American Pickers

[Paul DeLouisiana]

Does anyone else watch this show? I just started watching it on Netflix Instant after I ran out of Pawn Stars. I must say, it is one of the most despicable shows I have ever seen. These two guys are the worst.They are both horrible attention hounds who fight with vocal volume for the upper hand. A few things I've picked up on:

1. They are constantly interrupting each other and cutting each other off.
2. From the first second they are on someone else's property, they manipulate and charge elderly people who can hardly speak $5 for items they'll bring home hundreds for. I sort of like when they get shut down by other collectors who know the value of their stuff. But when they 'freestyle' it can get out of hand.
3. One of the things that bothers me the most is how aggressive they get when they are loading and unloading an item. If someone is backing up to latch a trailer they'll be like "Ok your good good good...WOAH WOAH WOAH CHIEF!!!" It's like they try to fill every seconds of the show with drama and speaking.
4. The short guy has the most disgusting, pretentious tone when talking to people. They went to a house where the people had a bunch of toys that weren't as old as they thought and he was the BIGGEST jerk telling the "No this isn't old it was actually made in the 60's and it's worth nothing." And they said "Well wouldn't you agree it LOOKS old?" and he replied not unlike Mickey Dolenz would. I actually think I hate him more than the tall guy.

I'm gunna keep watching though. Jerks can be so interesting.

Anyone else watch?

[wood and iron]

I've seen a few episodes and agree with all you've said. I feel like this is the opposite of Hoarders: instead of trying to help sick people, they are taking advantage. Also, what's the point of the Suicide Girls looking lady who shows up randomly?

[Paul DeLouisiana]

I've seen a few episodes and agree with all you've said. I feel like this is the opposite of Hoarders: instead of trying to help sick people, they are taking advantage. Also, what's the point of the Suicide Girls looking lady who shows up randomly?

She runs the shop and is in charge of selling all the stuff and doing all the paperwork. But I have a really hard time believing it is a three person business. Also if she does all the finances it only makes those two grown children look like they have an even easier job.

[Omar]

I disagree with almost everything you said about this show. "Despicable"?!  Mike and Frank are certainly goofy, and the latter can, as you said, have a jerky tone at times.  However, the notion that they consistently take advantage of people is absolutely FALSE.  Some of their profit margins on pieces are alarmingly low, and I've seen them do stuff like sell a piece for close to their cost to a museum or actually drive back and give a guy a chunk of money because the item was appraised at well beyond what they paid (vintage circus posters in one case.)  Compared to someone like Rick Harrison, they certainly seem far more appreciative of the sentimental/family value of people's collections and are far more willing to negotiate fair prices.  Perhaps you have not seen a representative sample of the episodes, but they often encounter pretty hardcore pickers/collectors who know their stuff and negotiate accordingly.  Elderly people who can hardly speak is not the norm.

One thing I don't like: When Mike and/or Frank refer to a particularly juicy pick as a HONEY HOLE.  The only Honey Hole on AP is Danielle Colby Cushman (The Suicide Girl) [CLICK THIS].

[Paul DeLouisiana]

Yeh I think goofy is a more reasonable term. They are especially goofy when the laugh/squeal hysterically.

Do you think there is any spontaneity to their "freestyling"?

Oh yes the abbreviations and codes are a bit ridiculous. Recent one was saying "repros" for reproductions.

[Omar]

Yeh I think goofy is a more reasonable term. They are especially goofy when the laugh/squeal hysterically.

Do you think there is any spontaneity to their "freestyling"?

Oh yes the abbreviations and codes are a bit ridiculous. Recent one was saying "repros" for reproductions.

In terms of any "freestyling" in those interstitial interview segments and the in-the-van banter, I'm sure there's a certain level of scripting/prompts/direction.  Some of the banter is goofy enough to seem legitimately their own off-the-cuff riffage.

Frank loves his "bundling"!  I wonder if Frank has a following in the "bear" community a la Tom Collichio.  I'll ask Robert Mould via Facebook.

[Paul DeLouisiana]

What's the deal with the guys always acting like Danielle does a bad job? The last episode I watched Frank said "We're gunna get Danielle to do her job... for once." They treat her like Chumlee but I'm ten episodes in and I've never seen her do anything goofy.

[Omar]

What's the deal with the guys always acting like Danielle does a bad job? The last episode I watched Frank said "We're gunna get Danielle to do her job... for once." They treat her like Chumlee but I'm ten episodes in and I've never seen her do anything goofy.

My take on the anti-Danielle quips is that it's just a running joke to create some faux tension as they interact from the road.  Kind of like when Greg Ginn would always badmouth SST janitor Cliff "Sasquatch" Fritch during Black Flag tours even though CT did top-notch work by all accounts.

As you said, there's zero evidence that Danielle is incompetent or deficient in her Antique Archeology duties.

[Eric Fishlegs]

I disagree with almost everything you said about this show. "Despicable"?!  Mike and Frank are certainly goofy, and the latter can, as you said, have a jerky tone at times.  However, the notion that they consistently take advantage of people is absolutely FALSE.  Some of their profit margins on pieces are alarmingly low, and I've seen them do stuff like sell a piece for close to their cost to a museum or actually drive back and give a guy a chunk of money because the item was appraised at well beyond what they paid (vintage circus posters in one case.)  Compared to someone like Rick Harrison, they certainly seem far more appreciative of the sentimental/family value of people's collections and are far more willing to negotiate fair prices.  Perhaps you have not seen a representative sample of the episodes, but they often encounter pretty hardcore pickers/collectors who know their stuff and negotiate accordingly.  Elderly people who can hardly speak is not the norm.

I saw one episode where a family was selling some deceased family members old stuff and Mike asked how much he wanted for a certain item and when he replied with a somewhat baffled "$20?" Mike stopped him and told him it was worth much more and then they went around looking at everything giving the family rough estimates as to what everything was worth for when they tried to auction it. On one hand I'm not sure they would have spent a ton of time on this endeavor had there not been cameras there. On the other hand if they were truly jerks they wouldn't have bothered to help at all. I do find the bit where they negotiate a price down and spend 10 minutes haggling over $20 and then follow it up with an interview saying how much they're gonna make on this item to be a tad annoying, but not a dealbreaker.

I especially enjoyed the episode where Mike took Danielle picking with him while Frank stayed in the office. More danielle is only a good thing.

[fonpr]

Do they deal in banjos?