This is a general discussion thread for Pawn Stars. Comment on things you saw on the show, deals you would have made, deals you wouldn’t have made, etc.
I’m watching an episode now where a guy is trying to sell a Stinson Reliant for $60,000. The shop’s aviation expert said it would cost $60,000 to restore it, and it would sell for between $100,000 and $150,000. They offered $25,000 for it, and there was no sale. There are two restored Reliants over at contoller.com; one for $75,000, and the other for $69,000. They made the right decision.
A guy comes in with an Andrew Jackson document. He wanted a few hundred bucks for it, but the expert estimated a price ten times as much. So Rick offers a couple grand. The guy wants three thousand. Got $2,900. Not bad at all, considering he would have sold it for $500 before he knew the estimated value.
Today’s episodes were kinda boring. In the two episodes, the big ticket items were a chest and a funeral medal, most of the stuff was less than $100. C’mon, let’s get a little more excitement out there. Even though the cars and stuff are repetitive, at least they’re worth a lot.
I think on all of these shows, they’re exaggerating the sale price. American Pickers really pisses me off. Seriously, it’s hard to believe the numbers they throw out sometimes…300-500 for a sign? Seriously?
My favorite pawn stars episode would be the one where Big Hoss bought the boat or when Rick had stress balls.
A few weeks ago I saw them buy some kind of ultra rugged, two wheel drive motorcycle. I think they called it a trail-breaker made by Rokon. Rick was just so thrilled by this thing and I just don’t get it. He talked about keeping it for himself because they’re just so fun! Why exactly is that? Fine, they’ll go anywhere a mountain goat can go, they’ll just about climb trees. But they have a maximum speed of under 20 MPH. Oooooh, there’s thrills by the bushel there.
There are people who modify their Jeeps to be able to crawl over boulders. Slow going, and they often have someone standing outside directing them. Where’s the fun in that? Especially for the friend who has to stand outside? Or look at muscle cars. They make a lot of noise and go fast – in a straight line. The Hot Hatch crowd thinks they’re cavemen because the muscle car guys don’t ‘get’ maneuverability. The muscle car guys think the Hot Hatchers are geeks because their cars are puny. Or Harley-Davidson riders vs. Sportbike riders. Or choose any other activity that needs a specific piece of equipment. The Rokon does things no other bike can, and it does it well. It’s not fast, but that’s not the point. It was made to ‘go anywhere a mountain goat can go’, and that’s the appeal. Since they were slow, not many people bought them; thus they’re unique and rare and collectable.
Rick lives in Las Vegas. That’s really not the environment the Rokon was designed for. Where it’s flat, you want a fast bike that you can jump with. I can’t see the Rokon being much fun there. It would be more fun up here where there are bogs and such. But its real environment would be the Sierras or Rockies where there are steep trails and big rocks. It’s like my old Willy CJ2A. Not very fast, but great in its environment. So the Rokon delivers ‘thrills by the bushel’ in its environment. If you’re looking for speed, you want a different tool. But don’t try to use it where you need a Rokon. And there’s the desirability because of its rarity.
Guy 1: I’m coming into the pawn shop to sell this lamp I found at a yard sale a few weeks ago. For no reason whatsoever, I think it’s worth $1000 and that’s what I’m going to try to get out of it.
::walks in::
Rick: I’ll give you $50 for it.
Guy 1: Oh…you sure you can’t come up?
Rick: No.
Guy 1: Hmm…ok. Deal.
Guy 1: He offered me $50 for it and I think that was a fair deal. I’m happy with the sale and I really needed the money.
Rick: What do you have here?
Guy 2: My grandfather died yesterday and I was rifling through his pockets while he was being lowered into the casket. I found these old documents. I haven’t actually done any of the trivially easy research on it but thought I’d bring it in here to see if you could tell me what it’s worth.
Rick: Hey old man. I found your first textbook!
Old Man: Don’t make me beat you.
Rick: What do you want for them?
Guy 2: Um…$100?
Rick: Well it looks like it came from the Revolutionary period, but I see Abraham Lincoln’s signature on it. Mind if I get this checked out?
