When Pawn Stars first came out, I was a fan simply because it was new and different.

ive since grown tired of it. I get tired of Rick and the rest of the crew always low balling people selling things.

 

I saw a new show a couple months ago which of course is a copy cat type of show called Beverly Hills Pawn. Totally different set of owner and employees. They seem to be pretty fair.

 

To give you an example from both shows, I watched a re-run of Pawn stars today and a guy comes in with 8 documents with Orville Wrights signature on them. 2 were letters he signed and 6 were his signatures in the first pilot licenses ever issued a year after the first flight. The guy selling them wanted $4,000 for all of them. Rick had his expert come in to make sure the signatures were authentic, and they were. Rick then asks the expert how much they were worth, the expert said that they were extremely rare and they would go for at least $15,000. Rick then offered the guy $1,000 The guy originally wanted 4k and Rick and his punk son told the guy they had to cover the cost of making them presentable and the guy asked "how much does it cost to put them in a frame?" then Ricks son had the nerve to tell the guy that it cost them money everytime a employee has to take time to show a customer them...what an idiot. The guy ended up selling them to the pawn star idiots for only $3,500.

 

Now for Beverly Hills pawn. Saw an episode last week where a DJ came in and wanted to sell a diamond ring for $12,000. She said when hip hop was first becoming bug, an artist asked her to go on tour with him to do some dj'ing at his concerts and after the tour was over he gave her the ring as a way to say thanks. This was like 20 years ago or so and she decided to sell the ring. She brought it in and the lady in the shop who is their jewelry expert looked at the ring and told the DJ that she had bad news, she couldn't give her $12,000 for the ring, but what she could do is giver her $150,000 for it. It was apparently a really old ring with flawless diamonds, said it was probably at one time owned by royalty.

 

That is the difference of 2 shows of the same type, one goes out of its way to screw you and the other is honest and upfront even if it costs them over $100,000 in the process.

It's still a business. He wants to make as much money as he possibly can. It's not like the people are forced to sell their stuff to him. Just my two cents.

When Pawn Stars first came out, I was a fan simply because it was new and different.

ive since grown tired of it. I get tired of Rick and the rest of the crew always low balling people selling things.

 

I saw a new show a couple months ago which of course is a copy cat type of show called Beverly Hills Pawn. Totally different set of owner and employees. They seem to be pretty fair.

 

To give you an example from both shows, I watched a re-run of Pawn stars today and a guy comes in with 8 documents with Orville Wrights signature on them. 2 were letters he signed and 6 were his signatures in the first pilot licenses ever issued a year after the first flight. The guy selling them wanted $4,000 for all of them. Rick had his expert come in to make sure the signatures were authentic, and they were. Rick then asks the expert how much they were worth, the expert said that they were extremely rare and they would go for at least $15,000. Rick then offered the guy $1,000 The guy originally wanted 4k and Rick and his punk son told the guy they had to cover the cost of making them presentable and the guy asked "how much does it cost to put them in a frame?" then Ricks son had the nerve to tell the guy that it cost them money everytime a employee has to take time to show a customer them...what an idiot. The guy ended up selling them to the pawn star idiots for only $3,500.

 

Now for Beverly Hills pawn. Saw an episode last week where a DJ came in and wanted to sell a diamond ring for $12,000. She said when hip hop was first becoming bug, an artist asked her to go on tour with him to do some dj'ing at his concerts and after the tour was over he gave her the ring as a way to say thanks. This was like 20 years ago or so and she decided to sell the ring. She brought it in and the lady in the shop who is their jewelry expert looked at the ring and told the DJ that she had bad news, she couldn't give her $12,000 for the ring, but what she could do is giver her $150,000 for it. It was apparently a really old ring with flawless diamonds, said it was probably at one time owned by royalty.

 

That is the difference of 2 shows of the same type, one goes out of its way to screw you and the other is honest and upfront even if it costs them over $100,000 in the process.

