Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip
 

In times like the present you do start thinking about rather obscure subjects. In the case of the reality Antiques programmes on tv, I was told by a dealer some years ago that all the dealers in her Antique Centre clubbed together to make up any loss that their colleagues might have made in selling items to contestants at knock down prices.

Are any members of the Forum aware of any other practices in the making of these programmes. I have just seen a glass dish bought for £1 and sold for hundreds, you would have thought the dealer who sold the item for £1 would not have told the programme makers where to go next time they arrived at his premises.

P.B.

I have heard of dealers refusing to be on because of how hard the programme puts pressure on to reduce their prices even far below what the trade price would be.

Antiques road show
 

They are all Auctioners so they have a head start in knowing what the item will sell for.
They do at times boo-boo and this is probably stage managed as is their getting a bargain.

I also know dealers who see it as worth the cost for 6 minutes on the BBC.
Also some of the objects, mysteriuously, come back to the shop...

Spending most of my time living in Dorking, Surrey where these shows regularly visit i have to say that most of the Dealers I know, no longer welcome them in.

I also visited a Dealer in Arundel last year who had made up price tags for his items with Tim Wonnacot's (Presenter) face on, telling prospective customers that his prices were real and not the fantasy prices shown on the tv shows.

Simon

I think all these programs are made for entertainment only, they have an hour to find their bargains but they can spend 30-40 minutes just on one stall from what I've seen over the years that I've seen them, then you see them with items they've supposedly bought for a couple of pounds even though you know the price was almost the same as that of which they tell you it's real value is on the stall.

I have always "assumed" that the production team visit the locations and arrange with the owners or dealers what price each item will be sold for, and that the owners would be paid for appearing to include the balance of the lost price.

Marc

I know of a large purchase made on TV by Bruce of Combat Dealers, but when the cameras stopped rolling and money was required to be paid, the TV crew and him just upped and left leaving the seller bewildered.

regards

Reductions?
 

I cannot see why anyone with an antique shop and who hopefully knows something about the trade would sell to someone below trade prices only to see on TV later that the buyer had made lots of profit.

There not even getting that 15 minutes of fame . . !

:DRob