I watched a rerun of History's (cable's newest reality television network) Pawn Stars the other night. (Season 2; Episode 5). In this episode a man named Rod brought in — what he "believed" to be — his 1960 Les Paul Custom guitar. Rod claimed to have gotten the guitar during the 1980s while touring with bands Toto and Triumph.
I got curious as to just who he was in relation to those two bands, so I hit the internet to investigate. What I found was not exactly a surprise, even if it was a disappointment.
The segment was completely staged. The guitar used in the show belonged to local Las Vegas vintage guitar store, Cowtown Guitars. The "customer" was played by an employee of that same store. And the "expert" brought in to appraise it was yet another Cowtown Guitar employee/manager. (Exposé credit goes to the guitarphiles in the Les Paul Forums.)
The customer named Rod in the Pawn Stars episode is actually Rod Miller of Cowtown Guitars in Las Vegas, where he is employed at as a luthier. How long he has worked there, I do not know. But I found evidence of his employment there fourteen months before the first episode of Pawn Stars ever aired. (See Exhibit A below.)
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Jesse, the guitar expert in the episode that identified the guitar as being from 1972, can be found on Cowtown Guitar's website as one of the store's principal contacts.
With respect to the guitar, as of March 2011, it was still listed (as sold) on Cowtown Guitar's website. Note the same identical buckle rash in the website photo as in the episode clip below. (See Exhibit B above.)
But it does not end there. I found another episode that used more Cowtown inventory to stage a segment. In season 2, episode 14, a "customer" trades a 18th century French double-barreled shotgun for a 1978 Gibson Les Paul. Although Rick's expert appraises the shotgun for $10,000, the owner settles for "$4,000 worth of guitar." The customer had previously stated he was looking for a high end guitar — and it just so happened Rick had one in the back, which he admitted to never putting on display.
Meanwhile, over at Cowtown Guitars, there was a 1979 Gibson Les Paul for sale, identical in every way except for the year. (Click here to view Exhibit C.) Coincidence? Eh, probably not.
So, if the guitar was a setup, that means the transaction was a setup. And by way of the transitive property, it means the gun and customer must also be setups. In other words, the entire segment was duplicitous and a complete fabrication. (My guess is that the gun was brought in by the gun expert, himself.)
Still do not believe the show is completely fake? If the misrepresentations of these two segments involving three mundane pieces were not enough to cast aspersions over the entire series for you, you are in luck; because there is more.
There is proof of fraud as early as season one, episode eight, entitled Time Machines.
Rick Harrison buys a 1950s Coca-Cola machine to refurbish. Rick Dale of Rick's Restorations is enlisted to restore the machine. (You might also know Rick Dale from History's American Restoration.) The finished result is beautiful, indeed. However, there is one small problem. It is not the same machine.
In fact, it is not even the same model. The machine on the left is identified as a Vendo 39. But the restored machine on the right is a Cavalier 79. The dimensions of the two machines are not even the same.
This was noticed by a Gulf Oil memorabilia collector who also claimed to recognize another piece on the show. Rick's Big Bet (Season 1; Episode 10) had a Wayne gas pump that, again, was taken to Rick's Restorations after purchase from the "customer."
From a letter written to Rick Dale of Rick's Restorations:
One more thing – that gas pump you restored for the Pawn Stars…funny, the man that sold that pump to you years ago is a friend of mine! (Small world, right?) Anyway, he was watching the show with his wife, and – in his words – he almost fell out of his chair when he saw that pump. His wife actually recognized it! I mean, what are the odds that a pump you bought got sold unrestored to someone, who just happened to bring it into that Pawn Shop – only for them to buy it and return it to you for restoration? They'd have to be astronomical!
[Updated Aug. 15, 2011]
I received an email a while back, which brought my attention to another likely fabricated segment: The 18th-Century flintlock from (again) the first season's Time Machines episode (S01:E08). The customer–named simply Jim–is actually Jim Waters, a local Las Vegas comedian and actor, and "one of the founders of a Las Vegas Group called Film and Television artists of Las Vegas." I was told Jim was hired for the scene, and that the acting agency he is with often receives submissions for actors to work on the show.
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Here is the clip from the show. How is his acting?
[Updated Aug. 17, 2011]
In the episode entitled Aw Shucks! (S03:E05), a customer brings in a Native American flax bow to pawn. (Watch the clip.) During the pawn and appraisal, the flax bow has a blue beaded string with orange and pinks balls. However, when the customer comes back to pick up the flax bow, it has a red beaded string with yellow, white, purple, and orange balls.
Why they could not be consistent in the use of flax bows for the segment, I have no idea. Whatever the case, the flax bow is recognizably a prop and not part of a real transaction with an actual customer.
I also found reports that the autographed Lou Gehrig jersey from episode Flight of the Chum (Season 2; Episode 25) was actually owned by Xtreme Collectibles of Las Vegas. Previously, the jersey was listed on their website for $7,999; however, at the time this was written, the website was no longer there. (There are several internet archives of the jersey's sale page (04/2008 – 02/2009). But unfortunately, due to some weird Yahoo image storage, the actual picture of the jersey was not archived as well.)
And it does not stop there. My perusing turned up at least circumstantial evidence of staged, scripted, and misrepresented segments involving the goods below:
- 1965 Shelby Cobra bodyframe (Season 2; episode 2)
- Hot air balloon (Season 2; episode 5)
- AYT XP 2200 speedboat (Season 2; episode 13)
- Collection of 1960s Pez dispensers (Season 2; episode 15)
- Schweizer 300 helicopter (Season 2; episode 19)
- 1930s Coca-Cola salesman cooler (Season 2; episode 26)
- Miami Heat 2006 NBA Championship ring (Season 2; episode 27)
Now many will defend the scripting and staging of reality shows, arguing that their principal purpose is to provide entertainment to an audience. And only a naive individual, who is familiar with the evolution of reality of television, would be shocked or vexed to learn that elements of a show are not real. It is all buyer beware. And while I agree with the generality of that notion, one must also consider a show's topic and source.
This show airs on History — a channel that used to be known for high calibre documentaries. It had earned a veritable ethos over the years, and I had come to expect a certain level of integrity from the network. If the network wishes to air a show about a pawn shop in Las Vegas that spends most of its time buying sensational items that have little or nothing to do with real history, I would at least expect it to display a moderate amount of authenticity. Instead, we are presented with conspicuous deception under the pretense of fidelity.
Shame on you A&E. A disclaimer needs to be put at the beginning of these shows similar to Operation Repo's since the level of "reality" is the same.
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Tags: Fake, History Channel, Pawn Stars, Scripted, Staged
i knew this was staged from the moment it started, usually guitar players now alot about the guitar they play. im sure much of the show is staged.
they just like to pick apart a show caues they do not have a show to be on it is so sad they are such bullyes
Wow, you are a dumb-ass
Excellent investigative work . I'm a fan of the show but recently had been having doubts about its legitimacy . It was clear that many of the segments dealing with interactions between the main characters were staged ; I was hoping though that the core material was genuine . Sadly that doesn't seem to be the case. It's great that you've down the research and shared the results . Certainly much appreciated .
I was in the Pawn Shop last week. On Thursday afternoon. None of the 4 cast members were anywhere near there. You notice on the bumper shots, the people browsing? Packed in there? Thats what it was like when I was there. There was a rope line outside. Now on the show, when they are having their banter or dealing with customers, there's almost no one in the store. There were a bunch of people working there but none recognizable from the show.
I must say this though, I did see a lot of stuff purchased on the show in the store. A slot machine, the mortar, the Ohio state football pin, some of the guns, a spotters scope, the little motorcycle restored by Rick Dale, etc. in general, the quality of the merchandise I saw looked pretty good. A lot of high end Rolex and Omega watches too. They did have a wide collection of antique stuff. I actually expected to see old toasters, CB radios and boom boxes, but in general it wasn't too bad.
The shop floor is tiny and a large segment is dedicated to selling Pawn Star souvenirs. I assume they clear all that out prior to shooting along with the people.
also in Time Machines guy who sells Coke Machine is Ron "Dale" brother of Rick Dale who restores the machine…
You're right, I noticed that right away. Ron is Rick Dale's brother.
nice investigative work on the show, I basically reached the same conclusion after watching 3-4 episodes.
Obviously almost all the interactions are 100% scripted, especially whenever Chumlee is involved.
Another thing that gives it away is the interview with cast members, when Chumlee was asked how things had changed since he became a "star" he said: "well sometimes there are hundreds of fans chanting my name outside the store", so obviously the shop is probably swarmed with fans all the time.
Not a single time have I seen anyone comment "Oh you are the pawnstars" or "am I on TV?". Let's keep it real, if you walk into a shop and see camera men, microphone guy, light guy, you would not walk casually over there with your stuff, you would assume they were busy, but no the person always walks right over like the camera isn't there.
Not even a single comment like "Am I on TV?" or anything, this just doesn't happen in the real world.
My last and perhaps strongest argument is that the experts can always come down on such a short notice, let's think about this, one of the guys runs a museum and he has time to stop by this stop everytime. I seriously doubt these people would have time to come down all the time if they weren't notified beforehand, sometimes he brings in 2 different experts at different times, there is no way a customer would wait around for hours for both to have time to come down and check it out for 5minutes.
Also notice that the autograph expert doesn't even bring any source material to compare autographs to, which is very odd. Today any expert would bring a laptop and bring up pictures to compare it to, there is just no way a person can keep thousands of signatures in their head, knowing every detail like he does. No way. Ever…
It's good for entertainment value, but it's obvious that it's all staged.
However, I'm a little shocked that you managed to understand that this was staged when you thought History channel was a reputable channel.
HISTORY is perhaps the worst channel for authenticity there is, perhaps even worse than the reality shows on MTV.
HISTORY has "documentaries" on aliens, conspiracy theories, religious bullshit etc. so you shouldn't really expect anything else…
Very good points,the show is entertainment based loosely on a reality.All these shows look real until you start looking at them closely and you see how little sense they make.I always suspected the show is fake because nobody in there right mind would go to a pawn shop with valuable ,one of a kind items, to be laugh at by rick or sneared at by the old man and on top of that get paid only a fraction of what the items is worth.in reality people would go to an auction house like christies or sotherby's with valuable items.The producers arent going to confess to anything, this show is making so much money they'd be stupid to say anything to derail this gravy train.
Whether the transactions are real or completely staged, it's clear that everything is worked out and the deals are made in advance of the shooting. You don't just walk in to the pawn shop and run into the TV crew. That should be obvious to everyone. The show is held together by the history behind the items brought in. They have to tell a story. Rick is knowledgeable, but the item's background and historical value is all researched well in advance. He and the producers have done a lot of homework about the item. Same with the negotiations. I would bet that the negotiating all took place in advance and they just reenact a simpler version of the process when the cameras are rolling. When the "experts" come in, they do their inspections in advance. There is no way authenications take place on the spot for every item like that. Remember, this is a 30-minute program. Time is limited in front of the cameras. It's heavily edited and largely staged and reenacted to tell a story. That doesn't mean all transactions and items, sellers etc are entirely fake. They could all be real, but the real process was done before the cameras were rolling. That doesn't really bother me. The show does a good job presenting stories in a summed up, easy to watch format so I enjoy watching it. I take it for what it is.
And about the original post at the top. It's great that you did some research and pointed out some inconsistencies, but I could draw the same conclusions without putting so much effort to "prove" the show is fake. Take the show for what it is, entertainment. The production company brings a lot of resources to the table. They have the power to find and invite items which they think will make for a good segment. Rick and his "expert" friends…they all get something out of working with the show. They get their name out there and a lot of good advertising for their own companies. So yeah, they are all working and bringing their resources together, getting the opporunity to stage a showcase of some of their items.
Bottom line is, the show is staged for the cameras. Some parts are real or inspired by real people, items and transactions and I'm sure many parts are "faked" entirely for show.
Look, it's probably determined ahead of time who has interesting items to sell, and the area is no doubt cleared for the negotiation. I don't understand when people are so dismissive however, most folks are just not that good of actors, I believe the back and forth negotiations are most likely real.
It took you 3-4 episodes to figure it out? Wow.
Btw, as bad as History has become Discovery is and always has been a lot worse.
Obviously it's staged. I doubt there's a person on the planet that could know that much about everything. As far as the experts coming in at a moments notice, let's not forget that they are likely being paid by the producers. If I'm at work and someone calls me and says drop everything for a few hundred dollars for a few minutes… I'm there!
Yeah, I was a fan of the show. But I started to realize all the interesting stuff they get is really fishy. I noticed the Coca-cola machine wasn't the same model. In the age of Ebay pawn shops are in decline, and the stuff they get is unbelievable. I mean people are trying to sell 20,000 dollars items at a pawn shop for 12,000? doesn't make a ton of sense.
I agree, it doesn't look good. I never thought about Pawn Stars being faked… until now. The problem is "Rod", the guy who brings in the 1972 Les Paul, never identifies himself as "Rod Miller." He never gives his last name. You would have to walk in and actually see "Rod" working at CowTown Guitars. The guitar is definitely the same one you have depicted here. About the white 1979(8) Les Paul, it does look the same too.
It's come to the point, you can't believe in anything. Over the last 20 years, every single American institution has failed us. It doesn’t matter if it’s mass media (News Corp and others spying on citizens), baseball (steroid use), big business (Enron), stock brokers (Merrill Lynch recommending Enron), the SEC (Madoff), the FBI (9/2001), Congress (lobbyists), or even The Presidency (Bush-Iraq)… The list goes on and on. Is there any American institution you can believe in anymore?
You are correct. However, his name really is Rod Miller. He plays in a Las Vegas classic rock band named Phoenix. His bio on the band's website describes him “as one of the finest guitar builders and technicians in the country.” Additionally, a member of the Les Paul forums, which I linked to as my source, said that he had a guitar repaired by “Rod” (from the show) at Cowtown Guitars.
And no, I do not believe there ever has or ever will be any institution created or run by man that one can afford to put blind faith into. Just like Newton's law of universal gravitation, man's systemic lack of morality is another universal constant.
For anyone who wants to know, here is the direct URL to Rod Miller's BIO. There actually could be an explanation for this. If you recall, while in the Pawn Shop, Rod Miller was offered a low figure because it was only a 1972 Les Paul Custom guitar. He refused the offer. He may have sold the guitar to CowTown Guitars for a higher figure. CowTown Guitars in turn may have sold the guitar retail.
No, not really. I think it is probably more likely Elvis’ death was faked so he could continue to work as an undercover DEA agent.
Ignoring the obvious for the moment: 1) That Rod would have already known the guitar was not a 1960 Les Paul. 2) He would not be referring to Jesse as "they" since he worked with him. 3) He would already know a guitar store (that he worked at), specializing in vintage guitars, could and would give a better price, due to a more certain and profitable vintage guitar inventory turnover, than a tiny pawn shop a few streets away. And 4) ignoring the fact that Rod actually worked there more than a year before Pawn Stars debuted, and would probably be able to sell the guitar himself through some sort of employee consignment deal—much the same as I did when I worked a specialty retail job many years ago.
With all of that suspended for the time being, there is still the issue that this guitar was for sell on Cowtown Guitar’s website a year before the episode aired (in the second season), and seven months before the first episode of the first season ever aired. And while it is conceivable that this segment was filmed seven months prior to the first episode, but not used until the second season, I think it is worth noting that the guitar disappeared from the website in March and April, 2009, and reappeared as sold some time later. Although this is nothing more than educated speculation, that is likely around the time they were filming and/or securing props for the second season, as there is only a two month broadcast delay between season one and two.
And if all of that is not enough to assuage far beyond a reasonable doubt as to the deceitfulness of the segment, lest us not forget that this is not the only instance of staged fakery on the show.
"And no, I do not believe there ever has or ever will be any institution created or run by man that one can afford to put blind faith into. Just like Newton's law of universal gravitation, man's systemic lack of morality is another universal constant."
- centraltendencies
I agree with your sentiment, but you probably should have picked a better simile. Newton was superseded by Einstein's theory of general relativity in 1916, and is not considered a law. It is an approximation that is asymptotic with general relativity when the gravitational potential and relative velocities of the objects in question approach 0. In other words, it's close enough with things smaller than planets and significantly slower than light, so long as uber precision is not needed.
So, just to reiterate, I'd say the the unreliability of man (and therefore any institution thereof) is even MORE of a constant than Newtonian gravitation lol.
Dont forget the Presidency of Barack Obama.
Been there recently: the antique or valuable items are really few, the store is 3 times littler than seen on TV, and most of it is filled merchandise crap. The employers seem always bored, and whatever you bring to them, they don't even look at it and shoo you away as if you're just a poor little man.
In my life, one of the worst pawn shops I've ever seen.
Most pawn shops don't have much selection. On the show, I counted only a few acoustic guitars. Don't expect much merchandise. If you have a lot of time and don't mind traveling around to different shops, you might find a particular model you like, but I doubt it. With pawn shops, you can't be choosey or picky. With pawn shops, what you're looking for is a generic used item at a very low price. In addition, when you travel around to different shops, be prepared to endure rude and/or pushy owners and/or salespeople. It comes with the territory.
Pawn shops have been replaced by eBay and other sites such as Amazon's third party Marketplace Center. These sites have essentially cut out the middleman and allow sellers to deal directly with the public, making eBay and Amazon rich in the process. These 2 sites alone offer virtually anything you wish to buy at a low price and with insurance. You don't have to waste a lot of time and gas driving around either. Even pawn shops themselves use eBay and Amazon.
I don't visit pawn shops to get a specific item, for that purpose, I agree, internet is an obvious choice. What I look for are old, or just unusual objects to pique my curiosity, wondering what their story could be or to whom they belonged to. Pawn Stars is, mostly, filled with t-shirts, mugs and overpriced stuff with the owners' faces on it, and I don't really care about that. The impression I had, that shop is all about appearances, and generally, not what you'd expect after all they brag about on the TV show, and after your accurate article, I'm starting to think even that (their show) is not worth.
That's (obviously) just my opinion, though.
I just saw your Jim Waters post. Now that I've seen it in this new light, I must say it does look fake. I guess, if I ever see "Pawn Stars" again, I'll always be suspicious.
This is just an observation. On one of the Pawn Stars episodes, Rick states he won't buy Nazi artifacts. I believe he said they were "too creepy." On this YouTube video "Pawn Stars circa 2003", at 2:08, Rick is showing off "a bunch of Nazi stuff." They are Nazi daggers.
Again, I'm just reporting this.
have you noticed his left wings views , how he does not buy nazi ""stuff"" what ever that is , but you see it on stills time to time on the shows as well as i know the buyer who he calls when he has it .
even his views are fake and scripted , his speel over a 36 olys card book was so funny i could not stop laughing ,apart from viewing possibly the greatest oly games ever i am only aware of one where anyone was descriminated against and that was not that long ago in atlanta where they just about packed up the chairs and toilets as they did not want to waste them on the Disabled Olympic Games !!!!!, poor old rick still spews rubbish about jessie owens , who if he looked at the book he had in front of him in the scene would see it had more photos of owens in it than anyone else , i think we know who writes the scripts for him dont we
For anyone still defendding that the show is not scripted, watch the ending of the episode titled "Pirate's Booty" that first aired 9/12/11. During a conversation between Rick and the Old Man, Rick is seen mouthing the Old Man's lines as the Old Man is saying them (ala Will Smith during the first few seasons of the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air).
Here is a video from a guy that was on the show, has clips and talks about it.
Pawn-stars-real-or-fake? Video
I used to have my VCR set on automatic record. I used to see Pawn Stars every week. But after viewing this page, I deleted the programming. Every time I do see Pawn Stars now, I always wonder if the transaction is fake or real. I rarely ever see Pawn Stars now. I just don't like being conned.
There is no pawnshop in this country that operates like the one depicted on television. In a real pawn shop people who need money bring in their watches, jewelry, or other personal items to get a loan. No one brings in antiques, baseball cards, or any other collectible. If you have such an item and want an appraisal or want to sell it you take it to an expert, sell it on EBay, or an auction house.
In addition no pawn shop has a list of "experts" who are on call and come in to give appraisals.
Pawn Stars may not be 100% factual but please, PLEASE do not ever compare it to that POS disgusting tripe that is Operation Repo. Just the sight of that sickening freak Jabba the Hut sister has me throwing up in my mouth and running to the toilet. Not to mention the idiot bug eyed bastard that's far too stupid to ever hold a job outside of a prison. That show is just one fine example of what's wrong with America today.
Which one is the "idiot bug eyed bastard that's far too stupid to ever hold a job outside of a prison"?
