And, yeah, I think Chumlee is about three functioning braincells away from eating paste. So a sip of vodka and he'll be sitting in the corner blubbering his lips.
Pawn Stars
- Thread starter Lookingglassman
- Start date
Today, American Jewelry and Loan would probably offer $10. They sell 19" CRTs for $25. Back then you probably could have gotten $25.
Yeah, what I do like about the show is that from what I can tell (and having a great deal of first-hand experience with pawn shops), the offers these guys make are usually much higher than a regular pawn shop. I remember taking in a 19" CRT TV to one of our local shops. At the time, HDTVs didn't yet exist in 99.9% of people's homes. In fact, DVD was just starting to become well known. Anyhoo, so I take this 19" TV up to the counter, the guy looks at it, and says "Are you wanting to pawn or sell your TV?". I say, "I want to sell it." So he plugs it in, tries out the remote, everything works fine. The TV is in great shape. I take care of my stuff. So he looks it over, and says "I'll give you $5."
Lowballing is so incredibly common in pawn shops, that when I first heard Rick offer a guy $5500 for a $9000 appraised item, I just about fell out of my seat. That was incredibly fair, considering it's a pawn shop!
Gold and Silver Pawn Shop offering as much as they do isn't so much about honesty as it is just business. The larger places get more customers on an average day, and they can move more items, so they can offer money and still make a good profit. The TV shows also serve as an advertising platform. If an item is featured on the show, people all over the country will see it, and several will start sending e-mails making offers.
The smaller places get maybe ten costumers a day, if that. Items they buy sit around longer, so it's more of a long-term investment for them. Yeah, several places lowball because they're out to make as much coin as possible, but most of the time they're just offering what the item is worth to them.
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Today, American Jewelry and Loan would probably offer $10. They sell 19" CRTs for $25. Back then you probably could have gotten $25.
Yeah, what I do like about the show is that from what I can tell (and having a great deal of first-hand experience with pawn shops), the offers these guys make are usually much higher than a regular pawn shop. I remember taking in a 19" CRT TV to one of our local shops. At the time, HDTVs didn't yet exist in 99.9% of people's homes. In fact, DVD was just starting to become well known. Anyhoo, so I take this 19" TV up to the counter, the guy looks at it, and says "Are you wanting to pawn or sell your TV?". I say, "I want to sell it." So he plugs it in, tries out the remote, everything works fine. The TV is in great shape. I take care of my stuff. So he looks it over, and says "I'll give you $5."
Lowballing is so incredibly common in pawn shops, that when I first heard Rick offer a guy $5500 for a $9000 appraised item, I just about fell out of my seat. That was incredibly fair, considering it's a pawn shop!
Gold and Silver Pawn Shop offering as much as they do isn't so much about honesty as it is just business. The larger places get more customers on an average day, and they can move more items, so they can offer money and still make a good profit. The TV shows also serve as an advertising platform. If an item is featured on the show, people all over the country will see it, and several will start sending e-mails making offers.
The smaller places get maybe ten costumers a day, if that. Items they buy sit around longer, so it's more of a long-term investment for them. Yeah, several places lowball because they're out to make as much coin as possible, but most of the time they're just offering what the item is worth to them.
They offered $125 for a $2500 Alvarez Yairi. Their reasoning? "Oh, it's not a very well made guitar. No one really wants these, but I might be able to sell it if I can find a buyer. Maybe." These people are the dregs of the pawn business, trust me.
Chumley has his moments, but overall I find myself with a headache from all the eyerolling he inspires. Other than that, I find the show highly entertaining. I think it's a nice fit on the History Channel - the little snippets of history we get in item descriptions and what-not are fun and informative. And I genuinely like Rick as a person. His dad is amusing but would drive me nuts in person, and his son needs to learn respect and manners. But Rick is just cool.
I got to meet Mike and Danielle from American Pickers last summer when we passed near Le Claire on vacation. When we found the place, we were struck by how much smaller it seems in person than in real life. But let me tell you, they have a beautiful view from their front door! I wish I had taken a picture. They face the Mississippi River, and it's just beautiful.
Both of them, and especially Mike, were SO friendly and great to talk to. Mike told us about how it took around four years for the History Channel to finally go for their pitch, and that it was the success of Pawn Stars that convinced the suits that there was a viewership for a show like theirs. Mike was keen to pose for whatever pictures we wanted to take and encouraged us to meet everyone else who was there and talk as much as we wanted about picking and the show and whatever we wanted. He never made us feel like we were taking up his work time or in the way. He genuinely values the fans of the show. The visit was one of the highlights of our trip.
Here I am with my folks and Mike:
Here's a snapshot of Danielle:
I wish I had gotten a closer picture of her. Her tattoos give a very Trill-like impression, though I imagine they're leopard spots. Still, I couldn't help thinking "Trill" whenever I looked at her.
GREAT PICS!!!!! Where is that first one taken? IS it in their shop? I wish they'd show more of it in the episodes when they are actually there. Im really glad to hear how friendly Mike was. I think you're the second person who's met him and said that. I do like him a LOT more than his partner (i can't remember his name right now, but then again, i can't remember what i ate for breakfast an hour ago).
ETA: Frank. His name is Frank. omg. A mind is a terrible thing to lose.
