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| photo source: the show Mike and Frank are like old friends |
First of all, it's all about the stuff.
Mostly common everyday stuff, things that we may have grown up with, or at least been exposed to, while at our Gramma's house. Probably even stuff that we once had, but threw away.
It's significant that I can watch this show with my Wife, who can find something interesting on display though she has no interest in cars, motorcycles or old machinery. They usually showcase plenty of other stuff.
She does have a real interest in "antiquey" furniture and "thing -a- ma-bobs," as well as "shabby chic."
On the other hand, I do have an interest in old cars, motorcycles, old machinery, and furniture.
They do turn up a lot of cool old cars and motorcycles.
It is of course, staged and scripted. They only have an hour to present their story. How many times have you spent hours driving to a distant swap meet or antique fair, spent another several hours walking through the event, and left without finding anything worth buying? Nobody is going to want to watch that! So they condense it into an interesting narrative.
I was a something of a "picker" (small p!) myself for a while. I went around buying Datsun parts hordes and old parts cars from guys that had decided that enough was enough. They were ready to get rid of it all.
I used to run a swap meet used car parts business. I would go through club newsletter classifieds and forum listings. My main hunting ground was the Internet via Craig's List. There was a lot of driving around and looking through stuff. Even a little wheeling and dealing.
So, what are my problems with the show?
Well, the biggest problem is that it's giving people an inflated idea of their junk's value.
Everyone now thinks that their junk is worth a fortune. We're talking about regular old junk. Beat up, broken, rehashed old crap.
Just because something is old and rare doesn't mean that it is valuable. Lot's of time the reason that things are rare, is because they weren't that popular when they were new. Or they were so shoddily built that they all fell apart and were trashed after a short lifespan.
Even with items that are actually rare and sought after, it's CONDITION that is a huge factor in it's valuation.
Take cars for example.
There are certain vehicles, like American muscle cars, that have risen in value rapidly and substantially over the last two decades. These connect with the personal histories and dreams of a large number of car guys. And, some of these guys are now in a position to pay big bucks for what they want.
Even though certain cars will bring huge prices at Barrett Jackson, it doesn't mean every six cylinder Mustang coupe is worth a fortune. Only certain years and body styles, fastbacks and convertibles. Specific performance models like early GTs, Mach Ones and the Bosses.
Condition is paramount. The most desirable find is a well preserved and maintained original. A properly restored example is next in line. Further down is a worn but complete original. A beat up, hacked up and poorly modified example of a desirable car is worth much less. A ordinary run of the mill version in a less desirable body style is valued even less.
The problem is that the seller is often convinced that since a Boss 302 sold for 75,000 dollars at the big auction, he can't afford to sell you his beater six cylinder coupe for a couple of grand. It's got to be worth more. Right? So the car will continue to sit neglected in the yard until it crumbles into a pile of rust.
Is the show fake?
Isn't every TV show fake? Does that keep me from watching it? No, of course not. It's entertainment.
Another hit show on the History Channel, is Pawnstars.
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| photo source: the show |
Does anyone remember that Chumley was the name of Tennessee Tuxedo's walrus sidekick?
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| photo source" the show You never know who will become the "break out" star! |
Vintage and collectible items are brought into the store and their importance and value are discussed. Generally the persons bringing the things in want to sell their items. This is where we as viewers get an education in their history and significance. Also of their value. This is the aspect that makes the show so interesting. This is also where outside experts are brought in. Some of these experts have been spun off into shows of their own.
Some intense bargaining can take place. One thing that is abundantly clear is that the store cannot buy an item unless they think that they can make a profit on it's sale. Generally they can only pay from one third, to one half of the retail price. When I was a swap meet vendor, the rule was that you generally sold an item for three times the purchase price.
One third to the seller, one third to overhead and expenses, and one third as profit. Of course the bonus of being a picker is that you often acquire items well below their value. Really below their value, oftentimes even free! The seller's circumstances have a lot to do with how motivated they are to deal. Sometimes they are under enormous pressure to clear out a property or building. If they fail to meet the deadline, they will have to pay for the expense of clearing out and disposal. So they are highly motivated. This is when you make your money and it makes being in the business worth all the hassle.