Saw this video on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUfa-dx-fmo I BET that guy in an Actor
Regarding the Coke machine switcharoo, the original machine turns up in a second season episode. In episode 4, "A Shot and a Shave", Pawn-Rick takes a barber chair to Resto-Rick. Right as Pawn-Rick says "I'll be honest…" (ironic, no?) the Vendo 39 can be seen in the background against the wall with some other machines. This comes just after Resto-Rick tells him about needing a headrest for the barber chair.
Duh the show is staged! What do you expect when you watch a spin off of reality TV? It's still a functional pawn shop, but they aren't going to get enough interesting customers to provide a full season- that would take forever. They shoot 3 times per day, 5 days per week. That being said, there are still plenty of items in the shop that have been aired on the show.
Stop caring so much about how real each transaction is and pay attention what you can learn from the show. It's on the history channel for a reason. Regardless of how real the episodes are, it's still a good show.
So I stumbled across the show Auctioneer$ on Planet Green. I noticed someone making a purchase on an item that I recalled him selling on Pawn Stars. The show listed his name as Tony Zanlungo so I googled him. The actor (well aspiring) has his own website with clips of him on both shows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6e5YKcYus0&feature=player_embedded
Looks like the same one he later sold on the show Pawn Stars which he misrepresents as an 1860s blaster vs the 1880s blaster he won at auction.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tony+zanlungo&view=detail&mid=614A6B989CFF2F0341BF614A6B989CFF2F0341BF&first=0&FORM=LKVR5
The show I believe is fully scripted, especially the pathetic storylines around the show, this kinda baffles me. I doubt that item went anywhere else but the owners house but I could be wrong. If I am not wrong this actually gives the show some credibility.
You should consider investigating WHY the History Channel stopped running such powerful and important history programs like they use to. I have written them and Direct TV a number of times complaining about this reality crap and the lack of history. I have asked them to return to history. At one time they ran the history of every holiday about a month before the holiday. It was a wonderful and enriching experience, which I reminded the history Channel and Direct TV of. I believe they are washing away history as a way of wiping it out. In a way this is what the Egyptians did thousands of years ago when the chipped away any name of anyone that was a subversive so to speak.
this is just like the pbs antique road show. the dealers started to have freinds bring in valuble stuff to create intrest. it also gave the experts extra camera time. lets face it…its just like any of the reality shows… the producers are going to do what ever it takes to make it interesting. its still an entertaining show just leave it at that.
it isnt just pawn stars
http://collectibles.about.com/od/valuableresources/a/antiqroadfake2.htm
I'm a big fan of American Pickers and somewhat a fan of PS. I found it easy right up front to realize all these shows must have some staging regardless as far as the initial start of a transaction. That's understandable. What makes me mad is when they incorporate both these shows along with American Restoration to make what seemed to be an exciting combination. I'm talking about the 1957 Chevy for the Old Man's Birthday episodes. This whole arrangement makes Rick Harrison who in general is supposed to be so smart look extremely stupid as far as the value of the car. They end up with over $70,000 in a car that was supposed to be so hard to find. When I started watching the beginning of all this I done an internet search and quickly found cars ready to go as nice as the one they did for half that price. Man o Man this left Rick looking so stupid and the whole thing so FAKE!
I think Pawn Stars has jumped the shark. On the Nov 28, 2011 episode, a guy tried to sell a Russian fighter plane to the shop. What pawn shop deals in aircraft? I knew right away Rick would never buy such a thing. Of course, they went through negotiations and shot video of the plane being flown. That demonstration must have cost the owner at least several hundred dollars. The show got some good video out of it, then Rick got scared of the hangar costs and offered less than half of what the plane's owner wanted. I've been wondering if owners get compensated for having their item on the show. Did the plane owner, the dragster owner, the flame-shooting robot owner, and pirate boat float owner really get nothing for all their trouble and the use of their property on the show? I'd be pretty upset if I went to the trouble of demonstrating an expensive item to the pawn guys, only to get a low-ball offer.
Of course the whole thing is staged from start to finish, anyone who thinks these are actual transactions probably bets on professional wrestling. I tune in every so often because you do get to see some interesting stuff and you can even learn a little from the "experts".
I'm thinking they get something and like last nights jet episode I'm doubting the owner went to them but rather someone connected to the show came up with that idea and it was all organized. If nothing else these people get international recognition from the top rated show on one of the most popular cable networks. Fifteen minutes of fame guaranteed! I'm from North Carolina and last year Antiques Roadshow came to Raleigh. The show admitted that this city visit was their biggest ever as far as requests for tickets way surpassing any old records. That lead to a one hour episode showing the behind the scenes of the show including looking for people at the event with the better stories behind their item and how they told their story as well as preparing them with make up and explaining very well how their appraisal would be done.
I also just saw the show that did the Coke machine switch – I don't mind some sort of staging but when I saw both PS and AR do this stupid switch – it really hurts both thier reputation – esp AR – as if they really give a shit. Still, Like taking a Camero in to be restored and coming to pick up a Corvette – come on….
What really is getting on my nerves, isn't the fact that this garbage is all staged, there is no such thing as a "reality show" they are ALL faked, if you actually think any of its real your a moron!
What agrivates me is that this crap dominates the channel now! I have gone exactly 1 week and EVERY time I turn on the history channel its either Pawnstars, pickers or the newest piece of garbage, big shrimpin ( don't even get me started in this piece of shit, its like a retarded version of the crab show on discovery ) I'm not kidding 1 complete week and I have seen nothing worth watching on that channel, I used to watch it all the time! How is any of this history related??
One omre thing, how much civil war memorabilia is in Las Vegas? The few episodes I have been forced to watch have all had something to do with the civil war …Oh yea thats right I forgot about the battle of vegas The north lost a lot of men in that one!
Now that you have figured that out it's time to switch over to the " Santa Claus " concept. I saw more then one show that featured talking animals, etc. MAYBE staged by the same people as Pawn Stars! Hey Grow up!
Shouldn't most of the transactions be reenactments of true stories?? There's no possible way to keep a camera crew in there 24/7 365 to catch every possible person that walks in there.
When they reenact something they get friends and local actors, props, etc to tell the story…
Maybe I'm wrong here?
Really? There’s something on TV that’s not %100 real. Next your going to tell me that 90210 was scripted.
I worked for Rick for a few months, helping him with the new expansion he was doing. I asked him a few times and he told me the show was not 100% real and most of the stuff was made up for "good tv". The thing that really blew my mind though was how Chum and Corry were completely different IRL, they aren't the dopes they pretend to be on TV. I would have to say pretty much the only thing that is real on that show is Rick's laugh. Other than that, it's entertaining and you learn a little bit about old stuff. But don't think for a second that guy who took $100 for his $10,000 guitar really did that.
It's still real to me!!
This doesn’t surprise me and it really doesn’t bother me. The fact is, they have to fill a certain number of 1/2 hour episodes for each season, and they simply don’t have control over the number of interesting items that will show up over the time they have to film.
Second, as for History Channel’s integrity, we’re talking about a network that has for at least a decade dedicated time to programming about UFOs, aliens and conspiracy theories. In my book, that doesn’t give them a reputation as a 100% factual source of information.
What gets me is the hypocrisy. They pretend it's real and it's not. They make statements claiming they have a set of values and they don't. That's what gets me. Why don't they just put a disclaimer at the beginning, the way "Operation Repo" does, declaring there are reenactments and some transactions aren't real? As for the whole alien thing, perhaps we aren't alone. You never know. It's Chariots of the Gods man, Chariots of the Gods.
The Thing (1982) (you have to rent the movie to understand)
This is Rick on Dave Atell's Insomniac circa 2003. I don't see the Old Man, and the shop and Rick certainly look different.
http://youtu.be/Gvu6APT3JLY
Of course it is not 100 percent real, just like most of the other shows of its kind. I did crack up when Ron Dale sold Rick the Coke machine. then goes out to Ron's Dad to get it restored. LOL! talk about a hog swendle if it was unknown. Yeah it was scripted. lol As it has to be. I have done video on some interesting events. and they are boring, yet could be really cool if you had it scripted. It is the devil in the details on these type of shows. They have to script, to make them interesting. or no one would watch them.
I just saw the episode. LOL! you really have to start watching the episode. Rick said he had to redo the whole machine, to except other bottles
A new face outer look. if you saw the episode. They showed Rick has a lot of older machines. which might have been the replacement parts.
I still agree, the show is scripted, and its is still funny that Rick son, sold him the machine and took it back to Rick for the restoration.
the think we are all stupid. yet at the time, American Restoration was not a series yet.
well what do you expect? it's entertainment industry! they are ONLY there to entertain you. the "history" channel is getting like Fox news – it's NOT what is claims to be.and it's NOT honest. additionally, my dad told me years ago that if money is involved people WILL find a way to cheat.
I agree it is staged and I dont mind. What I mind is that they didnt set up the show's premise as such. Why didnt they just set it up like a game and see if the viewers could point out mistakes or guess which transactions were true or not? They dont even have to bother confessing what's real, like the old Ripley's Believe It Or Not. I loved trying to guess which of those stories were factual, and that is how I watch this show. I just wish they could have been upfront about possibly wanting us to watch it this way instead of trying to dupe viewers. It could still be good tv if we are all on the same page.
I live in Las Vegas and have used the pawn shop before they became stars
this show is a total sham rick and the boys are ruthless i needed money bad
then and being naive they reamed me ten years latter i go in i had some Great WW 1 and2 stuff i didn't want to be on the tv show and rick's always raving about war stuff well they wouldn't even let me in the front door olny gold silver diamonds just like ten years earlier its total bullshit they are not in the front anymore there in the back counting there money
I am willing to accept that some thing remain "behind the scenes," but to actually set up a complete lie is ridiculous. I would like to think that the point of the show is to not only educate you on the "historical" value, but to also allow the average American to learn the value of what they have.
I don't understand the concern here. Obviously every time a person is filmed bringing in an item it is a set up. Did we all not understand that from the beginning? They just decided to set up a camera and happened to catch these awesome rare finds? I don't think so. Obviously you are going to have predetermined transactions. The point of the show is not how real the person is, it is how real the item is. The fact remains, all of these items that they are supposedly "buying and selling" are still real objects from history, no matter who they really belong to. I love the show, and probably always will. It is a fun show with a ton of fun and interesting things. I could care less if the customers are actors.
Dude you have way to much time on your hands. Everything you hear and see on TV and Radio is planned out. Its called theater of the mind. All any producer cares about is putting out a product that is entertaining to people, which personally I feel they have. People don't watch the show to hear their stupid skits at the end. Nor do they watch the show to watch authentic pawn store operations. The knowledge on cool pieces of history should be the reason to watch the show, and all of that is usually real.
I agree with James. To create a whole page over this makes you a loser. And to do that much research makes it ever weirder. It's a fun show to watch and obviously fake. Who cares? So is every movie. You don't see people making pages on the internet saying "blah blah blah Harry Potter is fake!! AHHH!!"
[...] least, there are some earth-shattering accusations going around the web that the hit reality show Pawn Stars is actually fake. You mean some parts of a reality show might actually be scripted and pre-arranged? Stop the [...]
I live in Las Vegas and the show is staged. The problem I have with everybody now is that they admitted on the show that they go out and find these "rare" items to showcase them for the show and yet everybody still watches. They say it's more about giving a history lesson then actually about pawning items. Now the crap with Rick Dale and the different coke machine….that was set up by the producers on what they wanted to do. I've been friends with Rick for over 20 years and I can tell you for a fact that what they do on his show is real. The producers go and find the stuff to restore but the actual restoration is really done by Rick and his crew so the talent of those guys really exist unlike the bogus BS of Pawn Stars. I really don't get how those guys are stars…my dog is smarter then Chumlee. The only one on that show that had real brains was the old man. He is the one smart enough to start a pawn shop after he got out of the military. The rest just got to follow along.
Just watched an episode where a man btought in a guitar owned by his aunt, Les Paul's wife. He also had a stack of documents linking it to Paul. He was asking 250K for it. Wha? Totooed guy from cowtown cane in and spooged all over it. Rick offered guy 75K for it and settled for 90K Guitar dude said it would bring at least 150K at auction. As with a lot of this stuff, why do these people take half when they can get a lot more in a normal enviroment. I'm sure it's fake so why don't they just admit it – like Hardcore Pawn does. I lived in LV for 15 years and went in that place before they were famous. I found them hard to deal with and overpriced. Really doesn't interest me at all. Chumlee dumb? don't know but I saw where he bought a car for 200K. He must be doing okay.
I will certianly NEVER watch this program again.
[...] about most of 'em, because I avoid TV usually, but here's a pretty rough piece about Pawn Stars. History Channel’s Pawn Stars is Fake | centraltendencies.com __________________ Illegitimi non [...]
What tipped me off was on American Pickers. And also Storage wars, there is always ONE good find in that show. Those storage units are either: A) Staged and filled with ridiculous props, or B) They spend days and days going through those units and edit out all the crap.
And they always whine about only have *$2,000* to spend. Jeez guys come on, its not money from your pocket. Obviously the network is funding all of these 'Legitmate' purchases.
But, thats T.V. these days. And we are all entertained.
It's TV.Nothing on TV is real,especially REALITY TV!Get over it.The show has entertainment value and makes money for the network no doubt.When it stops doing that,it will be gone.It makes people laugh.That's worth a million bucks!
Wow, what an **incredibly** insightful ramble you've cobbled together. Deep insight too- something on television might not be exactly as it seems. Amazing!! And certainly no one with a functioning cerebellum ever thought the same thing. Will your next topic be on how the peanut isn't actually a pea, or how the french fries sold in McDonald's don't actually come from France?
Hey Chris, I don't know that French fries don't come from France, I'm all banged up bout that, also have no clue what a cerrabelly thingy is either. Don't even tell me there's no Easter bunny! (heck Chris PROBLY thinks Santas fake …sssshhhhh don't say notin Santa won't bring him a CLUE!).
This is an awesome bit of detective work! Thanks for posting this page, it was pretty interesting. Don't worry about dumb comments like the one like the one above, if they weren't interested they wouldn't have read the page.
Hello, I thought some BS was going on. In an early "Pawn Stars" a guy brought in a old "coke machine" (sound familier) the guy that brought in the Coke machine said the Coke machine had been in the family for years and he just wanted to make a few bucks on it and get rid of it, and I knew I had seen him somewhere, just couldn't place him….yet! So kept watching the show (I'm intrigued by some historical items brought back to all there glory) so, I'll give this a shot. I kept watching and guess what? Rick from Silver n Gold Pawn, takes the said Coke machine to Ricks Restoration for restoring it to its former glory. Rick of coarse said he would restore the coke box for Rick (Pawn Stars) at a HUGE SUM OF MONEY! And then it hit me…. The guy that sold the Coke machine to The Pawn Shop was guess who… I did the research, RICKS BROTHER Ron! What are the chances that Ron would sell a coke machine to Rick, then Rick would take it to Ricks restoration to have it restored! Holy cow that's coinsodence isn't it? Man that ticked me off to find out that I was being dupt! What an idiot I is be..lol.. Mjc…
Funny, but NO ONE ever PAWNS anything on this show. That seems rather strange itself doesn’t it?
As with Pawn Stars authenticity, just take a look at AX MEN or GOLD RUSH…..hahahaha as such down on their luck guys from Oregon, they all sure do drive nice late model trucks, towing nice late model travel
trailers…then buy $100K worth of heavy equipment during off-season.
I was also thinking , why do these guys (5)only want to find 100oz of gold ? My thought is they said they needed a 100 oz gold dust pull to BREAK EVEN…, if they need 100 to break even they will lose THIER butts! Even if was ALL profit, think bout it, that's not a ton per man, roughly $165,000 dollars, split 5 ways. $33 g each. Not a GOLD RUSH by any means!
That's all well and good….until you contrast it against the fact that this Is the HISTORY CHANNEL…why we have historical FACTS, not historical FANTASY. What is really disturbing is a quick perusal of the programming lineup on the History website shows an alarming trend towards more of these sorts of scripted and staged shows
The above was in response to a post by Ryan dated Feb 6 2012 in
about the middle of this thread.
[...] the cameras. Like when Chumlee dreamed he was on MILLIONAIRE. I mean, how scripted can you get? Here is a good article on Pawn Stars. I think "staged" is a better word to use rather than [...]
[...] [...]
History channel…
No more great documentaries…just fat white trash guys sniggling giant catfish or some other non-history related garbage.
Can somebody explain to me wtf "Pawn Stars" is doing on the History channel?
These nauseating obese creatures that make money off of losers who need money for gambling or whatever demons they are servicing…it's really depressing.
nauseating, obese, bottom-feeding, low-life creatures….turned into modern role models for other bottom-feeders who dream of being a fat, tattooed ignoramus with bling.
the epitome of our new American culture…
yuck!
pawn stars isnt a fraud y would u think that he could have cut part of it out and added somethin different.
Ok, I agree.. PAWN STARS is at least watchable, the "repo" people are not even good enough to call a joke.. The BUGGED eyed dude with the Glasses on, the White dude… Ever see him without the glasses? Lol.. Funny looking sob… And the hideous woman (Jabba the Hut) is the nastiest woman on the planet that isn't called a planet! I think she has to be CGI because I've never seen a real person that looked like that. And you are spot on, JABBA THE HUT is the closest "thing" that reassembles her, or it, or whatever it is…. NASTY !
Well, I'm here to tell you, it is not fake. I was on the episide "E=MC2, I sold them a Japanses air raid siren. My dad brought it back from the South Pacific at the end of WWII. They have to sign a disclamer to not detail their production procedures, so all I can say is they liked my item and had me come back about a week later to tape my segment. There was no previous agreed-on price or even sale, and I did sell the siren for $225.00. PS – I live in Vegas, since 1966, so since the shop has been open since 1988 I think, I consider them newcomers to Las Vegas.
I am saying not ALL ARE SET UP….. I clearly know they can not afford to hire actors for every transaction. I am speaking of a few SPECIFIC items that they tried to "plant" into the show, maybe not knowing early on it was gonna be a hit and got caught with THIER hands in the cookie jar !
All im saying is if anyone out there thinks this show is real I have some property on mars I need to sell…. very cheap.. beautiful view of the earth!!
I want a PEICE of that pie! My side of mars has a better veiw of Jupiter and Uranis…lol….
Did you know that it was Rick's (American Restoration) brother Ron that took the Coke machine into the pawn shop? Haven't seen that mentioned on here yet.
SARCASM
Did you know that it was Rick's (American Restoration) brother Ron that took the Coke machine into the pawn shop? Haven't seen that mentioned on here yet.
SARCASM
Did you know that it was Rick's (American Restoration) brother Ron that took the Coke machine into the pawn shop? Haven't seen that mentioned on here yet.
SARCASM
As much attention this show and business gets in the local paper and TV stations, I doubt anything here is fake.
Lol.. I hope I'm wrong, however they need to explain how Ricks Brother (from Ricks Restoration) came in with a coke machine that has "been in the family for generations" , he sells it to Pawn Star Rick, then Pawn star Rick takes it to guess who?… Yep, Rick from Ricks Resovation to have repaired… Now that more than just a coincedance, right? Then, 4 shows later, who do they show working on a coke maching exactly like it?…. yep , ricks brother ! I was thinking, now why would Ricks brother bring in a vintage coke machine to the Pawn stars and sell it for $300 just to have them take it to his brother to have restored, for $3000!!!!! Hmmmmmm. I don't know, I guess if that's not "set up". I'll have to say. God Is Blessing someone !
[...] go. Many many articles written like this one, but this one is, in my opinion, by far the best http://centraltendencies.com/2011/03…stars-is-fake/__________________They have gun control in Cuba. They have universal health care in Cuba. So why do [...]
ok , you busted them. HAHA. so what? Out of 200-300 possible episodes, you found 10 that have been fabricated? I'm pretty sure if your ass was on the line to come up with stories , ideas , and entertainment, you'd do your best to produce. And, another, thing, so what? It's all entertainment anyway. If you want to watch a real pawn shop, all you have to do is go to your local town, or watch hardcore pawn. I real pawn shop life and stories are probably boring as hell, and awful language with drug dealers and criminals trying to sell their stuff. Why not spice it up a little bit and make it entertaining? It doesn't take a genius to see that this , anyway.
