

-I think it's the silver hooks.

-OK, do you agree with that?

-Agree.

-You're very welded up you two, which is lovely.

-And what did you spend in total?

-We spent £170.

£170, so I get £130 of leftover lolly, please. That's marvellous.

-There's your 130, I won't count it, I trust you.

-No, no.

-You won't count it because you trust them?

-Oh I trust them.

Every body is just so trusting and loving on the show.

David, what are you going to spend all that cash on?

-You know that they say that compliments get you everywhere?

-Oh yes.

I'm going to buy something that might sort of fall into that category.

-In the complimentary end?

-Yeah.

-Girl complimentary or boy complimentary?

-No, not you! These two!

-I thought you cared too?

-Oh I do, I do.

-Very good fun.

Meanwhile, we're going to have a look at a curious collection

in an even more curious house.

I'm in Exmouth at A La Ronde, a unique 16 sided,

National Trust property that was built at the end of the 18th century

by a brace of cousins, Jane and Mary Parminter.

These girls had travelled extensively in Europe and wanted to develop a country retreat,

so built this place as a reminder of what they loved in Italy and as

a space to house their considerable collection of collectables.

Jane and Mary were away on their grand tour

from June 1784 for about seven years.

Now that's quite some gap year!

And as incredible collectors throughout their lives,

it isn't surprising they brought back a whole lot of souvenirs.

Now, once upon a time this was a standard 1780s or 1790s

mahogany breakfront bookcase, until the girls got at it

and decided the central section would be far better as a place

to display part of their collections.

So, one of these shelves contains small shells,

all beautifully compartmentalised in their little boxes.

And above that, a shelf with geological specimens,

including Derbyshire Blue John, a piece of Egyptian porphyry.

And here, some Algerian onyx. So, let's have a delve inside, shall we?

It's latex glove time, to protect the contents.

Let's have a little grab, shall we?

Here is a beautifully carved, if rather distressed, coconut.

And I think this dates from the period of the French Revolution.

With every part and parcel of this shell, most beautifully carved.

How the girls acquired that, I haven't got the faintest idea.

Not far away from that, look, is the delicious looking apple.

Look at that. Isn't that lovely? You could take a bite out of it.

Well, if you tried it you'd have a problem

because this thing is made of stone. Probably alabaster.

A typical tourist piece from Italy

and I just love the way the carver has shoved a little

piece of timber into one end to make it look like a realistic stalk.

Now, if we drop down a shelf or two, here's a slab of wood, look.

Woo-ho, look at that. Now, isn't that interesting?

Because what we've got here is an ancient piece of timber

that's been coated in a sort of gesso substance

and then it's decorated with all sorts of hieroglyphics.

Which looks to me as if it could be a slab from an Egyptian tomb,

possibly from a mummy containing a pharaoh.

How odd is that?

But just the sort of thing that would intrigue the late

Georgian women and they'd want to acquire that

and stick it in their cabinet of curiosities.

Because that's what this is, the curious and obscure.

Look at this, nothing is too humble to attract the attention of the Parminter girls.

It probably came from just down the road on the ex-estuary.

It's a dried pod of seaweed that intrigued them

enough to pop it in their cabinet.

What's going to intrigued us now,

is which of our teams are going to make a profit over at the auction.

Well, we're at Bearnes, Hampton and Littlewoods sale room

with Brian Goodison-Blanks. How are you?

-I'm fine, thank you very much.

-Lovely to be here.

Now, first up for the Reds is the Ruskin pottery lamp, do you like that?

I do, I like that it's a rather good piece

-and the colours are good as well.

-Fantastic colour.

Very stylish, very kind of modernist, how much do you think for that?

Because it's a later piece about sort of £30-£50 at auction.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. They paid £127. That is an up hill struggle.

-It is towards the top of the retail market for it.

-Yeah, you bet it is.

Anyway, there we go.

Next is the cruet which are always difficult things I think, to sell but at least it's silver?

Yes, it's nicely marked on the underside, it's a London maker

and is dated 1889, so it has the hallmarks.

Nice little things for sort of high days and holidays for the table.

