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Insights on money, career and trading

Gift of a Lifetime in an Antique Shop

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Daniel at 10:10 am

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Just imagine. Your beloved father has been looking for a particular book for the last twenty years. It reminds him of a happy childhood in less stressful times, but he just can’t find it. Or your wife has been searching for just that one last pig/frog ornament that she hasn’t got, and it will make her ridiculous collection complete. Then one day, you’re strolling down the High Street at lunch time, and your eye is drawn towards the window of a usually unnoticeable antiques’ shop. There it is; that item that will make their day/week/year and earn you immeasurable Brownie points. The problem is, pay day is not until next week and you’re a bit short of ready cash.

How to fund it

This is when a pay day loan really comes in useful. For just a few days, you can easily borrow the money from a company such as Wonga, Wizz Cash or Payday UK. It will be in your account before you know it and you can make your star purchase on the way home.

Auctions

In November 2013, a shop sign used in the BBC television series Lovejoy sold for five times its estimated price at an auction in Glemsford in Suffolk. Originally thought to be worth between £200 and £300, it was bought by a private bidder from Ipswich in Suffolk for £1,200. For a fan of a TV show or film, finding a piece of memorabilia like that at a bargain price can be a once in a lifetime chance.

The Beckhams

You might have wanted that stunning evening dress once owned by Victoria Beckham and sold off in the Red Cross charity shop in London after David and Victoria’s clear out. A student bought one of David Beckham’s tuxedos in that sale for a steal at £125 and later sold it on eBay for £2,600; a pretty healthy profit and worth borrowing for a few days. Or maybe you could have the luck of Mina Thapa, a nursing student at the London South Bank University who recently paid £100 for a genuine Mulberry bag, which was worth £1,100. A bargain like that would more than pay off the loan interest, with much more to spare.

Bargain buys

In 2011, a woman bought three pretty glasses for 40 pence each at a Portsmouth car boot fair. Intrigued by them, she took them to a sale room in Chichester, West Sussex for the opinion od an expert. They later sold at auction for an incredible £18,880; they turned out to be rare 18th century examples of the revered British glassmaker William Beilby’s work.

OK, so £1.20 is not something that we would take a loan out for, but if you find an amazing bargain at a boot fair or part of a collection in your local charity shop, it could very well be a loan with great added benefits.

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Insights on money, career and trading