# How does "Pawn Stars" sell stuff? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 25, 2009, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542 "2009-12-25T12:23:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/21 "2009-12-28T17:22:47Z")
I have become very fond of this show, I don’t know how much of it is staged but they feature some very unique items and the expert analysis and history lessons are fascinating. My favorite was the treasure chest/strong box with a fake lock on the front to let thieves waste their time picking while the real lock was on top with a spring loaded hinge to conceal it, very cleaver. One thing they did bring out was the selling prices quoted in the episodes are sometimes very off the mark. In the boat episode they mentioned selling the Chris/Craft for a $10,000 profit and in actuality they only made about $1500 on the sale. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/22 "2009-12-28T17:28:54Z")
What’s really amazing is the diverse knowledge they have on what might or might not be worth anything. I realize they call in experts when necessary, but they still take a great risk with every transaction. I’ve been in a few pawnshops and it’s been my experience that when they have something they are offering for sale, it’s pricey. ---
**Author:** ![pan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@pan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pan1)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/23 "2009-12-28T17:36:01Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > I have become very fond of this show, I don’t know how much of it is staged but they feature some very unique items and the expert analysis and history lessons are fascinating. My favorite was the treasure chest/strong box with a fake lock on the front to let thieves waste their time picking while the real lock was on top with a spring loaded hinge to conceal it, very cleaver. > > One thing they did bring out was the selling prices quoted in the episodes are sometimes very off the mark. In the boat episode they mentioned selling the Chris/Craft for a $10,000 profit and in actuality they only made about $1500 on the sale. Dropping the chair off the truck was clearly staged. (Legs were broken when they put it on the truck) When they buy an item they always hope for a 25-40% profit in the sale or more. They will almost never sell it for that. While ideally they could make a 10k profit on the boat, making a 1.5k profit in a few days is still a huge financial gain. In retail it’s more about turnover than per-item profit margin. It’s more important to sell something fast than hold out for a higher profit margin. By selling it fast for a small profit, they get the money back to buy something else to sell for a profit. If something sits around the store, its common to lower the price to the point of taking a loss just to free up the money to reinvest. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/24 "2009-12-28T17:38:35Z")
Rick said the cannon they paid 30 K for was sold on Ebay for 32 K. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/25 "2009-12-28T17:39:46Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > What’s really amazing is the diverse knowledge they have on what might or might not be worth anything. I realize they call in experts when necessary, but they still take a great risk with every transaction. They call in experts on like 99% of the stuff they buy on the TV show… ---
**Author:** ![pan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@pan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pan1)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/26 "2009-12-28T17:42:46Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I’ve been in a few pawnshops and it’s been my experience that when they have something they are offering for sale, it’s pricey. The pawn shop in Pawn Stars is not a run-of-the-mill pawn shop. It’s definitely a higher grade of pawn shop - if there is such a thing. Most pawn stores are indeed, grungy places where junk is sold for too high a price. Their most common customers for buying things are their customers who sell and pawn. I don’t think this is true with the Gold and Silver. (Pawn Star’s shop) I think they have taken care to buy things that will give their store an ambience worthy of having actual antique collectors shop there. Not to mention the occasional high-roller looking to spend his fresh winnings. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/27 "2009-12-29T23:56:54Z")
I like watching this show as well–the history lessons are fascinating, but my main reason are the main players: The Old Man is the curmudgeon, Corey (Big Hoss) and Chumley are the village idiots providing comic relief, and Rick is the mainstay. I like his laugh and sense of humor. I’ve noticed that a lot of the people coming in to sell their items don’t bother to even check out their items on Ebay to see a ballpark figure to ask for their items. I’m a Internet doofus and I know to do as much research as possible before relying on the guy I’m trying to sell my stuff to. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/28 "2009-12-30T00:38:31Z")
I’m always amazed that people selling their stuff don’t seem to understand that the pawn shop has to make a profit on it. An expert will be like “at a good auction, with the right crowd, it might get $2000-$2500,” and Rick will ask them how much they want, and every fucking time they will quote the highest number the expert said. On the opposite end of the spectrum, though, is how amazed I am at some of the low-ball offers Rick makes. The oddest was for the ejection seat. Worth thousands of dollars according to the expert, and Rick offered just a few hundred, but mostly cause he knew he doesn’t really have anyone looking to buy an ejection seat. I felt really bad for the shark tooth fossil guy, though. After Rick bought the whole collection for basically the price the guy could have gotten for one tooth, I was like, “Damn man, that’s sleazy…” ---
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/29 "2009-12-30T01:04:33Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > I like watching this show as well–the history lessons are fascinating, but my main reason are the main players: The Old Man is the curmudgeon, Corey (Big Hoss) and Chumley are the village idiots providing comic relief, and Rick is the mainstay. I like his laugh and sense of humor. I’ve noticed that a lot of the people coming in to sell their items don’t bother to even check out their items on Ebay to see a ballpark figure to ask for their items. I’m a Internet doofus and I know to do as much research as possible before relying on the guy I’m trying to sell my stuff to. Also, they might find out if their item is even worth anything. It would have saved the guy with the fake Lincoln Ford’s Theater Playbill some embarrassment. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/30 "2009-12-30T01:44:05Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > What’s really amazing is the diverse knowledge they have on what might or might not be worth anything. It happens before you even realize it. I am in a slightly related field; ten years ago I didn’t know squat about watches, glass, or most of the other things people collect. Today I can cruise a few antique malls and markets and snag enough bargains (to run on eBay) to make a good living just on the side. When you are immersed, so to speak, you almost cannot help learning a diverse assortment of things. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/31 "2009-12-30T02:02:47Z")