Guy 2: No problem
Expert: Well, despite not being an expert on handwriting, nor doing any forensic analysis or comparative research to other known documents, I’m just going to go ahead and call this one authentic.
Rick: What’s it worth?
Expert: I’m going to say somewhere in the range of $8000
Guy 2: SWEET
Rick: So what do you want for it?
Guy 2: $8000
Rick: No.
Guy 2: aw.
Rick: I’ll trade you for this guitar.
Guy 2: Awesome. Deal.
Guy 2: I came in with a scrap of paper and walked out with a guitar. I’m pretty stoked. Thanks grampa!
I just want Rick or the Old Man to explain why they keep Chumlee around. The only thing I can think of is that he or his family have blackmail evidence of some sort.
Chumlee has been Big Hoss’s friend since childhood. Maybe they feel sorry for him, knowing that he’s unsuited for any other employment and keep him on as charity. Or maybe he works cheap. Or maybe he’s not as dumb as he’s portrayed on the show, or he’s not so dumb that he can’t do his job. Or they keep him around for lulz. Possibly a combination of all of the above.
I like Enderw24’s take on it. I’ve noticed the same thing. One thing I wonder about is the people trying to sell things, as opposed to those who want to prawn things. For many of the items, they’d probably get more by selling them on eBay. Many of the items need authentication. It doesn’t seem that difficult to do a modicum of research before trying to sell something. I’ve seen people post here to ask about one thing or another, and samclem is in the business of evaluating certain items. While an accurate value may not be obtainable on a message board, often they could get a ballpark figure or get enough information to pursue further research. Maybe they just want to be on the TEE-vee!
Hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but as is so often the case w/ reality TV, the truth ain’t quite the same as what is portrayed. For example, Chumlee is not an employee of the pawn shop, but is in fact a Shakespearean-trained actor. In addition to being a Rhodes scholar, he is a Cordon Bleu trained chef. He moonlights as an aerobics instructor and enjoys attending opera.
This show is predictable (right on, Enderw24!) but I still love it. I guess I just like learning about the different weird shit people bring in. And I sorta got the hots for Hoss
I’d actually like to see a couple of special episodes where they show the stuff they sell!
Every epsiode the buy “unique” items they just have to have, or they buy x and spend y on it so they can sell it for z.
I just want to know if they do as well as they think they’re going to do on some of these items. Also how long do they have to keep some of these items on the shelf before they sell.
I enjoy this show very much, and its one of the “reality” shows I don’t mind being on the History channel. Why? Because it gives you some actual HISTORY in it! Take last night’s show - they let you know about Andrew Jackson, his role in the formation of the United States, his role in the war, and a bit about his own real life - he purchased war materials for the government. He’s not just an old president - it makes his life come alive.
Its a good integration into the History channel’s line up.
American Pickers is just a greedy hoarder exploitation show.
Pawn Stars is funny and informative. I love the little backgrounds they give on some of the items. Its like looking at some cool stuff at an antique faire but actually being able to find out what it actually is.
Best Chumlee line- while looking at the antique shooting gallery machine he asks how it works and the seller jokingly says “I don’t know. Magic?”
Chumlee stops and looks up and in all seriousness “I love magic.”
I agree, I think they keep Chum around as some sort of home-grown charity project. He might not be as dim as he appears on the show, but I doubt it. I nearly horked when they showed him stomping grapes and making “wine” in that big glass carboy they bought. Oy.
I’m another who’s amazed at people who bring in something to sell when they have NO IDEA of its worth, and they have ZERO haggling skills or notion of how to present their item. Ah, well, Rick and the Old Man are clearly subscribers to PT Barnum’s “there’s a sucker born every minute” theory.
I don’t think the people haggle much because they’ve already sold the item. It seems pretty obvious that they bring customers back who have already sold an item to the pawn shop to recreate the negotiation. It just doesn’t seem very authentic.
Also, if you’re going to a pawn shop you’re pretty obviously in desperate need for money. When you’re that desperate, you’re not usually in the best position to haggle.