@tom ace. Man you are so right.. I am so sorry for helping to point out the obvious, as you so elequintly said. And I see that you my friend are so Genius that you had to ALL THOS READING just to hack up what we are mearly pointing out.. You are the Enstien of the bunch of us I guess, I bow down and I will promise not to ever point out that some shows are staged and that ALL REALITY tv shows NEED WRITERS (see credits) I thought that I was watching a show about Pawning, nut just mearly buying COOOL shi7… My idea was so stupid I didn't even mentionit…. My idea was .. They should show some people really BUYING the stuff they bought.. But seeing the genius you have I know you don't have time to go on EBAY and watch some items that they "bought" on the show and yet on EBAY they sell the items for Penny's comepaired to what they bought the, for (jimmy Hendrix one of a kind poster photos) remember how much he paid for them? Well some of them only sold for a couple hundred bucks.. But your the smart one, not me… I am just pointing out obvious mistakes in the REALITY show with actors, writers, and I'll even bet a stunt guy or 2. Answer this for me.. What is the most valuable thing in your home?.. How would you sell it? Newspaper?, auction? Online auction?,word of mouth?.. Naw… PAWN shop where they give pennies on the dollar, litterly, not this show, but REAL PAWN SHOPS ! Take your 2 cents there…
[...] Full article found here [...]
lets not forget about all the wonderful Subway advertising they sneak in there
[...] 1,176 Here's an example of that fake reality that I think we all can relate to –> History Channel’s Pawn Stars is Fake | centraltendencies.com [...]
For the love of all that is true and real……c'mon folks, it's TV. Some producer came into a little LV pawn shop years ago and saw something interesting. They took an idea and pitched the "reality" concept to the network. The network took notice and, subsequently, so did we. It's no different (or real/fake) than "Divorce Court", "Judge Judy" or "Jerry Springer". How can any of us feel 'betrayed' by television in 2012? They're selling ratings !!!
Hang with me for a moment…
Take, for example, FISH!, the story of Seattle's World Famous Pike Place Fish Market: According to their website, the market is "a shop full of fishmongers spending their grueling, 12-hour shifts stocking and selling fish. It's the last place you'd look for great customer service, but in this incredible work environment they use the FISH! Philosophy, employees don't just fill orders, they fill people – with fun, friendliness, attentiveness, and enthusiasm".
Bull$hit. They sell millions of dollars-worth of inspirational, corporate training videos based on the concept……and NOT real life. Talk with those that work/have worked there and you'll find the truth stinks more than the fish.
Similarly, Pawn Stars is NOT real life, it's entertainment. Entertainment packaged for us, the consumer. It's a Hostess Twinkie. We buy it and eat it up when we know it's just empty calories.
I could eat ten of 'em right now but I know not to complain when I get sick.
Now, that psychic lady on the Montell Williams Show…….that $hit is REAL !!!
[...] Neil Russo, the oldies but goodiesIt's scripted but not all fake http://centraltendencies.com/201…Comment Loading… • Post • 6:05am Add [...]
I was there recently. Looks like they built a studio behind the shop, it probably has a fake pawn shop where they stage the fake deals.
Wow, what a war board! Since I live here, and have been on the show with my item, I can definately say it's not a fake pawn shop. It has been here for over 20 years, the main character, Rick Harrison is in the paper all the time in the "seen around town" column by Norm Clark, along with other local and non-local celebraties. Our Gov, Brian Sandoval. was in there a couple of weeks ago, which also made the paper. The back is a very large warehouse area, which any large pawn shop would have. There is a single camera set up in a back room to do a quick test shop of people who they've invited to the show. There is an empty store next door, across the parking lot, which looks like may be used as a production equip storage area, any maybe some production since they were in and out of there several times when they interviewed me in the parking lot. I can imagine they might stage an occasional sale, as they need continuous stuff to keep a full time show going, and otherwise would be subject to "dry spells" lacking interesting items being brought in. There is usually a block-long line of tourists waiting to get in, but if you're selling something, or are local, they let you skip that line. When it's hot weather, like now, they have misters out on the sidewalk to make the wait more bearable.
I knew it was a scam right from the beginning plus that fat slob playing the son is the most disgusting fat pig that I have ever seen if he was really going to inherit this gold gem he would not deserve it all I can think of is this fat face eating something fattening they are all disgusting the whole family and if it was real the people going in would sell their souls for one dollar I'm so glad that everyone is starting to see what this whole thing is about a scam and if this show lasts any longer I'm going seriously going to get sick to my stomach as someone had said I had it on auto record on my TiVo as of today it is been deleted. I am so happy that I am not alone I was starting to think that everyone was retarded
Love this show. It's become my obsession. Don't care if it's not real—and I LOVE Chumlee. He's really sweet and not an idiot—I figured that much out from the first time I saw this. As far as all the hostility towards this show not being 100% real—GET OVER IT. Turn it off if you've been scarred for life on account of this fact. I'm obsessed with it because it's entertaining and there are a lot of interesting historical things that come into the shop. I don't give a rat fuck about how/why the items come into the shop, whether it's staged, etc. I just like the guys running the place & the fact that you learn stuff if nothing else about some of the historical items that do appear on the show. They're entertaining, and no one is putting a gun to anyone's head and being forced to sell their shit at cut rate prices—they can always walk out if they don't like an offer, just like everyone on here whining about the show can probably figure out how to turn the channel if they don't want to watch it. (MAYBE. I realize that might be giving some people too much credit, but…) The hostility over this is absolutely ridiculous. The "discovery" that the show isn't real–DUH–is pretty much a no-brainer, i.e. it's not like you just discovered the lost treasure of the Incas or something. More like finding out there's no Santa, but most people probably already knew that too. If you're still upset, don't watch. It's just that simple. The show will exist as long as viewers are entertained by it, and apparently they still are, because it's one of the top-rated shows on History. I could care less if it's staged or not. I'll continue to enjoy it and the cast as long as it airs.
the whole family are cheese balls just like every other pawnshop in this country they have people that come in that would sell their souls for one dollar. They are in a tight situation everyone that appears on the show does not seem to be that stupid to give up something that is worth a lot of money for just a little so he the owner Rick can pay his electric bills his son is a fat slob his face looks like it's dripping salad dressing or oil he is disgusting and if they are getting laid because of the show I hope he gets herpes because with his nasty disgusting face on top of a girl just makes me shriek I can picture it thank God that I am not alone in this world there are some smart people who can see through this façade. I would say God bless you all however the atheists that was on another site is a sympathizer I guarantee you that it is the son Correy himself who wrote this I guarantee it he says there is no God and I said that verbatim if there is a hell which I'm sure there is he'll be there selling Gucci pocketbooks fake of course
I knew it was fake when the son started lecturing on items with a history lesson.From what I understand the son is a high school dropout that used to sell fake pocketbooks for a living I guess the father decided to take him in.not only that I agree with David the son is disgusting pretty soon he'll be doing commercials for weight watchers. That is if he decides to do something about his fat sloppiness. I can't believe this country every time it rains the men and women from the last generation the World War II men are crying after what they have seen that this country is doing to itself. Not only has everyone sold. Every CEO should be ashamed of himself or herself when they take their jobs and put them overseas. I can't imagine this test going on much longer the big guy upstairs must be sick watching everything. And those that were here before us also must be sick to their stomachs that's not even to mention this stupid TV show where we have a high school dropout teaching us about history maybe he should lose some weight and do some weight watchers commercials. If everyone knew what these guys were making per show they would get sick also
I use to watch the show, then got bored and recorded it so I could fast forward thru it. I thought it really went down hill when all of a sudden the son (corey?) became somewhat of an expert on everything overnight. And I still can't understand how these so called experts come in and handle things like old autographs, books, papers, photos, etc with out gloves on to protect them from the oils in your skin.
I thought everybody knew the whole thing was scripted. What you have written about here comes as no surprise to me, anyway.
It doesn't make the programme any less enjoyable, though.
Nicely put. I'm glad at least someone gets it. It's funny that this dude went to so much trouble to "prove" how fake it is when anyone with a functioning brain could have guessed that much to a near certainty after about five minutes.
Rick and his moronic nervous laff after everthing he says drives me nuts. Chum's the star of the show.
I like the show. It doesn't matter to me if its fake or staged. It actually makes it more fun to look for mistakes like the different colored beads thing. I really don't see the point in wasting your time or energy getting upset over a TV show. Just turn it off and read a book.
What kills me now is the fact that any time you turn on the history channel , day or night, this show or "pickers"(Which is just as bad) is on??!! Its a runnig joke between my self and mygirl friend, any time of day I wil pick up the remote and ask " ok which is it" and she will guess and then we turn on the channel, its ALWAYS one of these shows??? I must be getting old Because I can remember when the history channel played interesting shows. Modern marvels was awesome, now I just don't watch anymore.
Agree, History had shows about… History, and TLC had shows about Learning, Discovery was a little of both with EXCELLANT programming. 10 years ago someone would ask what "tv shows" I watched.to get so much information about things, I would say "oh, I watch The Discovery Channel" that's where I learned that" oh, that's cool… NOW I am embarrased to say "yea, I watch the TLC to get my fill of reality tv, heck gots to be more perty than them ole celestery tv channels you all gots". Ashamed to say I watch "history, TLC, Discovery, Nat Geo, Science, etc and see more bs tv than is on the 4 big networks. That's ashame. You would think that all the reality tv would be on them (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC) but its the opposite now… Where is this world comming to? Hell I have to watch BBCA just to get a "real show" about America!
PS…. Why are the stupid "CAPTCHA'S so hard to read? A computer can't read them if they just made them off a bit, not a human can hardly make them out ! Whew !
I wish the History Channel would show programs that actually had something to do with history… like they used to. I know that they are trying to pretend that Pawn Stars has something to do with history by throwing in documents signed by presidents etc. Thats how I knew it was fake. It seemed like in every episode someone brings in an item that should be in a museum because of its historical context, and the seller settles for only a few hundred dollars. Yeah right! Also these morons always know so damn much about history as if they actually have a degree in it. I hate how all of the shows on television are geared to white trash audiences. Tonight I changed the channel 4 times and each show was a redneck digging up things, hunting gators, etc. Pathetic. Our nation is doomed.
Thanks for the fantastic article! I watched a few episodes of Pawn Stars this morning, and though I really enjoyed it, the one thought that repeatedly came to my mind was, "This is scripted." So, when I decided to Google "pawn stars scripted," I came across your piece. "Scripted" is an understatement! This show is, indeed, fake, and it's a ripoff.
The show is partially scripted. Alot of the items are already in the store. It is not all fake as a many believe. They really do get such items in. Just not enough to make a series.
yes its fake, entertaining though. all things said and done it still is ratings gold and silver if you dont mind the pun.
I was on the show recently with an item, I can't be specific. They knew what I was bringing in and how much I wanted before filming. Many scenes were shot many times to get it right. Stupid lines were fed to Chum for him to say. He is not that stupid. The Old Man lectured me about my item and the producer had to correct him. I thought my item would be good on the show and they knew I probably was not going to accept their low ball offer. So, my opinion is that it is part real and part scripted. It is a TV show. There are camera men, a sound man, a light man, a director and a producer all standing right next to you. You are told not to recognize them or call them by name. Act like you are just a person off the street going into a pawn shop. The store was closed and no customers were in it. I looked around and saw items for sale that i had seen them buy on the show, but they were all at very high prices. What they sell are t shirts, mugs, key rings, magnets, mouse pads and autographs. Probably 1/3 of the store is devoted to that stuff and the camera angles never show it. The Old Man looks really old in person, and Chum never spoke outside of the stupid lines they gave him to say.
AJ – thanks for clarifying this to the folks who think this is fake. I was on the show also, selling my WWII Japanese air raid siren. They cleared out most of the customers during shooting, with a block long line outside, which is usual. Almost all tourists, I am local in Las Vegas. They told the few customers allowed inside not to look at the cameras or us, except when we cranked up the siren. Corey was the one I dealt with, the others weren't there. They looked at my item and had me come back a week later for the shoot. That's how they know the items, they have a week to do their research to make the show more interesting.
That is something I would expect, come back at a later date is cool with me as a viewer, however, the ones that are tottaly misleading are a whole new ballpark. The ones like the items listed above. The guitar, coke machine etc.. I could go on and on… The deceptive ones are the downfall. The items we know as a fact are bs, "ricks brother from Ricks restoration bringing in a coke machine that has been in his family for decades, then sell it to the pawn shop to have repaired at….YEP.. RICKS RESTORATION ! Wow a co incidence?i don't think so.. That's the kind of items I am talking about, and if I seen conflicting information, wows, there must be tons that do go un noticed. To many people involved that should not be, actors, comedians, etc..makes it kinda shady.. PULL THE SHOW.. Start over, if your gonna have a "reality show" there should not be WRITERs in the credits!
Let's assume that SOME of the stuff is for real…how stupid is the average person? The "Old Man" would complain that the Crown Jewels were "Dirty, some wear, there's no market for them, they'll sit on the shelf" etc., and offer $10. No matter what I had to pawn, if I saw him (or Corey) approaching…I'd turn around.
I liked the show when it started, but now I cannot watch the abuse they can deal out with a straight face. I know it's business, but they complain that they're "not gonna make anything on this" and yet, have you ever seen where they live?
History Channel has used up it's grace with this crap….move on to some History PLEASE
That's exactly how I feel. When they stated at least they gave a good explanation on why or how it could be worth something, but now, they just play on people that have something, and pretend not to be interested. Just like the HORRIBLY WORSE CAJAN PAWN STARS ! My god is that a winner, the only reason they don't buy anything, is they either ALLREADY own it or do not have the money for it, so they "pretend" the item isn't worth THIER time. I will say out of the 2 , pawn stars is better, but that's almost like saying I'd rather have a right knee removed instead of my left knee, just sucks either way… And when you say that when the son comes your way, what about that fcknut Chumlie? There was a show about a scarf that was on the MOON.. And Chumlie ripped on the lady .. "hey Rick, some lady wants you to buy her scarf". Wow, it's from the moon Chumlie….. Not just a scarf, that idiot can't even tell the differance between a tire and a wheel, and he is gonna be setting the price on a $10,000 item? Wow! What an idiot that one is…
land you are right on about "we can't make no money". I seen the house that the old man lives in… I think they are making a lil bit more than a 30% over cost.
The show has ran its corse, so has Justin Beiber, let's move on TLC. Discovery, History, etc… Time for some real programming. Sick of "reality tv". I want my MTV back, the one that played MUSIC VIDEOS, not RAP PORN BS and everything in between. What ever happened to "GOOD TELEVISION".? We all need to take back what we want as an audience of the television , not mere empty pods injected with this "reality" called tv as seen today.
Has he ever said anything without laffing afterwards?
All n all I am sick of this "Reality TV" follow me on this, we made Millionaries out of 4-5 idiots from the "Jersey shore", we created monsters out of these "Pawn Stars", we even made catching Crabs was cool! We have made millionaires out of a couple of guys arguing about weather or not a motorcycle should be painted red or black, we have made household names , stars if you may out of total idiots! WE have created MONSTERS! It's our fault, programming is just listening to US! We (by viewing) said YES, we think that a father and son should be MILLIONAIRES because they can build a motorcycle that has a half track for wheels! We shouted "give me more arguing, give me more screaming, I want someone hurt!
we also said (by simply veiwing) that we think a guy cleaning DIRTY STUFF all over the country needs a tv show!, we said that a guy cutting down a tree, needs his own tv show, we have now said at the top of our lungs ' WE WANT A TV SHOW ABOUT CAR PARTS", no not special car parts, not cool car parts, just CAR PARTS !.
we have now made so many "Stars" if you must, out of total mutants of society. Let's look…. Swamp Men.. Really, shooting an alligator in the head.. SCREAMS TV SHOW !…people buying .SUITCASES FROM an airport!, HUGE stars yelling "yeppp" at the top of THIER lungs to win a storage locker no one would pay for!, yes STARS out of these idiots… We have "auction kings, Storage wars, etc.. All buying stupid stuff in a blind auction of storage lockers… Not saying for a second it's not a bad living, sure go make money if you can, good luck, hope you hit it big, but not a TV show… There is a tv show "Staring anything you can think of now days".
. Why are we making these total IDIOTS millionaires? Why? Because we can't do it? I can't for the life of me figure out how we said.. Hey I want to get 5-6 total scumbags , the worst of the worst and make them stars, (Jersey Shore / the Pauly D project) this guy doesn't have enough talent to plug in a turntable, yet he is a millionaire because we said so? WOW. He is PROBLY the least likely person to survive if you took that show from him.. (seriously) if this guy would have never been on Jersey Shore would he have even come close to even being part of a civilized citiecy? A total jerk, would you let him anywhere near your daughter? I'd shoot that scum if he came near my yard(PROBLY disease infested from all the skank he's been around) but we said MILLIONAIRE!!!… Why?
i look at the line up for to iChat's shows at 8pm….we have Auction Kings, Undercover boss, AMISH, Swamp people, man vs food, Dirty Jobs, baggage battles, my strange addiction, hoarders, shows like majajuana Nation, distillers, cocaine, bikers hurting someone..etc… These are the tv shows we all want the stars to be millionaires? Wow we need to stop watching tv !
I am saying "WE" be ause if not for the viewers, they wouldn't have a show, not saying "You " watched them, but someone is. I don't watch any of the shows I listed , but can't even believe how these "stars" act like they are better than me, my family, friends etc..
Have you ever seen the hair on that "Pauly D guy" (I think that's his name, not 100% sure) a guy abusing a turntable is a Millionaire and star.. Wow.. And that's his ONLY TALENT ,spinning a record backwards !… Millionaire !
rememeber the civil war cannon , i believe the expert5 who appaised it is the business partner of the seller !!!!
think about it , you have a nice antique , and you want to sell it , so u bring it to a pawn shop !!! why not wait outside a prison and wait to a inmate is released and offer it to him
its entertaining apart from that rick laughing at eveything he says but its giving everyone the wrong idea
This is my second posting about this. I can't discuss my item since the segment has not aired yet. What I can tell you is that I had no intention of selling to them. I knew they would low ball me, I just wanted to see how the show worked and be on TV for the fun of it. If you had an item, why would you not take it to the experts they call in and sell it to them. Like the Lindy doll. Rick sold it to Johnny for a $300 profit. Why didn't the original seller just take it to Toy Shack and get decent money for it. I can post my entire experience after the show airs.
I will again, agree with you. I wouldn't take it to them to begin with. If you have an item you "Think" is worth a lot of money you should do one of the following, and NOTHING ELSE…. have it appraised ! Sell on EBay, or at Aucton…. DONE ! See, if you sell something to a "Pawn Shop" you will have to consider they need to "resell" the item, at Auction or EBay you do not.. Final bidder is the final customer, no more middleman.. Yes, you pay fees, but you WILL get top dollar for your item period. That's the only true way to find out what something is worth.. It is 100% of the time , woth as much as someone is willing to pay! So if you sell to the Pawn Stars, no you do NOT get top dollar, period, can't they need to resale the item. Now for a quick buck, yea Pawn shop of any kind, not just the pawn stars. If you expect an even FAIR price, your nuts, that's not the way "real" pawn shops work. If you want a $1000 for a $25000 item, in real life, you are getting the $1000, they are NOT calling in an expert first. They will rip you in a heartbeat and don't be nieve to think they won't rip you.. That's THIER job, to make as much as possible, period I seen a woman bring in a necklace from Elvis Presley worth over $400,000 , the Pawn Guys offered her way way lower than that, my question was why in the hell did she even bother, knowing they wouldn't give her top dollar unless it was a set up or scammmmmmm. Ohhhhhhh I get it now.. My bad.. It was PROBLY just a show filler ! How stupid of me….. I hope you have a good reason to have taken anything to them. As I just said above about a item worth a lot of money…but I think some people must think pawn shops are fair and on the up and up, not so my pretty, take something worth $5000 to ANY PAWN SHOP IN THE USA and ask for $500….. They will give it to you in a flash, will not call in an expert so they can pay MORE….LOL… don't think so……just my opinion and a 10s of millions of others…
remember the show is staged ,my guess the people might be reinbursed for the full value of the items they bring in as well as traveling expenses.
Whoever invented the "CAPTCHA". IM GONNA HURT YOU!…lol… Hate them things… How can a computer come close to reading them when a person can't!… Oh, don't pretend they are easy either, you know they suck as well…. Lol.. Mjc…
After watching all of Hardcore Pawn, I looked and found this.
What Utter tripe.
I knew from the old mans seriously bad acting that it was beign staged and that was before Anythign actually got pawned.
This should be called Pwned stars for all the people that might actually think its for real!
They close the shop for filming. It is actually a real shop, and has been long before this show. He actually tried to get a show that was actually real. It was for their night shift. When all the crazies come in. They never could get a deal on it. Then History Channel gave them a deal but changing it to the current format was what they had to do to get it. So its not their fault its all fake, its History's. I mean the show is not really about people pawning stuff. Thats why History, the shop, and most viewers dont care its not real. The show is about the items themselves. So viewers can see, and learn about those items. If it was actually about just pawning normal stuff, it wouldnt be able to be on HISTORY channel.
