American pickers

[Vonn Ditch]

+ 1 Nabco

[FL&WVMIKE]

Here in Daytona Beach, there was a newspaper article about a man, who sold them a neon sign, from a girly bar. remember that ?
He described, on how a team, from "AMERICAN PICKERS", was in, a couple weeks prior to the "random pick" of Frank and Mike. It was the first time that he met Frank and Mike, but it was all staged.
I still love to watch the show, not because of Frank and Mike, but to see just what some people do have stored away.
I just wish that I had discovered it !
I don't know why Frank lets them portray him as a cheapskate, who is trying to chisel every dollar he can out of the people.
MIKE (mikeburch)

[mshmodela]

Originally Posted by Vonn Ditch

Actually the guys you see on TV aren’t Mike and Frank at all. They are stand in doubles. The real Mike and Frank are parked outside in an air conditioned bus directing every move. They employ sleeper cell pickers in every town in the USA to feedback secret data on the where abouts of copious amounts of Americana. Mike and Frank, both former CIA agents themselves, then hire detectives to stake out the unsuspecting holders of valuable cars, motorcycles and antiques of all kinds. All this information is fed back to Danielle, who herself is not what she appears, being heavily involved as a secret agent in international reconnaissance and demolition, all while disguised as a roller derby, and burlesque queen.
Yes my friends what seems to be an unsuspecting television show is in reality an elaborate plan to corral every single Harley Davidson and Indian motorcycle on planet earth to be kept in a former nuclear missile site underground in a location know only to the three pickers.

Wow that makes total sense now... Thanks LOL!

[Brian T]

If these programs entertain you that's good ---- however if you believe what you are seeing then you have a problem.

[INVISIBLEKID]

If those guy's came around here ,and to my place, it would be knuckles up! Knowledge is half assed,but the way they try to con the unknowing pisses me off to no end.... I've watched before,only to get frustrated...... if I should ever want to get my blood pressure up,I'll watch they're shinnanigans.
And the whole- "we picked it= we ripped this poor guy off for $X,but we can sell it for $X , just burns me up. Sure- find a score,and make a few bucks,no prob,but damn! hey- I'm gonna have a new reality show about my garage,how s%it doesn't go right,and I throw things and make them stick into the sheetrock. Should be a hit!

[ericr]

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Originally Posted by INVISIBLEKID

If those guy's came around here ,and to my place, it would be knuckles up! Knowledge is half assed,but the way they try to con the unknowing pisses me off to no end.... I've watched before,only to get frustrated...... if I should ever want to get my blood pressure up,I'll watch they're shinnanigans.
And the whole- "we picked it= we ripped this poor guy off for $X,but we can sell it for $X , just burns me up. Sure- find a score,and make a few bucks,no prob,but damn! hey- I'm gonna have a new reality show about my garage,how s%it doesn't go right,and I throw things and make them stick into the sheetrock. Should be a hit!

I empathize with your thots but I suspect they tell the eccentric hoarder in advance that they only buy wholesale. Also, everyone says the show is all rehearsed, which makes sense because surely otherwise there would be confrontations with the sellers.

Whether they have private collections that they add to by buying at retail, I'm not completely sure. They both talk about being motorcycle collectors....

[SSsssteamer]

American Pickers' "cold picks" where they knock on the doors of homes that look like good pickings from the road, you know that even those stops have to be staged. How would you react with several vehicles stopping in your driveway, camera men standing on your lawn behind Mike and Frank and taking videos of you while their pickers are handing you their sheet of paper? Reality is: I think that the live cameras would chase away more prospects than secure purchases from them. I know that strangers at my door taking videos of me and my home without my permission would make me feel violated and I would ask them to leave. There is a lot more going on behind the scenes than is portrayed. Pretty phony. Another thing is the vast amount of good stuff that the guys handle and they don't even ask if it is for sale. They put it down and then pick up the lesser desirable item to dicker on. I recently closed my cable account and am now streaming from my computer through Roku. I calculate that I am saving $1,440 in cable costs a year by doing so, and that doesn't even figure in for inflation. For free, I still can watch the back episodes of American Pickers and much more, if I so desire.

[INVISIBLEKID]

I know that MIKE =easy to remember,is into bike's,and I'm sure he know's what to look for,and that would probably be for personal collection.= hey- we all do it....have to buy a bunch,keep what we need,and off the rest...Part of the game to keep us a float..... Money tree's aren't sprouting with our drought here!
But even scripted- how (well at least not me) tell a guy your gonna make a killing on his stuff you'll only give pennies for? Hey- reality TV.
Sure- I've flipped for profit,but just cant go in that way,and buffalo like they do...... I guess that's why they have a show,and I cuss at things,and have to learn some things the hard way.....
if it was that simple, I wouldn't have any moral's/values.... But the TV paycheck probably helps.........

