Going, going GONE!

Three auction lovers share the thrill of finding a bargain

- GILLIAN HARVEY

'Attending auctions started as a hobby and became a career'

Pat Austin, 65, is a bookseller. She lives in Wolverhampton with her husband Peter, 62.

I open the front cover and my heart begins to race. The box of first-edition hardbacks by Iain M Banks are all signed. I know I'm on to a winner.

My first-ever auction was in 1997 in Banbury, where there were Friday night auctions each week at the village hall. I remember I worried I might bid on something by accident!

Back then, auctions were a bit of fun and a way to grab home bargains. Our daughter Erin was seven at the time and we were on a tight budget.

Then, in 2001, everything changed. We'd moved to Walsall for Peter's work and I'd left my admin job. We took a holiday to Florida and, while browsing in a secondhand bookstore, Peter found a book about making a living on eBay. 'You could do this!' he said, handing it to me.

At the time, eBay was in its infancy but I thought, 'Why not?' As I was already a book lover, I decided to concentrate on selling books. WV Books and Vintage was born and, 24 years on, it's still going strong.

I get most of my books at auction and I've had some real wins over the years.

One of my most memorable purchases was a stack of old comics from an auction in Dudley around 2004. I paid £700 for them – which was nerve-wracking in itself – but sold them to a buyer in Australia for £2,500!

The Iain M Banks books were acquired in September 2025 for £150 and ended up making £900!

Since 2020, most auction houses have an online facility and, although I miss the atmosphere in the rooms, it means I can attend auctions in multiple locations, increasing the chances of a brilliant find.