Just go for it: Presenter reveals how to become a real-life Bargain Hunter

Natasha Raskin Sharp’s advice for aspiring Bargain Hunters? Make a day out of it.

The arts and antiquities expert recommends heading to a town with plenty of antiques shops and taking in a selection of them before buying anything.

She said: “If you’re just going in to make a regular purchase, something you might want for the house or a gift for the person who has everything, take note of the things you like, make a bit of a top five and make your final decision before parting with your cash.

“There’s something quite fun about that. If you’ve got £40 set aside that you want to spend in an antiques shop, it’s quite nice to really see what’s out there and make sure you buy an item you’re going to covet or if you’re gifting it that the person will absolutely love.

“It’s a lovely thing to do but any time I’ve done it with friends, no snap decisions are made. You really want to think about it. Contrary to that, some people turn up and buy an item within two minutes. There are different ways to play it.

“The majority of people who are popping along to an antique shop on a Sunday afternoon are not going to resell the item they purchase. If you’re buying with resale in mind, then that involves quite a lot of research on current prices, trends, what sells well, what surprises auctioneers.”

When out and about at fairs, or even while doing her shopping, Raskin Sharp often gets asked for advice from people interested in working in the field.

She said: “I always just say, jump right in with both feet, because it’s such a great world to enter into. It provides so many different opportunities.

“You can start off at the shipping department and end up on the rostrum within a year. And there are very few industries in which you can make a leap like that. The auction world in general is one that opens doors.”

She has also found that working in auctioneering is a “lovely lesson in letting go”.

She said: “When you work in an auction house, you’re only the custodian of the items in your care for a short period of time. If you’re in charge of, like I was, the pictures department, you are given a beautiful painting, you fall in love with it, you catalogue it, you research it, you place the estimate, you hang it, you display it, you sell it to potential bidders at the viewing, and then if you’re lucky enough to be an auctioneer as well, you can go on the rostrum and sell it.

“You’ve really seen that item go from A to Z from it crossing the threshold to the second the hammer goes down.

“If you fall in love with an item, nine times out of 10 in the world when you have the means and fall in love with something you buy it. But in this case, you’re selling it to someone else.”