General Chat

Liz ... "There was a woman on Dickinson's Real Deal I think it was, who found a necklace inside a coffee pot she bought for 10p? at a jumble/boot sale and then the necklace was found to be 14 c. gold and worth several hundred pounds. "

All I can think of when I see that is the gold necklace that my mum's mother gave her ... and my mum lost the same week her mother died. She was heartbroken.

Imagine if it was you, and the necklace in the teapot was your mother's, and your stupid brother-in-law had chucked the teapot in the box for the boot sale after she died, and you didn't find out until it was too late.

I have some century-old family jewelry, just a couple of small gold rings, very little money value, that I actually keep in a teapot-shaped container shoved away on a shelf.

I don't *deserve* to have my family's few keepsakes taken from me, and them, just because I keep them somewhere safe, if somebody else didn't know that.


I actually can't believe the mean-spiritedness I'm seeing in this thread, and I'm really quite flabbergasted.

Somehow, people who may be a little dim have suddenly become too stupid to live, or at least to be given any consideration at all.

Has the world really come to this "I'm all right Jack" condition where you all are?

I was going to go to an auction today ( buy and sell a bit on ebay) but aside from sciatica plagueing me at the moment, I KNEW I would be tempted to buy the listed family bible and then have to hang on to it in case I could find family lol.

As some of you know who helped with look up, last time I bought a photograph album and postcards, with intent to reunite photos and family and sell album postcards to cover the cost...BUT can't sell postcards because they have the same family names and make up a complete 'history' of that family....so £52 I am 'down' lol as even if I can't find family who want it, I couldn't bring myself to sell and split up such a little goldmine for someone.

I agree with you Janey.
I'm quite shocked by the mercenary attitude of some on this thread.

I know from personal experience that some elderly people stash money and other valuables in all sorts of places around their homes and are often forgetful.
The 'serves them right for not checking/knowing the true value' comments are shameful.

Well about 15 years ago OH and I decided to begin to clear the loft and twice took stuff to a tabletop sale. I had had to keep it in the loft because it was MILs - a ceramic drunken scotsman hanging on to a lamp post and the music played 'I belong to Glasgow'. It was disgusting. When it came out OH did not even recognise it! That morning I discovered the light of the lamp post came off and was a decanter. Fine I was getting teas at sale and OH said I have sold that music thing for £4 so you will be pleased at that, its gone.

Two weeks later at an Antiques Fair, we discovered this was a whisky decanter and highly collectable - indeed when I described it to the expert - worth £125-150 - possibly more as it was a rare one.

We made £100 from our 2 mornings at table top sales and I purchased two mirror image large satsuma vases for that amount in the local charity shop. They have given me pleasure all these years which is more than the scotsman did! Our loss - so what?

The vases what are they worth - no idea - I bought because I liked them and as far as I was concerned they were paid for with rubbish from the loft!

P.S. Loft is still full

Well! I miss going to car boot sales as we do not have tnem where I live now. I have bought items over many years from a variety of sources and can only say that if I saw something I would always confirm the required cost and I payed up immediately. I have bought duds but also many bargains, and suspect that I have sometimes sold themes well.years ago I bought my first piece of Moorcroft at a car boot sale purely because I thought it was beautiful what a shock i had when found out the value..and no I did not go back to try and find the original owner...suspect it happens all the time, hence the saying about " buyer aware" could also be "Seller beware."
15.23 hrs Spain

I think its got away from the OP of ,,,,,,,,,would you feel guilty if an item you bought openly which was there at a boot sale turned around to make a profit,,be it small or large,,,,,,,,no one was held under pressure to sell what they did,,,,,,,,car booters will set their own asking price if youre happy you buy.........thats all there is to it........