It is a pawn shop. Thats why everyone gets low ball offers. Every pawn shop low balls you. Typically you get half of what its actually worth. People go to pawn shops because they need money ASAP, and usually dont have any as it is. It takes time to get stuff appraised, and it usually cost. These days people go there just to try to be on TV mostly I would guess.
There's no doubt that the show isn't 100% authentic. There's no way that a small pawn shop in Las Vegas would happen to have all of those cool things. If you've ever been to a pawn shop (not G&S pawn) you'll see a lot of junk items most of the time. I'm sure they try to keep the show realistic but there isn't always people willing to pawn or sell interesting items. They have to grab the viewers attention and they're doing a good job of it.
Think your missing the point…. Of corse if you make things cool and not what is real, fake items brought in sold/ PURCHACED, and add a bunch of decent writing and good production some people will be interested. However that is the point of this conversation… It's BS, FAKE, NOT REAL, ETC…. So why pretend? If they did it here in Milwaukee, just picked a Pawn shop at random, faked 85% of the transactions made in the store, make sure there is at least 2 personable people there and you WILL have people that will watch the show, simple as that ! Go to any site for any show, there are die hard fans that will defend the tv show no matter what.. I don't understand it, but that's what happens…
if u watch it and others you wont learn much, the pickers show has popups come up with interesting information , apart from that the 2 clowns on it and laughing boy rick on pawn stars , give descriptions , like cool very cool item , cool bananas item , i can get that sort of drivel out of a 12 year old retarded child
rick seems to have a schoolboys minor knoledge on american coins and notes and thats all, apart from that he like most morons finds the first thing he reads on the internet ,and parrots it, he would not have any books or base to say it on
has anyone noticed that all experts that appear have a beard.!!! strange . must be policy ! 50 percent of what they say is rubbish including the value
the weirdest thing is that someone with a historic document etc would go into a pawn shop, ! pawnshops are for stolen dvd,s and game boys
yea i was asking the chacha website a question and it said that cumlee makes 600k a year and 25k pre episodes so i know that the show if fake
I visited the shop while an episode was being filmed in December 2010. It was interesting watching the filming as the Pawn Stars group was outside in the convertible. A cameraman was right in their faces with someone (director?) telling them "you say this, this you say this…" lol I didn't realize the scripting worked like that!
After they were done, they went inside the shop. I spoke for several minutes witth the old man, who was very friendly. Chumlee was great, reveling in the attention. Rick seemed to to be putting up with everything, and Big Hoss stayed as far away as he could from the throngs of people in the shop.
why are people picking apart and disecting this? all this does is completely ruin the show for yourself and the entertainment value. seems like people feel proud of figuring this out, its not much of a feat. im pretty pissed i ventured into this cause until now i kept the blinders on and the show was far more entertaining than it will be now
because they call it the history channel and most of the shows are made up lies !!! thats why
Hey James, So let me get this straight.
You would rather sit at home and watch this like a moron instead of knowing the truth about it?? ….We have an obama voter here folks!!!
You have entirely too much time on your hands. I got half way through and scrolled to comments. It's entertainment for god sakes. If you watch it, they have succeeded. People need to realize Reality TV is not too far behind professional wrestling. Take it for what it is, if you don't like it, don't watch it.
Thank you so much for answering that question. I was beginning to wonder. I like the show but sadly I think all reality shows are staged.
This show, American pickers, Storage Wars, ect ect ect are about the items. THATS why History shows it. The items, and their historical significance. The rest of the stuff is added to it ONLY to make the show more interesting. Without that stuff added, you would have nothing more than 100 versions of Antiques Road Show. Which if you havent noticed is boring as hell. Any moron could tell you most of these shows are scripted. You cant have cameras in public places like that and expect to shoot a descent show. You would have 5000 idiots jumping out trying to be on TV. If it was about anything other than the items, they would shoot everything live. Noones life…or job is interesting enough to be able to do that and expect to get viewers. I mean seriously, if you dont like it, dont watch it. Stop pointing out the obvious, ruining it for everyone who does like it. I still watch it, when I knew from the start it wasnt 100% real. Because Im interested in the items. NEWS FLASH !!! The Flintstones is not real !!! Seriously, its scripted. lmao
@Mark… Wow such Insightful information you got there… I thought for a second you might have had a clue, sorry, I was mistaken… News flash..you are compleatly missing the point, I don't want to "ruin" it for you but the point is they are trying to pass it off as real and not staged (look it up, they say it's all REAL, and nothing is staged, that's from the so called "stars".) I can see watching it for the ITEMS of interest, but they don't have to pretend that all the items were grout in. I know some were brought in, but to pretend that they are all real is the point of this discussion. So, back at ya, if you don't like this discussion, don't respond ! So there for we don't "Ruin it" for all of you that like watching The Dumbass Chumly cut down something he hasn't a clue about. … Of and news flash.. The Flintstones are real ! I've meet them.. Wow some people ….
I haven't seen anywhere any of them actually said it's all real. Im not saying they didnt, but Ive read several interviews and haven't seen it anyway. I never said I don't like the discussion. I obviously do or I wouldn't be reading it. Your not ruining it for me. I knew it was not 100% real the first time I saw it. I really dont see it as any different than the wildlife shows. They are all shot in zoo's and animal reserves, yet they act like they just walk up to them in the wild. A little deceiving maybe, but I wouldn't say its calling their show all real.
i stumbled on this site after arguing about the show with a coworker. the only people that should be listened to are the ones who have been on the show or in the store. its a cool show and teaches about HISTORY scripted or not.. i hope its on forever and oboma isnt re-elected
yep ^^
You just spent WAY too much time on that.
this debate did "ruin" it for me a tiny tiny bit tho… i was so caught up in ricks history lessons that it didnt even cross my mind to notice it was scripted. I cant figure out if chum is dumb or not now tho. Regardless if he isnt a huge stoner i would b extremely suprised.
I posted before that I filmed a segment with them that has not aired yet, so I can't be specific. It is somewhat scripted. The Producer interviews you before you film and she makes a script. The director has the script which is mostly points of conversation that they want brought out. They feed Chum those stupid lines to say. He said one and I didn't laugh, so they did it over again and told me to laugh at him. It was interesting doing it, and learned a lot about "reality" TV. They tell you to act like you don't know these guys are TV stars now, treat them like regular Pawn Shop employees. Ever notice how nobody says anything about being on TV or mentioning the show.
Right AJ. People dont seem to realize they cant make a show like this thats 100% real. Everyone would be all "Im on TV, woo hoo" people in the background doing stupid stuff, ect. Which is the point I was trying to make about the show being really about the item, not about the dumb stuff Chum says,ect. That stuff is just to keep you occupied between items, and take up some air time.
its not what chum says its how he says it..and he always keeps the hi eyes handy..
It needs to be remembered that this show is for entertainment. More than that, staged or not, the show is really informative about historical items. Probably the reason it's on the "History Channel", giving a brief history of each item. Also, none of the values given on the show are in question, which is another informative side to the show. Since the viewers of the show aren't actually involved in the transactions, I don't see why it matters if the circumstances leading up to the item's history and value even matters. It's an entertaining way to find out about history. That's the whole purpose of the show.
Wasn't the admiral's phone on the last episdoe the exact phone that the American Pickers show found on an episode a month or two ago?
the prices are all wrong and much of the information is wrong as well
You should probably also mention the fact that every time someone brings an item into the shop, Rick seems to know everything about the history of the item.
Someone will bring in a World War II relic – take the flask – and he'll start talking about the history of World War II and what these flasks were used for, etc. And he'll give years and dates. And he'll do it for every item that comes in.
Like, what are you, an expert on everything?
It does sum up as pawnstars/ history channel managed to do something that teachers, parents and the world hasnt been able to do for many, many, generations. They somehow managed to make learning cool. even if sometimes they are telling people that aliens created the pyramids… if they had to do that to pull of that minor miricle then more power to them.
I rewatched the "Time Machine" episode, and if you had paid attention you would have heard Rick Dale outline the changes he was going to make to the front of the Coke Machine. As regards the flax bow in The "Aw Shucks" eppisoe, since the segments are obviously re-enactments of actual deals they were just a little bit sloppy with the continuity.
You might want to "rematch" the show again. I heard Rick tell Rick from Pawn stars he was going to do some changes to the front of the machine, however, pause the show with your DVR and take notice of the BACK, SIDES and overall shape of the machine. Even the height is differant. You can't change some things on a redone machine, as in the overall shape of it. One had rounded corners on it, the other had squared off corners. That means its a totally differant machine, period. Even if he replaced the front door, it would not have matched the design of the box of the machine, as I said, sqare corners and rounded corners.. Not even close. Just an observation , one of many….
i dont have to be a expert on everything , the information is so flawed and the prices so wrong . i could have collected comics at school and have more knoledge .laughing boy is a near moron. him parroting something off a piece of paper is plain silly ,i suspect he has schoolboy idea about USA coins and notes and thats all ,the other day someone brought in a vz44 knife known to all collectors by that term , both he and his expert never mentioned that term once. one other time a man brought in 3 bayonets , one being a German engineers bayonet with saw tooth back , these were issued to one man in a squad and used to cut wire as they were raiding trenches . rick said he thought it was maybe home made ( the sawtooth ) which is so silly its beyond words u would need a whole work shop to do this and it still would look silly if u see one u will know what i mean his expert told him it was not and carriers of these were supposed to be shot when found with one !!!! hardly likely when one in 10 men was carrying one the idea they could be home made and u could be shot was never heard until the 80s in a remake film called all quite on the western front starring john boy walton were in a dribble conversation between john boy and his sgt. this is the sort if rubbish mouthed on that show
have not you noticed that every firearm brought in they have to fire , i have never met anyone who wanted to fire a antique firearm and possibly damage it ,they collect them and admire them , these yobs fire cannons or any thing that comes in to get some sort of sexual excitement from the noise .some of the items they have on are very nice . i will always remember the gamblers set owned by a Scottish gambler in the gold rush circa 1850s , the bottom section had weapons etc in it , i dont think i have ever seen something so nice , and the musket from the civil war owned by the fellows great great great great grandson , that was amazing . pity those morons have to touch them and babble their crap
Has anyone else (sure you have, but hasn't been mentioned yet) the Jag off that looks at all the cars / Motorcycles named "Count" of Counts Customs? Man, he knows hardly nothing about vintage cars, he may know bikes, but he knows nothing about cars / Trucks. Did you see the episode when the Pawn boys bought a vintage Jeep? Did you notice how much he charged to "put it together" it had a brand new body, so body work would have been minor at the most. Then he put extremly cheap American racing wheels on it, junk tires painted it and called it done… He charged them enough to buy a Brand new Cherokee. Also, when he "prices out a car" he is so way out of line it's ridiculous , no one would pay them costs, if they did, wow… He did an off road dirtbike that only went like 10 mph, but it was a vintage dirt bike, I think he charged them $12,000 to redo the tiny motor, paint it, and clean up the rest…. Unreal. Watch some of the shows that "Count Customs" gets involved and tell me you'd pay them prices for the work he does, just like Ricks restoration, his prices are unreal high !
It's a television show, of course there are going to be edits and some scripting… it doesn't claim to be live.
All of that aside, I think it's a neat concept and the history around the items are interesting. If anything it's an interesting way to learn something new.
s long as you like to have false info and prices on nearly all . maybe just ask someone at the local butcher shop , he would proberly know more without the laughing affliction
You guys are idiots, of course the actual filmed segments are gonna look staged they aren't actors. All the deals are real, they are made beforehand and then filmed after the fact. If you go to the store a lot of the items shown in the TV show are actually for sale inside the store. If you want to pick apart a show go look at Lizard Lick Towing, now that shit is completely fake. As for you not seeing the main 4 guys in the shop, they can't work in the shop anymore because of the show. You don't think any of them are actual stars now? Go tell that to producers setting up autograph events with Chumlee and Corey with hundreds and probably thousands of people lined up to see all of them (I've been and seen it myself) As for the experts, if you notice some people say "I am only here for a day or two" you think this is all one day film? Then you obviously don't understand how these kind of things work. Go do more homework buddy because this show and the items inside the show are 100% real.
Ryan's right, the items are 100% real – there is no way they could add all of them in with CGI later. He's also right that the people posting here are idiots, him and I included…
strange ,no one said the items were not real ryan , im sure your mother would have prefered a girl but it looks like you have found true love with the bozos on this show ,, i dont think i will take your advice and watch a show about someone chaining a car to a tow truck and driving away , i will just watch the grass grow
You my friend have not done YOUR homework… Of coarse "SOME ITEMS" In the shop were bought from customers, no kidding… This show is as real as "lizard Lick Towing". No differance.. They really do tow cars, yes it's all set up, just like Pawn Stars. I'm not dumb enough to think that the "specialist" are on call at the drop of a dime, that would be stupid, and yes, the lines are feed to them from staff writers. The issue is when you have a guy come in and they "pretend" to have an item of value or whatnot, then you find out that particular customer was a PAID ACTOR.. … That's beyond the writers and staff making up lines and staging the props, have you seen all the shows we are talking about? Think not, or you would change your mind. And YES they are bonfires tv stars now, Chumlee is reported to be making around $100,000 an episode, that's a ton of money for a "reality star". Then they "act" as if they are at the shop all the time, like you said, they are only there to shoot the show now, period, that makes this so called "reality show" a fake, period, not real don't you get it? Yes some of is entertaining, but it's no where near real. All fake, how much of a coinsodince do you think it is that Ricks brother was bringing in a coke machine? And the one ex football player has been on 5 times as 2differant people. I now see him on the auctioneer show from 2011 as himself, and on IMDB he's listed to have been a PAID customer on "Pawn Stars as well as 5 other reality shows. Then the paid comedians from local Vegas getting ripped off by another person and acting all upset, all FAKE ! Do a lil more homework and come back..ill bet you even think basically that "Mythbusters" recreates myths from movies that are so called myths, movies can't have "myths" because they are non fiction to begin with…. I've seen the old man talking by a calander and the date was in June, the very next time they came back to him the calendar said FEBUARY ! That's one he'll of an edit… Go on you tube and see some of these for yourself, that's the "homework" I've done, so I know what I am talking about. You have your opinion, I have mine, mine is the show is just a set up with about 60% fake customers and 40% real. HOWEVER the bartering and prices paid I BELIEVE are pure bs. If they had that kind of cash in that little building, I'm sure someone would rather rob them than a Brinks facility, lot less security than Brinks. Cuz all they deal with is "Cash Money". Lol.. Like there's another kind of money we use.. " I'll give you $2500 check money". Lol.. It's always "cash money" ! "100 dollar bills son". Did you also see the show when he bought all the Jimmy Hendricks one off lithographs? Paid a ton for them.. Did you see them sell on eBay? Didn't do so well…. Some only went for $400 and he paid a shitload for them (according to the show that is). Yea, did my homework…….. Please drive thru,.. Any fries with that? And yes, the old lady crossed the road because she was stapled to the chicken !
exactly the point is the information and prices are incorrect , people who have similar items are being upset and disapointed , its causing heartache
we are all aware as here in australia its the same as the usa , the toy u paid 2000 for in the 80s would not sell at 500 today , its all over !!
last night they had a suposed civil war drum . the expert said it was not civil war for reasons which were correct , but 19th century anyway , but the drum was plainly a patriotic drum for a child made anywhere from 1880 to 1910
i did not see them count the stars on the flags on the side but then again its a childs drum so who would care at the time if we left a few states out , then they paid 500 , try selling a incomplete { the skins were missing }childs drum for even 500 , the show is dangerous
A lot of the pawn stars haters on this blog have watched A LOT of episodes to build up knowledge ammo to use for debunking the show. I hate jersey shore and any show similar to it (real world, mob wives, ect…). however i dont watch any of them ever and it just being on my tv is strictly forbidden. H2 has all the shows you gentlemen miss and maybe you should tune in to that channel instead. You debunkers should really just be overjoyed that our population (90% of which are true morons) are trying to learn something by watching the shows when before it came on they were spending that time slot probably watching snookie and getting even dumber by the second.
well why take the dreams and money from the morons . last night here was one of those 1970s made vampire killing kits , with a pistol that could be worth 15000 but as it had be aged by stress was now worth 500,according to cowboy bob the expert that is , vampire killing kits are more common than last years football cards its appears , has anyone noticed that you would think they were made for the eastern european but market nearly all have a contents label in english ! almost as if they were made for the nth american market ( circa 1975 that is ) hmmm maybe im paronoid ,fat boy told him it must be post 1890 as the mirror in it was a bram stoker invention ,fat boy had of course just been reading the idiots library the internet i wish i knew him when i had my snoop dog doll i could not get 20 dollars on e bay so the 100 he gave for one was great ,
the worst thing is that you are supposed to believe fat boy has any knoledge on anything .
entertainment is entertainment, is entertainment. get a life and leave them alone!
I guess "we" can't win an argument with people that watch Jerry Springer for school lessons, or to get the history on Good Parenting. You have to understand, that if something is portrayed as being "real" and has been "proven" to be not so real, there's a problem. As you say for "Entertainment", but why watch for entertainment when if one item is known to have been "implanted" and "faked", what is then to be "real"? I just don't think you guys understand how this is wrong. Entertainment can mean so many things, yes in a Sanitarium watching grass grow may be entertaining, so, from that point, I understand your definition of Entertainment. Now take your meds and continue watching Judge Wapner and Jerry Springer for parenting tips and Pawn Stars to find out the True History of Fake items misrepresented and not factual. Learn that not everything that God Rck says is in fact, Not true, and that the "Mythbusters (not Jamie and Adam, the other 3 idiots that think there is a thing called "Myths" in movies that are non fiction, example, "a Shark of Biblical proportion can do …..". Then test how much strength a 3-4' Black tip shark has, compaired to a Jurrasic sized shark, wow… The Shark in the Movie Jaws was a "freak" of nature, never claimed it to be "real" so why the hell have a special on how it "could never have done this or that" how do they know, it's MADE UP, NON FICTION ! Dumb asses… No such thing as a MOVIE MYTH , PERIOD, just like no such thing as a Pawn shop being 100% honest. Example ; "hello, I have this original copy of the the Bible, autographed by God, I only want $25 for it so I can eat today"…. (Rick) "No, I'll get another opinion from a guy I know that's an Expert on this subject to see if it's real or not, if it's real. I'll give you close to $10,000, if it's only worth $5……, or "I have an original copy of the Constitution of the USA, I want $400 for it". (Rick) let me get an expert, I've got a Buddy that will authenticate it for us, if it's real. It could be worth Millions ". So, your telling me that instead of giving the guy $400 he's gonna get a guy to come in and tell him it's real (if so, just don't give a FRAPPIN price of what it's worth) I'll give you $100,000, screw that $400 ! Bullshit ! Not a pawn shop in this country that would A, hire a guy to come and authenticate an item and then appraise it for free, then B), offer THOUSANDS more then what the guy wanted first off ! In REAL life if a guy wanted $400 for an item woth $50,000, he's walking with $400 or LESS ! Can't believe you guys believe this bs !or think its entertainment… Oh, that comes back to "Mythbusters" so, instead of learning the truth about a myth, we will just blow the living hell out of something so the simple minded people will forget about a fake myth because we are gonna put 400 pounds of C4 in Busters pants and call this myth BUSTED ! Have fun counting your Cheerios when they spill on the floor… Wapner !
Lim sorry about all the typos, misspelling etc… I'm tired and dumb !
then why dont you go to a low rent bar where fat people wearing t shirts are mouthing inane crap all day and u dont even have to bother turning the tv on or pay for cable , not to mention the 40 years old plus people there dont say schoolboy words like ""cool"" ever 3 minutes
i have this old gun , what can you tell me about it ? its very cool its super cool its a bad boy , its hot doggy , thank god my parents never spoke like this , i would die of shame
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thats great frank , now if they do a show on people who cant even write a letter without filthy language you can star , use that sort of filth in front of your mother and children do u ? , i think u have more to worry about than a tv show.
and as for the military channel , its the victors who write the history but i think that might go over your head , maybe if your father washed your mouth out with soap like mine did to me when i was a boy you might have a better social life today
The recent Elvis contract was an incredible waste of time and rude if the lady was not in the know during the elongated babbling. They even brought in the signature expert who even went a step further than usual with a higher magnifier. The teaser shots from the very beginning made it obvious it was a photocopy as you don't see dithering in ink or typeface unless it's photocopied. Very lazy.
