HISTORY CHANNEL****FOR SHAME***AMERICAN PICKERS

I refuse to watch the show also.

I buy and sell old books, paper items (postcards, etc). I have seen some pretty lousy ethics in this business, but I am usually buying things that would otherwise end up in the dump. If I get a call to go to someone's house for an attic full of stuff I will give them a fair price but some of you people on here feel I should give them the full retail price. I have plenty of expenses - advertising, gas, van payments, show set-up fees, internet auction fees, mailing materials, etc. etc. If I see $800 worth of stuff (that I THINK I can get $800 for) I would offer 300-400 for it. It wouldn't be worth it otherwise. If the people that own the stuff want to try to get the full $800 then THEY can pay the auction fees, advertising, etc. etc. to maybe sell half of it in the first year. I guarantee they would end up with much less than the $300-$400 I would have given them. Now when it comes to yard sales, flea markets, auctions, etc. I don't tell someone that their $1.00 item is really worth $100, they are the one that priced it and my expertise allows me to profit from it. As far as the show goes - it's pretty fake as far as I can tell, it is heavily scripted and edited and doesn't reflect reality. Pawn stars is a much more realistic show.

what a bunch of whiny bitches!! While I admit these guys are annoying, they are IN BUSINESS to make money. They don't know what they can get for a lot of the stuff, and what they do know, they usually offer about half. That is not a "killing" it is barely enough to live. The sellers don't have to say yes. And they are always honest with them. Hell Pawn Stars call in experts for the sellers who get a free appraisal. They can walk after knowing its appraised value, but the Pawnbn Broker offers a service, QUICK CASH!!


Get a clue!!1 My profit margin from stuff I buy at garage sales is often 1000%! Should I be telling people what their stuff is really worth and cut myself out of a livelihood.

What the hell do you think the markup is on most retail goods? Should WE be condemning car dealers because they are making 2-10k on every car they buy from a manufacturers.

What a bunch of idiots you all are!!!

Seen Mike Wolf with his girlfriend--believe you'd be wishing you were him. NO WAY he and Frank are an item...
ALOT of other things in world to get worked up about; choose 1 or 2 of the millions and try actually to accomplish something important!!!! It's a tv show, you know entertainment-turn channel-GET a LIFE.

How is that sexist? There are a great many businesses that do not allow employees to have tatoos because it can create the impression (especially among older people) that the person with the tatoo is unprofessional. The statement that they would not allow Danielle to go out on a pick had nothingto do with her gender, and everything to do with presenting a professional appearance to the people they interact with.

What are you talking about? This is old junk is rotting in someone's shed.... the seller doesn't have to lift a finger and they get money for something they won't even miss. If anything, these guys offer way too much money! If the sellers were putting this stuff in a garage sale they would probably ask a lot less for it and no one would say a bad word about anyone who bought it up and resold it on eBay for more money. That is called business.

What are you talking about? This is old junk is rotting in someone's shed.... the seller doesn't have to lift a finger and they get money for something they won't even miss. If anything, these guys offer way too much money! If the sellers were putting this stuff in a garage sale they would probably ask a lot less for it and no one would say a bad word about anyone who bought it up and resold it on eBay for more money. That is called business.

U R AN ASSHOLE RACIST...U WOULDNT UNDERSTAND CUZ YOUR IQ IS TOO LOW....THEY AREN'T EVEN JEWISH FOOL.

For those against this show, I hope none of you use ebay.

I just joined for this argument.I am in the same Biz they are.The shows are staged and they have advance people check things out usually.

Anyways...as far as buying and selling...If I make a price and I have Knowledge its worth CONSIDERABLY MORE like 50X times more than I am in TROUBLE.Because I am an "expert" and its an unfair advantage for me to buy.Same thing goes for appraisers...They cant Appraise and then offer to buy.Is there a Law on the Books?...No and most likely there never will be.Now if they set the Price then its Fair game.

There is an awful lot to try and and sell this stuff,just because someone Values an item more does not mean they will get it.Buy,Travel,Ebay Fee's,Taxes and then Overhead of a shop,advertising and running a website are all Major costs.Alot of times it takes 3-4 months to sell some items,others do sell quick and then you have the Items that Loose...and these days there are alot.

