I found this gem on YouTube and can't get enough. I hope it gets another season! Great show. Hope to visit one day.
3 Reviews
Great show with "the office" vibe
heatherbalowski24 September 2019
Fascinating behind the scenes look at a British institution
emuir-118 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Where would Britain be without its collection of eccentrics? While it is always fascinating to watch men at work, especially behind the scenes of a glamorous profession, 'The Auction House' suffered from a limited scope: nevertheless, it was fun to watch the ultra rich and eccentrics passing their time at the weekly auctions of too much clutter. Each week 700 items would be offered for sale by auction. The staff had to appraise, set a price and place it in the Sunday auction, which always seemed to have the same few attendees - over botoxed men and women with bad face lifts and bleached hair for whom money seemed to be no object who would stroll in with their tiny dogs. Items which did not sell were returned to the seller who was required to pay an 'unsold' fee and storage if it was not picked up.
The eclectic variety of some of the merchandise ranged from the truly awful to 'who would buy that? This was not a junk yard. Located in Chelsea, a fashionable an expensive area of central London, the clientele were quite happy to bid £5,000 plus commission on an item which they would put back in the auction next day as it 'did not look right'. Thousands would be bid on two four poster pet beds which every dog coming through the door had laid on. Huge models of gorillas sat next to buffalo skulls and designer handbags. Tacky 'impressionist' art alongside a Playboy Bunny costume. Old chandeliers, 60's leather furniture, antique furniture, brassware, statues and whatever might sell. The staff of 30, a manager, appraisers and muscle seemed to get on very well and appeared to have a line of work which was never dull. The owner had to keep reminding them that it was a business and would insist on trying something new each week to try to keep up sales.
Sometimes we would get a look inside the elegant five story town homes of the ex-wives of multi millionaires who were shopping for things to fill their homes, or to fill their time? We were introduced to a couple of said ex wives, an elderly gay couple of collectors with a vastly overcluttered home who used their expertise to make a lucrative living as very discreet anonymous buyers of antiques and object d'art for wealthy clients. A starving artist who would literally finish or change his paintings on the sidewalk outside the auction house. In one hilarious episode a dog walked over the still wet painting and he had to smudge around the paw marks. In anothe rhe decided to add three giraffes' heads to a cloud scene. He admitted that his wall sized paintings would only fetch about £50 at the market, but at the auction they would fetch around £500 (if they sold).
I watched every episode and loved it, but as I said earlier, the program had a limited scope as you can only watch the weekly grind so many times. I did enjoy the more gentle style of reality that we don't see often in the USA, - no nail biting competition, no elimination contests - just the friendly camaraderie and occasional friction of long time coworkers. If you like an inside look at a profession such as ballet, opera, the fashion world, the arts, you will enjoy this series.
The eclectic variety of some of the merchandise ranged from the truly awful to 'who would buy that? This was not a junk yard. Located in Chelsea, a fashionable an expensive area of central London, the clientele were quite happy to bid £5,000 plus commission on an item which they would put back in the auction next day as it 'did not look right'. Thousands would be bid on two four poster pet beds which every dog coming through the door had laid on. Huge models of gorillas sat next to buffalo skulls and designer handbags. Tacky 'impressionist' art alongside a Playboy Bunny costume. Old chandeliers, 60's leather furniture, antique furniture, brassware, statues and whatever might sell. The staff of 30, a manager, appraisers and muscle seemed to get on very well and appeared to have a line of work which was never dull. The owner had to keep reminding them that it was a business and would insist on trying something new each week to try to keep up sales.
Sometimes we would get a look inside the elegant five story town homes of the ex-wives of multi millionaires who were shopping for things to fill their homes, or to fill their time? We were introduced to a couple of said ex wives, an elderly gay couple of collectors with a vastly overcluttered home who used their expertise to make a lucrative living as very discreet anonymous buyers of antiques and object d'art for wealthy clients. A starving artist who would literally finish or change his paintings on the sidewalk outside the auction house. In one hilarious episode a dog walked over the still wet painting and he had to smudge around the paw marks. In anothe rhe decided to add three giraffes' heads to a cloud scene. He admitted that his wall sized paintings would only fetch about £50 at the market, but at the auction they would fetch around £500 (if they sold).
I watched every episode and loved it, but as I said earlier, the program had a limited scope as you can only watch the weekly grind so many times. I did enjoy the more gentle style of reality that we don't see often in the USA, - no nail biting competition, no elimination contests - just the friendly camaraderie and occasional friction of long time coworkers. If you like an inside look at a profession such as ballet, opera, the fashion world, the arts, you will enjoy this series.
A true show about nothing
intrepidami14 July 2014
It's an Auction facility, with an owner who appears very arrogant, yet allows his employees to be lazy, talk about him behind his back, and generally disobey his edicts.
It's a monster eating it's own tail.
So far all they do is complain endlessly about lot's not selling. They admittedly allow people to set reserves on their items that are too high. They have a low penalty for doing this. Of course they're going to have problems in a muddled economy! The first thing people tighten up on is excessive buying. Meanwhile consignors just don't get that what once sold for $1000's might nowadays only be selling for hundreds. That these items are in fact commodities that go up and down in value.
They have already shown consignors firmly set at a certain price, the items not selling, re-auctioning the items in the next sale, getting half their original reserve, and being satisfied. So, basically a wasted week! Add to this the fact the owner disdains modern, and loves antique and I have basically summed up what you're going to see, episode, after episode.
It's a monster eating it's own tail.
So far all they do is complain endlessly about lot's not selling. They admittedly allow people to set reserves on their items that are too high. They have a low penalty for doing this. Of course they're going to have problems in a muddled economy! The first thing people tighten up on is excessive buying. Meanwhile consignors just don't get that what once sold for $1000's might nowadays only be selling for hundreds. That these items are in fact commodities that go up and down in value.
They have already shown consignors firmly set at a certain price, the items not selling, re-auctioning the items in the next sale, getting half their original reserve, and being satisfied. So, basically a wasted week! Add to this the fact the owner disdains modern, and loves antique and I have basically summed up what you're going to see, episode, after episode.
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