Just watched a recording of last nights show (6/26/2012) (1918Buick/gun smuggling books) Well when Rick pulled out his pistol from his back pocket/holster. To see if it would fit in the book. I swear that his gun was in the cocked position. I replayed it over and over several times and it sure did look like it was cocked and ready to fire to me. Now I understand carrying a gun in that type of business. But why would you carry it with a dozen customers, security and camera crews in the store. Somebody could get shot besides the bad guy. Anyway I hope a few others check it out and let me know if that gun looked cocked to them. Safety or no safety, it doesn't seem like a good idea to be pulling out a gun. But I will say that the show is somewhat entertaining, and interesting at time. I do fast forward thru about half of it becasue of the crap scripts. But I do like seeing the screw ups…
Yes, when he pulled HOS gun out it was "Cocked n Locked". That is the correct way to carry that particular gun, "cocked n Lcocked" ! Go to any Gun forum and ask the question weather a 1911 45 auto should be carried "Cocked" or not. , you will get a responding "YES" that's the only way to carry that gun correctly. Now don't get me wrong, I'm ready to find mistakes at the drop of a dime, but , this time, Rick is correct. Sorry.. Mjclemm..
Well, that answers that question. Thanks
pity he does not fire it off all the time instead of antiques
whats the sercurity for if the idiot has a gun , maybe hes afraid of the actors with the items or the film crew , i have to admit the laughtng after ever thing the near moron says would make anyone think violent thoughts about him
rick is awesome i am just jealous of how much he knows about EVERYTHING. i woke up today and saw the light and im sorry to every1.. especially rick bc he is amazing
I did the same thing.. I was gonna "Tithe" at the church but then remembered about Rick.. Since he is the "the ole Mighty One" I figured I'd just give it to him for all the knowledge he gives me each and EVERY WEEK, not including the re-runs. We all should "Tithe" to "The Great One". Just think of it like this, it's like paying for a solid masters degree at any Ivy school in the country. I feel so so much smarter the day after Pawn Stars is on, so it must be from Rick giving me all the inside secrets about everything on this planet as well as the trillions of others. He is a walking encyclopedia Britanica !
i never wrote the rick is awsome letter , i think its the fowl mouthed frankryan who has written a letter in my name . his love for fat boy knows no bounds
Who cares if the show is fake?!? Its entertainment! Not a honor system. The show is on history because of the history of the items brought in. Its a tv show , anyone with a brain knows that tv isnt real. Even reality show. Stop trying to prove something everyone knows and get a life! If people want to believe it is real, let them. It doesnt matter either way. Goodness gracious!
Ive noticed things, too. They must really think viewers are stupid. Anyway, how can they have such wonderful rare items day after day? It just doesnt happen. Saw Rick on Leno; geez his fiance' must be half his age.
But the real question, in the end, "Am I entertained?" The answer is yes.
I just watched the fat slob son rape some dude out of a 22 caliber Winchester rifle from the 1800s he had to call his dad over and dad told him what it was worth his son is discussing slob he has no right to be on TV to be any thing he should be working in a fast food store so we can eat his way into diabetes along with Chumley they're both too fat slobs I can't believe what they put on TV even though I took it off my TiVo somehow it keeps coming back it's like being constipated it just won't go away his fat slob face is all I will see when I go to bed tonight. I'm going to have to pray real hard to make it go away slops the whole family they don't deserve nothing
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Did you notice what he told the guy about the rifle? "most people today collect larger calibers, this is just a pea shooter" something to that effect…. First off, it's not for a guy that wants a huge caliber rifle, it's a Fantastic rifle, worth a lot more than the slob paid him for it, feel bad for the people that buy into the bullshit, also, a .22 caliber rifle can kill just about anything you want… Most deer poachers even use a 22 caliber because they are not very loud and shoot strait as an arrow, that's what they all use on Gators, .22 to the top of the skull..OVER !.. Then look when President Ragan was shoot along with all the others around him, that was a 22 pistol and it damn near killed 5-6 people, the rifle has 3-4 times more muzzle velocity… I would nt want to get shot with a .22…… But Corey, aka, Fat Son a Bitch ripped him big time.. I wish that the money they all make from the show, he would get that huge ass thing removed from the side of his nose, I think he's got the money to do it.. I sure would…… Yea, they rip ya off, then again, it might not even be real, we will find out a year from now, it was THIER gun to begin with and the dude was a friend of there's… Lol…
So I was just watching the coke machine episode as you pointed out…was a fake. What did I notice,? The guy who brought in the Coke Machine? Rick Dale's brother, who is now prominently featured on American Restoration. So Rick's brother sells a coke machine to Rick of Pawn Stars, who turns around and takes it to Rick Dales' to get restored. UH HUH< that makes sense….
Here's more about the coke machine mentioned at the top of this article. Tonight (7/3/12) they replayed this old episode. A guy brought in the old coke machine and guess who he was? He was Rick's (from Rick's Restorations) younger brother who we now see on that show. He said the Coke machine had been in the family for many years and it was time to get rid of it. Pawn Stars bought the machine and guess who they took it to to have it restored? None other than Rick's Restorations! Rick acts like he has never seen the machine that his brother just sold to the pawn shop and says something like, "Whoever had this Coke machine really beat it up." He goes on to say that he has an idea for it. Of course, at the time, nobody knew who Rick was or who his brother was. But I never noticed that they aren't even the same machine. That's hilarious! I'm sure the restored machine was ready to go from the beginning.
I found this site while doing a search to see if anyone else noticed this fraud. Both shows have no almost no credibility in my book. They weren't thinking straight when they re-ran this old episode because now everyone knows at least some of these transactions are setup.
A couple more points that may or may not have been mentioned by other's (above). There is absolutely no way the experts could possibly have the incredibly detailed information in their heads about the items they appraise. The historian, in particular, goes into great detail about the history of extremely obscure items and people, even naming dates and details that a normal person couldn't remember five minutes after reading it. He not only knows exactly what seemingly everything is but he knows who invented it, when they invented it, when the inventor was born, what his great-grandmother's name was, etc. The show pretends that he has all this information in his head. Ridiculous!
Another question is how do they do the side interviews of the Pawn Shop guys and the customer DURING the transaction. For example, a customer will be in the parking lot talking about how the offer made to him or her wasn't enough and he's going to hold out for more. Or Rick will apparently be interviewed in the middle of the transaction. Would they have us believe that they stop the transaction repeatedly so Rick and the customer can comment? Highly doubtful.
Most revealing is the fact that others have brought up here. That is, what customer would walk into the shop with a bunch of lights and cameras set up and not even apparently notice them or ask if they are going to be on TV, etc.? Most people woudl become very self-conscious and nervous. Makes absolutely no sense.
By the way, one of the early comments here was by someone who is illiterate complaining that we are all just mad that we don't have our own TV show. That comment sounds suspiciously like something Chumley would write.
Funny! I thought of something else. On one show, the bearded historian made a very fundamental and glaring error concerning something about the Civil War. Even a well-educated child would know better and there was no way a guy who apparently knows seemingly everything in great detail could make such glaring error. I emailed him at the time to point the error out but he never responded. I can't remember what the error was but, as I said, it was something very fundamental. After that, I have been very suspicious of his supposed knowledge.
I did like this show but I really don't know if I can watch it anymore. Viewers are being played for suckers. I also enjoy American Restoration but I have negative feelings about that show now too.
As to the History Channel, in general: Someone else expressed my own thoughts perfectly. It used to be a good channel with excellent documentaries. Now, have the time the shows are about aliens, ghosts, monsters, Nostradamus and other such nonsense. I wrote to THC long about about this but received no response. It used to be a channel that most would like their children to watch but no longer.
I said before I was on the show but my segment has not aired yet. It is all set up way in advance. The production company in New York knows all about your item. When you are there, you are part of the show. You are wired with a hidden mic. You are there when the cameras, lights, sound are all set up. The pawn stars you work with don't get behind the counter until everything is ready. I asked if they were going to call an expert for my item but they said they would not need it, since i provided enough information about it. The taping is not in the order it appears on the air. Different segments are done at different times. For example, the parking lot stuff is done after everything is over. Some of the discussion about the item is done after we did not make a deal.
Hello, that EXPERIANCE you had I would expect from any production company, that's how tv shows work, I can live with that part of the way things are done, I don't like the "deception" end of it, when I know they are setting things up. When an actor brings in a "prop" and pretends to own it and doesn't, then they have providence on the item just to find it was all bullshit. That's where I draw the line.. And if you read all the differant stories about some suspect items them are the ones the just "Grind my Gears" as Pete would say..lol…
the historian they bring in all the time , well he would have weeks to research the item they are going to bring in and as i pointed out before tale the drum brought in as civil war he did not even correctly id it as a childs patriotic drum from a later period and hes supposed to be a expert in american items !!!!
if i have a minor knoldege on these things and am from australia what the hell does it say about him
the show gets more and more silly with dune buggys , fighter planes etc and fat boy ,there is nothing he does not know about , cost of replacing vw engines or what ever , amazing you could spend your life buying stolen necklaces and dvds and underneath u are one of the smartest men in the united states ,
Regarding the 2009 episode with the beat up red coke machine purchased for $300 by Rick of the Pawn Stars, and brought to Rick at American Restoration.
I never knew the controversy about Pawn Stars, and enjoy the show, with its colorful characters and historical info.
Tonight, I saw that rerun. The coke machine was being sold by a guy that claimed it had been in his family for years. I took a double-take on the seller. I even had to rewind it and pause it as I didn't believe it.
The seller was American Restoration Rick's brother, Ron Dale. LOL. I then thought maybe in 2009 things weren't set up yet at American Restoration and Pawn Stars would take it to another company. Ha ha.
Therefore, both entities were involved with the deception. Not the end of the world, but it did shatter my virginity LOL.
Have any of you noticed Count of "Counts Customs" knows everything about every car that is brought in, knows the value of a 34 ford right off the bat, and then the prices he quotes to either just get it running, or do a restoration on it.. My god, he did a Dirt bike one time, an old 60-70s big tire bike that had front wheel drive as well.. He could have bought a brand new one for what he charged to fix it. It just blows me away that they (the Pawn Stars) haggle about a price for $20-50 and then "Count" quotes them $4000 to fix it, then when they pick it up , "Hey man, we went a little over budget, it's costs $8500 to fix it, but hey, you could sell it all day long for $7000 easy"…… What ? And they let him get away with it.. If you took your car somewhere and they quoted you $500 to fix it, then he comes back with "hey , it ended up being $2500 ". Bull shit dude, you quoted $500……. But hey, maybe it's just me, I wouldn't pay that rat bastard a dime, don't trust him at all.. He may know Choppers, but nothing about real classic cars…
Regarding Michael's statement about the count as I commented earlier the episode where they tied 3 different shows together with getting the old man the 57 Chevy another prime example. They spent $70,000 on a car having it restored when they could have bought one just as nice or better for half the price by doing a simple google on the internet. There again this leaves Rick Harrison the most brilliant guy on the network who has amounted a fortune by being so knowledgeable and great and making deals look totally ignorant.
you are all fools..get a life
Lol Sounds like "Rick" is posting under a differant name….. HELLO "RICK". (John) lol.. I think we hit a nerve wit him !
I'm going out on a limb here, but why do you guys watch the show? Of course, after having my last comment about the show being entertaining, I don't expect you'll print this one either.
OMG SOME OF THE SHOW IS STAGED I'M GONNA FUCKING BITCH AND MOAN ABOUT IT
YAWN
DON'T WATCH IT IF YOU DONT LIKE IT, ITS NOT THEY ARE SCAMMING ANYONE OUT OF MONEY, ITS A FUCKING TV SHOW YOU LOSERS
Hey "Rick Kevin". Did we hit a little nerve or what Rick, I mean Kevin.. Your not Rick by chance, or Chumlie? Ahhh your the Old Man, his Middle name is Kevin ! Caught ya Bioich ! Just kidding Rick… Just stop the laugh, please my lil bald headed buddy…
KevinLoser,
You must think wrestling is real too. Get also panty wadded when someone tells you it's fake?
Put down the 60-oz soda and popcorn fat ass, and try jump starting that pea brain of yours.
The clown producers and editors obviously don't care how unconvincing it looked to have Rick's brother come in acting like he's a stranger seller. LOFL! Now, that's entertaining.
have we ever seen any tv show that isnt stage?i dont think so.and just for example,on american pickers they sometimes buy crap while i see tons of good stock to be bought all around in the garage or building there in,and also they always buy just a couple of items,believe me,im a real picker and there s some places that they go that i would bring a 45 feet truck and load it to the top with stuff,but tv is just about entertainement,and i find pawn stars and american pickers entertaining,thats all that counts…
Kevin, bitching and moaning about a show being fake, is almost as bad as bitching and moaning about people who bitch and moan a show is fake.
You are now able to tell when items are on the show just for entertainment value. Such as two items from this season: Robosaurus and a guy selling a drag racer. You could tell immediately both were plants. Every cut scene where all four are around their computers are obviously scripted.
Having said all of this though, the show is still pretty entertaining. The worst character on the show is Corey. He sounds ridiculous when trying to give us history lessons on the items.
The bottom line of course is if you found a signed George Washington lottery ticket, the LAST place you would take it is to a pawn shop.
You people have way too much time on your hands.
i was a local expert they called in i would drop whatever i was doing to go be on tv and get paid a shit ton for it… just saying
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I live in Vegas and needed some cash a few years ago and went in to pawn a diamond ring. Rick was rude and arrogant and offered me $50 to pawn the ring. I laughed and left. The ring is worth between 500 and 1,000. I never went back. I went to EZ pawn and they were really nice and gave me $125 for the ring, which I believe was fair, and made it easy to get back. If you need money don't go here, there are much better pawn shops in town.
I was in vegas not too long ago, and they had a tour group that took you too the pawn shop and you could meet the persons from the show. I was shocked that you had too pay to see them in there own store.
This is one of the problems that we as Americans have, we are making the wrong people millionairs and "Stars" take Jersey Shore for example, we made these idiots Millionaires and stars by so many people watching this crap. But it's all our fault, we watch to many stupid shows and THIER ratings go out the roof and they make money hand over fist because of us (I don't watch Jersey Shore but my wife and kids do, I hate that bullshit) but I say "we" as a whole. Just think, before the show Pawn Stars, this pawn shop was a successful pawn shop, nothing out of the ordinary, just a good pawn shop, but WE basically said, hey, I want to make that dumbass Chimlie a millionaire because he's so dumb its cute.. BULLSHIT, he's no dummy, he pays it all up, he's very smart and plays US to think he's so nieve so he can cut you down and you just think he's not to bright and saying something dumb.. No, it's him getting over on you.. But it's all our fault, quit watching this shit tv and lets make stars out of the people that are stars like Clint Eastwood, that's a star, and the Pawn Stars make more a week than him ! Wow ! So does that dumb fuck with the fucked up hair, what's his name,… Ummmmm.. Pauly "D" I think.. What a stupid mother fucker, that guy gets within 20' of my daughter I'll fucking &@$£ that lil shit !what he does to women and no Gloria Aldrith? (I think that's the one, not sure it might be Albright, help me here) what a PEICE of SHIT ! He is in the same basic role of these Pawn Stars, CHARGING YOU TO SEE THEM !.. You did by watching there show.. And they shit on you like this? Wow.. Don't do it anymore people, watching it is bad enough, paying to either see them, or buy THIER "Silver coin", any merchandise etc.. Is just like giving a rubber to Paulie D to go out with your daughter !.. Stop buying this bullshit !please..
This is all part of the Socialist "dumbing down" of America, which includes Affirmative Action for those who couldn't enter or graduate from college on their own intellectual merit, as well as the campaign to eliminate intellectual excellence in the general population. What we have seen in America in the last 50 years, particularly, is a Left-Wing crusade to eliminate aggressive competition in society, a crusade to elevate the mundane and mediocre to "star status," a crusade to "level the playing field" for everyone by DESTROYING true excellence and REPLACING IT with petty, low-brow ignorance. It's about intellectually DISARMING the American people, such that we stand in awe of those idiotic, gold-digging whores who are laughably marketed as the "Real Housewives," and we eagerly tune in to see a bunch of miserly pawn shop owners and "pickers" making their sizable profits by fucking the hell out of honest people.
Exactly, that's my point of what I'm trying to say, the American tv public has been brainwashed into thinking this is Entertainment we need. The "Reality TV" epidemic has to and needs to stop. We are creating monsters out of so many of these braindead idiots that if not for this tv show, wouldn't be able to get a job washing my car, nor any woman would date these fools. Can you see any woman out there actually wanting to date or marry Chunlee IF he wasn't on tv? No, or so many of the other auction/ picking tv shows. I see women fall in love with the likes of Mike and Frank from American pickers. If Frank and Mike were not on tv, we used to call that GARBAGE PICKING. And then we actually have a tv show that is making a star out of buying a suitcase from airports etc that were not picked up! Wow.. Every job you can think of has a REAILTY show. When will it stop? I see no end to this BULLSHIT TV. HORRIBLE, ASHAME, you name it, we have had it on tv..when I was a kid, non of this shit would have ever been on. bad enough we have these stupid tv shows, after they are over now we have an actual tv show calls "Imformercials" ? What, a tv commercial that is about a commercial? Wow we Americans have really dumbed up, I'll bet the next thing you'll know, we will vote in a guy for Pesident of the UNITED SATES OF AMERICA that's not even an American, or has the name of a mass murderer overseas in the middle east and wants our country to be a socialist country with Goverment lead Healthcare.. Glad that hasn't happened yet.. But if these shows keep up like this , heck we might even find a sitting president go on day time tv shows and bull shit like that.. Pew need to take our airwaves back before our grandchildren think that being a total slob can get you on tv (Hoarders) or you are above the law (Campus PD) or even make x rated private videos and become tv stars ( Keep up with the Kardashians) .. Heck I don't want them to think just because you are a Crab fisherman you can be a millionare on a tv series because of that, be proud of what you do, don't get me wrong, but to be a mere rip off artist, con artist, pretend to be there for the customer (Pawn Stars) and royally screw them.. And yes, become a STAR and charge you just for the fucking PRIVLEDGE to MEET THEM . What the cuck is that about? MEET A PAWN BROKER AND PAY FOR IT? What has this country come to… Pay to say hello to a scumbag con artist! I can see making money at a pawn shop, it's a business, but to become multi millionaires ripping off people and so many people will defend them, and attack me because they rip you off ! WAKE UP AMERICA, turn on the lights, turn off the tv now n then, go smell the roses, throw a baseball to your son, not at him!.. Walk around the block with your wife and daughter, take the dogs for a walk. Wash the car, work hard for a living, treat people with respect. Attempt to say good things about your teachers, be afraid when you make mistakes, don't lie, there are consequences for your actions, don't blame others for your short comings, take control of your life and live it like you love it, everyone's not out to get you, you are not being singled out, if you did something wrong, take the blame, it wasn't your up bringing that causes you to steel or take drugs, own up, cowboy up, step up, stand up for what you did, right or wrong, have morals, and sometimes it's ok to be afraid of the consequences of your actions when you do wrong,… But also have pride in whatever you do, weather it's cleaning a toilet or the CEO of a company. PRIDE, do the best you can, work hard, the company doesn't owe you, you owe them. Expect a good wage for a good job, but don't expect a unreal wage for a simple job that a monkey could do. Don't have unreal expectations. 8 hours of pay for 8 hours of work, not texting an making phone calls, smoking a cigarette etc.. PRIDE, Pride Pride ! Woooooops, sorry for the rant, pawn stars really pissed me off… With there "Honesty" and morals…. Buy a coin with the old man on it, 1 oz of silver for $65 ! Wow what a fuckin deal !
there is certainly some sort of left wing plot behind it , proberly to surport near morons going to unis or a other centres of higher learning
i am unsure if cars are brought to pawn shops like in this show they certainly arnt in other countrys , a car custermizer then gives prices on what say a 24 buick sedan is worth which we all know is next to nothing today ,
the weirdo has looked a couple of examples up on the internet ,there is a magazine which u can buy in a newsagents even here in australia , hemmings cars news its called from memory which would give you a idea but for sure that would be too hard for him ,
i have taken advice on value of 20s usa cars restored cars and none of these people had bandoliers due to hair problems or tattoos
If you watch the American Restoration Episode "Big Boom" when they have an auction of their items they sell the coke machine that they supposedly restored for Pawn Stars and what looks to be the actual restored version of the shot up machine that Ron Dale supposedly sold to Rick from Pawn Stars. So it appears that Rick Dale owned both coke machines from the start and sold them both restored at an auction he ran. After this I can't even enjoy the shows as entertainment anymore.
