Britain’s strangest shop? With no prices it charges based on shoes
Is this Britain’s strangest shop? With no price tags in sight, it is owned by a ‘Spanish pirate’ who charges people based on what he makes of their shoes and is interested only in ‘creating good vibes’
- Part gypsy, part ‘Spanish pirate’, Pat is in charge of the store tucked away on a street in Paignton, Devon
- Owner Pat decides how much to charge customers wishing to purchase items based on if he likes their shoes
- Pat says he is not bothered about making money, only about ‘creating good vibes’ at the unique store
Welcome to Britain’s most unusual shop – which has no name, no prices and is run by a man who decides what to charge his customers by looking at their shoes.
Part gypsy, part ‘Spanish pirate’, Pat is in charge of the store tucked away on a street corner in Paignton, Devon, and sells ‘a bit of everything’.
The shop – which has stock ranging from animal skin clothes to guns from the 1960s – has no signs over the door, no phone number, internet and not a single price tag in sight.
Owner Pat decides how much to charge customers wishing to purchase items based on if he likes their shoes or not.
Part gypsy, part ‘Spanish pirate’, Pat (pictured), is in charge of the store tucked away on a street in Paignton, Devon. The shop is packed with thousands of objects collected since it opened in 1999
Pat (pictured outside his shop) buys everything he collects with cash and sells it on the shelves inside his shop, but is not fussed about how much money he makes
The shop – which has stock ranging from animal skin clothes to guns from the 1960s – has no signs over the door, no phone number, internet and not a single price tag in sight
Speaking about what can be found in the shop Pat said: ‘Some things are expensive and some things are just tat – I think tat is a nice word. At the end of the day it’s all just stuff’
Pat says he is not bothered about making money, only about ‘creating good vibes’ at the store. He also wants people to bargain with him over how much to pay.
He says sometimes he charges a lot, but other times nothing at all.
Pat said: ‘Some things are expensive and some things are just tat – I think tat is a nice word. At the end of the day it’s all just stuff.
‘It started because my partner was an antiques dealer and she taught me and now she’s not well and I run it on my own.
‘There are no prices because things change. I might have things for 10 years – prices might go up or go down. Some days I take a lot and some days I take nothing.
‘My girlfriend taught me that selling is interactive. People have to be enamored with something and they have to like me.’
Pat added: ‘You can tell a lot about people from their shoes.
‘Everything I buy has a magical quality – it’s magical to me for some reason and if someone comes in and it brings magic to them I will sell it. I have a different view from most second hand dealers.’
The shop is packed with thousands of objects collected since it opened in 1999.
Pat comes from an unusual background and is part gypsy but also has ancestors who were Spanish pirates from the island of La Linea.
He buys everything he collects with cash and sells it on the shelves inside his shop, but isn’t fussed about how much money he makes.
Pat said: ‘I’m rich in my own way. I’ve got love.
‘I’ve got a house which is quite minimalist. I’ve got my Daimler Benz vintage van. I’ve got the shop. I’ve got everything I could possibly want.
‘I buy everything for cash – generally I buy stuff from people who are clearing out so they don’t need too much money for it and I can afford to buy at a price where it doesn’t matter if it sits around in the shop for 10 years.
‘Also I go to car boot sales at six in the morning every weekend. I am always polite and I never dive in people’s cars.
‘I spent £32 last Saturday and I will make £300 from that over time, after a bit of restoration work.’
Pat has some unusual items of clothing for sale – including furs and a real leopard skin coat which he paid £10 for.
Along with vintage guns and knives one of the quirkiest things for sale is a toy gun dating from the 1960s which is in full working order and is fully loaded with caps.
However if young kids come in trying to sell him knives, he confiscates them and refuses to return them.
Items inside the shop in Paignton, Devon, which has no name and has no set prices. With stock ranging from animal skin clothes to guns from the 1960s, anyone who walks in off the street is likely to find things to take home that can’t be found anywhere else
Pat said the shop started because his partner was an antiques dealer who taught him about the trade but now she’s not well and Pat runs it on his own
Pat (pictured holding items in his shop) comes from an unusual background and is part gypsy but also has ancestors who were Spanish pirates from the island of La Linea
Customers passing by the shop in Paignton, Devon, peer in through the windows to take a look at the different items on offer
Pat has some unusual items of clothing for sale – including furs and a real leopard skin coat which he paid £10 for. He has also bought and sold firemen’s jackets
Pat says he isn’t bothered about making money, only about ‘creating good vibes’ at the store in Paignton, Devon, and wants people to bargain with him over how much to pay
‘The law says I can sell knives to people over 18 but I won’t sell to youngsters.
‘If they come in with a knife, I take it off them and I’m not giving it back. There are too many gangs of youths with drugs and knives around in Paignton.
‘I have been a soldier – I was a Bombadier but I didn’t want to fight and I paid to leave. I’m a white flag, conscientious objector person really.’
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