# YUUUUUPPPPP, Storage Wars is fake **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 12, 2012, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803 "2012-12-12T05:46:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/61 "2012-12-13T18:07:37Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > He is claiming he was fired because he warned the producers that many of the things they were doing constituted fraud, that’s the basis of his suit. That makes me potentially sad. I hope the truth is they canned him because people (like me) dislike watching him. Though realistically, shows like this fall into the trap of wanting to have a ‘villain.’ I could see Hester actually being right. Fuck me ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/62 "2012-12-13T18:18:53Z")
Don’t worry. Remember the mantra from the movie “Meatballs”: “It doesn’t really matter!” ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/63 "2012-12-13T18:19:35Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > I dislike Hester. Is there anyone who _likes_ him? > I watched an episode on my DVR last night. His ego is really growing wild and unchecked. I simply can’t fathom the alternate reality his deluded mind has built for himself. He better not win his lawsuit, for everyones sake (including his). Well, of course you dislike him. He’s the equivalent of the guy who sneaks up behind the hero in “pro” wrestling and whacks him with a folding chair. He’s supposed to be the unlikable guy you root against. It’s difficult to tell if he’s really that much of a schmuck underneath the on-screen persona. If there’s merit in Dave’s suit, then the producers are actually screwing over a lot of people who run out to these auctions mistakenly thinking that there’s lots of cool, sellable stuff in those lockers. (Granted, I don’t have a lot of sympathy for the buyers of storage lockers because, especially for the better household lockers, there’s clearly a lot of sadness and heartbreak that they’re capitalizing on. No one leaves an entire household of nice furniture and personal belongings behind unless they’re dead, sick, or their life has gone badly off the rails.) It was interesting to hear what Dave was being paid. If other shows pay similar amounts, then those bozos on the Gold Rush show must be laughing all the way to the bank. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/64 "2012-12-13T18:24:27Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > That said, appraisers sometimes are not interested in the stuff (not all appraisers have a resale store), and if they were they certainly are not interested in paying retail. That’s what gets me. You have a semi-rare piece of art from Nigeria, and the appraiser says, that “On a good day, to the right collector who needs this piece to complete his set, this piece might fetch anywhere between $1500 and $2000!” Then the counter on the unit in the lower left hand corner chings up $2k! First, it will take forever to find someone who is interested. And then they will pay full retail? Nobody pays full retail. That money is pure fantasy and will sell for the first guy who offers $400. It’s even more ridiculous with things like office chairs for $25 or DVDs for $2 . I can buy those new at the store for those prices. Why would I pay that at thrift stores? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/65 "2012-12-13T19:09:14Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > I’ve been in enough storage bins to know that they normally contain non-working big-screen TVs, boxes of random kitchen utensils, trash bags of random kids’ clothes, chipped-up skis or bent tennis rackets, sofas that haven’t seen the light of day since 1992, and at least one car part - usually one snow tire that doesn’t match any of the owner’s cars. Don’t forget a mattress. There’s _always_ a mattress. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/66 "2012-12-13T19:27:34Z")
Hmm, I bought a storage locker that contained a safe with a 14-carat diamond, a steamer trunk with the original handwritten manuscript of the Great Gatsby, a signed confession to the Kennedy Assassination by J Edgar Hoover, along with detailed notes, and a never before released blue-ray demo DVD of _Star Wars_ where Han shoots first. And a old mattress. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/67 "2012-12-13T19:27:58Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > According to the legal documents, Hester was making: > > $25k per episode > $124k of yearly expenses > a signing bonus (which I didn’t find the amount for, assume $50k) > > … and he was able to buy a locker with $90k of old newspapers for $750. > > And now he’s suing the show claiming “this isn’t fair!” > > WHAT A MAROON! I read an article that mentioned those newspapers. Of course he can’t sell them all off and make that much money. Most are being given away as promotional items. The producers of the show are claiming that it is not fake. All the units are sealed as per law and they do not know what’s in them. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/68 "2012-12-13T19:31:08Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I read an article that mentioned those newspapers. Of course he can’t sell them all off and make that much money. Most are being given away as promotional items. > The producers of the show are claiming that it is not fake. All the units are sealed as per law and they do not know what’s in them. Sealed until purchased of course - this does not mean thta they could not unseal them immediately after purchase and plant prior to the ‘purchaser’ actually going thru it. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/69 "2012-12-13T19:35:10Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Don’t forget a mattress. There’s _always_ a mattress. > mmm Which is stained from urine…or worse. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/70 "2012-12-14T08:02:02Z")
