Bargain Hunt fans livid as they spot something VERY wrong with man’s item – raging ‘how is he the expert?!’
BARGAIN Hunt fans were left bewildered after expert Jonathan Pratt failed to make a profit out of a pair of heavily damaged pottery figures.
Jonathan had a budget of £95 to look for a surprise item at an antiques fair in a bid to boost the profit of his guests’ auction challenge.
Jonathan bought a pair of early 19th century garden-themed pottery figures – a male and a female – holding a flower pot with leaves decoration on the back.
“I’m a keen gardener and I think people do buy into these but I like to buy something with a bit of history,” he told host Charlie Ross.
“They’ve got a lot of extremities and it gets damaged, okay, you’re going to find a little damages, but it seems there’s a little bit more than I recognised when I bought them.
“I paid £70 for them. I didn’t anticipate that there is probably only 20 per cent original.”
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Couple Andrea and Bruce were not confident that the Staffordshire figures would sell well and decided to “give it a miss”.
Auctioneer James Lewis of Bamfords Auctioneers and Valuers noticed the two figures were heavily restored, which could be a problem affecting the price.
“Because of all the restoration, I’d give an estimate of £30 to £50. If they were perfect, might make £120,” he said.
The figures were eventually sold at £3 – a 50 per cent loss at the end of the auction.
And viewers were baffled at Jonathan’s poor judgement on picking the pottery.
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“£70 for a couple of damaged figures,” one wrote with laughing emojis as a second questioned: “Seriously how is Jonathan Pratt classed as an ‘expert’ on Bargain Hunt?”
While a third fumed: “Imagine that – £70 for f***’s sake.”
Bargain Hunt airs weekdays at 12:15pm on BBC One.