Not sure what episode or incident you are speaking of, but I just watched the show and witnessed Mike and Frank do an extremely noble thing. They had purchased two large carnival paintings for a few hundred dollars from an amusement park owner. The Pickers then sold the two paintings for $10,000, and returned to the original buyer and gave him half of their profits. This doesn't sound like someone trying to take advantage of anyone. In the same episode, they asked another seller what he would sell an item for. He told them $200. Mike told him it was worth more than that and paid him $500. You have to remember that television producers edit, edit, edit their taping. What you see in the final show is not exactly what took place, because it makes "good tv" and evokes emotional reactions. So much has been edited out that it can change the context of what really took place.