So, how much?

I'd say about sort of £60-£70 with the current silver prices.

-They paid £80, so that's about on the button.

-About right, yes.

And now they seem to have come up with a first-class idea,

the stamp envelope, do you like that?

It's an interesting little thing, isn't it?

It's unusual because of the construction and it's very thin, unfortunately.

So, it's one of those sort of novelty items, I think.

It's thin, it's not hallmarked, so there are a few things going against it.

What's your estimate?

Well, again because it's not probably hallmarked, £10-£20.

OK, £50 paid. Well, what with that and the Ruskin candlestick,

I'm getting a bit of a killer blow here and they are definitely going to

need their bonus by, so let's go and have a look at it.

Now, Andy, Stu, you've spent up magnificently, you spent 257,

you gave Kate £43. We challenged Kate, what did you find?

Well this is what I found, boys.

It looks like a book, but actually if we opened this lovely spring-loaded catch

like so and have a look inside, you can see

-that actually it's a photograph album.

-Very nice.

So what you have is a beautiful Victorian album, great condition

for something that probably 1870 in date, 1880, something like that.

You've got quite a lot of lovely photographs,

but done in a special size, that was literally visiting card size,

which became popular in the late 1850s.

So have a little look.

-Are these popular now?

-Very collectable.

-I like them.

-Do you...?

-What about you?

-Yeah, it's very nice.

-How much did you spend?

You left me 43, I spend 40.

-Very good.

-Oh.

-That's impressive, isn't it?

-How much do you reckon?

How much do I reckon?

I would hope, on a good day - I'm going to stick my neck out now

and say that would make £60-£80.

But we shall have to see. Nothing, I'm afraid,

-is guaranteed at auction.

-No.

Nothing, indeed, is guaranteed in life.

No, that's true.

Anyway, right now, let's find out, for the audience at home, whether

the auctioneer is predicting a first-class result on Kate's album.

There we go, Brian.

That's a nice little carte de visite album, isn't it?

It's nicely embossed to the front, and the spring clips there.

Also, it's nicely illustrate inside with plenty of little portraits.

They're wonderful little pieces,

they way they're dressed and their fashions,

and it's a good insight into lives at the time.

Yeah. What is that? Sort of 1880?

About 1880/1890, isn't it?

Particularly with the lithograph of the flowers around the fames.

Yes, just to doll it up a bit.

-Nice little thing.

-What do you think it's worth?

-Probably about £30-£40.

-OK, fine.

Kate paid 40. And who knows?

It may ignite the enthusiasm of one of your buyers - I hope so.

Anyway, that's it for the Reds, now for the Blues.

This is one of your specialities.

Yes, one of the areas I deal with - we do see a lot of teddies.

He's Merrythought. So, the factory was founded in 1930

and he's very typical mid-20th century.

He's had a hard life - quite a bit of wear to him.

The fact that he's hardly got any fur left,

is that detrimental to the value?

A little bit,

but to some people it's an attractive thing cos he's well-loved.

-OK, so no hair equals well-loved?

-It has the label on the foot as well,

so quite popular amongst teddy bear collectors.

Probably about £30-£50.

Oh, dear. £80 paid.

Not popular enough, I'd say.

Now, next are the two button hooks, which have to be the most

useless pieces of kit ever to populate a 21st-century home.

I can't think of anything that you could use them for in the modern day.

-No.

-But decorative pieces.

-How much?

-We'd suggest £10-£15.

-OK. Fine.

£10 paid, so that's easy.

And lastly, we've got the two funerary vases.

Yes, antiquities are always very difficult to give

a valuation on cos you need a great deal of provenance for them.

You would need to know where they were excavated,

-who they were excavated by...

-Erm, how much?

-£80-£120.

-Really?!

-Yes.

-Do you think as much as that?

On a good day with a fair wind.

Susan and Helen will be overjoyed cos they only paid £80.

Anyway, that's it.

Let's take a birds eye at the bonus buy.

-OK, girls, this is exciting, isn't it?

-Very exciting!

You gave the Harper £130. David, what did you spend it on?