So worry about your own stuff...watch the show its just entertainment,these people want to be on camera and trust me most dont need any money...

u people are stupid dont u think the people wouldnt let them come if they didnt want to sell. come on this is the second season

They buy it to make a profit not to lose money.And number 2 the seller dont have to sell.Leland was on the ball and knew exactly how much money he wanted for each thing.

Good show that pickers is. They should get rid of that short fat prick though. Whatta fag!

You know that some, no most of those farms with rows of junk were picked off the side of the road or picked from a county dump by said owners. Nothing wrong with them getting something for nothing.

I can't believe how much these guys pay for this crap. Mike is not a competent business man at all. In tonight's episode, Mike wanted two old Harley gas caps. The guy wanted $20 for them and Mike said, "No, how about $100!" What a fkkin idiot! He highballed the offer fivefold. I don't know how these guys stay in business.

you are full of shit the show is kool those people have the choice to sell there junk there not thiefs there out to make a buck just like the next american man.So if u dont like dont watch it.Your all a bunch of idiots bet u voted for obama too.

your such a freaking idiot, these people never have to sell these items if they don't want to!! So if your old man were to sell something to them one day and later feel that he got ripped off, the blame falls on him not the pickers!!

I don't see the harm in what they do at all. Most of the people just seem like they have collected a lot of junk and can turn it into cash, when they stop by.

Jewelry stores mark up their merchandise at least 300 percent. I honestly think the pickers guys overpay a lot for what they get.

You have to remember, they do this for a living. They have to cover all their overhead, so they have to buy wholesale.

If you think they are getting rich, take a look at what their bids are going for on ebay. That clown gumball machine they paid $150 for is now at bid for $216. That's not robbing anyone blind.

If the people that have all of that stuff cared about it, they should do their research and try to sell it themselves. I think these guys have a lot of initiative and are pretty fair. Do they make out once in a while, sure, but that is just business.

I personally would not pay much for many things that they bought. To me it looks like junk, but all people like different things.

A lot of what they get might be rare, but some is so specialized that it probably takes them a long time to sell it. I would agree that they run on a shoestring, but they seem to enjoy it and it's interesting TV.

As to questioning the morality of the show, I think that's a bit over the top. If you feel that way, ask yourself this, are you telling me that if you bought an item cheaply, paying maybe $10 for it at a yard sale, that you wouldn't enjoy selling it online for $100?

Just my thoughts,

Jim, Dublin, OH

First of all, when the show lists the price paid and the "value" of the item, most people fail to realize the expense the "pickers" incure to find the items. Try to remember that these guys have to pay for the vehicle, the gas, hotel costs, food, insurance on the vehicle, advertising for the business, insurance, gas and electric for their shop........etc. My point is that to purchase the item for $500 and sell it for $1,200 does not truely reflect the acutal profit these guys make. How many of you go out to a restaurant and pay $1.79 for a beverage with your meal when that only costs the business less than 10 cents. If the seller is happy with the price paid it is none or our business. If they are really concerned with the value of the item than it is their responsibility to pay for an appraisal of said item.

Then you should never let your mom or dad goto walmart. Walmart, like every other store in the world, buys items at a low price and sells it to people at higher prices. What is the difference here? These guys seem like nice guys never out to really rip anyone off. These people have let these things rot in their barns for years. They weren't going to do anything with this stuff. I have seen people ask for $20 and the pickers said no, I am going to give you $50. They have the connections that enable them to make money on this stuff that we and the the people that they buy this stuff from don't have.

Look. There are people on this forum who are obviously mad about these to guys coming into someone's home and buying things from people. What I think people are failing to realize is that all business has to make enough money to cover costs and expenses across the board. Most of the time they vale about double what they pay. I work in a small business and that is the smallest profit margin you can do now a days to keep a business going.

