As a dealer of some 35 years’ standing, I find they get worse with their increasingly embarrassing low offers to purchase against the ticket price. This gives an incredibly lop-sided and totally inaccurate picture of a dealer’s profit potential.
The final straw for me was a recent Antiques Road Trip where Raj Bisram offered £150 for a pair of horses’ heads marked at £495 – a near 70% discount. While most dealers would have laughed their heads off, the dealer let him have it for £170, quite laughable but excruciating to watch.
So that’s it for me with these shows. I do now indeed give up on them, as they provoke too much unnecessary stress for me.
David Morley
Via email
