Antiques expert Charlie Ross has shared a tale from his early days as an auctioneer, when he left a customer believing they’d received “the wrong cheque” due to the unexpectedly high price their items fetched at auction. Before his TV appearances on Bargain Hunt, Flog It!
and Antiques Road Trip, Charlie worked in the 1970s for auctioneers WS Johnson and Co. He recalls receiving a call from a woman wanting her garden shed cleared of “bits of broken old furniture”. She thought most items would be worthless but hoped some might fetch “fifty pounds or so” at auction, freeing up space for her husband’s lawnmower.
Despite his doubts, Charlie agreed to examine the shed’s contents. In his autobiography Sold! he wrote: “Most of the stuff in there was rubbish, but perhaps a buyer could be found for the dilapidated walnut bureau tucked away in a cobwebby corner. With no back, feet or handles.”
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At the time, there was a growing interest in “untouched items” suitable for restoration.
So, he took it to auction with a reserve of £100 – a significant sum in the early 1970s. He added: “I hoped I had not made a dreadful mistake. I hadn’t.”
“Two weeks later, I received a second call from the woman. ‘I think you’ve made a serious mistake, you’ve sent me someone else’s cheque,’ she explained. ‘I think you have the right cheque, madam. One thousand, one hundred and sixty pounds? ‘”There was a long silence, followed by a penitent, ‘Yes, that’s it…but I don’t understand’.”
Charlie revealed to her that while the other items were worthless, the bureau fetched the staggering sum, equivalent to about £10,000 today, prompting him to quip: “Perhaps a new lawnmower for your husband and even a new shed for him to keep it in?”