No, I spent eight years living in Dubuque, and moved to Wisconsin last year. I first encountered Mike years and years ago, when my company was producing a Web site about the Iowa Great River Road for the Iowa Department of Transportation, and a co-worker and I traveled up and down (fuckin' Keokuk
) to the various river cities. That's how our business collaboration started. He also worked with a Quad Cities video guy, Justin Anderson, in making the pitch videos for the show. (Justin did the shooting. My schedule didn't permit a lot of traveling, so I did post-production.)Any clue on why Frank is never to be seen outside of the show? Even their website has no mention of Frank.
I like Pawn Stars to an extent. It's gotten to be about the same stuff over and over. I never get enough of American Pickers, though. That stuff's fantastic, and Mike and Frank have great chemistry. Plus Danielle's a little hot.
I like Pawn Stars to an extent. It's gotten to be about the same stuff over and over. I never get enough of American Pickers, though. That stuff's fantastic, and Mike and Frank have great chemistry. Plus Danielle's a little hot.
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I guarantee you he would have already had a buyer.
Can you guarantee I win the lottery?
Yeah, they should have offered at least double that. That was definitely a lowball. However, $250 might seem like lowballing also, but depending on certain factors, it could be a fair price. You could have meant one of three things with the $2500 pricetag:They offered $125 for a $2500 Alvarez Yairi. Their reasoning? "Oh, it's not a very well made guitar. No one really wants these, but I might be able to sell it if I can find a buyer. Maybe." These people are the dregs of the pawn business, trust me.
Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price: This is purely a marketing device. If any retail outlet charges this price, they are ripping customers off.
Retail Price: What retail stores actually sell an item for. This is always lower than MSRP. This way, when compared to the MSRP, the customer thinks they're getting a good deal when in reality they can buy the same thing pretty much anywhere for about the same price.
Fair Market Value: A fair price to ask when reselling something. Typically, this is 50-60% of the retail price. Some things are more. If it's unopened in the original packaging it can go higher. As far as instruments, Gibson Les Pauls and Fender Strats go a little higher. Drum kits are an anomaly, at 80-90% in good condition. To a shithole pawnshop, this is similar to the retail price, and the MSRP for the higher end places. The 50-60% standard also applies to trying to sell things on eBay or Craig's List. 50% may seem low, but the stuff is used. It doesn't matter if the item is like new or not, it's still tainted. It could have problems that aren't obvious, and the buyer doesn't know where it's been. This is true of new items from retail outlets as well, but new items usually have some sort of warranty and can be exchanged of returned. With used items, the buyer is taking more of a risk.
When a pawnshop buys an item, this scales down to 50-60% of the Fair Market Value. So, if the $2500 is the MSRP, the retail price is probably $1999, and the fair market value is about $900. $250 is a good place to start, and they should be willing to negotiate up to $400 or so. If $2500 is the retail price, $1300 is the fair value and a shop should pay $600ish. If it's the fair price, then starting at $1000.
There are other factors. With consumer electronics the technology changes rapidly so if it's more than a few years old the fair market value drops. With instruments, brand name factors in a lot. With guitars specifically, the higher-end ones are more difficult to sell. If someone is willing to drop thousands on a guitar, they typically won't be going to pawn shops. For the person wanting to sell a $2500 guitar, they'd probably be better off going to a music store. As far as I know, they all buy used equipment. However, they don't usually take them as collateral on a loan.
Les and Seth are really friendly in person too, nothing like the hard-asses they are on Hardcore Pawn. I wanted to just talk to them really quick and get my picture, but they kept me talking for like 15 minutes. I'm a marketing major, and I understand establishing good relationships with customers is good for business, but they went beyond that. They seemed genuinely interested in getting to know their customers.
I still holler at the tv when I see folks bring stuff into the Pawn Shop and they sell it for nothing. I would leave and sell in on ebay.
Antique Archaeology
Here's a link to a Photobucket album with all my pictures from our visit. I tried to add titles where I thought they would help.
We didn't get to meet Frank because he was moving the day we were there and he wasn't around. I would have loved the opportunity to meet him too.
THEIR website: http://www.antiquearchaeology.com/
Finally Frank is on the main graphic, but otherwise it's all about Mike. Mike's story, Mike's bikes, etc.
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No, but since I know and have had experience dealing with the pawnbroker in question and you don't, your question is moot, now isn't it?
The fair market value was $2500. The broker already had a buyer and wanted me to sell the guitar. I had dealt with him before, many times, (and also, unfortunately, a large number of starving guitarists), and he always lowballed the offers, and the guitars were always gone by the next day. It's how he stayed in business, by lowballing people, and in their desperation to feed themselves and their families, who took the offers.
Antique Archaeology
Here's a link to a Photobucket album with all my pictures from our visit. I tried to add titles where I thought they would help.
We didn't get to meet Frank because he was moving the day we were there and he wasn't around. I would have loved the opportunity to meet him too.
YOU'RE THE BEST!!!!!! Thanks so much for the link!! I really enjoyed the pictures. I am amazed...on the show the place doesnt look anything like that. I thought it was just a small garage, no second floor, no additional rooms. It looks so freaking cool! I can see from the pics that Mike really did spend time with you guys and he was very relaxed about it too...didnt rush you at all. Thats just so awesome!
That's because Frank wasn't involved in the business prior to the show. History said they were interested in picking it up, but that Mike and Danielle on their own weren't enough to carry it, so they told Mike to get a partner. He and Frank had grown up together in Iowa, and Frank was doing his picking thing out east (based in Pennsylvania, I think); Mike gave him a call and said, "Hey, come out here and do a television show with me."