It also could be interpreted as taking advantage of someone's desperate situation, ignorance, and even gullibility. This aspect reared it's ugly head early in American Picker's run. A few of their picks were seen as taking advantage of unsuspecting older folks. There was quite a bit of vitriol on the Internet for a while. Since then, the Pickers have been very careful to advise the seller of the fair value of the item and make an appropriate offer. Good rating are more important than a good deal.
Back to the pawn shop.
At least the items are presented one at a time. There isn't the overwhelming sensory overload of looking at a building stuffed to the rafters.
They do evaluate and buy cars and motorcycles. When they have a question they call in the "Kount."
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| photo source: the show |
Another History Channel show, but this one is completely dedicated to cars. This show is a direct spin off of Pawnstars as Danny " The Kount" was featured as an automotive expert.
From what I've read, the featured shop is an actual working shop. Who are all those guys that are shown working on cars in the staging and background shots? They are the guys that do the actual work in the shop, as the business is quite busy with several builds taking place simultaneously. Since they are not the "personalities" they don't get any air time. Do you really think that "Horney Mike" would be a productive employee?
Their featured customers always seem to be pretty free spending. During their discussions about the restoration and modification of their vehicles price is never mentioned. Which is probably a good thing.
It's fun to see the guys cruising the back streets of Las Vegas looking for their next big automotive score. Besides lot's of nice cars parked in garages and driveways in front of the house, there are those gathering dust in side yards and hidden behind other running cars. The guys contact the owners, schmooze them a bit, then make their move. It is true that every owner has their price. I know that they could buy any of my cars with just a decent offer! Like most car guys I'm perpetually ready to move on to another project.
When they try to flip a car on the show, it seems that the price asked is always much more realistic to market pricing.
I guess the free spending fantasy is more satisfying to viewers. I could just be biased since I'm such a cheapskate.
Of course there are hit shows on other networks, Storage War$ for example.
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| Photo source: the show Who would think that buying junk could be cool? |
I had my own real life experience with "Storage War$."
My Wife and I were on an antiques hunt in Healdsburg, north of Santa Rosa. Besides visiting different antique shops and thrift stores we found ourselves at the huge Salvation Army compound that featured several different stores as well as residential facilities. We learned that was an auction on Saturday morning. We showed up bright and early. They were auctioning off groupings of items referred to as "lots." Prior to the start of the auction buyers get to walk around and check out the merchandise. We fell into a group led by a bidder that could have passed for "Dave" in the program. He strutted around sizing up the prospects for desirability and profitability. He pointed to a lot containing several bicycles and said " With bikes it's either good clean kiddies bikes or solid ten speeds, the other kinds just aren't moving. Passing by a pile of electronics he stated "Stereos and stuff are too complicated and they usually don't work right. Better to buy them individually and be sure of what you get." Well, that did make a lot of sense. There was a bin full of different phone chargers and A/C adapters and he surmised that. "I can get five dollars apiece all day long for phone chargers, A/C adapters can be hit or miss."
Obviously the man was in his element, and thanks to the show, he was enjoying his moment of glory. Who knows how long he's waited for it, or how long it will last!
Later that summer, my Wife and I were staying at a motel in Newport Beach and it turned out to be right next to "Dave's" store! We went inside to check it out and it was just like some of the background and staging shots. There wasn't any sign of Dave or any indication that the store had any affiliation with the show.
I stumbled across the "Now and Again" thrift store in an Orange California shopping center on another trip down south. It was located a couple of doors down from the Bookman, the used book store that I was actually looking for.
Jarrod and his wife were not there. However there were life size photo cut outs of them placed on display in the store.
There have been several articles written that reveal that the show is staged. That's not surprising. I've spent several years involved with renting public storage spaces for my business. From what I've seen, it would be hard to make an interesting program out of the average daily goings on. Most of the units are just filled with crap.
One of the positive things that these shows have done is to educate the public on the value of preserving and appreciating vintage items. Now maybe I don't seem so peculiar to my neighbors. For all they know I could be sitting on a gold mine!
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