These Pawn Stars are alright, but are extreme rip-off artists. The items that are brought on the show are extremely rare and are sought after by collectors due to their rarity. The sellers are obviously hand picked due to their rare items. The Gold and Silver Pawn Shop is owned by three generations of men. Richard "Old Man" Harrison is the patriarch of the family and started the pawn shop in 1988. Rick Harrison is the son of Richard and is the star of the show. He knows the art of rip-off like the back of his hand. Corey "Big Hoss" Harrison is the son of Rick and grandson of Richard. Having worked in the shop since youth Corey is now in his twenties and is being groomed to own the shop one day. Corey's best friend since childhood, Austin "Chumlee" Russell is an employee at the shop and butt-end of the others joked. The Old Man is the often picked on due to his age and the fact that he contributes little effort to the business. Corey and Chumlee probably weigh more than the whole shop and really contribute nothing to the shop or show unless your looking for some very fat person with a lot of tattoos in Ed Hardy jeans acting like some kind big shot. The constant bickering and fighting between the four is often annoying and irritating. the constant mention of "making a profit" by Rick is annoying.
The show consist of a seller who come in to the shop and either Rick, the Old Man, or Big Hoss trying to buy the item he/she is trying to sell. The pawn stars only goal is to buy the item for as little as possible and maximize their profit by up to 1000%. Do not ever ever ever sell tho the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop. These men will rip you off royally. Do not go in there expecting retail for your item because if you do you will be constantly reminded by Rick "we have to make a beacoup profit." An offer of 30-50% is reasonable. Experts are frequently called on the show to appraise an item. Most pawn shops have an in-house appraiser that works for the shop. Rick has admitted on the show that he hates sellers that know the price of the item they are selling. Rick often rolls his eyes at experts because they reveal the true price of the item and its rarity to the seller. When ever there is no expert needed Rick and company usually act as if the item is not that valuable when in fact they are extremely valuable. This often gives the seller the impression that the item is worthless.
Most sellers go in the shop with little to no knowledge of what their item is worth. This allows Rick and company to take advantage and and downplay their interest so that they can lowball the heck out of the seller. Whenever an expert comes in for certain items they often give a price that is from such a price to such a price (like from $1,000 to 5,000). It would seem that the seller could give a price in the middle and the pawn stars would still be able to make a profit.
When it comes to negotiating, the seller does it all. Rick and company will offer a lowball, el cheapo price and WILL NOT BUDGE one penny above that. Say an item is appraised by an expert. The expert says the item is worth $5,000. The seller will ask for $5,000. Rick will jump all the way down to at the most $2,000.The bickering will go on until either the seller gets angry and leaves or finally excepts the price and falls right into the scam that the pawn stars run. There in no negotiating whatsoever. The seller will go up, down, and all around but Rick will not move his cheap price.
And you have to admit that Rick and company have their own private collections in which they can get items for cheap prices. They have even admitted on the show that they keep things for themselves.
And from what I hear, off the camera, these guys are rude and mean. I have read some things on the Internet from people who have been to the shop. They said that the Pawn Stars weren't even there. And some one got yelled at and cussed at by a director that was filming a scene in the parking lot when the person tried to leave. They said during filming that the entrances to the parking lot are barricaded and blocked off.
All in all these guys are rip-off artists not unlike the Amreican Pickers that are misrepresenting collectible items. Don't get me wrong both shows are interesting to watch.
The show consist of a seller who come in to the shop and either Rick, the Old Man, or Big Hoss trying to buy the item he/she is trying to sell. The pawn stars only goal is to buy the item for as little as possible and maximize their profit by up to 1000%. Do not ever ever ever sell tho the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop. These men will rip you off royally. Do not go in there expecting retail for your item because if you do you will be constantly reminded by Rick "we have to make a beacoup profit." An offer of 30-50% is reasonable. Experts are frequently called on the show to appraise an item. Most pawn shops have an in-house appraiser that works for the shop. Rick has admitted on the show that he hates sellers that know the price of the item they are selling. Rick often rolls his eyes at experts because they reveal the true price of the item and its rarity to the seller. When ever there is no expert needed Rick and company usually act as if the item is not that valuable when in fact they are extremely valuable. This often gives the seller the impression that the item is worthless.
Most sellers go in the shop with little to no knowledge of what their item is worth. This allows Rick and company to take advantage and and downplay their interest so that they can lowball the heck out of the seller. Whenever an expert comes in for certain items they often give a price that is from such a price to such a price (like from $1,000 to 5,000). It would seem that the seller could give a price in the middle and the pawn stars would still be able to make a profit.
When it comes to negotiating, the seller does it all. Rick and company will offer a lowball, el cheapo price and WILL NOT BUDGE one penny above that. Say an item is appraised by an expert. The expert says the item is worth $5,000. The seller will ask for $5,000. Rick will jump all the way down to at the most $2,000.The bickering will go on until either the seller gets angry and leaves or finally excepts the price and falls right into the scam that the pawn stars run. There in no negotiating whatsoever. The seller will go up, down, and all around but Rick will not move his cheap price.
And you have to admit that Rick and company have their own private collections in which they can get items for cheap prices. They have even admitted on the show that they keep things for themselves.
And from what I hear, off the camera, these guys are rude and mean. I have read some things on the Internet from people who have been to the shop. They said that the Pawn Stars weren't even there. And some one got yelled at and cussed at by a director that was filming a scene in the parking lot when the person tried to leave. They said during filming that the entrances to the parking lot are barricaded and blocked off.
All in all these guys are rip-off artists not unlike the Amreican Pickers that are misrepresenting collectible items. Don't get me wrong both shows are interesting to watch.