OMG. ! Yea, we all I believe are in the same boat about the infamous "Pawn Stars" being faked in many ways.. That being said I seen my first episode of "Cajun Pawn Stars". Wow, I'm not sure if it's a fake (not even gonna try to watch it that long) this is the STUPIDEST SHOW on tv other than "graveyard Carz". I could not believe my eyes an eyes when I watched the show. At first I thought they were doing a comedy sketch and then figured how god awful it is. I watched a total of 3 shows just to make sure it was actually a show, not a joke. This show is PITIFUL at best, I'm embarrased that other humans made this tv show. Wow, these guys are like Humpty Dumpty and son, daughter, and what ever, the father may be the daughters husband or the brothers mom. Wow it's that bad. If you have not seen the show, just check it out and Ill bet you will even cringe when you see it, knowing that fellow humans are involved just astounds me
I think you should watch the episode when rick buys the coke machine again. when he brings it to ricks restorations rick does say that he will change the machine so it can take all types of bottles. hence the reason why the before and after shots are different. maybe you should do some more research before you make accusations.
Wow, don't know how many times I need to explain this..Maybe you should watch the episode again, then go back to school and learn your basic SHPAES again before leaving a very stupid comment like that ! See, if you notice the one machine that Ricko brought in to Ricks Resto, it isn't even the same shape as the one that was brought in, not only that, it's not even the same size ! , see when you "change" something to accept bottles, change the door, that's one thing, but you can't change the basic shape and height of the machine, look. Loosely at the outline of the machines, that are not even close, it's like comparing a Dodge Neon and a Dodge Viper of the same color combo. It just isn't the same car… Do you understand now what we all are saying? Or do you need pictures that explain it?…. Oh, there already IS PICTURES , LOOK AT THEM DAMNIT ! Lol.. Hope you get the point dude, fake ass show !
He says he's going to "change the machine to take all kinds of bottles" to set up the fact that when it's "done" it's going to look like a completely different machine. Because it is a completely different machine. It's not even the same shape. These are two distinct coke machine models. It's like saying "I'm going to bang out the dents in this old VW beetle and make a few little changes" and then giving back a VW bus going "Yep. Same vehicle. How do you like it?"
Damn. This is still going ? lol Look, its really simple. IF ITS ON TV, ITS NOT GOING TO BE 100% REAL. PERIOD I cant believe anyone actually believes its is real. Reality TV, doesn't mean its real TV. It just means its real type situations Jersey Shore, and Real Housewives have been mentioned a few times. Please tell me that people dont believe that shit is real.
Ok, obviously you people don't know how TV works. This show is 'staged', yes. But are the people who bring in their items fake, not necessarily. If you realize how TV shows work, then you'll realize this pawn shop is legit. Notice I said the pawn shop, not the show you see on TV.
That pawn shop has been a business for over 20 years. The stuff they've been selling and pawning has been legit all the way up to the TV show. A production company came to Vegas, thought of a reason to come back to Vegas, so they decided to make a TV show about a random pawn shop on the strip. To their surprise, the show BLEW UP. Therefore, different circumstances arise when it comes to the show's characters (Rick, Big Hoss, Old Man and Chum).
You have to remember, this show is for the HISTORY CHANNEL. Whether it's "staged" or not, I've learned a lot about the items and their history from watching the show. Of course, on filming days (which are probably contractually designated), they aren't going to have the pawn shop looking like it does on a normal basis. I should know, I've been there 3 times and it looks NOTHING like it does on the show. But that doesn't mean everything is "staged"… c'mon people. I'm sure they've got a submission based form for people to contact their pawn shop/production company with interesting items to portray. It's all about telling the HISTORY of the items they bring in.
You can't deny that Rick and the Old Man know what they're talking about. Their business has been open for 24 years, every day, every hour… IN VEGAS, one of the most stubborn cities in the world.
Enjoy the show because it teaches you. Don't try to hold the pawn shop's owners and runners on this pedestal, just so you can bash them when you realize you were wrong in the first place.
I swear… some of you need to realize how this business works.
Dude, you have been BRAIN screwed BAD ! If you think the old man and Rick Do know all about the stuff, you are dead WRONG, the lines are feed to them , it's not hard to but and sell ANYTHING when someone else needs money fast… Did you ever see the Pawn Stars Pawn Shop BEFORE they were on tv? Bet not, well go to YOUTUBE and check out some videos of them before they were "STARS".. People didn't bring in a ton of super high end things, yea, some Football rings etc.. But all pawn shops do that to an extent.. When have you ever thought to sell something WHOLESALE, and not to the end buyer? You always get more if you sell to the last guy in the chain, not a "middle" man.. , that's what pawn brokers do, get money from people that need cash fast even if it's not a high price. If you bring in a $10,000 ring, and I give you $1000 for it. I don't need to be smart, I just need to have what you want, money right NOW ! That's how they make money (normally) but when have you ever sold something for pennies on the dollar just because the pawn shop was there? Never, unless you fall into the category of needing money fast, sorry if you need "Cash money fast". Lol… Like there's another kind of cash, they always think they are closing the deal by saying "Cash money"..lol. Cracks me up when they say the obvious… And you are taking a history lesson from The son? Wow.. He's as smart as a 3 pekkered billy goat, dumb as the come..
Dude, you have been BRAIN screwed BAD ! If you think the old man and Rick Do know all about the stuff, you are dead WRONG, the lines are feed to them , it's not hard to but and sell ANYTHING when someone else needs money fast… Did you ever see the Pawn Stars Pawn Shop BEFORE they were on tv? Bet not, well go to YOUTUBE and check out some videos of them before they were "STARS".. People didn't bring in a ton of super high end things, yea, some Football rings etc.. But all pawn shops do that to an extent.. When have you ever thought to sell something WHOLESALE, and not to the end buyer? You always get more if you sell to the last guy in the chain, not a "middle" man.. , that's what pawn brokers do, get money from people that need cash fast even if it's not a high price. If you bring in a $10,000 ring, and I give you $1000 for it. I don't need to be smart, I just need to have what you want, money right NOW ! That's how they make money (normally) but when have you ever sold something for pennies on the dollar just because the pawn shop was there? Never, unless you fall into the category of needing money fast, sorry if you need "Cash money fast". Lol… Like there's another kind of cash, they always think they are closing the deal by saying "Cash money"..lol. Cracks me up when they say the obvious… And you are taking a history lesson from The son? Wow.. He's as smart as a 3 pekkered billy goat, dumb as the come..
This show has run its 15 minutes as far as I am concerned. The tv show may bring a "History" lesson to some, but, if you think a history lesson is based on feed lines and staged items, where is the "History" ? Yes, they show cool "items", however, if them items are staged, all info on the item is "Scripted", how can you say it's real? Or even close. You are making the statements that you learnd so much by watching the show, we all have, and I got a lot more out of it than you did. How. By knowing how it's fake. Shaved
so what you are trying to say is that every item on the show is staged ?
thank you for your insight!!! let's all join together and try to ban this FAKE show from our channels!! ive talked to several people that have been in their shop day after day, and never saw anyone from the show! i love History Channel, and can't believe that they would bring such trash and let this list of losers, (from chum to old man) make money for their farce!!!!
and also, their episodes, show a ton of people walking around in there, and the only 2 that are supposedly working (baldie and chum) are waiting on the same 1 customer, while everyone else runs around the shop, with no help what so ever? haha…and these guys always, and i mean, ALWAYS, know the history of every item that comes thru the doors!! BS!! haha!!
Okay I have the best one yet. I was watching WGBH Antiques Roadshow they brought in a watch from the Civil War it was a present for someone who saved someone's life. It had an inscription on it thanking this person for saving their lives . About two weeks later there was an episode on Pawn stars. I couldn't believe it it was the same watch that was on Antiques Roadshow the same inscription I'm still blown away. I can't believe how low someone can go. The same watch for saving the same person's life. What's starting to happen is they're running out of things to show and keep it interesting so now you watch keep your eyes out you will see things from other shows that will appear on Pawn stars.
Hello, are you serious? Do you by chance remember the episode number of the ARS? I'd like to see that. I remember the watch on Pawn Ripoff, but didn't see the antique road show watch. I'd be interested n the appraisal and don't recall what the watch either sold for or What. "Ricky ole boy" had to say about it (can't remember any of that) Thanks for the heads up, I'm gonna try to find it as well.. Mjclemm
here's another one I want to call one of my buddies he's a expert he knows everything there is to know about your item you're gun your coin your dildo your blowup doll and Chumley he's allowed by anything even though he likes to play a Star Wars invader and break a vase that was from the first 18th century and by the way next they're going to have actual stars in formaldehyde you can buy Elvis's penis for the right price and now the best is yet to come they hired some slut that is going to work with Chumley after hours and for the right price she will suck his Dick don't you get everybody everything has a story and as Rick says a price owe for you idiots it's not that I don't trust you, I just don't trust anybody and by the way when you sell me that gun wouldn't have to go to the shooting range so I can show you how it's done maybe he could show his son to go on a diet fat disgusting slob maybe him and Chumley should make some gay porn I bet America will love that
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Why would you say that? First off, it's against the law, second, it's just a bunch of people that want to voice THIER opinion on a tv show, they are doing no harm, why so hostile ? If they were threatening people, like you, I could understand your stance, but that's way out of line.. JMHO….. Chill out.. I for one think the show is as real as it gets.
Not one person I know will not watch it because of what someone says, we watch it for the fun of it. And sometimes we may learn something. The Pawn Stars are as real as it gets. No way can you fake this stuff. I would take my BMW there to sell it when I need some cash fast. Right down the block from me. I've never seen one of them in the store, but that only means they are to busy to sell stuff. I went there years before the show started and pawned some stuff and I got pennies on the dollar for it. Good guys they are, and as honest as the day is long,
but I wouldn't go around threatening people that have an opinion, right or wrong. Not the right thing to do, besides, if you go after someone, you may find someone a lil crazier than you when you approach them…..
Besides they are just havin a lil fun, who are they hurting? No one. I'm sure non of the Pawn Star people ever read this stuff and have never heard of this "Blog" they are way to busy for this. Just wondering. Are you friends with them? I just don't understand why someone would risk going to jail for a cyber comment about a tv show that they don't even know the "Talent". Just saying not many people would do that. So they may have hit a nerve
The episode -time machine ,
The coke machine ! Not only is it a different machine but it was Rick dales brother who brought it to pawn stars to sell !!! Definitely fake
heres the deal with this show…. the likely hood of THAT many people going to a pawn shop in vegas with their incredibly rare, historical, and expensive items is extremely unlikely. a pawn shop receiving just ONE of the items they claim to receive on a daily basis would be an amazing event for any average pawn shop (which they claim to be). this is the conclusion i have come to about this show after much research and deliberation…. the producers spend a lot of time, and energy finding the items that they want on the show either on the internet or antique dealers or some other resource like that. they contact the seller and propose to them that they bring in their item, be on the show, and possibly make a deal. thats why they can have the right expert on stand by to authenticate certain items, because they knew what they were going to be looking at, and when. with the bigger ticket items or other important historical items that they buy on the show they dont actually sell in the shop. instead they sell them at auction or something like that since they require a very particular, wealthy collector of such things, who arent exactly the kind of people scoping out pawn shops in vegas to complete their collections. so what im suggesting is that the "gold and silver pawn shop" does really exist, and is a legitimate business, and the items seen on the show (for the most part) are real, they just dont happen to walk in off the street.
heres the deal with this show…. the likely hood of THAT many people going to a pawn shop in vegas with their incredibly rare, historical, and expensive items is extremely unlikely. a pawn shop receiving just ONE of the items they claim to receive on a daily basis would be an amazing event for any average pawn shop (which they claim to be). this is the conclusion i have come to about this show after much research and deliberation…. the producers spend a lot of time, and energy finding the items that they want on the show either on the internet or antique dealers or some other resource like that. they contact the seller and propose to them that they bring in their item, be on the show, and possibly make a deal. thats why they can have the right expert on stand by to authenticate certain items, because they knew what they were going to be looking at, and when. with the bigger ticket items or other important historical items that they buy on the show they dont actually sell in the shop. instead they sell them at auction or something like that since they require a very particular, wealthy collector of such things, who arent exactly the kind of people scoping out pawn shops in vegas to complete their collections. so what im suggesting is that the "gold and silver pawn shop" does really exist, and is a legitimate business, and the items seen on the show (for the most part) are real, they just dont happen to walk in off the street.
heres the deal with this show…. the likely hood of THAT many people going to a pawn shop in vegas with their incredibly rare, historical, and expensive items is extremely unlikely. a pawn shop receiving just ONE of the items they claim to receive on a daily basis would be an amazing event for any average pawn shop (which they claim to be). this is the conclusion i have come to about this show after much research and deliberation…. the producers spend a lot of time, and energy finding the items that they want on the show either on the internet or antique dealers or some other resource like that. they contact the seller and propose to them that they bring in their item, be on the show, and possibly make a deal. thats why they can have the right expert on stand by to authenticate certain items, because they knew what they were going to be looking at, and when. with the bigger ticket items or other important historical items that they buy on the show they dont actually sell in the shop. instead they sell them at auction or something like that since they require a very particular, wealthy collector of such things, who arent exactly the kind of people scoping out pawn shops in vegas to complete their collections. so what im suggesting is that the "gold and silver pawn shop" does really exist, and is a legitimate business, and the items seen on the show (for the most part) are real, they just dont happen to walk in off the street.
So, basically, your saying the show is FAKE.. got it… Fake show if what you say is true, it's a fake show! All set up by someone. Try and even get your picture taken with these swindlers and you end up getting kicked in the face… Can't believe Chumly didn't go to jail for the things his lil buddies did to that dude that walked up to him. They claim he was reaching for a gun, I don't think so, besides, he didn't have one. Why would they kick him in the face. They ALLREADY had the guy on the ground.. They took it to far!
for those that don't know what I'm talking about, go to YouTube and type in Chumlie and beating a guy for a ride in Chumlies ROLLS ROYCE, YEA at $25000 + an episode he now drives in a Rolls Royce… He used to drive a 197s monte Carlo or something like that… $$$ got to THIER heads…
No doubt the show is fake. There is no way that guy Mark from the local Museum (run by the parks and rec department of the county) could possibly have such a wide range of knowledge on such diferse items brought in by the customers. What a joke.
Wow.. Just watching the history, (or what was the history channel.) and seen a commercial for a new show.. A spin off from Pawn Stars.. "Counts Customs" is getting his own show.. You have to be kidding me! This rip off artist now is gonna be on tv evey week.. I thought I seen to much of him on PS.. Now this? What's this so called "History Channel" comming to.. I am so so sick n tired of so called "Reality Tv" , esspesally on a channel supposed to be for History, it's now a "tru tv" take off.. Ashame.. I think I am just gonna watch Showtime… Lol.. Counts customs.. Real tv? Nope…
I don't really see the issue. So what if the show is staged? Personally I don't watch it for the stories, haggling and trades. It's a fun show to watch and a fun way to learn about stuff you normally wouldn't do research on.
the best way is to turn the sound off , so we dont have to listen to the no nothing pigs , the show is proberly way behind in the series you see there in the USA and in Australia its older ones , the pig younger one gos to a mans house the other night to view a game machine where you put the ball in a hoop in a old basketball arcade game , the owner say the machine is working well etc , and the pig son who is playing it ,says something like , hey man im playing the game dont interupt, this is in the owners house !!!!! in real life you would throw them out untill they came back with some manners which would be never , laughing boy was even on a show called something like the history of the us the other night which is a serious and well produced show , to add his comments , of course they had the usual movie actors airing their left wing views they read somewhere as they wallow in wealth but you expect that , but laughing boy!!! beyond belief . why what could he know from selling electrical goods THEY BOUGHT FROM DRUGGIES ? i was watching a show about a group seeking gold in Alaska , they wanted a bulldozer they were in the 50 thou range in auction and they bought one for about 38 thou from a dealer in the end , this would be the same price you would pay here why is it if someone turns up at fat boys shop with car , machinery ect that its sold for 5 thousand . , did u see them steal that guys collection of tv western stuff , best collection ive ever seen of these items and they only showed a fraction of it , even the wetback toy dealer said it was worth 20-25 , ( wonder what it would be in his shop ? try 50 ! he needs to bring his 17 cousins and wifes family in ,,, the only worse show is hard core pawn , i only watch it for the chimp-outs and to see how many people in the shop are wearing skullcaps
Lying is part of any reality TV show. Just cause you caught a couple, it don't mean that most are not real. It's a fun show overall and I will keep watching.
I have been a Pawn Stars viewer for about a year now and just today saw the now infamous Coke Machine episode for the first time. Yes, I knew the show was scripted and staged, but I enjoyed it for what it was. Unfortunately, the Coke Machine episode really bothered me so I got on the internet and found this site, so now I also know that some of the sellers aren't just re-enacting for the camera but rather are actual ACTORS hired to do a gig. I'm quite disappointed at the level of fraud and will never view (or enjoy) the show the same way again. But I will probably keep watching since I do think I'm learning at least a little something along the way.
[...] [...]
I recall this episode of Pawn Stars where this older gentleman dressed up in a Boys Scout uniform trying to sell some worthless stamps to help raise money to send some Scouts to summer camp. I saw that same person in a History channel UFO documentary and he was some kind of Aerospace engineer who worked on black projects. So I kind of figured out a lot of those people coming in to pawn stuff are actually History Channel employees.
http://www.history.com/shows/pawn-stars/articles/want-to-be-on-pawn-stars
SOLD! IS FAKE. Boyoboy, if you think Porn Stars is fake, check out History Channel's Sold! Everything on that show is fake, The producers bring in the items and the bidders. I worked as a production assistant on the show, and it stinks of fraud. History Channel either doesn't know or doesn't care.
Thanks for the imput, sounds just about right… You can tell when things just are not right, something about it.. I'll bet you got some stories…. Thanks again…. Mjclemm
Of course, I meant "Pawn Stars," but it might as well be Porn Stars for the way they prostitute their integrity. And,yep, I got plenty of stories. The producers of Sold! literally gave these guys scripts to read and had them do it over when they thought it didn't sound right or when they thought they sounded too racist. There's as much "reality" in this show as there is in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. The producers even auditioned cast members. Why History Channel allows them to perpetrate this fakery is a mystery.
there is a new one were they swap items , one gets a toothbrush at a garage sale and in the end turns it into a boat , its so fake its beyond belief ,
i noticed that every person they do a swap with is covered in tattoos , maybe they use the people from la ink or what ever its called and its a discount rate
what about the pawn shop show set in a southern american state , with the 2 brothers wearing wigs ? what a pompass ass he is ,i got a laugh when hes standing there making a 500000 dollar offer on rare us bank notes and behind him above the counter is one of his prize items a john whayne plate !! why cant they have one real show , the only one that appears real to me is the canadian show , cash cowboys . which i enjoy
New episode tonight Bullitt Proof The Mustang fastback GT. The Count comes over to appraise/confirm the car. He says it is a GT. The car has front drum brakes. The GT package cars came standard with front disc brakes. Yes the car had the the GT gas lid and fog lights in grille. But the fog lights was an option on all of the 68 Mustangs. Rusty drum brakes on that POS car equals no GT package????????
i was watching the wig wearing southern brothers show , they go to a car freaks place were he has a 34 ford coupe , the main raving is that clive barrow would always steal the same car , it turns out its a 36 , which we are supposed to believe a car person would not know , if you had any interest in us cars you know a 36 from a 34 , thy rave on and on , and neither of them notice that the car is not a coupe but a tudor sedan anyway , i dont think the wig wearer or the fake car nut knows anything about real cars apart from the jap crap they realy drive anyway , one of the fake customers wanted the money to go to australia , please stop him at the airport , we dont want him , have you noticed with this show and the auction in atlanta show that all the civil war stuff they bring in is union but they are in the south , maybe its all the producers can find in the new your or la shop they get the crap from
eunos is correct , they know nothing about cars
the count looks up the internet for prices before he comes over
what would a mechanic or what ever he is know about the prices of collector cars anyway , this is a special market , if you asked him about a buick he would tell you he has no cds of that band
The episode about the coke machine is really fake because it was Rick Dales brother who sold it to the pawn shop only to be brought back to Ricks for restoration
If you are referring to the "Brother", do you mean the Cajian Pawn show? If so, my god that is an AWFUL show. Can't believe it's still on. Horrible acting and the "deals'"they get are 100% BULLSHIT ! If you notice, either the customers are always either relatives, or when it's not, the price wanted is so high (asking) that the Pwan Boys in Cajain boys offer so low because THIER terrified to spend real money.. They are a fuckin joke as we'll… He'll I'm just waiting for Chumlie to come out from behind the Cajian pawn brokers .. Them you have the show
when it comes to the Counting cars or what ever it's called.. That slimy fuck is a rip off king.. Have you guys ever seen the prices that he quotes to repair a car? My God, they didn't ask for it to be reprinted on Mars for Christ sake.. I just can't stoop low enough to watch his flapping ass off to stardom..
keep in mind, the more you watch the show, the more money that goes into THIER accounts (Coey, Rick. The Old Man, Chimlie, Count, Rick Dale, the Cajian brother, just to name a few. These Reality shows need to stop
We keep making people like what's on the Auction Hunters, Auction Kings, All the stupid Storage Locker shows, the Baggage claim show. Etc…. Thay just are so freakin dumb with THIER feed one line jokes, then the "chick" on Aution Kings the woman Cindy is the most hideous woman I've ever ever seen.. My god is she ugly.. Eeeewwwwweeee
then my wife and kids watched the Jersey Shore….. PLEASE someone has to cut that fucktards hair (Pauly D ?!). Really, that FRAPPIN hair do needs to go, he has no freaking talent.. He spins a record, grabs it shuffles it back n forth.. That's a talent? Holy shit.. He's an asshole with eraser head hair, and his former roommates the The body guy, the slut chick with nice breast, then the Snookie character.. Really just can't watch all this bullshit tv anymore… I could go on for days, sometimes do..
