Bargain Hunt star Charlie Ross left a woman stunned after her items fetched an incredible price. (Image: BBC)
Antiques expert Charlie Ross has recalled the time he left one of his customers thinking they had been given “the wrong cheque” after their items fetched a surprisingly high price at auction.
Before Charlie launched his TV career, with appearances as an expert on , Flog It! and , he worked as an auctioneer selling antique furniture.
In the 1970s, while Charlie was working for auctioneers WS Johnson and Co, he received a call from a woman who asked them to clear her garden shed of “bits of broken old furniture”.
The woman explained that she expected most of the items would be worthless, but that some may fetch “fifty pounds or so” at auction and would free up space for her husband to store his lawnmower.
Charlie admitted he had his doubts, but made an appointment to sift through the contents of the shed.
Charlie Ross is an expert on BBC’s Bargain Hunt. (Image: BBC)
Writing in his autobiography Sold!, Charlie recalled: “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.”
The antiques expert explained that, at the time, there was growing interest in “untouched items” which were suitable for restoration.
Therefore, he took it to auction and placed a reserve of £100, which was a large amount of money in the early 1970s.
He continued: “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 told her that while the other items were worthless, the bureau fetched the huge price which would be worth around £10,000 today.
He joked: “Perhaps a new lawnmower for your husband and even a new shed for him to keep it in?”
Charlie Ross’s Bargain Hunt: Christmas Special airs 1.15pm on One.