furnish your house for buttons

I went to the auctions last week and got a lovely marble top wash stand for £35

other finds have been,  domed seamans chest  £5

wardrobe with 2 drawers in bottom  carved  doors and loadsa space  solid old pine  £80

hall table mahogony legs and marble top  £20

gold velvet curtains lovely and faded to do the whole house and someone elses  £30

pine kitchen table painted bright blue   £5  
stripped it with caustic soda  £5
now got a 6 foot long pine kitchen table

windsor chair £20

solid yew dining room suite over a hundred and fifty years old 8 chairs including 2 carvers £250

a grandfather clock  £300 (sold it on for £1200)

and   *drum roll please


a real genuine  persian carpet  10'x12' in exellent condition     £120

go to the auctions  youd be amazed what you can find

its a free afternoon/evening and a more interesting one you wont find anywhere

its full of stuff you didnt know you liked till you see it
and as for tea sets  china  cutlery   ornaments  paintings
kites
lawnmowers

tools  

and outboard motors (honest)  youll be spoiled for choice

just be careful about taking your mother/gran  cos everythng you go to buy is accompanied by a look of shock and a   "good grief  my grandma threw one of those out in the blitz, wouldnt give it houseroom"

::) ::) ::)
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Comments

  • Murtle
    Murtle Posts: 4,154
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    where are these auctions - or more to the point where can I find them?? I went to some with my Dad in SA and they were absolutely fantastic

    likewise the stuff was amazing and for the quality the prices were really low!
  • cathy_3
    cathy_3 Posts: 1,500
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    look in yellow pages under auctions
    house clearance sales

    this bbc site is exellent as well, you just type when youd like to go and where you are and itll tell you if theres one in your area on that date


    http://www.bbc.co.uk/antiques/atg/

    good luck ;D
  • Murtle
    Murtle Posts: 4,154
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    wow :o looked at the BBC website for auctions that is absolutely brilliant, have found some local ones so off to convince a friend or mum to come with me

    thanks for that, I love this board :) my cup of tea through and through - congratulations for moderating it Cathy !!!! :-*
  • cathy_3
    cathy_3 Posts: 1,500
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    take a set amount of cash with you and view the stuff beforehand thats a couple of hours out the day before as well ;D

    take a pad and pen and write down the lot number and decide what you think its worth

    and stick to that but dont lose it for one bid ie if its a tenner more than your prepared to pay go for it and then let it go the same thing will come up again I promise you they always do

    you can get lots of plants as well as auction houses do plant sale days

    ask when they are

    and some or most auction houses place a 10% buyers premium on stuff ask about this cos if you pay £50 for something it will actually be £55

    friend was telling me today on the phone that she got a lovely big pine bureau last friday in our local auctions for £60

    and we paid £499 for one the other week in parrot pine

    arrrrrrgh
  • Bzmotman
    Bzmotman Posts: 6 Forumite
    look in yellow pages under   auctions  
    house clearance sales

    this bbc site is exellent as well,  you just type when youd like to go  and where you are and itll tell you  if theres one in your area on that date


    http://www.bbc.co.uk/antiques/atg/

    good luck  ;D

    Try this web site for auctions:
    https://www.thelocalweb.net/index/AVA/index_AVA.htm

    Its a real mixture with the posh antiques only places to others that do Antique & General-they are the ones you want. Quite a few have catalogues on line - if you get one at the auction room its usually a pound or two. Definitely recommend using a catalogue otherwise you can't be sure whats in the lot. Found this out when I bought something and got 2 big boxes of books as well. Fortunately I had the car with me.

    If you are still not sure whats in a lot don't be afraid to ask also if you are thinking about something more valuable thats in a cabinet always but always ask to examine it. Remember labels can hide all sort of defects so remove it to check.

    The buyers premium round my way is usually about 15% plus vat ie about 17%.

    You also need to check out whether you need to register before the auction or not. The 3 most common methods are:
    1-just turn up and shout your name out if you win
    2-register before the auction and get given a number just for that sale.
    3-register again but given a permanent number.
    Registering means just giving some basic details eg name, address, phone number. You might be asked for some ID so take something like your driving licence with you.

    Also go prepared with boxes, newspaper, bubble wrap etc if you intend buying crockery or breakables. You would be amazed how many people buy crockery and then realise they have nothing to put it in.

    If you decide not to pay with cash be aware that some auctions will charge 2 or 3% extra for using a credit card.

    If buying furniture the auction will often have a man with a van who will deliver for usually a reasonable price.
  • KG
    KG Posts: 333 Forumite
    Hmm - I got a nice new dining room chair yesterday after spotting it sat next to a skip. I went up and asked the woman if she was throwing it away and if so could I have it. She looked at me kinda funny, but i got a free chair out of it. ;D

    KG (the bin raker)
  • kellamne
    kellamne Posts: 14 Forumite
    furnish your house for buttons

    been talking to the buttons - they weren't impressed with my decorating ???
  • scheming_gypsy
    scheming_gypsy Posts: 18,410 Forumite
    Glad you posted this one Cathy, i'm deciding to take the plunge and buy a house :-/ and would struggle to manage to do all the internal kitting out as well with shop bought
  • DiggingOut
    DiggingOut Posts: 770 Forumite
    its full of stuff you didnt know you liked till you see it

    That's the dangerous thing. It can be habit-forming, and you end up buying stuff you don't need.

    But for starting out, when you just bought a house, it's phenomenal, and if you are disciplined about not buying stuff you really can get by without, it is great.

    Furnished our house for a fraction of the cost of new stuff, and got better quality than a lot of the new stuff you can get now. :)
    I have five stars! This doesn't mean that I know anything about any of the things I post. I could be a raving lunatic, or a brilliant genius, or just some guy on the internet. In fact, I could be all three at the same time.

    If anything I say makes sense, then do it. If not, don't. Don't blame me or my stars if you do something stupid because I suggested it. I'm responsible for my own stupidity only. You are responsible for yours.

    Why, I don't even have five stars anymore! Aren't you glad you aren't responsible for my stupidity?
  • cathy_3
    cathy_3 Posts: 1,500
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    this is extremely painful for me to recall  but youve twisted my arm :D

    in 1973 we lived in Walton upon thames  and made friends with a guy who was quite high up in shepperton studios,  so  he told us that if we wanted to go to the props dept  they were going to sell most of them off and wed get first pick

    so off we went, and it was a disgrace,  they had  oak sideboards for a fiver   " eeew  state of that"  we said

    oil paintings ""eeeww" whos andy warhol anyway??


    mahogony dining suites  a tenner  " eeew   state of that " we said

    tiffany lamps    "ewww  etc"

    pine farmhouse kitchen tables    " ewwww"

    "wheres the teak?? wheres the white chairs and tables"

    and we came away with zilch cos it was all so old fashioned

    *sigh

    idiots     22 year old idiots


    :-/ :-/
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