Bargain Hunt

I always thought the big price reductions they can sometimes get was in view of the promotion of the business / auction by being on prime time TV. Seem to be less collectors & antiques enthusiasts out there these days & these sort of programmes do at least help to keep some interest going for the trade.

A possible alternative format would be for contestants to buy three items at the same auction, then sell on a stall at a fair. But it would be weird to have only six items on a stall, and what if they didn’t sell? I take MONica’s point about a definite beginning and end. But the nonsense, especially the high kick at the end, is what grates more than the basic formula.

Farzanah I think very few shop keepers are bullied to offer very low prices. A significant number do not.

When we ran an antiques stall at big antique markets, most dealers cordially disliked these tv programmes and many refused to take part.

I saw them off when an TV antiques expert picked up an item which had been standing on the grass and stood it on a stool with quite a pale covered upholstery. I told him very rapidly to move it and then went to examine the stool to see if it had been stained by the grass and soil.

valdavi

Well, I like it. It's very handy to watch while I'm having lunch, I don't mind if I don't see the things go to auction, I can just get up & get on.
The experts are characters & I love seeing what teams buy & what they get it for. Lot of silver-topped perfume bottles I agree, but also some weird & wonderful stuff. I've only recently had opportunity to watch it so haven't got bored, but there must be many people like me.

Including me😃
Love any antiques programme ❤️

I used to watch this every day, but no longer. It's still interesting to learn about the items, but the contestants spoil it. Plus the experts are supposed to give advice, not tell them what to buy.
Too many egos and not enough genuine interest.

A few years ago when I was watching Bargain Hunt I noticed a mirror, propped up against the leg of a table. The mirror was very unusual in the design of the frame.
I am certain it was the same mirror
that I had given to a charity shop
some time earlier.

My husband and I were on Bargain Hunt during Covid. They had to film the original reveal of the expert 3 times as we weren't excited enough. - It was JP, we didn't recognise him and he was not much help even his bonus buy was broken and he hadn't noticed! We lost - it's been repeated 3 times up to now and, strangely enough, we still lose every time. )

As others have said they have changed the format from ordinary people to over excited wannabes and the ‘experts’ are just as bad. Probably some new producer/director has decided it needed ‘sexing up’ (horrible words). What happened to if its not broken don’t try and fix it

The problem with Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Show is that both programs seem to be based on buying off dealers and hoping for a good sale in auction houses.

This is a reverse way of making profit from Vintage and Antique items. OK sometimes they may make a profit but invariable the winner is the one who makes the least loss.

The only time a profit is to be made by a sellar at an auction house is when the buyer personally wants that particular item and is willing to pay a top price.

prestbury this problem was aired on p1 of this thread.

here is the explanationI gave then - and is still true
The tv producers want a format that is difficult, competitive and has a defined end. This is why they do it the way they do.

We used to do a bit of antique dealing and, yes, we bought at auction and sold at fairs but when buying at auction, you might well get a competitor bidding on 20 lots losing on 17, or even not buying anything at all because they decide the items are becoming too expensive and then when the items they buy are put up for sale, they make take months to sell, if they sell at all. That is not a very good format for a tv programme, too undefined with no action at the start and petering out at the end.

By getting people to buy at a fair or visit a shop, then there is a good start with activity and things to catch the viewers interest. By having them then sell at auction, the whole things comes to a distinct end with a run of tension to see what things sell for.

People forget that the purpose of these programmes is to make tv that attracts people's attention and holds it, not to do things in a way they are done in real life.