I worked in a pawnshop for 5 years when I was in college. We kept a list of items that people were looking for but it was never anything as crazy as a hot air balloon. Based on what I experienced, I’m inclined to believe that some of the stuff is setup by the producers. I also question how many experts Rick knows. I don’t ever remember my manager calling someone to see how valuable something was. We’d either look in books or low-ball them. We also did far more pawning than purchasing. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/32 "2009-12-30T03:21:15Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > I felt really bad for the shark tooth fossil guy, though. After Rick bought the whole collection for basically the price the guy could have gotten for one tooth, I was like, > “Damn man, that’s sleazy…” That was a pawn, not a sale, and it was for the amount the owner asked. It makes sense to pawn something for only the money you need, if you’re sure you can recover it that is, since you’re paying 10 percent a month interest. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/33 "2009-12-30T04:32:17Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The one thing _I_ don’t get is why they let Chumlee stick around. I hope the guy’s smarter than he acts. I’m guessing perhaps that he plays dumb for the cameras? (Like you, I hope so – that guy’s freaking annoying. I just want to reach through my TV and smack him upside the head) One thing that gets me is how people treat their antiques – like the guy who ruined the antique gun by scrubbing it with a _wire brush_? UGH!!! Although even the pawn guys don’t get off the hook here – for some objects, they really shouldn’t be handling them without wearing white cotton gloves. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/34 "2009-12-30T05:45:53Z")
> [@Jormungandr](#): > > Also, they might find out if their item is even worth anything. It would have saved the guy with the fake Lincoln Ford’s Theater Playbill some embarrassment. Poor guy said he looked it up online after he bought it and just KNEW it was worth a lot of money. :eek::smack: ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/35 "2009-12-30T05:52:51Z")
> [@Hockey\_Monkey](#): > > Poor guy said he looked it up online after he bought it and just KNEW it was worth a lot of money. :eek::smack: What tripped me out was that the thing didn’t even LOOK old- it looks like one of those fake Constitutions they sell for $1 all over DC. How dumb was he? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/36 "2010-01-11T14:42:40Z")
> [@SmackFu](#): > > Here is their eBay store: > [Gold and Silver Pawn Shop | eBay Stores](http://stores.ebay.com/Gold-and-Silver-Pawn-Shop) > > It’s mostly low-end stuff, but they did have a Segway up a couple of weeks ago. > > And actually, here’s the USS Wisconsin film camera from a recent episode: > [http://cgi.ebay.com/PAILLARD-BOLEX-16mm-MOVIE-CAMERA-from-U-S-S-WISCONSIN\_W0QQitemZ260528215982QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH\_DefaultDomain\_0?hash=item3ca8b117ae#ht\_737wt\_941](http://cgi.ebay.com/PAILLARD-BOLEX-16mm-MOVIE-CAMERA-from-U-S-S-WISCONSIN_W0QQitemZ260528215982QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3ca8b117ae#ht_737wt_941) That 16mm camera [sold for $610.00](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260528215982&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT). IIRC, they paid $200 for it, and estimated the value at $350. Not a bad profit. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/37 "2010-01-11T15:29:16Z")
The thing that amazes me most about the show is the sheer number of people who are willing to take whatever they can get from the Harrisons instead of simply going on eBay _themselves_. I could see it if somebody needs cash in hand right there and then, but mostly they don’t. Is it just the easy-come, easy-go Las Vegas attitude, or what? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/38 "2010-01-11T15:42:58Z")
> [@](#): > > The pawn shop in Pawn Stars is not a run-of-the-mill pawn shop. It’s definitely a higher grade of pawn shop - if there is such a thing. Most pawn stores are indeed, grungy places where junk is sold for too high a price. Their most common customers for buying things are their customers who sell and pawn. I visited a lot of Pawn Shops when I was younger. I always felt a little uncomfortable. They were in bad parts of town. The doors and windows had bars to prevent break ins. At one time pawn shops had a bad reputation. A lot of stolen stuff passed through them. Gold and Silver is a totally different kind of business. It’s clean and unusually large for a pawn shop. This tv show has done a lot to clean up the image of these business. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/39 "2010-01-11T16:21:34Z")
What kind of deal do they cut with the experts they use? I think I’ve seen the same people on multiple episodes–the bike guy, the car guy, the muzzle loader guy. The experts probably aren’t working for free, and whatever they charge is going to affect the negotiation. If the item is only worth a couple hundred, I wouldn’t think experts would be cost effective… ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542/40 "2010-01-11T17:28:15Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The thing that amazes me most about the show is the sheer number of people who are willing to take whatever they can get from the Harrisons instead of simply going on eBay _themselves_. I could see it if somebody needs cash in hand right there and then, but mostly they don’t. Is it just the easy-come, easy-go Las Vegas attitude, or what? Selling something retail, collectible or used, has its moments of “this just isn’t worth it”. Especially on eBay. Stay there long enough and you are going to get scammed, hit the bidder from Hell, or have shipments damaged or missing. It happens and not everyone wants to deal with it - especially if they just have a couple things to sell. So those who can handle the hassles make some bucks of those who don’t want to. And if “those who don’t want to” play it smart and shop around, they can still do OK or better. Plus, we may overestimate how many people are “computer fluent” enough to want to set up a PayPal and eBay accounts and then log in daily to check the things they are selling, answer questions, provide additional images, etc. We, us users here, may just be exceptional yet in our comfort level of dealing on line. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pawn-stars-sell-stuff/522542.md?page=3)