Art & Inspiration American pickers

This junk thread is about a new program of two guys that hunt for antiques for a living.

 

It wasn't Ryan. That editorial was written by Jay aka Jivebomber, Just to clarify.

 

seems like they won't step-up for the best junk. still. it's probably a wind-fall for most of these folks. I still think it can't be good for the average picker.

 

yea the one guy really seemed to enjoy jumping into the weeds at the junkyard and getting his hands dirty, I don't think you can fake that sort of enthusiasm, the prices they showed for value also aren't necessarily what they are even asking for the stuff, they are the average value of an item. Just like when you go to sell on egay, and it tells you what the average of what something is selling for. I know on the one tonight the fat guy was collecting oil cans from the old lady, and he said something about he had been collecting them since he was a kid, for all I know they might be going in his own personal collection. The showed a value, but that doesn't mean he was selling them.

 

Of course, you buy something old, you flip it for a bunch of money, you go out, you buy a bunch more old things, you flip them for a bunch of money, you go out and buy a bunch more.... odds are the stuff you sell finds a good home with someone who really wants it, or they wouldn't pay you so much money for it... maybe you get a goodie for yourself here and there along the way...

Or you can buy that one thing, sit on it, and be disgusted when you see the grandkids of the old couple down the road filling a dumpster with stuff that people would want and be willing to pay stupid money for, and now it's trashed and mangled and enroute to the dump somewhere.

It's a two way street and to just be mad at people for flipping stuff is to only look at half the picture. I have to think half the guys mad at the flippers are also the same ones who will bitch when they can't find this thing or that thing, anywhere, for any price. When there might be more out there if someone had bothered to save a few and flip them to other people, at some past time point.

And I don't in the least feel bad for anyone, if they're happy with the price, in the long run you're just saving the relatives some effort when they look at some antique, decide no one would want that crap, and throw it away. I've seen it happen.

 

Some of you guys are a riot. Pissed the guys are ripping off old timers and pissed that prices are going to go up. You think they should pay more, but prices should not go up. GET A BRAIN.

Bill

 

Frankly, I was quite disappointed by the show. I thought it would be about noses.

 

You know what I think is junk ? All the wasted bandwidth by guys who have nothing better to do than bitch about every damn post they read that dosn't interest THEM. Sorry the show isn't about 70s 442s.. Your comment about BJ & the Bear shows you haven't even watched the show so what gives you any right at all to comment about it ? In one episode they found a cool old woodie in a barn and bought it. Last night one old lady in her 80s opened up a shed and showed them a mint Nash Metripolitan her husband had bought her in the 60s to learn to drive with and she never drove it and it's been sitting in that shed for 50 years. If you don't think watching stuff like that is cool then maybe you should take up golf.... WTF Personally I know some of it is staged for TV but what isn't these days. It's better than alot of other stuff on the tube and they do meet up with some really cool people and find some cool stuff. I wouldn't mind doing what they do for a living but my ol lady won't even let me go to the dump by myself because I always bring shit home...

 

his right would be hes a member of the HAMB same as you only longer , if you didnt lead the league in nose hair you would see that!

 

The Metro was actually one of the very small number that were badged and sold through Hudson dealerships. Someone should save it from that old shed.

 

I thought banjos..

 

Sorry, never intended for it to become a turd throwing contest. It's just that sometimes it gets a bit old that every single thread has someone who complains because it's not their bag and in this case they guy my comment was directed towards made it pretty obvious he had never even watched the show he was trashing. If you don't like the soup of the day just have the salad.. Know what I mean Vern ?? Nose hair ? Is that a Cajun thing like them little miniature lobsters ? Lighten up man it's a joke. Never heard the "nose hair" thing before. Did anyone who watched last night see the car club plaque they found & bought for 10 bucks ? If I remember correctly the club was "Headers". If you ignore the "made for TV" parts and just enjoy it for the cool crap they find it's pretty entertaining.

 

Very kool show! Not a big fan of the two guys but it is definitely worth watching. That and Pawn Stars!

 

Pawn Stars is cool too. My favorite was the one where they bought that all steel complete roadster for 7500 bucks.. Unfuckin real. Makes me want to open a pawn shop. Or the towing company guy who got paid to haul away an original Cobra body shell and then sold it to them for 30k.

