PSA's Steve Grad on Pawn Stars show

Halfsense

Steve Grad has joined the team of experts who assist in evaluating customers' items on the always-interesting Pawn Stars television program. Here's a link to the announcement along with a photo of Steve with Chumlee and Rick.

PSA's Steve Grad on the Pawn Stars TV program

-donn-

Exodus

I think it would be cool if Rick Probstein hired Chumlee.

Gemyanks10

I head some vicious rumors awhile back that this was a totally staged and set up show. I've always loved the show and a lot of the items on there especially a lot of the antique guns, and when I heard the rumors it was sort of upsetting. Basically, the basis for the rumors was that if someone has a super rare/nice item why go to a pawn shop and not an auction house, internet, etc? And when someone presents Rick and company with a nice item and the seller wants a certain amount, almost always Rick or another employee gives the seller crap about it usually mocking them almost. Maybe they are false rumors now that Steve Grad is working with them. Throughout all the controversy I've still tried to suspend my disbelief as the items are still amazing.

Jimmy

bigdcards

Most of the show is very obviously staged. Not sure about some of the direct interactions with the sellers and Rick or whoever, but everything happening at the shop is very poorly acted. Rick frequently struggles not to straight out smile at the camera. I quit watching when the amateur actors started doing skype commercials as show content. That was amazing.

mlbfan2

<< <i>I head some vicious rumors awhile back that this was a totally staged and set up show. I've always loved the show and a lot of the items on there especially a lot of the antique guns, and when I heard the rumors it was sort of upsetting. Basically, the basis for the rumors was that if someone has a super rare/nice item why go to a pawn shop and not an auction house, internet, etc? And when someone presents Rick and company with a nice item and the seller wants a certain amount, almost always Rick or another employee gives the seller crap about it usually mocking them almost. Maybe they are false rumors now that Steve Grad is working with them. Throughout all the controversy I've still tried to suspend my disbelief as the items are still amazing.

Jimmy >>



Sorry to burst your bubble, but COPS might be the only reality show that isn't staged. Some are staged more than others.

Gemyanks10

I mean don't get me wrong I figured with that show being a reality show and all, I was fairly certain that at least a little was amped up for tv and what not, but when I found out that even the sellers were actors and the items were picked up from antique shops and peoples personal collections, I was a little disappointed. I was told that even the transactions were fake. I know that if I personally walked into a pawn shop with say a 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson rookie PSA 10 and I wanted lets say 5000 for it and Rick laughed at me like he does everyone and then he tells me "How does it feel to want?" and then he offers me 500, I'd walk right out and discontinue the deal. I guess it has to be fake because no sellers on the show do that. I'm wondering why someone from the worlds largest third party authenticating service would want to be a part of a fake show? Money I guess...

Jimmy

RedHeart54

It's staged in the sense that they probably do multiple takes for each person. It's the ultimate cattle call- you can sell your item/make money AND get on TV. That's a hell of a lot easier and more fun than searching for an auction company, HOPING you'll make a little more on your item, and then probably waiting another 30-60+ days for your money. It's Vegas. Immediacy is why people go!

I do like the show, though. There are so many cool things that "come through the door" and they do the collecting world-- of all items, not just sports- a service by authentication and education. (In terms of cards, though, I don't remember an episode where they bought anything because, shocker, everything has been a fake.)

zurbs17

I don't know about Pawn Stars but Storage Wars is a mess

Link

MooseDog

Yikes...Pawn Stars is most obviously staged. First of all, I don't think you can just put up a camera, and film people walking into a store, then put it on TV without getting their release. Do you really think that after Rick or his son totally disses on someone's precious treasures and gives them a low-ball offer then that person is going to sign off just to be on TV?

Pawn Stars Production team hires the stars, the customers, the people in the background, AND the "experts". The negotiations are basically scripted, and many of the nicer items belong either to other shops in the area (including those owned by the experts). Think all those experts are able to just drop whatever they are doing at their jobs to

And guess what - American Pickers? Storage Wars? Also scripted.

Even Antiques Roadshow to some extent seeds their shows with some of those treasures.

