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I know I'm late but i just saw the one were they bought two Tokheim 850s for less than 800 dollars. They called them some stupid name and said they were made in cedar rapids iowa but Tokheim moved to Fort Wayne in 1918 ..before 850s were even designed. They act like they are contributing to the hobby but they don't even have their facts straight

americans believe what they see on tv! If they did not show what they bought and sold an item for no one would watch..Most people care about the value not the history. Wait till one of those firestone light ups hits ebay....now that will be fun to watch

Inflating the value of any repop is wrong. Point blank period.


However, I do not agree with those that say that reality t.v. is damaging the hobby as far as values of real items go. There have been MANY (in fact I would say the majority) of the items that the Pickers, Pawn Stars, or some other reality shows I've seen, have had on there, and they are very regularly priced MUCH lower than most of the items at auctions end up being, they're lower than most of eBay, and they are lower than some of the listings on sites like this and others.

I for one wish more people would price items like the Pickers do. Even the price they sell them for is cheaper than I can buy.

Take the episode in question. They traded a PanAm Doughboy. Fairly rough condition, but not horrible by any means. In the trade, they gave it a value of $475 I believe. I'd buy Doughboys alllllll day for $475 lol.

They do misinform and make things about money too much. But they aren't all bad.

Thorton Beroth gives tours of his collection to small groups at certain times during the cruise-in.

The Cruise-In at Pilot Mt. NC is held the 1st Sat. of the month for 6 mos. May to October. The Cruise-In features a live band that plays (beach music). This is one of the Best Cruise's ever and should not be missed.
Bob in the Carolina's

I also know Thornton and have enjoyed sitting and hearing his stories. For my part I would love to think that Thornton knew exactly what he had and "took those boys to the cleaners". That said, I do enjoy the show just for semething to watch. On the slow day at Iowa last year we hooked up and drove over to LeClar to see the shop. It's prety much what you see on TV with the big seller being T SHIRTS AND HATS. Very little else for sale but we were hoping that Danielle would be there and she had just left half hour before we got there. She was out here at the Rose Bowl Flea Market some months ago, with another women, being filmed buying things

The last time I was at Thorton's I spent about 4 hours looking through his collection. He has so much stuff that I still missed items. He was very patient with my going very slowly looking at everything. That said I haven't seen the episode, but have found it online and will take a look at it tonight. Thorton is usually high on most things, but I've never known him to be misleading.

Seen the show tonight. I was in awe at that collection at least from what I could see from the cameras moving. I envy the guys that have been through this collection.....and Thorton himself. So cool

I have known Thornton for about twenty years and have sold him a few things in his collection, and he has sold me a few things in mine. You will never meet a more stand up guy, always willing to give info and help you find something. Since he started selling, he has become a tough negotiator. But the fun is in the chase and if he made it too easy, well, wheres the fun in that.

Watched the episode last night and all I have to say is, "I'm glad I didn't respond to the email they sent me back in Oct."

Greetings,

My name is Jack Wilkinson and I’m a producer on “American Pickers” for History Channel.

The Pickers will be coming to North Carolina next month and we are looking for people with collectibles that are ready to sell multiple items. We would also love to explore the history of the locations and the items. And of course we are always looking for great characters. We would greatly appreciate if you could help us in our search for great "picks" in North Carolina.

Attached is a list of the items we are looking for. Of course the items we feature on the show are not limited to this list. If you know of anyone who has an an abundance of these items please contact me by replying to this email or you can reach me at...

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you,

Jack

Jack Wilkinson
Producer
American Pickers Season III

...that's an hour you'll never get back...

I know this topic has been "beat" to death, but I met Mike Wolfe this past summer by accident. He was in my area and I actually took him to an appointment he had with someone right down the road from me. I saw the picker van in my town and Mike was talking with a friend of mine so I stopped to say hello. He was looking for a place and my friend wasn't sure where it was, so I had Mike follow me. I work with the guys wife he was going to see.

He was a great guy and we talked for awhile. He used to pick the area along time ago and bought a very old Harley from a guy here locally.

The shows entertainment and we talked about that. He pitched the show for years and no one would listen. He told me how he had the idea and what he did. I admire/respect him for it. He had no reason to BS me. He didn't know me from Adam, and I am pretty good at picking up on BS.

The businesses are actaully Mike's I believe. Frank and him have been friends since 8th grade or something. He did the picking thing on his own for a long time by himself and he was so taken with the people he was meeting. He did alot of video taping on his own and decided to bring Frank along.

He was gracious and we shook hands. He was on the prowl for old motorcycles, he made that clear.

Just my two sense. It's just entertainment, pure and simple. But I think it's fun to watch. Too me, I thought he was a nice guy. It is what it is.

I have been to Thortons and his bank building is unbelievable. All of his stuff was original. I,personally,wouldn't see Thorton having this sign in his place. I'm sure we will find out all about it in Columbia next month.

T-Bird Kid, that's a interesting post from worth point. What did it sell for? I imagine this was a "set up" piece for the shows entertainment side, or maybe Thorton bought it and resold it to them!! Who knows.

Not sure what it sold for but its tv shows like this that make people believe what they see on tv. There firestone expert should stick to motorcycles.

My thoughts exactly. My first thought when I watched that was, if it is real and that rare send it to Barrett Jackson Scottsdale and watch what happens....