Question about Pawn Stars
 

Flipping channels yesterday, I was intrigued by the side by side flintlock "coach" gun, so, of course, I got sucked into watching the show. Bad for me, I know, but it raised a question - how much do the "experts" who appraise the goods get for their time? It IS tv, after all, and no one works for free, right? I'm thinking the show must give them 500 bucks or so?

(Bonus question - does anyone think the two "other" fat clowns add anything to an already marginal show?)

didn't Tabs say that the show was rigged.....the guy "selling" the gun is actually a well-known collector of firearms that knows much more about them then he led on?

a la Orange County Chopper, Chummily adds the Mikey Factor to the show - fat imbecile. The ol Man is Big Paul, a quintessential grouch and the ol Mans son is the voice of reason. Big Hoss is Pauly Junior - some sense, some hardcore but mostly meaningless.

Follows a formula that can't be duplicated. I predict failure.

The show is pretty weak but it does have a few interesting items - think of the Key / Gun.

it's tv.
believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see.

I always enjoy the part where, for example the item gets appraised for say $8,000. Then they ask the customer how much they want for it and the reply is usually "$8,000."

def has a feel of american choppers meets antique road show.

"i'd appraise this item to be valued at about $5000"
*customer eyes get bigger by 500%*
"really??? oh my"

I've seen a couple of episodes. It's sort of interesting, because they get some interesting stuff in. It's sort of like WWE or Orange County Choppers meets Antiques Road show.

The main guy seems like an ok guy. The fat son seems like a douchenozzle. The fat guy's just an idiot, and the old man isn't much better.

I saw an episode with some sort of strongbox/chest that had a fake keyhole and a hidden keyhole and the entire lid was full of lock mechanism. It was pretty cool.

I'm sure it is 75% scripted. But always fun to see what walks in the door.

It's kept me interested for 25 years.
Jim

How much stuff have you kept/"bought" because you wanted it?

It must be nice to have a resource of experts just hanging around to give free appraisals. That part I don't understand.

That was my original question - does anyone know how that works? TV being TV, I assume they get 500 bucks or so to offer an opinion.

Anyone yet catch the episode where Chumly has to pick up something at the old dude's house??? When he arrives, the ol man's digs looks better than most of the crap on MTV's "cribs" - Like the living room is big enough to play baseball in .........

Clearly - thar's gold in them thar town

I now have more 'stuff' than if I'd kept crawling under cars for a living. Some isn't essential to keep and some is of higher quality than I would have purchased from a store. My wife has a lot more jewelry than she would have otherwise have had. I have a LOT more guns than I need but I derive some pleasure from having them
and my wife doesn't complain about them.
I look at a lot of it as inventory I haven't decided to sell as yet. I was never one to go to yard sales but I gather they can be great places to get a good deal, you just have to be patient. At the shop I can stand around and wait for bargains to come here. There's a lot of things I don't make an offer on, I don't want to become a second hand store. Selling used stuff is work, and I end up with enough unredeemed merchandise to move. I'm a lot happier when people pick up their pawn items (and repawn them next month). Lots of time I use the line "do you want to pawn it or do you want to sell (your widget)?" If they say sell I often send them to another shop.
Jim

Or just to get their mug on TV.

I have watched it and American Pickers which is right after. Interesting items. It is way more entertaining that any of the major network shows.

The American Picker guys seem like turds, no? Like lame guys that had no friends as youth?

how did you get into it? family biz or just opened the place up on a whim?

There's a little something wrong with them....but they are always trying to buy some hoarder's junk. I see a crossover show one day.

I saw the episode where a guy comes in with an aluminum bodied Shelby Cobra shell/frame on a rollback. Said he was paid to haul it out of a storage place. Not knowing if it was real, they went to the Shelby place and talked to the guy there that runs it. Turns out it was a real Shelby body and frame.

They paid the guy something like $30k for it and had it built up with about $100k in I think. No info on what happened to it after that.