There was a rumor on the Internet that the American Pickers' guys Mike and Frank did not drive to locations but were flown there. A guy I know stopped by their shop on a cross country drive. He met Mike and said he was a really nice guy. They spoke for over an hour about the business; confirmed the rumor was not true. The new Internet rumor is that one of the guys, Mike I think, is dead, but this is also not true. What is true: Danielle is a babe. TC
I remember one episode where they found an actual Shelby Cobra, in the white, for 30,000. They bought the components to finish it, then sold it for $100,000? Come on! A genuine aluminum bodied Carroll Shelby Cobra is a quarter million. Wish I had one.....or two
I saw that one did they finish the car or just sell the body and parts I don’t remember? That was a great episode.
EVERY BODY DOES KNOW WHAT COMES OUT OF CHUMS MOUTH IS ALL SCRIPTED RIGHT. He might know a little about coins but the expert words coming out of Dum Lees mouth aren’t his. He is just a STUPID Stoner that is attached to Big Stupid’s tit. Like I said before God help DumLee if Big Stupid, oops Big Hoss die before he does. It is refreshing to not see DumLee red eyed and ripped though. Rick must have put his foot down that day. And it would seem Rick had to bring in another one of his experts. BOY WHAT crap once again. I wonder who supplied THAT coin for the show. Got a love a big production budget! At least when coins come in the shop we get to see some cool coins I just don’t know if it’s worth putting up with Rick, Big Hoss or ChumLee to see them.
He does sell Dope you know. He got busted not long ago with pot, baggies and scales in his house. Hmmm walks like a duck, quacks like a duck must be a stoned drug dealing tweeker duck. I HAVE NO RESPECT FOR CHUMLEE. DRUG DEALERS SHOULD BE SHOT AND THEIR MONEY GIVIN TO DRUG REHAB PROGRAMS. So no I’m not a big ChumLee fan. Or any drug dealers for that matter. Arrested on 19 drug related charges AND NOT ONLY POT BUT METH AS WELL!!!!!!! That explains the rapid weight loss. That’s what you call a TWEEKER folks. WHATS TO LIKE. If ChumLee wasn’t working at the pawn shop he’d be breaking into houses to fund his obvious drug PROBLEM. Just the kind of guy I want to idealize and think of as being normal.
The whole show is staged...but they show some really interesting things so I enjoy watching it. If you look closely, it becomes obvious that it's staged. Here is an example from one of the recent new episodes (non-coin related). A guy brought in a violin signed and inscribed by Charlie Daniels. So...of course, they have to call in their experts including autograph guy Steve Grad of Beckett (formerly of PSA/DNA). Normal typical stuff. One thing I noticed throughout the scene is whenever they showed violin, the bottom wasn't visible. Seemed odd but I didn't think anything of it until it was sitting on the counter for a get seconds showing the bottom before someone turned it around. On the bottom was an oval colored sticker with a red and blue logo. Clearly, a PSA/DNA autograph certification sticker. The item was already certified genuine when it came in the door. In the past when this sticker was present...Rick would say "oh, PSA certified...my buddy Steve works there, we're good." Now that Grad works for Beckett (and I'm sure Beckett is paying the History Channel handsomely for screen time)...they are hiding these certifications and calling in an "expert."
Like I said earlier I like the items sometimes but it’s just hard to watch because of the Cast. ALL four of the main characters are pretty much WORTHLESS people to me. How can one say buying gold and jewelry from down and out gamblers for years is a noble profession? Because that IS what ALL Vegas pawn shops do for the most part. It’s called taking advantage of down and out people. The Old Man is the worst offender I’m sure. That Guys got a THICK crust of slime that is dried from all the years of GOOD BUSINESS. makes me shiver. I’m done ranting now thanks.
I personally don't think that pawn shops as deplorable as some people do...they aren't high class establishments either. Everything in life is a give and take. If you have an item with some value and you want to sell it...there are multiple avenues you can take. If you are looking to get maximum dollar, an auction or an item specific store is the way to do. But, that takes time. If your goal is to quickly sell the item and get cash in hand...you can't go that route. Now, you might walk away with less cash...but the speed and convenience is a service that you have to pay for. A pawn shop offers that kind of service. They do not pay top dollar...but they pay cash and they pay now. There is nothing inherently wrong with that.
The smart ones are the ones buying, you know they always come out a head. And anyone who goes into any pawn shop expecting to get top dollar for any item must have gotten dropped on their head as a baby too may times. A pawn shop will almost always give you something for whatever you have, but at best it might be 50-percent of what its worth. For instance, you have an item worth $100. They'll give you perhaps $50. Put it in the case with a price of $100 or it, but take $75 to $80 for it. That's how they stay in business. Nobody ever put a gun to anyone head to force them to sell. But I love the people who pick up something at a garage sale for $10. They take it into the pawn shop asking $200. Rick calls in the expert who then says it's worth $2,000. The seller now wants the $2000 for it, and Rick is kicking himself because if he hadn't called in his expect he probably could of gotten the item for $100.
Yes, and when he gets caught in this situation he always counters with "But this is going to be a tough sell" Or "It will sit in the store too long before it sells".
Yes NOW their shop is okay. Take the Descovery channel out of the picture and I bet they were on the Slimy list for sure. Now they have no pressure to make EVERY last dime from a deal. No way do you ever see a pawn shop tell the customer what something is worth before they buy it. I don’t know if you have much pawn shop experience but I went into a couple of pawn shops to sell a Stihl chain saw I had JUST bought for $300. I was only offered $35, that’s what I mean by rip off. And that price was from 3 shops in my area. Wa. State Seattle area within last 9 months. I have begrudgingly used Pawn shops over the years for various reasons the last just because I didn’t like the saw and wanted to sell it easy, I kept it! I do think I’m done pawning but still enjoy looking at the stuff.
I wasn't talking about their shop...I was talking about pawn shops in general. I don't think that because they pay low dollar amounts that makes them slimy. The business model of a pawn shop is to pay out quick cash. For the service of having cash in hand quickly...you get less. Everyone who sells at a pawn shop knows that. I will admit that I have never sold at a pawn shop...I have never needed to but I have visited and purchased at plenty of them.
The ONLY time I use pawn shops is to sell something that cost me absolutely nothing. That has worked out pretty good. My landfill has an outdoor building where people put still useful items in for a second chance life. I've always been on the lookout for good stereo equipment and know how to do a lot of minor repairs so this has worked very well for me.
How many chain saws did they already have? I would expect plenty. When you have a lot of something that doesn't resell quickly you don't need another one. So you offer very low for it. Doesn't matter that you just bought it, doesn't matter that you paid $300. They don't NEED it, and you get shot a low price. Its called business.