1 day of gas hauling stuff per trip = $30 or more
time searching through building after building (at$15 per hour (average US wage x 2 guys for an hour) = $60
Insurance, rent of building, employee working for them, electricity, water, internet/phone taxes, hotel rooms, loan interests etc,etc per hour could be looking at $120 per hour (hard to believe but it can be that high or higher)

Now a lot of the stuff may sit around with them for awhile so they may sell it at a lower price when it finally comes down to it. They may just need to move it. Remember they say "Value" not "Sold" for 95% of the time.

So for ever hour they work they need to pay $210. Thats $210 and hour- working day of 8 hours = $1680 a day. Do you realize how much stuff they would need to sell if they paid closer to the value of the piece.

They are open about being 'pickers'. You look at this with personal prejudice and you hate them. Look at the numbers and you realize they have to make double just to earn a living.

Just a thought

Mike and the "Ompalumpah" show, please...professionals stealing from people who don't know the value of what they own???

I just recently got into this show,which i think is better than most of the junk that they put on tv these days,at least the guys are doing something to try and make money instead of sittin around on their ass living off the goverment and my tax money,crying that they dont have any money,so the best of luck to them and the pawn stars and any body else who gets up and does something productive with their day. On a ending note nobody is holding a gun to anyone making them sell anything,they are getting paid and know that they are on tv,so whats the big freaking deal

This has worked THROUGHOUT HISTORY on the principle that there is someone who is dumber/more naive than you.


It is REVOLTING to see it exploited on TV though.
Not surprised though since it is owned by parent company GENERAL ELECTRIC.

...who also happens to run MSNBC.

Need I say more??

Totally agreed here-I can't even imagine there are that many idiots out there that need to complain about this show or the fact that consenting adults have agreed to buy or sell anything. What is their problem? Do they really think that anyone over 50 might need help making a decision to sell something that they own? Get real! This is called America and this is their right to make that decision and no one has forced these people to do anything against their will! What retards those people are! Get a life-obviously you have never been in business. How old are you people? 15?

Ok-agreed upon as far as GE and MSNBC is concerned but all of these people who have gone to the Pawn shop have done so on their own behalf and have a right to enter into an agreement to sell anything they so choose. That's called free enterprize. No one forced them to take a lesser amount on an item. They could have pawned it and come back within 60 or 90 days and purchased the item back rather than sell the items. Yes, there are a lot of foolish folks out there. Most folks who go to the Pawn shop just choose not to take an item to auction and wait for their item to sell! They want that quick money, now! That's their choice.

Get a life! You must be all of 15 years old and think all people over 50 can't reason anymore. These people have a legal right to accept or decline an offer to sell their items and if you don't like the show-watch something else. You must work on finding something more productive to get upset about. You should try getting upset over what the current Administration is doing to your future by spending this country into oblivian and ignoring the fact that we have such high unemployment after spending our money that is borrowed on so many idiot projects that did nothing but make us deeper in debt while he focused on healthcare for 30 million more folks when we can't afford this massive spending to begin with. That's something to get jacked out of shape over! November is coming!

sure do... they old man was a goy

You can grind anyone into the dirt after you label 'em right?

Don't fucking watch the show tard, instant cure for your moaning. American Pickers is morally wrong<-----AHAHAHA

Are you pissed cause they're making money off junk no one wants until they find it, clean it up, and sell it? Is that whats bothering you? Jealous much?

To the pawn stars tard. Pawn shops have been around forever, there's no scam, scams happen at your local bank.

really this is what pisses you off? not the fact that your shoes cost 3.00 to make and you pay 60 or that when you buy a new car as soon as it steps off the lot you can kiss at least 6,000 of value goodbye, what about the meds that many people need but don't have the money to buy because of the cost. i get it now they are not a major business so that makes it wrong for them to make a living off of junk that would just sit there and rot

History channel's info is falling behind,no one can decipher hieroglyphics,rosetta stone,its a shame to claim to know, yet so much bs on ufo's.

hieroglyphics is the holiest text of this earth,your nations remain in baracks of kindness to them=djed pillars,

to understand this great knowledge one must understand light of god and location of formation,pyrimad of the great giza remains only a shadow,although would fit like a glove if it were re located to this sight.

i do remain tah lightson.

[email protected]

i will debunk a billion in hieroglyphics.