 

I avoided it and prawn wars by watching porn online.LOL..at least when some one get hosed they are fairly well paid or enjoy it.LOL

 

He said Prawn wars




Bandwidth????

 

I don't understand something....

Say you go walkin' through an old barn... Find a Duece Shell and a V860 layin in the corner... Ask the ol' boy what he'll take for 'em and he says $100... You buy 'em, and then sell 'em at a swap meet or the 'bay for $1,500 a peice, your a rotten theif.... Really????

My dad and I have been going to an old farm out west for the past 5 years or so cleaning it up for an older fella.. Some things we buy from him others he just gives us for our help... Then we go through everything sort what we want, sort out what to sell, and then sort out scrap... I can tell you I've made some insane money off some of the things we've found, and not so much on others... The old boy doesn't care what it's worth, he just wants it gone... Are we fuckin' him? I mean you guys seem to think these guys are just out fuckin' people....

 

I like the show but the show they have on sundays rules. MADHOUSE!

 

I have been watching the show and I really enjoy it.

 

LAST NIGHT WAS BETTER THAN LAST WEEKS, i LIKE IT!

 

Yep thats what I think,however most of it is planned and scripted.Ive been Swap meetin stuff for over 25 years too.I dont screw anybody over ,I buy in loads and lots,then pick out the keepers and sell the rest to break even.sometimes it takes many meets or years and you dont always break even.I dont pick a piece here and a part there to mark up for big money.

 

I watched it and liked it but if I saw two fellas pull up in a Mercedes van to buy some of my junk...the price of my junk just went up. Of course we only see the 5 mins they have for TV you don't see the hours they probably spent there. I though the older lady with the Metro in her shed was really neat. Reminded me of my Grandmother. I bet they all had very interesting stories.

Of course A&E has the exact opposite show called Hoarders. I told my wife if these people were on that show it'd be a totally different situation.

 

I don't think it's scripted, i think thats just the way it's edited, it seems they have a camera crew follow them, and when everything is said and done it's all edited together for time, I'm sure there's a lot of footage where he found nothing but useless rusted junk. I had heard about some hoarder from someone went to see if I could find some cool stuff for myself, she was hoarding GARBAGE, I mean the stuff that goes in the trash can. I'm sure they have run into this dozens of times, but no one wants to see the woman who saved 10000 soup cans with green soup in them.

 

I'm from Iowa and have never been called a city slicker.

 

My biggest turn off on the show is how they hold no bars end on trying to get something for nothing. Just like when they snaked that WWII vet into selling his personal WWII sword from the War. Yeah I get that he gave them a price for it but how could that guy ever offer even a fair market valued price for something like that. He has no computer, internet nor could he know how to use one. These guys come in there and buy out this guys WWII sword and other items and they express how much money they can make of of him. Seem a little heartless to me....Respect those guys cause there arent many of them left. Why couldnt those "pickers" (what a name??) get some rel interesting stories from the guy and hear about the War and not just be only interested in his memorabilia. 2 thumbs down for American Pickers.

 

Tosh.0 rules , much better show.

 

No you aren't fukin him, you paid what he asked... The Maine Antique Digest has a few articles some years back about the issue involving pickers and lawsuits against them.

Go to a yard sale and pay the asking price of $100 for a Van Gogh painting, OK...

but if you KNOW with your experience and expertise that it IS a Van gogh and STILL jerk the seller down to $50, then you are in trouble...

or if you are asked to make an offer and lowball the seller, you may also be in trouble.

Lesson: make the seller state his price. Then pay it. (Or not....)

 

Mike you are right the provenance or history of an item can add substantially to its value - get the stories, then say "sorry I can't pay your asking price of $xx, it's worth more than that, I can offer you 3X that"... (or whatever the real value is to a wholesale picker)...

 

The wife and I went to a garage sale about 15 years ago. The womans mom had just past. Lifetime of household items. Wife bought an old clothes line bag with wood clothes pins. Gets in the car, goes through the bag, finds 3 one hundred dollar bills at the bottom her mom must have hide. We had no extra money at the time, but took the money back and gave it to the daughter...but we did own the bag right? We paid her what she wanted for it......Fuck