Does anyone feel gulity at a boot sale,,they ask £10 for a teapot ,,,,,,,,you say will you take a but less,they are happy with £8 ,,,,,,,,the deal is done....even if you know you make sell on and could make a few pence profit,,,,,,,,it happens.....

if Bob made that amount then he was up before the dealers were in force.........}}

To find cash or anything else that involves a charity shop sale then its a different kettle of fish, but still the buyer has no obligation to inform the shop as the asking price was paid.

NO! I would feel very pleased with myself, and anyway the stall holder gets the amount of money they are asking for.

There is "obligation", and then there is "obligation". Some of us try to live by the phrase "moral obligation", which I'm sure we've all heard.

I didn't actually say I'd feel guilty (that having been the question) in *all* instances.

I said I don't exploit people. That is, if someone is at an obvious disadvantage, I don't take advantage of that.

Forgetfulness, naiveté, ignorance of an important fact (like that mum's gold necklace was in that teapot, or dad's life savings were in that book) ... a major point spread on the IQ scale ... -- those are disadvantages I don't take advantage of.



As I've understood it, Bob wasn't the person who made this particular killing, and may have shared my feelings just a tad.

But then I don't know the seller's circumstances in that case, so I don't have any strong feelings. ;)

Bob - if your conscience is causing you to have fretful nights, meet it half-way by making a charitable donation. Sleep soundly thereafter.

Janey, I didn't mean I would not try and find the person I bought the coffee pot off, but they might have been doing a one off sale at the boot fair. If I was selling things I would check inside first, surely the chain would have rattled in the bottom of a tea/coffee pot or you would check it before sale.

It happens fairly often on that type of programme, people buy a box or bag of jewellery usually costume stuff and there is a valuable item inside. Surely it's up to the seller to check things before putting them on the stall, I am sure they would have had the time and not gone straight from sorting out a deceased relative's home to the sale.

The few things I have had from my parent's home I know well so am aware of any value, and anyway my brother managed to scrounge most of the 'good' stuff well before Mum died because he needed things to fill a big old rectory he and his wife bought, empty most of the time except for their two Wolfhounds as they are out at work and have never wanted children. I would put money on the fact they haven't willed the family things to either my son or my nephew, their only descendants.

Chris, your description of the Scotsman figure, reminded me of another item we had at home. Dad worked at a brewery and reps would often give him items like that. Ours was a man in a top hat hanging on the lamppost and when wound up it would play Show me the way to go home.
It was an add for whisky I think and might have had whisky in to begin with. It disappeared from our home at some point, not sure if Dad sold it to help with bills or one of my brothers got it, they never let on when I asked about it, but Dad did sell a lot of stuff off to help with bills as my parents got older and finished work.
They almost let an antique bureau go to a chap who called at the door, they were offered a couple of hundred pounds for it and that was in 1980s. I managed to stop them letting it be collected and paid for and got a proper antiques chap in who was long established as a restorer etc in the city, he gave my parents over £400 for it. Bet the door to door chap was not happy with me lol

Lizx

On a lighter note, I did a boot fair with an ex about 17 years ago, before we had even opened the boot there was a crowd of people trying to pick at things, even trying to buy the tablecloth we were covering the table with lol.

All set up we sold some china etc and things were flying off, a little old lady came up and asked what the price of the deep fat fryer was, £15 as it was brand new and boxed... "oh dear" she said " I can't afford that, I only have my pension dear and it doesn't go anywhere" £10? " no I still couldn't afford that, I only have a £5 in my purse " so it went to her for a £5.

After about half an hour,I went off leaving ex to cope and had a browse myself, and found myself following said little old lady from stall to stall saying the same thing and buying at knock down prices.... BUT from my position behind her I could see the contents of her large battered purse, fold afer fold of £10 notes lol. Bless her :-)

ZZZZZ
why only half didnt you feel that it all should have gone to the charity shop}}}}}}}}}}}}

ZZzzz Fair enough, after all the charity shop could have been the ones who found it had they shaken the book to see if anything left in - I bet they will in future.

Lizx

nope i wouldnt feel guilty x