OK. Something very, very special.

-Wow.

-Wow.

It's an amazing scientific instrument.

-It's a calendar.

-Yeah.

But, you know, we're used to calendars January to December,

this is the year 1900 to the year 2000.

-It's a 100-year-span, perpetual calendar.

-It's beautiful.

It is so clever, it's unbelievable.

So how does it work?

It has got the most unbelievably complicated calculus within

the radius of that arc, right?

It is so clever...

Where was it made, Dave?

Made in India, dated on the reverse 1916.

All hand-chased, all hand-decorated.

It's great. How much did it cost?

-£30.

-Wow.

-Brilliant.

"Wow" exactly.

I can have hours of fun with this, it's ridiculous.

We can tell!

So how much profit do think that would make?

I've never bought anything quite like that before,

so I think 30-50 would be a very sensible estimate.

It could make 100 quid.

-OK, fine. Well, we like it, don't we?

-We do.

-We do.

You don't have to calculate right now whether you want to take it

or not, you do that after the sale of your first three items.

But let's find out what the auctioneer makes of Dave's calendar.

Right then... Here we go, Brian.

-What do you think of that?

-That's rather good fun, isn't it?

-I think it's super.

-It's excellent.

And to have all the dates worked out from 1900 through to 2000, from

the early 20th century to the end of the 20th century, it's a good piece.

Yes, it sure is.

It's a bygone from the time of the Raj, I'd guess, yes?

It is. It's dated on the back as 1916 with the patent number.

Obviously, out of date now,

but a nice little souvenir of the 20th century.

What's it worth?

-It's probably, at the moment, about £15-£25.

-OK.

It needs to £30 plus to make David Harper happy,

but maybe the team won't go with it.

That is the fun of the auction, yes?

-Yes, it is.

-Yes, it is.

Andy, Stewart, this is good, isn't it?

I mean, look at this lovely auction room,

stuffed up with people, all come here to buy your Ruskin lamp.

-That's the one.

-That's the one we need them to buy.

Anyway, you paid £127 for it,

his estimate is pretty miserable at £30-£50.

Thank you very much(!)

He clearly doesn't know about the wonders of Ruskin.

Let us hope that the Ruskin will take off.

It's the first item and it's coming up now.

Lot 152 is the Ruskin pottery lamp base - 1930s, conical form.

And interest here with me at 35. 40.

At £40 here. Five elsewhere now?

At £40. 45.

50. Five? 60. Five?

-65. 70. Five?

-Come on!

With me, commission bid at £70 then.

-And five now told elsewhere.

-Come on!

My commission bid then at £70.

And selling at 70...

Bad luck, chaps.

That's a shame.

£70. That's 30 off. Minus 57.

Look out here comes the cruet.

London maker there for the four-bottled cruet.

And commissions here with me at 45, 48.

£48 I have.

Do I have 50 in the room at all?

50 I have. I am out then at £50.

That's very cheap!

-At £50 beside me.

-Oh, come on!

£50 only then. Selling then at £50...

Minus £30.

That's not right either, I can tell you that.

We're cruising for a losing.

Lot 154 is the sterling stamp case and commissions with me at 8, 10, 12.

£12 I have. 14 now?

14, 16, 18 - commissions out. It's £18 here.

£20, anybody else?

Quite sure then.

20 internet. 22, sir? 22.

-25 internet.

-Oh, hang on.

No, £22. The bidding's now in the room at £22.

25 on the internet now.

28, sir?

28. 30 now internet?

Oh, come on up.

Anybody else at 30 then?

Quite sure then? Selling now at £28.

That is a loss of £22, which means, overall, you're minus 109.

Are you going to go with the bonus...?

Since we're in a good position, I think we should!

I dread to see what your awful position is!

What do you reckon?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Go for it.

-You going to do it?

-We're going to go for it.

-All right, fine, here it comes.

Many family portraits.

One of the railway porter also,

so interesting little album there for you.

And commissions here with me at 22, 25.

£25 I have.

28 elsewhere?

At £25 only for the little album there.

28 on the internet.