Gemyanks10

Funny you say that about American Pickers. Last summer, they filmed an episode of the show in Chatham NY which is about 20 miles from my home. According to people in the area as it's not a big area and people talk, Pickers production people actually came to this person's property/farm beforehand to view this person's items/treasures to make sure it would make good tv as to not waste Mike and Frank's time. The Picker's show is definitely all set up in advance.

Jimmy

NVbaseball

<< <i>I head some vicious rumors awhile back that this was a totally staged and set up show. >>



That is neither vicious, nor a rumor. That is just how TV shows operate. The main character wrote a book about the store and the show and explains how the producers stage everything that gets filmed

esquiresports

<< <i>Funny you say that about American Pickers. Last summer, they filmed an episode of the show in Chatham NY which is about 20 miles from my home. According to people in the area as it's not a big area and people talk, Pickers production people actually came to this person's property/farm beforehand to view this person's items/treasures to make sure it would make good tv as to not waste Mike and Frank's time. The Picker's show is definitely all set up in advance.

Jimmy >>



I love American Pickers. There is obvious staging because of camera angles that wouldn't be possible without it, etc., but the guys seem genuine and the purchases real. Just last episode they walked away from one place with nothing.

MrNearMint

I'm a big fan of pawn stars and it's not fake, but it is set up in a way that they usually only film when someone has something interesting to sell or when there is something interesting going on. From what Rick says, the shop is usually so packed that when someone comes in with something to sell/pawn they tell most people to leave so hey can film.

With the "experts" that appraise items, it usually is hours after the person brings the item in, sometimes even days. They don't just drop everything and come down to appraise something. Next time you watch, look at the person's clothes, sometimes they are wearing different clothing then when they first came in the pawn shop.

1985fan

The early days of Pawn Stars there was much less staging than there is now as the stars of the show are never at the shop unless they're filming. Plain and simple the shop is just too busy to film the show and they had far too many people there just to look at the people on the show than to shop.

Why would someone sell it at a pawn shop? I'd have to guess it's because people are too intimidated by the thought of auction, don't want to wait, and get a thrill of being on the show too. There's a lot of reasons people would sell items to the pawn shop.

I really didn't use to like American Pickers. The way it was set up it was made that the guys would just drive along and see some stuff and go up and kind of rush the owners. Now it seems there's much more made of the fact that contact was made beforehand, and they have a flyer that introduces who they are and what they do. It seems much less intrusive now.

A great spin off from Pawn Stars is American Restoration. The work they are able to do in bringing back items from the dead is utterly jaw dropping.

Gemyanks10

As far as the Chatham NY incident goes, I'm only going by what I heard. I was told by more than one person that the local family that wanted to be on the show sent in their information and once they qualified, Picker's production people visited this place beforehand to make sure they had valuable items and whatnot to make for good tv...I love american pickers also and I've seen episodes where they only bought about $100.00 worth of merchandise and I don't know how this Chatham NY episode panned out because I haven't seen it. Just going by what I was told...production people came out, viewed thier things and they must have had good things because they made the show..the rest is history


Jimmy

Dodgerfanjohn

Eeesh you guys are terrible at figuring out human behavior and what drives it. OCD as a topic is already a pariah as a topic on this board, even though it drives the majority of collectors/hoarder/anything in patterns human behavior.

The reason people pawn stuff or sell it to pawn shops is because its the easiest way to instantly get cash. Maybe its to pay a bill, pay a debt, put food on the table, get the next hit...whatever. For Las Vegas its even more over the top because of the gambling.

I'll relate this story which I think should explain it sufficiently. I'll leave out the names because the young man involved is still around and I believe has now held a regular job for several years.

Back before poker was on TV, there were all sorts of tournaments, but most(except the WSOP and a few others) were small potatoes money wise compared to today. So there was a father and son who used to travel around where ever the tournaments were. The father had a small fixed income...I believe retirement or disability or something...and when that money was gone, they'd basically beg other players to stake them until the next check came in. Basically they were broke. Oh yeah, both were also terrible poker players.

So one day the son gets lucky and wins a $500 buy in Omaha tournament at the Hall of Fame Poker Tournament At Binions Horseshoe. He wins $19K. More money than hes ever laid hands on, and likely more than his pops has either. He takes the money and pays off a few debts owed and then goes to a PAWN SHOP and buys a Rolex. Goes back to Binions and starts betting $100 a hand at BJ. By morning, he is broke and selling back the Rolex.

