Showing posts with label Antiques road trip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Antiques road trip. Show all posts

Monday, July 30, 2012

David Barby 1949 - 2012 Antiques expert


david barby auctioneer and valuer
We have just heard the sad news of the death of David Barby.

Familiar to a legion of TV antiques fans, David Barby has been a long running presenter and expert on many antiques TV programmes including Bargain Hunt, Flog It, Antiques Road Trip and more.

It seemed appropriate to write a small obituary - so with information gleaned online and with sincere condolences to his many friends and family, please accept our best wishes and sympathy.

David Barby was one of the highlights of the daytime TV antiques programmes. 

His flamboyant manner, a sense of fun, his famous stare accompanying the question

"Is that your best price?" Followed by his dead pan silence to some unfortunate antique dealer,.

Adding this to his wealth of knowledge and wit, made him one of the Bargain Hunt stars. It will not be the same without him.

David John Barby was born on 23rd April 1949 in Rugby Warwickshire.

Becoming interested in antiques at around 12 years old, he went into this profession on leaving school and qualified at the age of 21 as a member of the Incorporated Society of Valuers and Auctioneers.

Originally, he was an auctioneer and worked for a local company in Rugby before leaving to work for a London firm in 1974.

He returned to the Midlands in 1978 when he was head hunted by Leamington Spa based auction house Locke and England and became a manager and valuer and later a partner of the firm.

He established his own valuation business in the 1990s. Called David J Barby and Associates, the company was based in Hilmorton - a small village just outside Rugby. 

He was actively employed in this business at the time of his death.

David Barby was a patron of the arts, raising money for Leamington Art gallery as well as undertaking charity work and fund raising for the Royal Leamington Spa rehabilitation hospital.

His TV career began in 2002 when he featured on the first ever episode of Flog In this show he appeared as the auctioneer but later his skills were deployed as a valuation expert, later appearing in the same role on Bargain Hunt.

A canny valuer and hard bargainer - delivering outrageously low offers in such a charming way it must have been difficult to resist, he soon became known as The Master on Antiques Road Trip. 

Earlier in the year he appeared on this show up against fellow antiques expert Charles Hanson.

No doubt his fellow experts and people he worked with on these TV shows will miss him and we will look forward to seeing a tribute to his life and career later in the year.

However, he will also be sadly missed by the millions of people who tune into Bargain Hunt each day - a show beloved by pensioners, students and people who work from home.

To many people, David Barby felt like a friend rather than remote celebrity and we shall miss his company.

David Barby suffered a stroke on the 13th July and died a week later in Coventry hospital. He was 63 years old.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

How to make profit on Antiques Road Trip

How to make profit on antiques road trip

Mark Stacy and Anita Manning are the current competitors on the BBC TV show Antiques Road Trip.

Mark and Anita both trawl the local antiques shops trying to spot antiques that they think will have more value at an auction than the price they pay at the Antique shop.

There is some haggling, fixed grins and hands are thrown in the air until a deal is reached.

Then at the end of the show, the items are hauled off to Auction to see if they will make a profit.

The basic idea of this show seems the wrong way round to me. Going to Antique Shops to buy antiques and then selling the items back to an Auction House is the reverse of the way antiques traders work.

It's like going to Harrods for a chair and then selling it at a car boot sale!

In Bargain Hunt, a lunchtime programme featuring many of the same experts, two teams comprising of two shoppers and one expert buy from markets and antique fairs and then sell at Auction.

This at least gives them a chance of making a small profit. However, in reality, small profits of £2 -3 would probably not pay the auction house charges for selling the items.

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So how can you make this idea actually work for you?

Well you might not make a living at antiques and collectables, but you could certainly make a profitable hobby.

The experts on the antiques shows have a broad knowledge of the antiques market because of their experience and enthusiasm for the trade.

From expert Valuers like David Barby, to auctioneers like James Lewis, all the experts have inside knowledge of their business.

Every day they deal with the day-to-day business of buying, selling and valuing objects. This is ground level marketing and will lead to both experience and wisdom of the trade.

However, all of them have a specialist area where they have a detailed knowledge of their subject. A smaller range of items but very detailed.

This is how you too can become involved in antiques.

By choosing one small area of antiques, you can read and learn all you can from the front of a computer screen, books and by visiting local antiques shows and auction houses.