One night I'm gonna make a list of shows that everyone should boycot… Make a list yourself of all the damn shows that are so fake but claim to be real.. All the shooting guns shows, the auction shows, the eating shows, the strangers living together, the baggage claim wars show, etc,,, thanks guys.. Good luck writing all your least loved shows…. I now step down fom…
[...] History Channel’s Pawn Stars is Fake | centraltendencies.com Shocking… Clear as day the show was fake as is Storage Wars. The spinoffs are a thousand times worse. [...]
i was refering to the cajun pawn show yes , but i believe this means the desendants of early french settlers in certain areas in the usa , nothing frog about this pack of inbreeds apart from the poofter hairdoos
have you noticed with pawn stars the old man and the moron son are giving lectures on civil rights and similar left wing crap when they are shown a item
one would have to ask why there is only one darkie in the shop and hes guarding the door and cleaning the toilet
[...] Re: Pawn Stars (History Channel) Originally Posted by greta87 Ive seen this show a few times & i think some of the characters there came straight from the Jerry Springer show. They look fake. There are some incidents that make you wonder: History Channel’s Pawn Stars is Fake | centraltendencies.com [...]
Meet a guy was on "American Guns"… MAN was he upset when he seen the show air…..Said they "feed him all his lines" then made him look like an Idiot by the way they edited the show, said it was nothing like how he thought it was gonna be, they even supplied the GUN !!!!!….guess you cant believe anything now days…..
american guns , i turn the sound off and just wait for the mother and daughter , a change from the creatures on the other shows , i watched them swap a rifle the other night for a fake confederate d guard bowie knife and a standard US army officers sword , it was so set up u would laugh , they had a professor from a college who was a near moron ( at least that was factual ), if i am sitting in Australia watching it on a screen and can see its fake , why cant he ?, THE COMMENT ABOUT JERRY SPRINGER WAS RIGHT . that would describe pawn stars and hard core pawn , notice that fat laughing boy is always making comments about southern american states , plainly he had a bad time in a Atlanta gay bar once . U should try watching the new one(new here) lady pawn shop. real proof they should be all back in the kitchen where they belong ,at least they are good looking , i finely remembered who rick reminded me of , a cartoon show when i was a kid , wacky racers ? a dog called mutly ?who snickered all the time , they are dopplegangers
I want to applaud you for a well-researched post.
Add to the list of fakes: newspaper advice columns. I worked at a newspaper that encouraged its reporters to submit exaggerated questions.
On this lazy Sunday afternoon, I am watching reruns of 'Pawn Stars' . Episode 133; 9-5-11 in this episode a man brings in a horse shoe that was given to him by Miss Penny that was worn by Secretariat. The so-called "expert", Jeremy, they bring in thinks he knows it all but doesn't. Granted, one doesn't know for sure that Secretariat actually wore this shoe or what race he ran it with. Anyone that knows anything about horse racing knows that this is a race plate, because its obviously made of aluminum and the 'toe-grab' at the front of the shoe, which is very worn down. The 'expert' goes on to say, which I think is what irritated me the most, that "his first race is the only race he ever lost' which is BS of the 21 races he ran, he had 16 firsts, 3 seconds, 1 third and the only race he finished "out of the money" was first in which he placed fourth. If this man wants to call himself a sports expert maybe he should have done a quick google search on Secretariat's race record so he isn't saying such dumb stuff that someone like me, that has been a HUGE fan of Secretariat since I was a little girl would know was WRONG!! He goes on to say that you wouldn't know if it was a race shoe or a shoe that he would wear after retirement…race plates are pulled off regularly during the season for new ones, and when the season was over they were taken off and most went 'barefoot' in the off-season. Just irritating!!!!
You may have a point about the guitar and the other stuff but in the pawn stars episode with the coke machine if you listen Rick talks about how he will change out the door to a more desirable style. So there is no deception there.
Of COURSE it's staged. So what? Have you ever spent any time in a pawn shop? It's not exactly an exciting environment, How long would anyone watch a show where people just came in to pawn VCRs, Ipods and jewelry? That would be a real snore fest. None of the sellers look into the camera or act nervous and they ALL want to negotiate. Most people, especially women, are far to shy to negotiate price. They'll either take it or leave it. Does anybody REALLY believe that ANY of the "reality" shows are not staged????
Of Corse they are staged PVR…. they are targeting "simple minded people"… The only way some people learn any history is watch Pawn Stars, Cajian Pawn, American Gun and all the shows on "TruTV".. So, I guess if the shoe fits……..lol… Just thought the way they "acted" they portray it as factual, did you see the bald headed fuck on Dave Letterman ? (PROBLY not, can't learn any history there…that's what Rick had said, all real, they don't stage anything, so he is just a "decent lier" at best…and sure as hell isn't an actor, all he does is say a couple of stupid (feed) lines, then laughs, Chum Fuck is bout dumb as a. Ox of rocks. And the old man is one breath away from death, quite the role model for a con artist, the son "Rick jr (Corey) is an over eating stupid ignorant, PEICE of shit
yes, everybody knows its fake, but its still a good show, rite?
the general comment i hear her in Sydney from watchers is chumly is the only good looking and smart one in the show , CAN YOU think of some poor girl bringing that ignorant pig of a son big hoss home , i cant see him even eating with a knife and fork , and the name big hoss, its a insult to dan blocker out of bonanza , who was the nicest type of man u could meet by all accounts , at school we would call someone like him , fat boy ! in america u plainly are more kind !
Jeeze! Why the ANGER and vulgar name calling? It's just a TV show. Did these guys hurt you some how?
I enjoy the show and personally expect some to be staged. I work in entertainment and guess what… That's what that show is… Entertainment! I am amused that you are shocked and upset that a TV SHOW (show)
By the way… American idol, Americas got talent, bachelor, survivor (should I keep going) have loose scripts do re shoot.the got talent shows hire people to perform and start drama. Oh… And Santa Claus is fake too
Rick, it is cavalry and not calvary.
Also, you have latitude and longitude mixed up.
Wait….do people think that reality television is based in reality? Of course everything is staged.
I was in the Gold and Silver Pawn shop (e.g. Pawn Star), this week on Las Vegas Blvd. – It is real – went by at about 11:00AM – long tines to get it. I didn’t wait. Came back about 3:45PM, parked and went it – crowds gone but crowded in store. This is what I saw – Public pawn area shown on TV is fairly small. Rick and the Old Mans office is roped off with "no photos" sign. None of the shows "stars" were there… just staff. At least 1/3 of floor space and wall displays are now show souvenirs – T Shirts and every thing else you could buy – a wall with Chumley t-Shorts alone – So not much floor space any more or at lease the open look in t early episodes. But it looks like the way you see on TV and I did see many I recognized from the show. I bought a T-shirt – like everyone else – (It is now a Vegas tourist site) – and while paying, I chatted to the young woman staffer at check-out and asked when they shot the show. She said all the "stars" are in the store Mon – Fri from 10AM-3PM usually (The “stars also are doing a lot of “in-person” events and talk shows etc so not all are always there but usually they are and shooting is done everyday)By the way – the reason for the line of people outside was because video shooting was going on inside…then throughout the shooting occasionally the producers will invite in folks in the line for background and "B" roll – that's who you see wandering around edited into the show. After 3PM the shooting stops and the Pawn Shop is open for normal business. With full parking lots and tour buses stopping the store is active – All is very real – Perhaps some of the items brought in at staged – we all know about Rick’s brother – But who cares! Go to Vegas – Drive down Las Vegas Boulevard toward Fremont Street, just after Charleston and there it is on the right – Drive too fast you might miss it – And experience it for yourself It’s actually fun!
just saw those 2 low lifes–cory and rick on piers morgan's show. It seems now people every day bring in bars of gold to the shop,they may be telling the truth ,but I doubt anything these two say has much value.They also complaining about how they just make 1% profit on some items!Im sure they stay in business long with just 1% profit margine,if you've ever dealt with pawn shops you know they pay very little for items and mark the hell out of it when they're selling.Those 2 have con artist written all over them.
The Pawn Stars guys were just on the Piers Morgan show on CNN. Unfortunately, Morgan chose to play the straight man for them, either pretending or foolishly not even knowing that a large percentage (most) of what passes for "reality" on this show is a bunch of bogus transactions with hired actors. They even led off the segment with a '"56 Les Paul". It would have been a lot more interesting if Morgan ambushed them with the well established evidence of phony trades.
you're right, that show has been busted so many times by so many people for being fake that im surprised piers played it safe.My guess the whole interview was more like a paid advertisement for the show.
I think quick gold flips would happen at a low margin. Anybody who has any serious amount of the stuff knows the market price. That said, I doubt anyone was ever stupid enough to trade a half million in gold to a couple of knuckleheads in a Vegas pawnshop.
Hey guys, just wanted to point out, if no one else has yet, that the reason that it is still a running show, is that it is based on some form of entertainment. Let's face it, a lot of the audience they bring wouldn't want to watch something dry and just history, right? Watch these shows and you'll hear background music, colors all over the screen and its all to get your attention. Are you really surprised? It shouldn't. Because it works. I mean, think about if we had to hear about one object selling on the show and then we, as the audience, would have to wait a week until an expert can come down to appraise it and then another few hours for them to reach a decision… That wouldn't be good at all. And, to further call it "fake" is, in my opinion, just outrageous. You can call it scripted or whatever but just because some (not all) of it is scripted, but almost everything is scripted. The president talking on the tube is reading a script as is your favorite actor from your favorite movie. I wouldn't call it fake, as much as I would call it entertainment or informative, as is the case for this show. It tries to teach about items or negotiation skills or whatever in the hour slot they have (or 30 minutes or whatever it is). But try to understand that it's impossible to have a full on "real"ity show, because lets face it, who wants to watch someone elses boring lives.
And for those of you just wanting to watch some pure history shows, you gotta see them in the morning (I find that thats when they usually show up)
[Comment(s) removed per Comment Policy.]
foul language , threats of violence , suggesting people should kill themselves and all in a few lines ,
which prison in texas are you in ,? why are you calling someone a fag ? what has a tv show to do with a sexual perversion ? or is it even in a letter you want to bring it up as it helps with your urges in that way ?
Texasboy, here's an oldie but a goodie…. Know why cowboys have shit in their moustaches?????? Because their " LOOKING FOR LOVE IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES"
Texasboy, you're a credit to your state's school system. Maybe someday you'll grow up to be Texasman. Now hit the dictionary and learn the meaning of "latent."
I'll never understand why people think this show isn't about history. It is not necessarily educational, but it's definitely related to history. This show is basically the closest you can get to the "Random Article" on wikipedia. It just parades a bunch of random stuff to you and if something interests you, then you can do more research on it on your own. It's just a short introduction to various things that you may not hear about on a daily basis.
It's definitely staged. It practically has to be in order to raise the production value of the show. Like the call-in expert stuff, that can't just happen as they portray it on the show, as another commenter suggested. I would guess that most of what they have on that show is genuinely stuff people bring in, and they just have actors play the part of the customers so that they can control the flow of the program. Some of the things, like the guitars you talked about, are most likely things that friends of the staff wanted to show on TV.
I think people think way too much on these shows. I know that they won't normally have a TV Show of pawn staff just simply doing what they do without nifty effects and whatever they bring to the table. You need to stop yourself and realize that it's just reality TV. I'm satisfied to know that not everything is fake, just knowing the location, most of the items, the staff, and the business is all real.
People like this guy, has way too much time on his hands and puts too much investigative effort into something that's obviously what it is. A reality show. It's one of those things where it's "Duh! It's just another reality tv show revolving around pawn shops. Of course they're going to twist it around in some form so it can be presented on TV. They're just not going to throw you the whole "who's going to be eliminated" scheme on you." You either give it attention or you don't, that's that.
That is one of the issues… The "staff" doesn't even work there anymore… All they do is come in to film the show, then leave… A bunch of other peopl come in to "pawn" normal items, not the dudes on the show…. That's one reason it sucks ! All show !
They can't really work there any more. It's not really up to them, though. It's just going to greatly reduce the shop's efficiency when a lot of time is spent answering fanboy questions and the like. Also, a lot of people would stop working if they made a ton of money on TV. You can't just single these guys out when probably well over 50% of people would quit their jobs after making millions.
Even though I know that all these shows are scripted and that I have to tape them so I can fast forward thru them so I won't throw up. There are parts of the shows that I do enjoy. I do like getting a bit of a history lesson on some of the items that are brought in.Thats about it. Other than that, they are all pretty much boring, with the same script week after week.
examples:
Pawn Stars " how much you want for it?" Customer " your expert says it worth 10 grand, so I'll talke 10 grand" Pawn Stars, " I'll give you 10 bucks" Customer " OK deal"
Cajun Pawn where everyone seems to be related:
Cajun Pawn, " how much you want?" Customer " 500 bucks" Cajun Pawn " I'll give you 5 bucks and a bucket of crawdads" Customer " cook the crawdads, throw in a beer and its a deal"
And the most fucked up one, Hardcore Pawn, where the owner has greasy hair and wears the same clothes, with a son who's ears stick out farther than Dumbo's and some fat lard ass loud mouth bitch daughter.
Hardcore " how much you want for that broker lawn mower?" Customer " I's wants tens millions dollars" Hardcore " I"ll give you 5 bucks, 10 bucks if you come over and mow my lawn." Customer " I's saids, I's wants tens millions dollars or I's goings to fucks you up and blow up this place" Hardcore " fuck you, get outta here"
You see… I actually like Hardcore Pawn
In the episode called "time machines" I like the guy that sells the coke machine to Rick. It happen's to be Rick Dale's brother.
If that is ricks bro, then that explains why we didn't see him on Ricks show until later episodes. Wow this gives me another reason to pick these shows apart. I usually just research the price of items on the internet to see how bad they rip people.
I just don't like Frank on American Pickers. His negotiating borders appears slimy. He is cheap and rips people off. So does the father in the Vegas Pawn Shop that treats Chumly like the villiage idiot. Mike seems fair with his offers but he will beat you too.
Somewhere in season 2 or 3, hoss and chum bring something to rick dale to have it fagged up. The boyz are talking to rick at his shop; Right behind rick (to our left of him), you'll see the restored gas pump from season one- yes, the very one that was returned to the pawn shop to be sold. Yet there it is, loud and clear at dale's shop.
Particularly the recurring Subway mentions. In the episode where chum & hoss go to the auction to bid on the 'zoltar' machine, these two fatasses have "lunch" before the auction. This scene functions as a full-fledged subway ad. The establishing shot is taken from the ground, showing the storefront's imposing (yet inviting) double logo. At the table, the cups are strategically turned so that the logos on them are perfectly visible. I think "5-dollar footlong" is said twice in this scene- once by each of these gluttonous gelatin bags- in a context where this phrase would never have been used; "sandwich" or simply "this" would have definitely been said instead. And fon't forget the long extreme close-up of the sandwich, while fat fuck #1 uses it to demonstrate the theoretical workings of an auction to globular cluster #2. His analogy, of course, makes zero sense and bears no relation to the functioning of an auction. Last note- We all know that subway cuts their sandwiches in half before serving; The close-up clearly shows that each half of the sandwich was prepared individually for cosmetic appeal, and was not cut after it's construction. After you watch this scene, watch it again with the sound off, and imagine the commercial voice-over and the asshole music- it's fun! You'll see what I mean.
Also, take note of the product placement. Doesn't happen a terrible lot, but when it does, it's RIDICULOUS!
My fucking God. Its just a television show people. Its a "reality" show. Of couse its all staged, but I watch it anyway. Now shut the fuck up and stop ruining guilty pleasure television for the rest of us. If you don't like it, no one is forcing you to watch it! Plain and simple.
Hey Nik, no one's forcing you to read these comments, but thanks for your elevated contribution. Sorry for ruining TV for you. Maybe you should go back to coloring books or dressing up dolls. Plain and simple.
[...] just a bit of corroboration of my earlier points. There's more out there! History Channel’s Pawn Stars is Fake | centraltendencies.com Either way, the entirely fake nature of the show is one thing. The fact that the History Channel [...]
Seriously? You actually thought it was real? Well heres another shocker for ya, Two and a Half Men isn't real either.
What????? Two and a Half Men isn't real????? I thought it was base on the life experiences of Charlie Sheen…Well except for him getting killed. ( although he is a train wreck waiting to happen).. Sounds like all these shows are fake… What the FUCK is this world coming to then?????
[...] While I was cruising around on the internet, looking for compelling content to share with you, I came across this story: History Channel’s Pawn Stars Is Fake. [...]
Seriously the above posters description of Hard Core Pawn is killing me…I.m making myself sick laughing so hard!!!
Storage Wars is also fake. I met a person who is a big fan of BMW Isettas and collects them and we began chatting it up. This person worked for movie props and she mentioned that on one of the episodes of Storage Wars they turned to this person to locate an BMW Isetta to make it seem like this was in one of the storage units. True TV is completely fake too. My favorite are those repo shows.
Good observation on the Pawn Stars. I kind of believed it was real. I believed they came in with the item but said "hey can you want to be on TV? Can you come back tomorrow?" and that's when they filmed it but I guess I was wrong.
Most of the stuff are fake like who the hell would go in and sell G.W stuff to a pawn shop? i would but it up for action and make x2-4 w/e they give me even if i have to pay the action a %. But it still cool to watch and learn about new shit that the point of the chl to start with. I did not even know that half the shit was fake i don't really see a show and look at everything like the coke seeing the old and new i could now tell it the same thing but w/e still fun to watch,.
I knew it was fake when a guy came in with an old gun belonging to Jesse James (or some historical old west figure), and after that another guy came in with a motor belonging to Tesla… All in the same episode. Lol. What are the odds, then they went through the same script for both items. I want $xx,xxx.xx for this item, let me call the appraiser, commercial, onto next rather mundane boring object worth $50 – $100. Then anyone with an approved item worth $xx,xxx.xx gets offered $400. And they take it! Lol. all I have to say is George Orwell, 1984 (thats referring to the History Channel). And I am glad people out there notice some things, well… Some people notice ….. Thank you for your time to help expose shows like this for what they really are.
Hey, to ALL THE NAY SAYERS… Be honest.. How many of you have been to the pawn shop n been helped by one of the "Stars" ? None !.. They don't work there anymore… The ONLY times they are there is when they are filming, the rest of the time they are rolling in their cash from people that persist to make these idiots MILLIONARIRS over n over again… Lol. Reality show my ass… More like, Gong show gone wild !
Is it just me or is Chum Lee the child actor that played Randy Quade's son in National Lampoon Christmas Vacation. Starting Chevy Chase?
No,it's just you. The kid on Christmas Vacation, is fat and stupid looking, but can act. ChumLee is just fat and stupid looking.. But Chum is laughing all the way to the bank.
Look at images of Cody Burger, the child star from Christmas vacation and you will see photos of Chumlee there for comparison. The movie was made in 1989 so it would put Chumlee around the right age.
Wow you are right. I looked at those pictures that compare Chum Lee and that kid actor and they do look identical. I went to the Pawn Shop last week on my way through Vegas and I was very disappointed. The shop is in a seedy part of town next to some Wedding Chapels that have Elvis as the Minister. Very small. Long lines outside, Pawn Stars no where to be found.I don't think there is room for the back room they always talk about at least not in the sense they talk about. The items in the shop are mostly jewelry and watches. Some Guitars that are not very good.Some of the old peddle cars that were restored via American Restorations are there. An old car and lots of tee shirts and a life size photo of Chum Lee, Rick and Cory for Tourist to take a picture with the Stars.
