wheeler dealers and del boys

soolin

Did anyone see the TV programme last night wheeler dealers and del boys?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0377w43

I know a lot of people who trawl auction houses and buy and sell, some do well and some don't. I have even bumped into the woman from last night's programme as she has been at some auctions I go to. (The one with the stripey hair who gave up work to trade)

I don't deal in very low end car boot stuff, I don't have the inclination to get out of bed early on a regular basis, but it takes all sorts. I'm also not sure I fancy the suitcase sales either , but I thought the programme was quite useful in showing what is and what is not possible and what hundreds of people are doing to make a living.

This_Year

Haven't seen it but I will do now I know about it!

elliemoo

I did watch the programme and to be honest found it very interesting. However it really did show how difficult it is to make a living wage through these means, it was very much a case of showing that everyone is looking for that one super deal that will set them up for life.

Overall I thought the image was quite negative, although the people in the show seemed to thoroughly enjoy what they were doing, they just didn't come across as being very good at it.

soolin

I know some people who do make a very good living at this, but equally I know some that barely tick over.

It is the costs that kill 'us' del boys. Auction catalogues, even cheap ones can cost £1.50. Petrol costs, parking, every single cup of tea you buy at an auction house eats into profit.

If I go to an auction and buy nothing, then i still have my petrol costs, parking, auction catalogue fees- plus I've spent the best part of 6 hours or so on the effort. It is enormous fun though.

Strapped

I saw the last half of it, and did think that they hadn't mentioned the fixed costs Soolin. Also, I agree that these people didn't seem terribly great at it. The lady doing the jewellery needed to stick to a much higher margin. I wouldn't fancy the suitcase sales, ewwww, but where's there's muck, there's brass I guess.

kendall17

I know what i'll be watching tonight.

As a "Del Boy" who travels far and wide to auctions, it should make interesting viewing.

sequence

I think they'd do better to just spend they're money on lottery tickets. Much better chance of a big win, than at those tat auctions.

soolin

sequence wrote: »

I think they'd do better to just spend they're money on lottery tickets. Much better chance of a big win, than at those tat auctions.

Actually you would be surprised, I do moderately well, although as I said I don't do very low end, neither do I do high end- I'm sort of middling. I also know people who pay a mortgage on their house and have a summer villa in Spain that they bought outright just from 'tat'. Blooming hard work though.

I've found a number of items that I've sold at over £50 a piece, from a single lot that cost me less than £8 with auction house commission. I've also got several boxes of new items that I paid around £6 for, and drip the (identical items) on to the market a couple every now and then for up to £5 a go- and it has kept me in Chardonney for a good few years now.

I also have box loads of huge items that I take to the charity shop.At the moment I have several boxes of garden ornamental pots they take too much room up in the car to waste the space for a car boot and are too heavy to post. They are the sort of ceramic items you buy when you go to Spain on holidays, big enough for a small bay tree. I had to buy them though as they came with a smaller box of something i actually wanted.

RFW

sequence wrote: »

I think they'd do better to just spend they're money on lottery tickets. Much better chance of a big win, than at those tat auctions.

I agree with Soolin, there are some very canny folk who do very well at buying tat. However they wouldn't tell the world on TV how well they do!
I used to run an auction not too dissimilar to the one on the show, the auctioneer seemed to enjoy it more than I ever did. I think it's over ten years since I stopped. The business is vastly different to what it was but in many ways it will never change. There are cycles of being able to get a good bargain and not.
Without mentioning people on the show, the only way to do well is to be prepared to go home with nothing, ie don't go over what you think something is worth just because the prices are too high. If you are going to 'gamble' on something, as with any gamble, only be prepared to use money you can afford to lose.

I've never handled lost property, I've always thought it was way too much work for the return, either as a seller or a buyer.

Auctions, or at least doing well at auctions, is the same as most things, if you don't know what you're doing you're likely to fail. I've seen wealthy people lose fortunes buying pallets of rubbish, just getting swept away with the moment.

dacouch

I looked upon it as a sarf London version of Storage Hunters

soolin

4771_Miles_To_Caracas wrote: »

I thought that they were all a bit clueless to be honest, a bit more focus and better knowledge of a specific type of item would serve them all better, it is only a good thing to do in the absence of a better opportunity to earn a wage, giving up your job to do this is crazy, maybe as a part time hobby.

Interestingly I wonder how practical it is after tax, none of them came across as being organised enough to keep proper records or pay tax, I suspect they will all be getting contacted very soon.

The lady who lived with her mother was doing a spread sheet at one point on the PC which I suspect was for tax.

You can tell the ones registered and the ones not though. when film cameras come to the auction houses, which they do all the time for various TV programmes, some will rush to stand behind the filming line where they are guaranteed not to be shown on film.