American Pickers on History Channel

[savant365]

Did anyone here watch this show? I saw it Monday night and I thought it was really good but I have seen several posts on other message boards where people are upset about it because they think these 2 guys are out there ripping elderly people off and pressuring them into selling them thier junk. I was just curious how everyone here felt about it.

HH Charlie

 

[savant365]

I was just so surprised at how many people think that these 2 guys are "ripping off the elderly". I thought the people they were buying the stuff from acted like they were happy to get rid of it and make a few extra bucks. I grew up going to farm auctions with my Dad and uncles and sometimes stuff went so cheap people would bid a quarter just to keep the auction moving. Perfectly good usable items most of the time.

As far as "waving cash at people on fixed incomes" I think there is a lot of assuming going on about their incomes, I don't think they were millionaires but they seemed like they were well enough off. The guy with 13 outbuildings so full of stuff that you had to climb over it obviously had money to accumulate so much junk.

I guess I just thought it was good old fashioned horse trading or haggling to me. I enjoy haggling when I go out to buy something, to me it makes it more fun and I don't think about spending the money so much.

 

[jeff of pa]

Watched it & Loved it.

I Believe the guys on Pawn Stars are doing more Ripping Myself.

Half the things they Bought looked like rotted
trash. nobody in their Right Mind would buy some of the pieces they did, & Definately not at those Prices. Pawn stars would
have Thrown anyone out bringing in a Busted Bicycle part.
or Crank.

Would anyone have paid more for that Carnival ride considering they
had to tow it home on Rotted Tires. Imagine the fine
if they had Gotten caught on the Highway.

bees nests , Crawling around possable Poison & Who knows what else.

a True treasure hunt !

& they never strong armed anyone.

again; I Loved It !

 

[centfladigger]

I love the idea of "picking" but I dont care for the japanese sword thing from the old farmer. That bothered me and the recent show of the old lady who`s husband died in 97, she didnt have a clue about any of it.I magine when the kids or grandkids come over and find out they will be upset. Yeah theres alot of us that have too much junk, but I dont care to have someone crawling all through my property. I hope it doesnt start others to go knocking on those folks doors

 

[savant365]

I watched the show Monday night and liked it more then the first one. These guys are going out and working to find stuff with no guarantee of making a dime. I wouldn't have paid $20 for that Vespa and he paid 5 grand I guess he knows what he's doing but that thing would be so expensive to restore I don't see how he will break even. I saw on another forum (and it may or may not be true) that the guy that sold the samuri sword in the first show "Leland" the 88 year old guy...someone said they knew him and that he had recently just bought $500,000 worth of farm land.

I just think it's funny how many people think that these "elderly" folks are getting ripped off, they know exactly what they are doing and it'll be a cold day in hell before anyone got one over on them.

 

[Cappy Z.]

I wish they would show to whom they sell these items and where. I've seen so many shows like Antique Road Show, but who actually verifies the true value as determined by someone else buying them?

Just a thought.

 

[sniffer]

the way they portray values, it's like they put a value on it themselves.
almost as if the value they place on it was what they were willing to pay

 

[jeff of pa]

I watched the show Monday night and liked it more then the first one. These guys are going out and working to find stuff with no guarantee of making a dime. I wouldn't have paid $20 for that Vespa and he paid 5 grand I guess he knows what he's doing but that thing would be so expensive to restore I don't see how he will break even. I saw on another forum (and it may or may not be true) that the guy that sold the samuri sword in the first show "Leland" the 88 year old guy...someone said they knew him and that he had recently just bought $500,000 worth of farm land.

I just think it's funny how many people think that these "elderly" folks are getting ripped off, they know exactly what they are doing and it'll be a cold day in hell before anyone got one over on them.

I agree they are not ripping anyone off.
Half The Things they are Buying look like junk.
Anyone else, Including most
Auctioneers Would Probably leave them Lay
or Put them in 50 cent box lots.

The Vespa if what they said was true,
can be resold as is & Break even.
I liked that he made some of his Paying Price back
by Selling the Guy what was left
of that Side car.
Who in their right mind,
while Yard saling would pay more then $20.00 for that ?

I still havn't seen anyone get Ripped & I bet the
Pickers have Tons of stuff sitting rotting Too.

 

[kawalabear]

i do think it would of been better if the lady had someone from her family with her. she had not looked at the stuff since her husband died and she really dint know what some of the stuff was she was selling. she may have not gotten more at a yard sale ,but i bet after seeing her on the show a son or daughter will have the rest of that stuff on ebay soon .

some things they do are on the line for me.

 

[jeff of pa]

I wonder if the People who appear
get an Off Air Bonus For being on the show.

Simply to Calm them down when they sell something for
$500 & Mention on the show it's worth $1500

Honestly So far the Cans & signs they Buy,
I would have offered $1.00 for tops.

the Phil Morris moving sign


$100.00

The Vespa $500 tops if I Had it.