 

Don't be so harsh. The whole point of being owners of a Pawn Shop is to buy merchandise at the lowest price possible and sell at the highest to maximize profit margins. Isn't that the point of owning any business? Also there have been a couple of cases where a customer has come into Rick asking for a certain price and then Rick said that he will pay more for it because it was worth more. The one that comes to mind was a woman who was attempting sell a spider made out of precious stones and Rick said it was worth much, much more than what she was asking for.

Don't be so harsh. The whole point of being owners of a Pawn Shop is to buy merchandise at the lowest price possible and sell at the highest to maximize profit margins. Isn't that the point of owning any business? Also there have been a couple of cases where a customer has come into Rick asking for a certain price and then Rick said that he will pay more for it because it was worth more. The one that comes to mind was a woman who was attempting sell a spider made out of precious stones and Rick said it was worth much, much more than what she was asking for.

I understand that, I would want to make as much money as possible also, but I get tired of the smugness they always seem to have and there is low balling and then there is LOWBALLING and they seem to always be out to screw the customer.

 

Ive seen them buy something a couple hundred under its worth and that is fine, but when they have big ticket items and only offer 10% or less of its actual value, that is a little bush league, even for a pawn shop.

I understand that, I would want to make as much money as possible also, but I get tired of the smugness they always seem to have and there is low balling and then there is LOWBALLING and they seem to always be out to screw the customer.

 

Ive seen them buy something a couple hundred under its worth and that is fine, but when they have big ticket items and only offer 10% or less of its actual value, that is a little bush league, even for a pawn shop.

 

It does irritate me sometimes just how low they go, but at the end of the day, I agree that they are trying to make as much money as they can. I think the people need to negotiate better.

 

Honestly, I find it far more irritating the little fake things they do. Like "Oh, the old man has hidden a whole bunch of pennies in the warehouse. Gotta find 'em!" I don't watch to see them act. Badly I might add. This latest crop of shows seem to have increased the amount of times that happens. That is where they're losing me.

When Pawn Stars first came out, I was a fan simply because it was new and different.

ive since grown tired of it. I get tired of Rick and the rest of the crew always low balling people selling things.

 

I saw a new show a couple months ago which of course is a copy cat type of show called Beverly Hills Pawn. Totally different set of owner and employees. They seem to be pretty fair.

 

To give you an example from both shows, I watched a re-run of Pawn stars today and a guy comes in with 8 documents with Orville Wrights signature on them. 2 were letters he signed and 6 were his signatures in the first pilot licenses ever issued a year after the first flight. The guy selling them wanted $4,000 for all of them. Rick had his expert come in to make sure the signatures were authentic, and they were. Rick then asks the expert how much they were worth, the expert said that they were extremely rare and they would go for at least $15,000. Rick then offered the guy $1,000 The guy originally wanted 4k and Rick and his punk son told the guy they had to cover the cost of making them presentable and the guy asked "how much does it cost to put them in a frame?" then Ricks son had the nerve to tell the guy that it cost them money everytime a employee has to take time to show a customer them...what an idiot. The guy ended up selling them to the pawn star idiots for only $3,500.

 

Now for Beverly Hills pawn. Saw an episode last week where a DJ came in and wanted to sell a diamond ring for $12,000. She said when hip hop was first becoming bug, an artist asked her to go on tour with him to do some dj'ing at his concerts and after the tour was over he gave her the ring as a way to say thanks. This was like 20 years ago or so and she decided to sell the ring. She brought it in and the lady in the shop who is their jewelry expert looked at the ring and told the DJ that she had bad news, she couldn't give her $12,000 for the ring, but what she could do is giver her $150,000 for it. It was apparently a really old ring with flawless diamonds, said it was probably at one time owned by royalty.

 

That is the difference of 2 shows of the same type, one goes out of its way to screw you and the other is honest and upfront even if it costs them over $100,000 in the process.

 

Way to pick and choose what to post about the shows.

 

I seen an episode of Pawn Stars in which a lady was selling something and she just wanted $50.00 for the item. "The Old Man" looked at it and ended up giving her like $5,000.00 because she didn't know what she had and he wouldn't do that to her.

 

 

Make sure you've watched every episode before you judge for people trying to run a business.