[edmondclinton]

Originally Posted by SSsssteamer

American Pickers' "cold picks" where they knock on the doors of homes that look like good pickings from the road, you know that even those stops have to be staged. How would you react with several vehicles stopping in your driveway, camera men standing on your lawn behind Mike and Frank and taking videos of you while their pickers are handing you their sheet of paper? Reality is: I think that the live cameras would chase away more prospects than secure purchases from them. I know that strangers at my door taking videos of me and my home without my permission would make me feel violated and I would ask them to leave. There is a lot more going on behind the scenes than is portrayed. Pretty phony.

Absolutely! You know even those "cold picks" are staged. Many people would view those two characters as a nuisance. And if they just decided to go ahead and look around, that would be a dumb thing to do for sure.

In some areas of Texas a person can get shot nosing around on people's property.

[ronn]

"If those guy's came around here ,and to my place, it would be knuckles up! Knowledge is half assed,but the way they try to con the unknowing pisses me off to no end.... I've watched before,only to get frustrated...... if I should ever want to get my blood pressure up,I'll watch they're shinnanigans.
And the whole- "we picked it= we ripped this poor guy off for $X,but we can sell it for $X , just burns me up. "

I agree-really get pissed when they buy from an older fella that seems to be going feeble and then they laugh like they are buddies........... jackasses!

[Rowdy]

I met them in a local antique shop a couple of years before the show started. Mike seemed to be a decent guy. I thought Frank was pushy and rude. They seemed relatively poor at the time and were driving an older Ford van. Seems they found a way to fleece a TV network and likely are not close to being the same people they were then. Rod

[Jeff/Illinois]

I had a mint condition pre-visible gas pump (Bowser from about 1912) that I wanted to get rid of. It was all there, basically just needed cleaned up and/or a fresh paint job. Still worked. Cleaning out the garage and this thing weighed a ton, tired of tripping over it.

I e-mailed Danielle in Leclaire, Iowa their HQ. No response. I called them on the phone. Got an answering machine, never called back. I took photos of it and mailed them a letter, I only wanted a hundred bucks was worth a considerable amount more (not huge dollars maybe $400-$500 as-is.) Waited six months never heard a word from them. I only live across the river.

Finally gave it to a guy here in town who was out of a job I knew he needed money. I don't know or care what HE did with it.

Am. Pickers a phony outfit?? I sure believe THAT

[Marshall V. Daut]

"Absolutely! You know even those "cold picks" are staged."
You mean that people don't sit around their houses wearing wireless microphone transmitters in their hip pockets or dangling from their belts, just on the off-chance that some television show will stop by that day? I'm CRUSHED! to find this out!!
Marshall

[edmondclinton]

Originally Posted by Marshall V. Daut

"Absolutely! You know even those "cold picks" are staged."
You mean that people don't sit around their houses wearing wireless microphone transmitters in their hip pockets or dangling from their belts, just on the off-chance that some television show will stop by that day? I'm CRUSHED! to find this out!!
Marshall

Maybe they will show up at your house. How would you react if they did?

[BlueSunoco]

edmond, if they showed up at Marshall's house he'd have to borrow Mitch/Pa's 1927 Thompson 'Chicago typewriter' and go full auto on 'em

[Marshall V. Daut]

The battery in my wireless microphone transmitter died this morning. I wear the transmitter 24/7, like the people on "AP" do, just in case a camera crew should stop by some day. Because no one has yet done so, I probably won't put a new battery in the transmitter. It'll just be my luck that a camera crew will stop by the house TOMORROW to do some videotaping. Won't I be embarrassed that I didn't put in a new transmitter battery!?!
Marshall

[Rowdy]

Marshall, I sold my wireless and bought a paper sign to keep pickers away along for dog food for vicious looking dog in the yard. Most people are scared to death of him dispite the fact he is a gentle dog that likes to play with the grandsons. He looks like a pitbull, but is a dalmation boxer mix.The best of both worlds IMHO. Rod

[Fred]

How about when Mike asks for a price & the guy says $50.00, Mike says Ok, I will take it, But that is to low, I will give you $100.00 ?? Its just like that at Hershey every year !!.. Right ??...

[mot]

i cant stand watching the American pickers and pawn stars
BUT
yesterday at Turlock,i talked to my friend Vern Mariott from Auburn Ca
he was on their show recently and they picked his hoard
i asked them if it was staged or prebought
he told me no
he said he haggled a lot with them ,and that wasnt shown
they were at his place for 8hrs and edited most of it out
but he swears his experience was legit
tom

[edmondclinton]

Originally Posted by mot

i cant stand watching the American pickers and pawn stars
BUT
yesterday at Turlock,i talked to my friend Vern Mariott from Auburn Ca
he was on their show recently and they picked his hoard
i asked them if it was staged or prebought
he told me no
he said he haggled a lot with them ,and that wasnt shown
they were at his place for 8hrs and edited most of it out
but he swears his experience was legit
tom

If that is the truth then those AM pickers are a couple of bold, nosy characters indeed.

How did they know that your friend had a hoard and wanted to sell things?