Most games in Vegas casinos are slightly worse than 50/50 propositions. Just enough in the houses favor to make the house big money on many small transactions. The variance in these games dictates that at least some people will win in the short term. A few will win a whole bunch, even on games with negative expectation. Rinse, wash, and repeat the scenario I listed above, thousands if not tens of thousands of times a year. It doesn't matter if only 1 out of 100 hit it big. Vegas gets millions of visitors. Not many have to win for the side business to flourish. And because the addicts believe they will be that 1, its not a stretch to believe that some dude will pawn off his dear departed Aunt Hilda's $30K Faberge Broach for $12k, rather than wait the 6 months it takes to go to auction.

2Old2GrowUp

The show was much better in season 1 & 2.
Personally i cant stand Rick and his super lowball offers. However i do enjoy much of the history on many of the items on the show and is
100x the show that the other one is (hardcore pawn).

Over on the coin side of the forum "The Penny lady" was actually on the show selling a vintage camera or somthing to that effect, and has the video on her website.
There is also a thread discussing the before and after about the episode awhile back (year maybe).

stormtrooper80

Chumlee hasn't been allowed to use the bathroom there for 2 years. They make him go next door

PowderedH2O

The funniest ones to me are when someone 'surprises' someone else at their house or business. The Biggest Loser does this, for example. Bob will just drop in on a contestant unannounced, and they act so surprised to see Bob. And a cameraperson just happened to be inside the house and has the camera angle from inside the house when the contestant opens the door. Er, no.

stown

<< <i>I'm a big fan of pawn stars and it's not fake, >>



That depends on what one classifies as fake but, and this applies to all modern-day "reality" teevee shows, writers and producers are heavily involved with every scene. I hope everyone realizes these shows are similar to wrestling matchs. There are some aspects of real life (ie those are real slaps across the chest, just like the Pawn Shop is a real establishment) but everything else is fluffed for entertainment value.

mlbfan2

<< <i>Eeesh you guys are terrible at figuring out human behavior and what drives it. OCD as a topic is already a pariah as a topic on this board, even though it drives the majority of collectors/hoarder/anything in patterns human behavior.

The reason people pawn stuff or sell it to pawn shops is because its the easiest way to instantly get cash. Maybe its to pay a bill, pay a debt, put food on the table, get the next hit...whatever. For Las Vegas its even more over the top because of the gambling.

I'll relate this story which I think should explain it sufficiently. I'll leave out the names because the young man involved is still around and I believe has now held a regular job for several years.

Back before poker was on TV, there were all sorts of tournaments, but most(except the WSOP and a few others) were small potatoes money wise compared to today. So there was a father and son who used to travel around where ever the tournaments were. The father had a small fixed income...I believe retirement or disability or something...and when that money was gone, they'd basically beg other players to stake them until the next check came in. Basically they were broke. Oh yeah, both were also terrible poker players.

So one day the son gets lucky and wins a $500 buy in Omaha tournament at the Hall of Fame Poker Tournament At Binions Horseshoe. He wins $19K. More money than hes ever laid hands on, and likely more than his pops has either. He takes the money and pays off a few debts owed and then goes to a PAWN SHOP and buys a Rolex. Goes back to Binions and starts betting $100 a hand at BJ. By morning, he is broke and selling back the Rolex.

Most games in Vegas casinos are slightly worse than 50/50 propositions. Just enough in the houses favor to make the house big money on many small transactions. The variance in these games dictates that at least some people will win in the short term. A few will win a whole bunch, even on games with negative expectation. Rinse, wash, and repeat the scenario I listed above, thousands if not tens of thousands of times a year. It doesn't matter if only 1 out of 100 hit it big. Vegas gets millions of visitors. Not many have to win for the side business to flourish. And because the addicts believe they will be that 1, its not a stretch to believe that some dude will pawn off his dear departed Aunt Hilda's $30K Faberge Broach for $12k, rather than wait the 6 months it takes to go to auction. >>



Yes, I think we all realize that people do pawn expensive stuff sometimes, but Pawn Stars is still staged. There's nothing wrong with that. It's meant to be entertaining, and it wouldn't be as entertaining if it WASN'T staged.
http://centraltendencies.com/2011/03/pawn-stars-is-fake/