News

The pandemic lockdowns of 2020/2021 gave many people the time and opportunity to clear out the clutter in pursuit of the minimalist lifestyles promoted by home interior gurus for the past decade.

But many of us didn’t.

Over the summer and in to the autumn of this year (2022), the ‘cost of living crisis’ has become part of daily conversation and consideration. Many households started - and are still continuing - to assess where they can trim superfluous costs in their regular expenditure.

Anecdotally, in speaking to friends, family and colleagues, it seems that subscriptions to online televisual streaming services have been among the first candidates for culling - if not in whole then, at least, in part.

This has been backed up this month by global consumer trends consultancy Kantar Wordpanel. In a report in a national newspaper, Kantar’s gives an insight that “Almost one million British households have given up on the streaming revolution so far this year”.

This gap in the viewing entertainment market looks set be plugged by DVDs and, as such, we are expecting to see demand for the medium increase as we head in to our winter auction sales and into next spring, at least.

For those of us who didn’t de-clutter during the lockdowns of the previous two years, our ageing, dust-gathering DVD collections might just see us having the last laugh in the face of the décor lifestyle influencers.

It would be overly-ambitious to think we could make our fortunes, but those who are prepared to part with collections - particularly of enduring seasonal or children’s film favourites - may yet see the virtue, in minor monetary terms, of moving their DVDs on.

Auction room managers do not have crystal balls.

But we do, after years of experience, have a sense of what is going to sell and what is not at any one time in the economic cycle - particularly when it comes to general household items and mainstream collectables.

DVDs could, metaphorically and literally, be the ones to watch in the coming seasons.

Shouler & Son’s County Auction Rooms’ next General Household, Vintage & Collectables auction is on Thursday 10 November.

For information or to register to bid, see countyauctionrooms.co.uk/auctions.

Details of the some of the lots and sale prices achieved at recent auctions, are available here.