| Here's a great idea, it's never let me down, and it | | | | contents become with every layer stripped from the |
| involves buying items no one else wants which can | | | | top. Case in point: two months ago, at a Yorkshire |
| generate 100% to 1000% profit for you every time. | | | | auction sale, I spotted a dirty cardboard box poking |
| And it works whether you buy at auction, car boot | | | | beneath a table covered with albums packed with |
| sale, jumble sale, charity shop, even on eBay itself. You | | | | valuable stamps and postcards. First thing I found in the |
| are looking for items which, on the surface, look so | | | | box was a newspaper, totally tatty, disgustingly dirty. |
| disgusting that no one even gives them a second | | | | Next came a book, torn and damaged, foul smelling |
| glance. At auction they're the lots right at the back of | | | | and every page scribbled beyond recognition. Then |
| the room, or under tables, wherever they're unlikely to | | | | came a few better books, a couple of maps (worth a |
| get in the way of serious bidders' viewing more | | | | fiver apiece on eBay), more half decent stuff followed, |
| attractive auction lots. Those words 'disgusting' and | | | | and half way down came a huge scrapbook packed |
| 'unlikely to get in the way' are operative here, because | | | | with news clippings and autographed photographs of |
| even the auctioneer doesn't expect serious bidders for | | | | Vivien Leigh and Sir Laurence Olivier (I made |
| rubbish like this. But this rubbish is like gold to some | | | | £100 from the scrapbook, several hundred |
| people, myself included, and normally reveals itself in | | | | pounds from the autographs). And I hadn't got to the |
| dirty albums, torn and tatty boxes, books with ripped | | | | good stuff yet. There followed theatre programmes |
| and filthy bindings, plastic bags tied at the top with | | | | from the 1930s and 40s (autographed by Olivier, Leigh, |
| elastic bands and time ravaged so you can't see | | | | Bud Flanagan, Margaret Rutherford, and many more). |
| through their once transparent surface. | | | | After that I found .... better stop there, because I really |
| The big secret about items like this has to do with | | | | don't have time or space to list the contents of that |
| people judging a book by its cover. If the cover isn't | | | | dirty old box no one else look at or bid against me that |
| good, it's assumed the contents (the story or | | | | day. |
| information contained) is also deficient, and so people | | | | Much the same goes for dirty books which often |
| don't buy. | | | | contain valuable prints or maps, plastic bags of |
| The experts know, the dirtier the cover (or other | | | | seemingly yukky beads which often contain valuable |
| container such as box, book, tea chest), the older the | | | | gems, dirty albums containing boring postcard views |
| contents are likely to be and the more valuable the | | | | behind which hide valuable postmarks. Get the picture? |