Showing posts with label collectors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label collectors. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Pawn Stars: The Complete Season One Review

Pawn Stars: The Complete Season One
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
This is the only show I watch regularly because I learn about collectible items, about the pawn business, and negotiating. It is set in Las Vegas and is truly watchable and unique. The show is corny and unintentionally funny but the episodes are well constructed and edited which keeps your interest and the characters are genuine.

Rick Harrison is the main character of the show. He is a competent and likable guy who laughs at his own jokes. He has the most screen time each show. Often people have items that he does not know the value of, and they have to call an expert in to appraise it. Rick has a bunch of experts who probably wish they never met him because he constantly calls them, but that is what makes the show interesting. The funniest thing is that the expert then appraises the item right in front of the seller. Rick's negotiation style is to listen to what the customer wants and then counter with 40% of whatever they want. So if they want $100 he offers $40 and then talks about how the item is deficient, how he has to make a profit, blah blah blah. Then whether he buys the item or not they have a cut away interview with him and he'll say, "This time the price wasn't right so we couldn't make a deal."

Old Man is the patriarch of the family and by far the best negotiator. It does not matter what price the seller wants for an item, Old Man acts like he is offended, surprised, and automatically says "no way." He is such a tough bargainer that I don't think I have ever seen him actually buy anything. If it wasn't for Corey and Rick they would have an empty store. Also, he keeps a big calendar by his desk so we know exactly the month of the show, so the Christmas show was going on and his calendar said "October".

Corey is the youngest and likable enough because he has so much disdain for the people who come in his pawn shop. He is perpetually buying things that need massive restoration. A guy will come in with a big block of aluminum with fiber glass sticking out of it and say it was an expensive plane that caught on fire and that if restored will be worth major money and he wants $4000.00 for it. Then Corey will buy it for $5,000 and then we get the drama with his dad, Rick. Then Rick will be in a cut away interview and act upset and be like "Corey needs to learn that he can't buy crap like this." And then Corey will say, "But it will be worth a million dollars once we get it restored." Lulz. I like the restorers though especially if it's a boat because then we see Bill the boat restorer who talks funny. He will say: "Dish boat ish a clashick, back in da day dish was cutting edgish."
Chumlee is reality TV comic relief driftwood. People will bring in an item that is old like a record player or something and he will make the same Old Man is Old joke. "Hey Old Man, this guy has..um... your ... um.. childhood ipod here...huh huh." Anyway, best show on TV, check it out.


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It s one of the oldest forms of banking, and until the 1950s, it was the leading form of consumer credit in the U.S. See the fascinating past and present of the pawning business in Pawn Stars, an inside look at the only family-run pawn shop in Las Vegas, where three generations of men grandfather, father and son use their sharp-eyed skills to carefully assess the value of items ranging from the obscure to the historic. From a 15th-century samurai sword to a Picasso painting, there isn t much the Harrison family hasn t seen or heard, inevitably making Richard, Rick and Corey experts in rare collectables and negotiating. Each episode of Pawn Stars features an array of quirky characters attempting to sell, purchase or pawn items that the Harrisons must carefully appraise, determine if they re real or fake and then reveal the often surprising answer to What s it worth? Everything and everyone has a story and it s the Harrisons job to decipher fact from fiction, because in this business the customer isn t always right.

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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

American Pickers: The Complete Season 1 Review

American Pickers: The Complete Season 1
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Hey look, it's that infamous Church of the Flaming Sword and it looks like he's at it again. He's writing a review for another reality TV series, but wait. He's giving it a positive review. What gives?
Do not take your computer to the shop for repairs, you are reading it correctly. I found a reality show I like. American Pickers is an antidote to just about 99% of all the crap known as reality programming. You might want to steer clear if you are expecting -
1. Washed up celebrities performing acts of desperation in some vain hope of recapturing their fame.
2. Spoiled 20 and 30 somethings who treat the world like it's their personal nightclub.
3. Pregnant teenagers.
4. Drama queens and kings.
5. Competitions in which participants win by any means necessary, or not so necessary.
This show is mainly about two average guys, tall and lanky Mike Wolfe and short and stocky Frank Fritz, who go around the country to buy antiques and collectibles for a store in Iowa called Antique Archaeology. They go and buy everything from old movie posters to long forgotten gas station signs to worn out motorcycle frames, and in one case a painting of a nude woman. The only thing that matches the diversity of the antiques they buy is the people they buy them from. One of whom is a rather eccentric man who runs a Bigfoot museum in Alabama and another is a retired attorney who collects old cars among other things. Sometimes Mike and Frank make a substantial profit, but there have been occasions in which they went in the red. When you run a business or work for one, those are the risks you take.
What really makes the show for me is how well Frank and Mike work together. There is nothing Hollywood or made up about these two. They love to goof around, but they are also serious about what they do and I especially liked how Frank compared one lady he bought from to his grandmother.
American Pickers exemplifies what is sorely lacking from reality TV - reality. It not only shows two normal guys making a living - but it also makes it entertaining and interesting. While I'm certainly not going to watch these has been pop stars trying to find a date or Dancing with the Stars anytime in the next quadrillion years, my opinion of what reality shows can be has been raised.
Thank you Mike and Frank,
Keep up the good work.


Click Here to see more reviews about: American Pickers: The Complete Season 1

In small towns, and along America's back roads, treasures are waiting to be uncovered--valuable relics from our history that are hidden in junk piles, buried in barns and stacked in garages. It takes experts to find them...and turn rust to riches. Season One of AMERICAN PICKERS on HISTORY follows highly skilled 'pickers' Mike Wolfe, owner of Antique Archaeology in Iowa, and his business partner Frank Fritz, as they hunt down objects with historical, collectible and pop culture value that have been long forgotten by their owners. From a vintage Harley to a one-of-a-kind Ferris wheel, each treasure hunt uncovers weird and wonderful Americana, offering a glimpse into a little-known side of the antiques business. Along the way, Mike and Frank meet people whose own stories open a window into American lives and history.DISC 1 (4 episodes, approx 180 min): Big Bear / Super Scooter / White Castle on the Farm / Invisible PumpDISC 2 (4 episodes, approx 180 min): Back Breaker / Mole Man / Frank's Gamble / 5 Acres of JunkDISC 3 (4 half-hour episodes, approx 92 min): Bigfoot in Alabama / Know When to Fold / Fill er Up / Leland's Cafe

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