Well, I feel vindicated. Somewhat, anyway…because it isn’t worth anything. But, I said as much in another thread on this topic and received little support, how could this be? People would ask, and I got a long list of reasons why the owner of the storage site, for example, wouldn’t sneak into these units a day or so before and take anything good out, or if that was risky, to just have a shill in the audience buy the units he was told to. No, that show screams fakery, and I’m glad the truth came out. No way is there that many valuable things left in storage lockers, and beyond that, there is no way these guys can come out big winners each week. The odds just don’t add up. Has anyone here had a storage locker? Store anything valuable in one? Leave that valuable item if you were notified that your locker was going to be auctioned off? No, you would go to your unit, get what you thought was worthwhile, and leave the rest for them to clean up. It has amazed me that supposedly intelligent SD posters couldn’t see the benefit of seeding the units, or cheating in some way to make a more entertaining show. Because there is no crime if everyone is in on it, it’s entertainment. If any of you think it’s real, go to your local storage unit auction. After a quick look around, where there are just boxes and old furniture and clothes visible, bid a thousand on it. Tell us how many of those boxes were filled with someones books and papers, and crap they didn’t want to look at but couldn’t bear to throw away. Compare that to the thousand you threw away and see how you feel. What? No old coin collection? No gold bars? What a surprise! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/71 "2012-12-14T13:42:32Z")
But…but… Al Capone’s Vault – that was real, right? Or did someone have it in for Geraldo Rivera? > **[The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mystery_of_Al_Capone%27s_Vault)** > > The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults is a two-hour live American television special that was broadcast in syndication on April 21, 1986, and hosted by Geraldo Rivera. It centered on the live opening of a walled-off underground room in the Lexington Hotel in Chicago once owned by noted crime lord Al Capone, which turned out to be empty except for debris. Thirty million viewers watched, making it the "highest rated syndicated special" in history. Rivera had inadvertently launched a "no-news" form o Al... (Pepper Mill _loves_ these shows, BTW ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/72 "2012-12-14T13:56:13Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Has anyone here had a storage locker? Store anything valuable in one? Leave that valuable item if you were notified that your locker was going to be auctioned off? No, you would go to your unit, get what you thought was worthwhile, and leave the rest for them to clean up. Yes, I’ve had a storage locker. Yes, we had some valuable stuff in it - no magical “antique toy racing car worth $20k” or anything, but probably 2k-3k (or 10k as the show values it) worth of stuff at thrift store prices. We were selling our house, and the current thinking is your house shouldn’t look cluttered when you’re showing it, so we had moved a lot of furniture, knick knacks, toys, etc into storage. And once you get notice that your unit is going to be auctioned off, you CAN’T go back and get anything, unless you pay all the back rent. The storage unit owners put their OWN lock on it, in addition to yours, so you can’t access it without their permission. It’s right there in the rental agreement, and if you go to a storage locker location, you’ll see plenty of units with 2 different locks on them - one of those is the unit owners lock. Having said that, I completely agree - your not going to find any of the oddball items that just happen to be worth several thousand. Best you can hope for is some furniture, clothes, & toys you can sell at a thrift shop. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/73 "2012-12-14T13:58:13Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Well, I feel vindicated. Somewhat, anyway…because it isn’t worth anything. > But, I said as much in another thread on this topic and received little support, how could this be? People would ask, and I got a long list of reasons why the owner of the storage site, for example, wouldn’t sneak into these units a day or so before and take anything good out, or if that was risky, to just have a shill in the audience buy the units he was told to. > > No, that show screams fakery, and I’m glad the truth came out. No way is there that many valuable things left in storage lockers, and beyond that, there is no way these guys can come out big winners each week. The odds just don’t add up. > > Has anyone here had a storage locker? Store anything valuable in one? Leave that valuable item if you were notified that your locker was going to be auctioned off? No, you would go to your unit, get what you thought was worthwhile, and leave the rest for them to clean up. > > It has amazed me that supposedly intelligent SD posters couldn’t see the benefit of seeding the units, or cheating in some way to make a more entertaining show. Because there is no crime if everyone is in on it, it’s entertainment. > > If any of you think it’s real, go to your local storage unit auction. After a quick look around, where there are just boxes and old furniture and clothes visible, bid a thousand on it. Tell us how many of those boxes were filled with someones books and papers, and crap they didn’t want to look at but couldn’t bear to throw away. > > Compare that to the thousand you threw away and see how you feel. What? No old coin collection? No gold bars? What a surprise! :rolleyes: I stored thousands of dollars in collectibles (mostly autographed memorabilia) and fell behind on my payments several times. As soon as you were late the first time, they lock you out of the grounds (you had a key code to enter the main gate, which they could suspend). So if you are going to end up auctioned off, you won’t be able to get your stuff out - unless you pulled it out before being late on a payment. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/74 "2012-12-14T14:02:29Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > But…but… > Al Capone’s Vault – that was real, right? > Or did someone have it in for Geraldo Rivera? > [The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mystery_of_Al_Capone%27s_Vault) > > (Pepper Mill _loves_ these shows, BTW I remember watching that live. Oddly, I have very clear memories of a Bob Vila / renovations show a few months before that which featured the hotel in question, and they pointed out the sealed vault, but didn’t demonstrate any great urgency to open it. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/75 "2012-12-14T14:20:45Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Are any of those shows not fake? Ice Pilots is not fake: [http://www.history.ca/icepilotsnwt/video/full+episodes+s4/crash+landing/video.html?v=2313692017&p=1&s=dd#video](http://www.history.ca/icepilotsnwt/video/full+episodes+s4/crash+landing/video.html?v=2313692017&p=1&s=dd#video) ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/76 "2012-12-14T15:16:46Z")
I like Storage Wars. I’ve never doubted for a second that it’s faked, but for me, it’s more watching the people/cast involved than it is them scoring the Wow Factor (to quote Daryl) find. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/77 "2012-12-14T16:49:23Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I stored thousands of dollars in collectibles (mostly autographed memorabilia) and fell behind on my payments several times. As soon as you were late the first time, they lock you out of the grounds (you had a key code to enter the main gate, which they could suspend). So if you are going to end up auctioned off, you won’t be able to get your stuff out - unless you pulled it out before being late on a payment. Ouch. Ok, well, if you had thousands of dollars worth of collectables, why would you risk losing them because of a late rental agreement payment? Sell a couple of your autographed items and you are back in business! Maybe I’m missing something. Unless you died before getting your bill back to zero, you had the assets in the storage area to pay your bill. I can’t see this being something that occurs at every storage facility all over the country every week. I suspect that muldoonthief’s experience is more common… Moving expensive things in there for a temporary time. Selling your house is a perfect example… But my guess is a $10k coin collection is taking up al that room. Shove it in the attic or under the bed! Sorry, I still think the show is bogus. But so what? If you like it, that shouldn’t make a difference. You as the viewer still don’t know what they will find, and you are probably identifying with one or two of the bidders. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/78 "2012-12-14T17:02:32Z")
I could see somebody having something valuable in their that they haven no idea it is valuable, maybe because it has been in their family for a long time or they just happened to pick it up because it looked cool. I agree that there should only be something pretty valuable in maybe 10% of them. Not the 80% hit rate they get on the show. Also, sure we can think about what people should do, but there is no reason to doubt that there is a few who can’t seem to figure it out and manage to get their shit locked up. I mean these storage areas have hundreds, sometimes even thousands of storage lockers and the auctions happen a couple of times a year with just a few lockers. It’s not like its an epidemic. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/79 "2012-12-14T17:12:42Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > I could see somebody having something valuable in their that they haven no idea it is valuable, maybe because it has been in their family for a long time or they just happened to pick it up because it looked cool. I agree that there should only be something pretty valuable in maybe 10% of them. Not the 80% hit rate they get on the show. My guess is that the show is mostly only airing the small fraction of lockers with interesting stuff, and that they film many more lockers being auctioned and sorted through. (Similarly, I think thousands of people bring stuff to an Antiques Roadshow taping, but they only show the interesting or valuable stuff.) ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803/80 "2012-12-14T17:32:20Z")
I don’t watch it regularly anymore, but Hester was always the best part of the show to me. I had very little interest in the items and their worth - it was the chess game of bidding that I found fascinating. Watching Hester bid up the competition time and again, and then pull out in the nick of time, every time, was hilarious. I learned more from watching him than in the whole first year of negotiation training. Then young married guy (forget his name) _ **finally** _ caught on, and tried to do it back to him. But he loudly told his wife what he was doing mid-stream. Hester is a lot of things, and I never enjoyed his vindictiveness or malicious intent, but he is not the Maroon on that show. P.S. I’d still like to know what the value was on that china item he smashed getting out of the truck. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yuuuuuppppp-storage-wars-is-fake/643803.md?page=5)