It's on the internet at 28.

30 in the room, at all?

-This is a steal.

-At £28 I have then on the internet.

30 at all?

Quite sure then? I'm selling on the internet at £28 only.

28...

Is minus £12.

Which is minus £121 with the minus sign in front of it.

Oh, dear. But it's gone badly for you, it could go badly for them

and that would mean that 121 is a winning score.

You never know!

Mm...

Helen, Susan, do you know how the Reds got on?

-No.

-No.

Did they look depressed when they went out, those posties?

-They were smiling!

-That's good!

Well, they're postmen, aren't they?

They are, that's true.

That's what you expect.

OK, first up is the Merrythought teddy.

The mid-20th century Merrythought blonde teddy bear.

What am I saying for him?

£30?

£30 a teddy bear?

-Come on...

-Start at 20, the teddy bear.

10. Thank you. 12. 15. 18.

20. 20 I have.

-Oh, he's so lovely.

-I know.

-I can't bear for him to go...

At 20 then, here with me at 20.

Looking for two elsewhere...

Quite sure then for the lovely bear?

At 20 then...

Like I say, condition in teddy bears is very, very important.

-I love him.

-Well, they will at £20!

Minus 60.

Right. Here we go, the button hooks.

Birmingham 1901 and 1904, so the button hooks there.

What do I say for those?

£20? £10 to start then.

10 I have. 12 now elsewhere?

At the opening bid of £10 then.

£10 has wiped its face - no profit, no loss. No pain, no gain.

Here we go, now your pots.

It's the pair of twin-handled pots in the Greek style after the antique.

And here with me at 35, 45, 50.

£50 I have.

Five, do I see elsewhere?

Commission bid is with me at 50. Five, internet?

No. £50 is here with me then.

50. Five at all elsewhere?

-Come on.

-You quite sure then? Selling at 50...

-Oh!

-£50. Go, pots!

I'm sorry to say, that's minus £30.

My heart was about to leap.

..Bits that come off on your hands.

That, overall, is minus £90.

-That's bad luck, girls.

-That is not good.

The calendar has got to bring it all back, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-Going to do it?

-Yeah?

-Definitely.

We've got nothing to lose!

OK, you're going with the bonus buy and here it comes.

Lot 175 then is the early 20th century

Indian brass perpetual calendar.

What do I say for that? £20?

He's got no bids.

-It's on at £10, if you wish?

-Nothing on the internet.

£10 I have here. Thank you, sir.

12 now elsewhere?

At £10 only. Do I see £12 at all?

David, you can't put your hand up.

15. 18?

-20?

-Go on!

20 I have online.

At £20.

22 - there's two internet bidders now at 22.

25 now? 25 - do you wish to come back in, sir?

-Go on!

-No?

Two internet bidders then, taking it to £22.

I'm sure that's it then at £22...

Minus £8.

That is minus £98.

The thing is, it could be a winning score, minus £98.

Don't say a word to those boys, all right?

-OK.

-OK.

-You know how cocky they are, all right?

We will reveal all in this competitive equation

in just a moment. Thanks very much.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Well, well, well, how are we, teams?

Brilliant, thank you!

Boys been chatting to the girls, have they?

No!

Well, that's good cos we've kept it secret.

Why? I don't know,

because both teams have made WHOPPING losses.

I mean, towards the top of the scale losses, uniquely.

But one team has made a tad more than the other

and that happens to be...

-the Reds.

-GROANING

Bad luck, chaps, you were the runners-up.

But it all was absolutely appalling, wasn't it?

-It was.

-There was no profit on any of these things.

-Disappointed.

It was disappointing, wasn't it?

There was no fire in a bidder's belly that I detected,

but would have to say that I'd stick with the postman's job.

Anyway, super-duper. Thanks very much, chaps.

It's been lovely seeing you.

But the victors, today who have managed to win by only

losing £98 are of course the girls.

I wish I could say that you made a few profits to

achieve your minus £98, but you are going away proud and victorious,

which is a glory. Anyway, it's been such fun.

Join us soon for some more bargain hunting, yes?

ALL: Yes!