Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion American Pickers filming at your place..

I sold them $6000.00 in total at 50 cents on the dollar. Meaning I sold them $12,000.00 of items for $6000.00. I can't buy that kind of national advertising for $6000.00.

At $6000.00 that is the cheapest advertising, I have ever bought. When I owned the auction house, I use to buy two full color pages in the local newspaper within the first 10 pages of the paper for $2300.00. Full color rear page of local car guide magazine for $2000.00. Compared to those prices, it was a good deal.

I really don't know if I should be jumping in to this type of discussion, but since I am both a contributer to both the pickers and the American Restoration shows (who I sold my last 75 gas pumps to) I sometimes feel I am a little closer to what they are doing.
They don't want to come to your place where you have accumulated the greatest collection of Tydol items. They want to come to a barn/a old building/closed movie house/you name it, then they want to find the rusty gold in the bottom of the box on the floor. I know that feeling, because I did that at the Bennett Pump Company when they closed.
Are they really looking for that "rusty gold" not really, they are looking for something that they can spend more than three minutes telling you about the complete history about (which they probably got from me or someone else in their files).
Now seriously are the doing us collectors a favor, probably not. But they are surly pointing out many items that are collectible.
Look at it this way, for years I have stated that if you have 50 handy oilers, you do not have a collection, you have an accumulation, that is what these guys are looking for, those of us who have an accumulation. Fifty of this, two of that, this is what makes a great 30 minutes of "I will give you $20.0, I want $30.00 makes up time.
How many of you have just about turned the program off because they are going back and forth over $5.00? Please.....spend more time establishing the value of that Gulf Sign back against the wall.

I can keep this up forever, my suggestion, watch the program, just turn off the sound, look at all the greats things that are still out there, add them to your memory as to what is collectible.

Get out there and find them.

Jack Sim

I was contacted right after the show started airing. A fellow collector had given them my name and I was asked to be on the show. I agreed to continue with scheduling and logistics but after afew calls never heard from them again. I have since reconsidered and would have to say no also. Even having met Mike and Frank, good guys, does not change my mind.

Wocopep...
I saw some of your pumps back in the 80's when I was hunting down jukeboxes, gumball machines, etc. and it would have been a good show. Probably would have given you some grief/aggravation in the future though. Dave

Everyone has a different situation. Most of us are collectors first and businesses second, third, or way down the list. In Dave's situation as an ongoing business concern it makes perfect sense to take an opportunity to advertise like that. Having been in business all my life I can totally see his point. It's not so much whether or not they can pay market price for a few items, it's what is it worth to get your business in front of millions of prospective customers. We've had this discussion a few times before and there is always a divided consensus. I don't watch the show very often because it's so staged and just gets kinda old listening to the same rhetoric. But Jack is right, just turn down the sound and look at the finds. As far as the show hurting the hobby, I think that's a divided highway also. It always seemed to me that everything they bought petro wise they bought super cheap. Yes, it does make a lot of people think they have something more valuable than it is but the few items they actually buy aren't setting the prices for everything petro. On the other hand I'm sure there are now more interested in buying an old roached out sign for $100 than there used to be so that's not all bad when we want to sell off some surplus items to fund another find.....GB

I love it-"divided consensus". Should have thought of that myself. A perfectly sensible oxymoron.
And I agree with GB, watch for the stuff on the show and turn off the volume.

I'm with you Jack, enjoy it for what it is,,, no sense in getting your ***** in a knot... it's fun

Theyre no different then some guys on here who buy signs off ebay and ask 6 times what theyre worth.

I think Jacks view is correct. The show is meant to be entertainment, but they need the props.

Most of the things they get are at great prices. It's obviously fixed. I watch the show and take it for what it is. Entertainment. I just like to see the pick itself.
I don't blame them for higher prices after all look what they pay. The blame in my eyes goes more to the guys who pay these enormous prices at auctions like Barret Jackson or just about any other auction it seems.
In the last couple years I've seen a Pegasus Cookie Cutter go at auction from aroud 3500 to the last one I saw sell brought 7500 plus fees.
People see this and think this stuff is the new gold rush.

YA, I missed the "HATE AMERICAN PICKERS" bandwagon too.
I do get people coming up to me and commenting on the show when they see my stuff, but a simple "it's TV, don't believe everything you see" usually ends unwanted conversation directed at it.
My Vizio comes with this channel changer thingy.

Before Canadian Pickers started filming the producers ran wanted listings on Craigslist across Canada looking for places to visit. I sent the information to a local film industry prop rental owner who then contacted a number of collectors. None of the collectors were interested because they are collectors and not interested in selling.
They had already been watching American Pickers and saw what it was all about.
All of the collectors I talked to said if they wanted to part with anything it would be by: swap meet, ebay or auction.

I quit watching the History Channel...no History.

There is no way I would have those two over, they act like they invented finding junk and are very inaccurate at times. Hacks.

Ryan a boat ride with no seat belts or floatation devices for those guys might be a good idea. They have made John Q. Public think a Bennett 2066 pump is worth a mint.

Ever seen Rick Dale restore a computer?, even though there are times it shows him messing with one?

The History Channel has become the LIFETIME Channel for Wuss men, they lost my attention. Cartoon Network is more interesting than the Hostory Channel now.

Agree with most that has been said.
I honestly don't like this program,or others like it.
Nothing they show is reality.
Who would want to be a part of this?
Let 2 sneaky guys & a camera into your home as they survey what you have while they praise what you have.
Act interested and ignorant about an object & it's back story,while they probably know more about it then the owner does.
Offer you a price on something(s),you accept as they thank you & shake your hand & pat you on the back as they leave.
Then the two squirrels hi-five each other and boast about how they stole something from you on their way back to their truck,while they plot where to go to next.
Basically they kiss an owners ***** to gain entry,then make the same owner look like a sucker on their way out.
I don't see how this puts the hobby or the people involved in a good light.

WELL SAID !!!!!