I know I've come across this article very late, but in response to your "findings" about the Coca-Cola machine that gets restored….Rick points out that the entire machine itself was entirely replaced. The show actually, step by step, describes what was changed and how they did it.
I have no doubt that parts of the show are "staged", but you should also understand that the show is aired on the HISTORY channel. The show is dedicated to educating it's audience on random pieces of American history. Why don't you write an article on "Hardcore Pawn", because that would make a lot more sense.
At no point did either Rick say the entire machine was replaced. Ricky Resto actually describes “pound[ing]” out the dents in the body brought to him. However, as noted, these are two different coke machines with entirely different physical dimensions.
Two direct quotes regarding the machine on pickup:
Ricky Pawn: “When I first saw this thing, I couldn’t believe it was the machine I dropped off a week ago.”
Ricky Resto: “We ripped it in a million pieces and we sandblasted and started all over from scratch again.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-750s-5jG4&list=PL093AABE68E62C21F&index=2&feature=plpp_video
this will shock nobody!
I knew it!!! I sW the chapter about the flax arch from native american people and notices the change on its beads and I was surprised to find out that the owner didn't notice they were giving him a completely different arch!!! In that point I said: Oooook to the hell with them! and that was the last chapter I saw from this serie.
And I am glad to know I was not the only one to realize it.
Manufactured and scripted realities surround us — and many, much more significant than a weekly cable show.
The US federal reserve is the largest legalized organization for legalized theft in human history. Google: "The creature From Jekyll Island." Its closest competitor is the illegally formed, never ratified IRS.
US elections are a very public affair — but the votes are counted in private.
The vast majority of the 435 elected representatives in the house are bribed, coerced or blackmailed by the puppet masters behind the curtain — along with at least 70 of 100 senators. The president that occupies the white house at any given time also follows orders.
The health/medical industry has no interest in effective cures or preventions for diseases or afflictions — unless they are vastly expensive and patentable. Google: Dr Royal Raymond Rife.
Countless energy alternatives are suppressed, depending on how much they threaten the fossil fuels industry.
Wikipedia and its content are carefully controlled to legitimize 'the official version' of nearly all important matters. Facebook is an information gathering ruse for the CIA.
The 911 attacks were carefully planned and carried out by the Israeli Mossad and other rogue elements to benefit the US war machinery, stifle civil liberties, further solidify the relationship between the US and Israel and to declare war on Islam. The twin towers were scheduled for a 2006 dismantling due to galvanic corrosion and they were a financial disaster, so they fit in perfectly with the larger operation.
The thing about this obviously staged show that bothers me the most are the glaring inaccuracies in the discussions of many of the items. Lots of the blather is just plain wrong. I wouldn't trust a bit of the "information" that the blowhard characters of the supposed owner and his alleged "son" spout. You'd think they'd AT LEAST get that basic stuff half way correct, but they don't even bother with that. The whole set up is so obviously fake that about the only "entertainment" value is the scoffing you can do if you know anything at all about the items that they're pretending to buy.
Like all "reality shows" it's ALL show and NO "reality"… but then… it's 2012… it's TV… what would you expect, eh?
You forgot that the guy that sold the soda machine to rick is the ricks brother from restauration and the same machine was taken with they to be restored., maybe they didn't know that the american restauration was going to be also famous
I have been on a few reality shws and I am not Surprised. but still disapointing !
I think that Chumlee's TV persona must be a fake also. No human being could possibly that stupid and live! If an idiot like that worked for me, and did and said some of the things he does, he be out the door in a nanosecond.`
Of course the whole thing is staged. Anyone who thinks these are actual transactions probably bets on professional wrestling. That being said, it's fun to watch some times because you do see some interesting stuff and, if you realize the negotiations have no relationship to reality, they can be funny. The" experts" ? You can sometimes learn a few interesting things listening to them. No harm, no foul.
The power of TV. Be mighty boring without scripts……actors…..writers…..set ups………
Good for them. Great for our tired, working selves to watch without thinking……
Ever since rumors — followed with confirmation by previous cast members — that the TV show "Survivor" was quite massaged by "scripters and embellishers", I've been put off. I stopped watching.and haven't since.
Then, just a few weeks ago, I watched a YouTube video named "Ancient Aliens Debunked", and was truly stunned. Many of the key claims made in the popular series are quite exaggerated, misrepresented and even outright lies. Representing itself as a documentary, the show's research department either doesn't exist, or they are trumped by the "creative process". Nonetheless, for the sake of selling a cable show, the producers and writers massacre the truth. I'm disturbed at the thought that immense numbers of viewers have had their "knowledge of human origins and history" completely corrupted — and many may have even reevaluated their belief systems .Although I support revisionist history, the revisions should be based on solid facts.
Finally, based on these realities (no pun intended), there is a larger issue that would be difficult to overstate in its implications. For over 70 years, the Soviet population was aware that the "news and information" that reached them was carefully filtered and approved by government agencies. Whether is be TV, radio, newspapers, magazines or "educational materials", the narrative was carefully controlled to glorify the State. In short, the media was the sock-puppet and mouthpiece of government.
With the power of media well understood by government and American media nearly monopolized, and with America being disassembled and driven into debt slavery, how much of the truth are we really receiving?
Shocking…………not really.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQLqAP60T5g
Here's a little video for you jackasses that don't believe that any pawn shop in the world could get the merchandise they do. It's Las Vegas, lot's a people come in and out of that town and end up having to pawn or sell something to pay off their debts. Dumbasses.
Thanks for clearing up this complex issue for us, slugger.
You managed to completely miss the point.
You future as a wordsmith and debater are not looking bright.
Lets break down the problem… It has to be staged the people selling the items need a mic, the show is filmed over a period of time so obviously the film crew has to splice together episodes. At least they call in "experts" and you learn a bit about history.
I was on the show this past week, we shot the segment last May. I had a mic under my shirt, so did the Old Man and Chumlee. We had producer, director, light man, sound man and 2 camera men. We shot for about 2 hours doing some things over when the producer or director didn't like it. I didn't laugh at Chumlee's stupid comment so we shot that over. I did not act aggressive enough when the Old Man offered me half of what I wanted so we shot that again. Most of the details about my item were shot after the negotiations were over and we had no deal. The outside parts are shot all at the same time. I am not an actor, my item was real, I owned it. I did not expect them to really buy it for what I wanted, I just mainly wanted to be on the show and see how it was filmed. We did this all at 7am before the store was open. You won't find the stars working in the store. Some say it is filmed on a stage someplace else, it is not, it is in the store. If there are other people in the background during a sale, take note that they never look into the camera, they are always looking in the showcases. They are extras picked out of line. I could tell you more but don't have time right now.
[...] I did some research online and it’s even worse than that. The “restored” Coke machine is not even the same one that was brought in to the pawn shop in the first place. It turns out that “Pawn Stars” is actually no more real than Gilligan’s Island. Several other transactions on the show have been revealed to be complete fakes. Often the producers hire local Las Vegas actors to come in to the shop pretending to be customers, with items they don’t own which have been procured by the producers themselves. You can read all about it here. [...]
The show is entertaining, and there is some history in the items. But it was obvious it was all staged to me. Almost as bad as Lizard Lick Towing on Tru TV. Nothing that you see on TV is believable anymore. Not even the news.
Wow, what benefit you have given to society, proving that a fake TV show is fake. I believe this qualifies you to, at the very most, a little orphan annie secret decoder pin. Please forward your name and address to claim your reward.
Who cares if this is staged or faked… They do it to entertain people and they love it! I am a fan of this show and I find this show very entertaining and it makes me laugh. That's all that matters! Why does it matter if it's fake?!?!? Don't you people have better things to do?
You obviously don't considering you did a search for "Pawn Stars is Fake"…..
I know its scripted and whatnot, but I still watch it from time to time. Only now its getting to be too much of a soap opera and not a pawn show. ( like corey looking for a new job, the stupid side bets, etc.) I wish they would just knock that shit off and get back into the items being pawned and a little history lesson that they give us..
WHO CARES? Seriously
Whois a bigger tool, Cory Harrison, or Todd Hoffman?
I havnt been this upset since I discovered that the WWF was staged
Whaaaaaaat?
You mean magic takie box is lying to me?
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
You forgot to mention the biggest one of all..Mary Ford's SG which was another item from Cowtown. For sale there at $60K with no buyers, the guitar was "purchased" at the shop for $90K. It then went on Ebay and fetched $110K.
Another fake thing I saw. Lady brings in a pin and asks for $2000. Rick says "oh no, this is a Fabrege pin. I have to give you $15K. I was in the collectibles business. It's not illegal or unethical to give the person what they want. WHat you make out of it is your business. Another thing is they can't be working on those margin - Buy at $100 sell for $150. They must double or more. All for show and to promote items of interest for future sale. Good for them though
To: OP
What a waste of internet space…. you must be really bored and not have a
life. If you like the show, watch it. If you don't like the show, don't watch
it! It is that simple….
[...] found this website that details a few more fake episodes. Quite depressing really to see a show i love to watch [...]
the ones who think this show is real are the same people who watch Fox news
Sorry you spent so much time writing something that most people already know.
For the record ALL reality shows are highly produced and scripted. All of them.
It's entertainment, just enjoy the show.
the coke machine you talk about was sold to the pawn shop by one of rick dales employees i think its his brother inlaw said it had been in his family for along time thats when i noticed the staging
[...] that have interesting stuff and make them an offer to appear on the show with their item. Some small proof here. Once you think about it, it's sorta obvious. I mean, the prices they're haggling over are often [...]
i am completely disappointed-i knew that there was a large level of deception,but now i realize it is 100% fake! there should be a disclaimer@the beginning…chumlee that talentless fool would otherwise be getting minimum wage-instead he is driving a ferrari! i am interested in filing a class action lawsuit to recompensate all of us moron fans who have been blatently served up a complete lie-pawnstars suck!!!!
Thing that bothers me most about this "reality" TV show isn't the fact that its FAKE as well as staged, it's the fact that WE all made that dumbass "Chumlee" a MILLIONAIRE. He has as much talent as Justin Beiber can sing with out a "auto tune". Classless idiot and now he drives a Ferrari…. I can't bare to watch this show any more (or the last year as well….
It's a scripted reality show. When the show was in early production, we noticed Antique magazines had "blind box" ads seeking people with unusal items to be featured on a television show with free trip to Las Vegas. It's interesting television and at least somewhat educational.
Ok, I seem to be the only person who directly knows about this show being real or fake. Everyone else is a third party with "research".
I sold the 1941 Chicago Bears Team Autographed Football to Rick Harrison. Eight months later, my football is being represented by someone other than me! Then to top it off, the football was on Ebay, right after the show!
I enjoy the show because it gives some insight to an interesting business with some cool details, history, etc. It
I have no ill feelings at all about the show or how it is presented. On the contrary, I watch the show to be "Entertained" and that I am.
I don't know how much of this was mentioned as I didn't read all the posts. I know the guy who does the advertising sales for the pawn shop. He told me a few years back that the main characters are very rarely there. He has never seen them when he stops by. I can tell you without doubt that many of the autograph items are forgeries, Mickey Mantle, Joe Dimaggio, Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, etc. The first so called forensic expert that they used, Drew Max, is nothing but a fake himself. He is not a forensic expert and is known to have "authenticated" thousands of fake signatures. He is on the banned list for Ebay and every other auction house. A friend of mine, John Reznikoff, was used as an authenticator. He owns University Archives and is an expert. Pawn Stars used him to authenticate the Al Pacino signed manuscript. John told me that he was called weeks in advance to come to Vegas for the show. He was not given any photo's of the item so that he could verify in advance. It ended up that the signature was from producer Al Ruddy. Both have signatures that are very similar. John later contacted the show to apologize and cover the cost. This also let's you know that these sales are set up well in advance. I was also told that you need to call and set up an appointment to bring in an item for the show.
Everything on the show is fake, from Rick's bizarre knowledge of everything under the sun, to the incredibly rare items. But you just have to suspend your disbelief and enjoy it. Are we really to believe they get more rare items than Sothebys Auction House? But I do feel sorry for the suckers that bring in their grandfathers hand me downs and sell them for hundreds instead of the thousands they could get on Ebay.
Last laugh is on you guys. Chumlee gets paid like $35,000 an episode. Rick is worth a few million.
It's all entertainment; why else is it on TV.
Yep, it's all on US !!! All the idiots in this world that STILL watch this garbage is making all these scumbags millionairs… Same as "Honey Boo Boos family". Just keep watching and wonder why you don't have any money…. WHOEVER keeps watching this trash is basically telling the networks that they ARE worth the money because all the idiots that still watch it…. No wonder Obama got re elected…
Unlike this blog, which was last updated on March 22, 2011 (almost two years ago at this point), the Pawn Stars show still goes on strong. Stay mad, bro.
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The show use to be entertaining, then it was fairly entertaining, then it became somewhat entertaining, now it's just plain ass boring. It's becoming too much of a soap opera. Too much crappy interaction between the guys and not enough stuff being pawned. I will admit, I do stop by and watch a bit of it while channel surfing, if nothing else is going on. But the writing just keeps going downhill. One thing I have always found interesting about the scripts, is that from day one, all the so called experts use the same line and that is " So Rick, What are your Concerns?" I don't think that they have ever changed that line for any of the experts. I mean you have all these different people and they all say the exact same thing????……. Anyway, the pawn stars have gotten their fame and fortune, time for them to go out, retire and enjoy that money.
My son pointed out the story about Ron and the coke machine. I like watching the show because of the interesting items but I am finding the show is getting dumbed down for a certain IQ level. It was better when someone would bring an item in for restoration and then you would see the finished product or so called finished product after only to set these others up for spin offs. Too much much scripted BS I could do without. The latest episodes are getting so bad that they may have a few items come in and between the commercials and figure out what Dumbly does in his spare time, it takes me with the PVR about 10 minutes to watch an episode. Stick to the facts. Well History channel doesn't surprise me they will stoop to anything after their "Chasing Mummies" reality show.
After coming to the realization of what this show has become, I can no longer watch. I deleted it from the DVR, nobody in the family has any interest any longer. I'm sure others feel the same way.
I personally don't really give a crap if the show is fake. It's entertaining and that's all that really matters. Quit overthinking everything and enjoy the half full glass for a change.
True enough, the show is more than likely ALL fabricated, but I am willing to bet you didn't make 1 penny doing your little investigative work. So, with that said, fabricated or not, look who is making the money here and who isn't. Your work here is great no doubt, but even though you proved this tv show to be a fake, it will still continue to be aired and still rack in huge dollar amounts for the History Channel as long as people keep watching. And, if your work here was done to get people to stop watching, you kinda went at it the wrong way. Now you have people watching it to see if it really is a fake, witch in turn is boosting numbers for the show
WHO GIVES A FUCK
On the episode where they said the old man was hoarding copper pennies (pre 1982), there were Union Shield cents and other post 1982 pennies in the bins. Penny hoarders don't hoard zinc pennies, which is what were in those bins. I didn't know if the show was staged or not; I just watch the show to see the items, but lying about something for tv is plain dishonest. That whole plot was unnecessary to make an interesting show. Just another bit to think about.
On the episode where they said the old man was hoarding copper pennies (pre 1982), there were Union Shield cents and other post 1982 pennies in the bins. Penny hoarders don't hoard zinc pennies, which is what were in those bins. I didn't know if the show was staged or not; I just watch the show to see the items, but lying about something for tv is plain dishonest. That whole plot was unnecessary to make an interesting show.
On the episode where they said the old man was hoarding copper pennies (pre-1982), there were Union Shield cents and other POST-1982 pennies in the bins. Penny hoarders don’t hoard zinc pennies, which is what were in those bins. I didn’t know if the show was staged or not before; I just watch the show to see the items, but lying about something for absolutely no reason is plain dishonest. That whole plot was unnecessary to make an interesting show.
You people really have to get lives. Do you honestly think all this stuff happens as is without editing, post-production, research, etc…….?Do you spend money to go to the movies only to see at the end that it is "BASED" on a true story? Take Argo for instance. A lot of that Academy Award winning movie for Best Picture was embellished to make the story more exciting. Should we all go on the internet and start taking it apart piece by piece or just take in the story as a whole? If you don't want to watch it turn the channel.! It is meant to "entertain". It is not meant to be dissected piece by piece or held up under scrutiny in court. Come on people, there must be better things to be up in arms about in life!!!!!
No sir, you need to get one… These are OUR opintions.. They may not mean anything, but it sure got you to waste your time responding, right ? So I guess this page has a little clout or you would have never replied… Also, the show is no longer even entertaining.. So don't even know why it's still on the air.. The 15 minutes of fame is just about up.. Along with Justin Beibers… Who knows, maybe your next?
Of course it's all fake! Being millionaires, the old man, Rick, Corey and chumlee are laughing all the way to the bank! I would put this show right up there with the Bigfoot series!
I was in Vegas recently, and decided to visit the Pawn Shop to see it for myself. First of all, the lineup outside is huge. The place is packed. I was also surprised at just how small it really is. It has become a tourist attraction, and not so much a pawn shop anymore. Also, half the store is now loaded up with cheap Chinese made souvenirs and crappy t-shirts. Shameful commercializing at it's best. As for the stars of the show, they are nowhere to be found. I spoke with one of the guys behind the counter, and he told me the stars only show up during filming, and that the store is emptied of all but a few "extras", pretending to be browsing, while the featured customer comes in with his treasure. Yes, it's all one big TV production folks. No surprise there. Outside in the parking lot they even have a hotdog concession stand now. Tacky for sure. The stars themselves are doing pretty good financially too. Apparently Chumlee drives around in a Maserati, among other things. It is what it is.
Such a shame that we fabricate a millionaire out of a idiot that can't spell his own name, but cashes his $35,000 per episode checks…I can't stand the show now, no matter how hard they try n make a good commercial, the show still sucks…. Let them spend THIER millions and lets move on to another idiot n make him a millionaire… Hmmmmm, someone like Justin Beiber ….lol
Dude…My 15 minutes of fame will never be up….Would you like to know why? Because I'm smart enough to know how to spell the word THEIR and use it in a sentence. Also, THEY smart enough to know how to take their "little" act and make it into a multi-million dollar empire.
Of course it is fake, it is called television! It is a television show. Just because some people label it reality TV, doesn't mean that it is real. Television is one form of entertainment. Occasionally, television will broadcast facts in the form of news, documentary or biography. However, the intention is always to entertain and bring in ratings, no more, no less.
I used to really like the channel, and I understand it is expensive to produce, but it's gone way way beyond anything interesting or educational. If a non profit can make oodles from sponsors with a show like Antiques Roadshow, then why can't these greedy little schemers do something "honest"?
I went to Vegas for the first time, and I made a special trip to check out the pawn shop. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!!! It reminded me of the jaws shark at Universal Studios-fake, fake and more fake. As a viewer of the show, I felt lied to after leaving the store. I truly believe the people trying to pawn items (as seen on the show ) are all paid actors to meet tight filming windows, even if the actors are the true owners of the items. Furthermore, I think the items being pawned are mostly borrowed props or are deliberately purchased elsewhere to make the show more interesting. History Channel needs to get out of the reality TV show business if everything is just following a script. Come on everyone…it's not like the camera man just sits and waits for people to show up while the camera is rolling. How nice it must be to have these so-called experts close by always at hand for the camera man. They're most likely scheduled props also. The owners are just getting rich off of the fans who are stupid enough to patronize a movie set. I do believe the transactions are real, but completely staged none the less.
All you say is true but if this was your show how would YOU do it?
Of COURSE the cameraman doesn't sit there all day waiting for someone to come in. The sellers (or actors) are OBVIOUSLY coached before they walk in. They never even glance at the camera and they ALWAYS try to negotiate the price. IT'S A TV SHOW! Would be AWFULLY boring if it was just filmed as it happens. Just like ALL "reality" shows. The enternainment industry KNOWS that most people are suckers that will actually buy their portrayals. For those smart enough to realize it's a SHOW, it's entertainment.
If the show wasn't staged, no one would bring in *valuable* items to a pawn shop. It's worth $10,000 but I'll be happy to walk away with $2250. Yeah, right!
Yes, pawn shops have experts on call. Yes, pawn shops will offer you about 20% the value of the item. But, no, I don't believe the customers are stupid (or desperate) enough to pawn a $2,000 ring for $40.
If they are willing to do that, it means they are high (or planning to purchase a fix). If that's the case, they don't plan on picking it up again, and then the shop will inflate it to 4x it's value.
THAT's the part of buying/selling that's actually true. If that's what they're doing, the stuff is probably hot.
If anyone from the very beginning thought this was going to be a show that was not edited and produced but just watching people walk in off the street then they have to be idiots. All these kind of shows are shows and not real life. duuuuuuu!