I hate the stupid story lines also. Like when the guys are all, "Where's Chumley?... has anyone seen Chumley?... he's been gone for hours... where's Chumley?" Geez, just call the cameraman who's following him around.

I also hate Rick's laugh. He laughs at himself a lot, and BTW he's not funny.

Way to pick and choose what to post about the shows.

 

I seen an episode of Pawn Stars in which a lady was selling something and she just wanted $50.00 for the item. "The Old Man" looked at it and ended up giving her like $5,000.00 because she didn't know what she had and he wouldn't do that to her.

 

 

Make sure you've watched every episode before you judge for people trying to run a business.

 

I didn't see that episode, but I don't think anyone has to watch every episode to get the gist of the show. That would be like me telling you to read every law on the books in the state before you can comment on a single law.

The low-balling doesn't bother me. Nobody is forcing anyone to sell their item, it is a take it or leave it offer.

 

IF the offers are real, and so much of the show is scripted I'm not so sure, then I am amazed at why people don't just seek an auction house or find an alternate avenue to sell their items when Rick and the gang low-ball them so much.

 

If an industry expert says "At auction this item would be worth 8-10 thousand dollars" and then Rick says "I'll give you $3500", then I would shake hands and find the proper auction for my item. If I am foolish enough to sell it for 7 grand less than it is worth, then that is on me, not Rick.

 

All that said, though, lets remember this is entertainment. Never underestimate the power of TV and never trust anything on a "reality" show. There is not too much reality on most of them and I strongly believe Pawn Stars is no exception. My problem with the show is it is too scripted, and most of the scripted parts are corny, poorly acted and unbelievable. I hate it when somebody brings in an obscure item and one of the guys behind the counter gives them a history lesson off the cuff about the item and its origin. It is obvious they have researched it extensively before they put the item on the block and/or they are talking out of their behinds. Corey is worse than Rick or the Old Man in this regard, IMO.

It's a pawn shop, they know that 2 types of people are coming in the door.. Cheap or desperate.

It's a pawn shop, they know that 2 types of people are coming in the door.. Cheap or desperate.

In a normal pawn shop, yes. In this case, not so much.

 

In order to get your item on the show you have to pass an approval process and be selected by the show's representatives. These "customers" come from all over the country. We aren't seeing too much of the local flavor stumbling in to pawn stuff for booze or slot money.

I understand that, I would want to make as much money as possible also, but I get tired of the smugness they always seem to have and there is low balling and then there is LOWBALLING and they seem to always be out to screw the customer.

 

Ive seen them buy something a couple hundred under its worth and that is fine, but when they have big ticket items and only offer 10% or less of its actual value, that is a little bush league, even for a pawn shop.

If you walk in their shop with something that you think is worth $4000 and their expert tells you it's worth $15,000 are you going to even continue talking to the pawn shop once they offer $1000? Whose the idiot if you do? Then to sell it for $3500?

 

They are in business to make money. How much should they have given the guy? What happens if they pay $10,000 and it sets there for 10-12 months? Also when they get the appraisals those numbers are usually in an auction setting where you have 5 or 6 collectors bidding up the price. Your taking a big risk hoping one of those guys walks into your shop. And even then you aren't getting $15,000 for it. Plus if you did sell it at auction you have the auction fees to pay, so you aren't walking away with $15,000. Rick's looking to buy cheap and sell fast. As he says, he isn't a collector.

Way to pick and choose what to post about the shows.

 

I seen an episode of Pawn Stars in which a lady was selling something and she just wanted $50.00 for the item. "The Old Man" looked at it and ended up giving her like $5,000.00 because she didn't know what she had and he wouldn't do that to her.

 

 

Make sure you've watched every episode before you judge for people trying to run a business.

 

Perfect example. It was a faberge brooch and ugly as hell. He cost himself a ton of money that day.

I hate all the Pawn Star shows. Just not a fan.

 

Here's the thing...if you have something of value, don't take it to a Pawn Shop. Simple as that. Pawn shops are for stolen DVD players and Weed eaters.