Antiques Road Trip

While I love this show, the contestants should object strongly to the performance of most of the auctioneers they are subjected to - how can they possibly get their best outcome out of these duds, who would starve as auctioneers in Australia - as a constant attendee at various types of auctions, I know a dud when I see it. While Phil Serrel, Charles, etc are top class at working crowds, the bulk of auctioneers appear to be nothing more than lifeless clerks who just want to get it over with as quickly as possible and grab their commission. Do your homework please and preview any auctioneer's performance BEFORE you place your experts in their hands - these lazy duds spoil your program. Thank you, Terry S Kippa-Ring Qld 4021.

OK here's what goes on. Two knowledgeable antiques dealers travel around from antique shop to shop in a competition. They switch out the dealers and several have become fan favorites like Paul and Anita. They look around for bargains, haggle heavy, and bring what they found to auction, to see who can generate the most profits. They start out with 200p(around $400) they drive a cool vintage car, they banter playfully. They show some history each episode. They get to the auction. Sometimes they chose well, sometimes they chose bad. It's showing that NOBODY sets the market prices, the MARKET sets the price. In other words, things sell for what people are willing to pay. You see the pre sale estimates, and exactly what the things sold for. Anita once bought something cheap that sold for a brand new car price! But people have spent hundreds on something, and only got a fraction of their money back too.

This is the difference between the American shows which always TELLS THE VIEWERS what they'll get like that's set in stone. They never point out mistakes or things that brought many times their estimates. They act like they get what they say.

This is fantastic information! You could have an item that sold for $200 on EBAY and you can't sell it for half that. Why? Many, many, many factors. The one person who wanted it for that price already bought one. There was some fakery going on bidding wise(they bid it up). Yours isn't exactly like that one. Your pictures and description weren't good. There's myriads of factors. But like I said our American shows act like their estimates are Gospel.

These people running around are characters, and have funny, and interesting personalities. They point out lots of interesting things. Our people are thugs and jerks looking to rip off the public. If you haven't caught episodes yet, please do.

And unlike the American shows, this is all a competition for charity. Not all faked drama with a bunch of people who don't really buy and sell anymore, and instead have become actors on TV pretending they still do what they used before they got a show.

After watching an evening of awful far-fetched soaps, over-extended dramas or rubbish reality, it's a pleasant change to revert to my recordings of Antique Road Trip. Okay so I'm interested in antiques, it may not appeal to those who aren't, but for me it works - they should make more episodes. The format is simple, each week two antique dealers/ experts/ auctioneers drive around the country buying antiques and collectibles with a starting sum of £200 they the then sell their wares at auction at the end of each episode, their profit, or loss, carries forward until the final at the end of the week. Any profit goes to charity.

Very interesting show but for goodness sake will someone tape the mouth of the dreadful Wonnacot . His constant yakking makes me want to reach into the TV and rip his throat out. He adds nothing and detracts mightily.

This programme is nice easy going watching but now has a niggle that bothers my wife and myself. Over the past couple of seasons, (the celebrity version especially) the participants have been given higher and higher discounts - at a totally unrealistic level -for example the last few episodes has seen 70% off given quite few times. This is fabricated and put in place so at auction it gives the "players" more chance of turning a profit -taking any realism out of the program - just try going into any antiques shop and asking for anything greater than a 30% discount....no chance. Puts you off tuning in !!!