You can quickly gain the current values by checking auction sites like eBay against auction houses selling the same items.

You can find out about specialist auction houses and current trends in fashion.

It is easy to become an expert on your chosen subject by experiencing it from the internet, books and by talking to people involved in the business.

Most of all enjoy it! The important factor in this is you.

You must have an interest in the antiques you collect. You should like the items enough to want to have them in your own home.

If they end up in a box under your bed, you probably aren't that interested. Bargain Hunt expert James Lewis, specialises in snuff boxes. You can tell he loves the subject and he admits he has too many in his collection, but he always makes a profit because he knows his stuff!

Whatever your interest, you are not alone. If it is collectable, you'll find collectors somewhere wanting to buy it.

As long as you have a growing interest in your collecting hobby, your experience will gain and you should end up making small profits.

The Experts’ ability to understand all of these factors makes the difference on Antiques road trip








Tuesday, September 6, 2011

BBC Bargain Hunt - Mark Stacey biography

http://www.markstacey.co.uk

Bargain Hunt Expert Mark Stacey is probably one of the most flamboyant characters on the BBC Bargain Hunt antiques show. 

The slow and clear vowels in his vocal delivery and strange (but unconnected) resemblance to another great bargain hunt expert David Barby have earned him the nicknames “Son of Barby” and “Wooooster.”

Mark Stacey was born in Neath, South Wales in 1964, where he grew up with his brother and two sisters. Later he moved to London where he started to work in the care profession.

However Marks interest in antiques began with his love for history where he found he had a passion for Blue and White transfer printed ceramics.

In London mark started his own successful antiques business before his expertise was noticed landing him a position in Bonhams Hove office in 1995. From here he moved to the auction houses of Sothebys specialising in ceramics and valuations for 5 years. 

(Mark has also been the Honorary Secretary of the “Friends of Blue”. The well known Ceramics collectors club).

Mark also worked for Hamptons/Dreweatt Neate Fine Art, where as well as being a successful valuer he was head of Decorative Arts, and was later made a Director.

But what of the man himself, I hear you ask?

Mark likes:

Ceramics, Lalique glass, theatre, and 50's and 60's collectables. He also has a passion for Spain where he likes to relax and read.

On his dislikes Mark has much to say!

There are so many but here are a few, BMW drivers, motorcycle riders who speed and push past you anywhere, rude people, bureaucracy, traffic lights that can always change to red when I get there, supermarket queues, my lottery numbers not coming up! . .

And on his resemblance to David Barby!

“He was a real "Father" figure to me when I filmed my first Flog It in Ipswich and no we are not related but he is an inspiration to us all.”

With over 20 years experience and his individual humour on Bargain Hunt, Flog it, Antiques Road trip and more recently Put your Money where your Mouth is Mark Stacey is a well known and high profile TV and Radio antiques expert.

For the last 15 years Mark has provided his services as an auctioneer and adviser to many charities within the UK and overseas, raising over £500,000 in the process.


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Thursday, July 21, 2011

Antiques Road Trip new series on the BBC

Popular Antiques Road Show spin-off, Antiques Road Trip, which is made for the BBC by STV, has returned for its new series. And this time you will be able to enjoy 15 extra minutes on every one of the 30 new journeys as they are extended from 30 minutes to 45.

The first series of Antiques Road Trip has proved to be hugely successful in its early evening BBC Two slot, attracting audiences of up to 2.6 million.

The series pairs Britain’s best loved antiques experts and sends them on a road trip across the UK. During the first series eight of television’s best known experts competed and put their knowledge to the test as they looked to make a fortune in the auction house, travelling the UK along the way.

The return of Antiques Road Trip will delight Anita, who previously said of filming the show, Anita said:  

“It was an utterly nail biting experience.”

“ I laughed a lot but there were also times when I could have burst into tears - on the way I made some huge profits and even bigger losses - but I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”


The experts hit the road in their beautiful vintage cars, and with a sum of £200 they travel through the UK seeking out antique shops and buying low to sell high at auction at the end of each show.

Alan Clements, director of content for STV, said:  “We’re delighted that audiences are enjoying Antiques Road Trip and are thrilled to be producing a second and longer series for the BBC.

“It’s a fantastic format with some brilliant characters, which really appeals to viewers, and we can’t wait to get cracking on the next instalment.”