 

[bravowhiskey]

IMO those dudes are city slickers going out to the midwest where they think the farmers are dullards. They think they can take advantage of them and take the goods back to New York or where ever and get 3-4 times the price.
These dudes would never have anything good to say about flyover country. Maybe they will choke on some clean air. I would send 'em packin' with a kind nod from my 12 guage.
JMO.

BW

 

[snake35]

I am a professional antiques dealer. The show is scripted. No one can pay road expenses and clear a profit buying the junk that they purchase. What do they pay the girl for? They can not make calls and and internet research while there partner drives? Last but not least where do they sell this junk at for a profit?

 

[Spartacus]

I see nothing wrong in what they are doing either to be honest. They see an item, make an offer and see if it flies. No one is being strong armed to part with their goods, and I agree that some look happy to get rid of what they consider trash. Take for example the visible gas pump; the man said the glass alone was worth $600, and they got the whole ball of wax for $600. Not only that, but they picked up several other items. One show even showed that they had a total loss on a item, so they are not perfect by far either, but they seem to know their stuff.

As far as the woman whose husband passed in 97, its been 13 years!!! Where were the children and grandchildren? American Pickers just like Pawn Stars are for profit businesses, they purchase an item and hope to make a profit. If they are wrong on an item it will just sit there and make no money, besides that they have to lay out the money and just hope to recoup it with a profit ASAP.

As far as them having an idea on the value of an item, I am sure they are on their laptops with wi-fi checking out pricing, or just calling back to the office and get a report. We are only seeing a small portion of the time that is spent there and not fully showing how these guys operate. The best example was the guy with all of those out buildings, including the White Castle. I wonder how much time they spent at that location and how many calls they made before purchasing. These folk also knew the value of their goods, so don't be fooled.

 

[Produce Guy]

Great show,but i think the once the people out there that have the junk see how much these guys make the might change their minds.

 

[Gator-Flea]

Love that show!!

 

[47thelement]

It takes $$$ to locate items to buy, it takes $$$ to locate buyers for those items, it takes $$$ to move items to their work shop, it takes $$$ to refurbish items. It's called being a middle man. it happens everyday.

Can somebody explain to a humble detectorist how they are ripping people off?

 

[jeff of pa]

It takes $$$ to locate items to buy, it takes $$$ to locate buyers for those items, it takes $$$ to move items to their work shop, it takes $$$ to refurbish items. It's called being a middle man. it happens everyday.

Can somebody explain to a humble detectorist how they are ripping people off?

I Know almost everything they bought so Far,
I either would have left lay as rusted Trash
Or paid less then $5.00 for.

They keep Throwing $20's & More around
on $2.00 Yard sale Items.
They should come to my area

some of the items they bought for $50/ $60 & more
I Wouldn't put out for yard sale for 10 cents
& Expect to get it.

Don't even think anyone would pick
them off the Free Pile

 

[richm]

I like both of the shows. What everyone forgets is, it's entertainment. The people on Pawn Stars are picked out ahead of time. Ever notice they're not surprised that there's a T.V. crew filming them? The store is closed when they are filming a show. That shop gets 500+ customers a day. I'm quite sure that the people are compensated for letting them use the segment on the air. As far as "Pickers" goes. I've seen them ask a price and the person will say 5 bucks and they say no way I'll give you 30. What's the difference between what they're doing and going to a tag or estate sale. I buy stuff at estate sales all the time and resell on eBay at a profit and I don't feel like I'm ripping anyone off. The three best shows on T.V: Antiques Roadshow, Pawnstars and American Pickers.

 

[BigDan]

I can clear a few things up.

I'm nearly certain I went to school with Mike Fox for a time before his family moved to a different town. And Frank...when my brain cells kick in I'll tell you where I know him from. (Bowling league years ago? Could be, too many beers to be sure.)

LeClaire, Iowa is no big city, though you could say it is a suburb of the Quad Cities. That means any spoofing of country folk that the pickers are doing, or of the midwest, is spoofing themselves.

I saw their van on I80 before the show ever aired. I emailed Mike Fox asking what the heck an "Antique Archaeologist" was. He's been picking for antique dealers for years, he has his own antique shop as well. He directed me to his YouTube "television" show and told me to expect it to be on air on a cable station soon. I thought he was maybe pulling my leg.

It seemed to me, carrying a camera around and telling people it was a television show might get more barn doors opened. I thought he might have a good scam going. So, I was surprised when the show actually showed up! Cool...lesson learned, not to be so distrustful.

As to making money, two things. They don't just show the "value" of items picked, but when they sell..the selling price is listed as well. And buying from older persons with buildings full of collections...they make it clear it is their job, and in Iowa, if they really ripped someone off bad, they'd best not show up in that county again. Most country folk don't even like the DNR! And word gets around.

The stuff, yeah it could end up on restaurant walls, but I'm not sure that's worse than rusting away. Not sure why that is such a bad thing?

BigDan

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: I can clear a few things up.

The stuff, yeah it could end up on restaurant walls, but I'm not sure that's worse than rusting away. Not sure why that is such a bad thing?

BigDan

Because I'm Not Making a Profit