PROFIT FROM TAKING WITH A PINCH OF SALT (Sun, Sea & Bargain-spotting)

Member Name: thingywhatsit

Product:	Sun, Sea & Bargain-spotting
Date:	14/03/06 (572 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The program shows locations in France that the viewer may be unfamiliar with.

Disadvantages: The reality of profit making from activities like this is very different from that shown.

People are influenced by television. There is no doubt in my mind that they are as you will see from my observations of this program, which to all intents and purposes is considered “entertainment”.

The series in question is “Sun, Sea and Bargain hunting”, which is presented by the BBC, and is a series of challenges, where two contestants have to buy items to a total value of three hundred and fifty pounds in a French or Italian market, take their goods back to the UK, and sell them, each trying to get the best profit. There are two “experts”, Jonty Hearnden and Mark Franks, and each are assigned to one of the contestants to guide them in their purchases, and the whole show is brought together by being presented by Angela Rippon.

Taking the competitive aspect of the show, the contestants must buy more than 12 items, and whilst many are influenced by the “Experts” opinions of what will bring them the best profit, I have noticed a trend towards “retro” items, and in the case of Mark Franks, a definite bias towards lamps which will not only have to be rewired to work on a British system, but that repeatedly seem to lose the contestants money. Mark's character in the series comes over like a Cockney wide-boy, balanced out against the English country gentleman character of Jonty who, out of the two of them, seems more knowledgeable and less biased against the objects chosen by their given contestant. Angela Rippon, known for showing her legs to the world in the seventies, presents the show in a “rah rah” manner that would befit a guide mistress, and in a condescending voice that grates on the viewer, tries to show her expertise on the styles of items bought, though fails to see the difference between Art Deco and Art Nouveau, and is obviously scripted for the more informative parts of the show.

The backlash of programs like this, that viewers in the UK do not see is that French markets are filled to brimming with British holiday makers trying to make a kill on objects that are cheap here in France, but would make a profit in the UK, and what this has produced is to a certain degree bad will between stallholders and the British who rudely demand discounts without being pleasant. I have to admit that in the show itself, the bargaining is performed in a polite manner, although in reality people are just so rude to stallholders that the effect is rubbing off on people that actually live and work amongst these people in France.

One of the good things about the program is the step away from purchasing and bargain hunting, and the introduction by Angela Rippon of areas of lesser known France and Italy. This is the most helpful part of what to me seems like a pointless program from the challenge point of view, since when the contestants go back to the UK with their goodies and try to sell them on a market in the UK, the most I have ever seen any one of them gain in the way of profit has been thirty pounds, and when you consider the price of the trip to France, it doesn't take a lot of intelligence to work out that the idea is not even near feasible.

The manner in which the show is presented is flawed, in that I honestly am not convinced that the people buying the items in the UK markets are genuine. In one show, a man offered two pounds fifty for an item, and when the contestant argued that it was worth sixty-five pounds, the wife of the buyer came back with an offer of sixty quid. I feel that these instances play on the gullibility of the public and I am not convinced of the sincerity of this part of the show at all. Perhaps, when faced with being filmed by cameras for a BBC show, people really are this extraordinary in order to see themselves on television, though myself, I have doubts.

During the show, the “experts” give the contestants tips about buying from an antiques market, and here their advice is pretty solidly founded, although I get the impression that the contestants don't really want to be told that the treasure they have found is valueless. Not many of the contestants argue their point with the experts, many just being led into buying things that eventually make a loss, and making me dubious of the antique experts' advice on what will sell on the British market, as opposed to their knowledge of what may sell in an auction situation, which is a totally different ballgame.

One of the endearing qualities of the program is the amount of time taken in explaining a little about the history of the area, and here, the researchers have done their work, and this is a valuable part of the program which introduces different regions and the crafts and historical background of locations used for the show itself.

Each program also has two bonus items, one bought by Angela Rippon that the two contestants have to guess the price of, and here the contestant that is the nearest in their guess get the item to sell on their stall in the UK, and is considered a bonus item. The other item is a prize for the winners, and Angela Rippon at least shows some taste in her choice of prizes, as a memento of the contestants experience in a part of France or Italy.

Overall thoughts.

A reasonable show, although one with flaws. Entertainment value for me is the inaccuracy of the information given, and seeing how British people put value on different items. It shows me the way in which British society is changing and the styles that people are adopting in their homes. I enjoy the little trips into unknown territory by Angela Rippon, and the filming of these locations is splendid.

It's a program to watch, enjoy, but not take too seriously, and what concerns me here from my experience of living in France, that all too often, people do take these challenges seriously, and lose money. Thought of in an entertainment light, I would give the program 7/10 at best.

Summary: A disappointing program, which needs vamping.