Buy smart not hard, and you'll save a lot of money at this auction house. I love this place. The…read morefirst time we moved to London from America we bought all of our furniture here, and a lot of great decorative items and amazing crystal vases. Insanely cheap too. And when we were ready to move back to America we simply gave them a call, they picked up all our stuff, and sold it for us! We got back about 80% of what we'd paid. Not bad at all for a year of a house filled with nice antiques, and a bunch of great items that we took back home to America. Now that we're back in London, I'm sure we'll return to the Southgate Auction Rooms, even if we live a bit farther away.

A world away from the high-profile sales of Christies and Sothebys, Greenwich Auctions offers a…read morefascinating mixture of items. As well as the more obvious collectables, paintings and furniture from several centuries, all sorts of strange items turn up from time to time: antique hats, war souvenirs, old signs. Auctions are held on Saturdays at 11am. Some lots are featured on the website in advance, but nothing beats actually going and having a wander round the large auction room: choose between Friday evenings (ideal for browsing with a glass of wine in hand) or Saturday mornings (for a brisker look around before the bidding starts). Staff are friendly and helpful, and it's hard to beat an auction for excitement. A couple of caveats. The concrete-floored building can be rather cold in winter, so wear warm clothes (especially socks!). The seats can be pretty hard, too. However, those minor discomforts are worth suffering for the chance to come across something really interesting - and perhaps at a bargain price.

If you want lousy customer service, low valuations, and a stack-em, pack-em, and rack-em approach…read morethis is the place to come to! Rude and acerbic is the way I was greeted, and the person I met with valued two lousy carver chairs I had from an American discount furniture store at MORE than an antique dining table. Really? I sold everything privately for many multiples of their valuation. Value low, sell-em cheap is their motto. If you want to see the circus in action, come here as there seem to be plenty of clowns; if you want to make money and get decent returns, then go elsewhere.

OMG, this place is just brilliant! I've been looking for a reliable source of no-nonsense…read moresecond-hand furniture for ages, when I finally got around to checking this place out I was not disappointed. Here, you'll find "all sorts" of second-hand and vintage furniture to help give your home some character and style. Most of the pieces are in good shape but not in such amazing condition that you'll pay above the odds - just well chosen pieces that are honestly priced. Yesterday, I was told the shop was under-stocked following the xmas period, it was still crammed with tables, chairs, picture frames, shelves and trunks. I ended up buying a large solid oak bookshelf for £45 and it's made me so much happier than anything from IKEA could ever do! Best of all, the shop's owner will deliver on the day, accepts cash on delivery and does not charge for the service. A real bonus for a non-driver like me, and he even ventured out to sunny South Tottenham. Yay!

On any given day as you approach Mr. All Sorts, you find yourself walking up to an eclectic…read morecollection of second hand and vintage piece of furniture and decorations. - It's a small store so don't expect you'll find everything. One week Mr. All Sorts may have a healthy collection of chairs, the next week a surplus of tables. - Most things are reasonably priced, and to be honest, I feel good when you buy something from a hole in the wall compared to any of the larger auction houses and stores in Angel. - You end up paying the same if not less than you would for ikea furniture and there you are with a lovely solid, beautiful antique wood table.

I found a new penny auction site named snatchbid. The bids are cheap, the items are top brand and…read moretheir response to my questions were fast and courteous. Plus I got 20 free bids for signing up and 20 more after I won my first auction! These guys are way better than swoopo - you can tell they actually care about making their customers happy!

I don't know much about auction houses but I know Christie's is the most famous international…read moreauction house. We went for a press event, which was a top notch night. Everything is immaculate, with a price tag to match and the staff were great, very helpful.

A hidden gem in Hampstead. The Hampstead Antique and Craft Emporium is easy to walk past as you…read morewalk down the main road. And looking down the section that it is located doesn't look like there is much there but there is. They have a lovely little coffee shop outside, then once inside there are rows of antiques, furniture, collectibles, and jewelers. I also found the people working there to be very friendly.

I passed by Hampstead Antique Emporium when we were there for lunch at Villa Bianca (reviewed…read moreseparately). When I walked in I was stunned at the lovely things you can buy there and such reasonable prices! There are about 20 traders & stalls here offering antiques and crafts; textiles, art deco jewellery, glass, china, miniatures and so much more. I especially liked 3D greeting cards, depicting miniature worlds produced by Karrie Barron cards. At another stall, they sell some stunning miniature boxes. I especially loved the art deco and Victorian style jewellery - and will go back to buy!! There are some lovely porcelain pieces for avid collectors. It is such a hidden place that you can easily miss it. I was really happy I found this place - it's such a collector's heaven and the prices are so much better than what you would pay in Portobello market or elsewhere in London. Also all the stallholders are so friendly and helpful! This is one of those secret London attractions that you have to discover for yourself and I highly recommend you do! It's amazing!