RIP Old Man from Pawn Stars

Expert comes in at says it's worth $4,500. Seller remains firm on the $3,500, giving Rick $1K wiggle room to make a profit.

Rick's response: But here's the deal. I have to clean the coffin, then it'll just sit around for a year while we figure out what color suit we want to bury the old man in, then there's fees and all that. Bottom line, I can give you $500 today, cash.

RIP Old Man

 

Nope. But I don’t think MacArthur defeated the Japanese single handily and I think the Western allies played a much smaller role in European affairs than the Soviets.

It was wildly inaccurate. It explained the Russian revolution in about one sentence, and that’s fine but make sure your sentence is somewhat accurate. Don’t if you’re going to pay for CGI of bombers attacking, don’t use your clips of B17s to represent the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain.

It was a weird combination of poor research and patriotic bullshit so people who knew just the very basics of then war, I.e. the crew that tunes into Oak Island every week because maybe this is the week the hunters discover $100,000,000 while on a freaking TV show, can sit back on their couch and say, “man we kick ass!”

 

My real point is that it's very, very, very basic history and that every time the actual story would take more than a few seconds to explain, they went with a shortcut, no matter how inaccurate, just so long as it got to the same place. And with a lot of very, very basic history, it made it about the personalities, like Patton. I guess I honestly don't remember if MacArthur was involved, but I definitely remember Patton getting major play for WW2 and for the decades before. Which is fine. He was obviously a major player, but not nearly to the degree they portrayed it. But, they needed a character that connects the wars and someone they can hang "tank warfare" on and who's a badass American and Patton fits the bill.

It's just history for the masses. It's the 3rd-grade textbook version of the time period. Remember these five important people, Roosevelt, Hitler, Churchill, Patton and Stalin, remember these five dates, Nov. 11, Sept. 1, June 6, VJ Day, VE Day, and here's who won. Add in some powerful photos, or CGI in this case, and boom, you've got a modern History Channel documentary.

It doesn't have to be that loose with the facts to make something people will enjoy, IMO. Ken Burns does fine and he produces content that at least makes you feel a little smarter after watching it. This show offered me nothing of the sort, and I think it stands as an example of the History Channel as a whole. There are better channels for real history documentaries these days, like Smithsonian and Science, or Netflix and Youtube. History Channel has long since given up being that, which is fine, I guess. Gotta make some money.

 

Pawn Stars is a hell of a lot more History than ancient aliens

 

Cut to the seller taking Rick's offer while my wife and I scream at the TV.

 

No kidding! There's a marathon right now and I was watching an episode where a guy had a Lou Gherig signed jersey (not a Yankees jersey, but like some high school team) and he wanted $6,000, then Rick came in and said it's not worth that, so Corey offered $2,000. The guy said "Nah, I can't part with it for that low of a price." Corey goes up to $3,000 and the guy says "Lowest I can go is $5,000..." Corey shoots back "$3,000 is all I can do for you, my man." Seller says "Well, I hate to part with it for that low, but I guess $3,000 is good." WTF???

Of course, I have read that all of the negotiating is done ahead of time and that the two parties have already settled on a price (or in some cases, couldn't settle on a price) and that the back and forth is just for "theater." Still, why say your bottom line is $5,000 and then accept almost half of that?

Tonight at 8 p.m. a tribute to the Old Man will air. Just FYI.

 

Because you can't get $5,000.
Just because you want $5,000 does not mean you'll get it.

 

Of course, they 'gotta make some money.'
It's an entertainment network, not a grad school class or public service.
I don't watch much of that stuff, and the World Wars mini-series is a great example of why, because you are correct on many points.
I'm not watching a show if my formal education and my personal readings have already provided me with more information and better perspective than can or will be presented in the television series.
My personal book-shelf is better than the History Channel's World Wars series.
I stopped watching 30 minutes into the first episode.

I guess I don't understand the disdain, though.
The History Channel is a business venture. It's an entertainment network.
They objective is to provide content that will draw an audience that sponsors want.
There is nothing ignoble or worth of my disdain in that venture. I just don't watch it.

Or Oak Island
Or Nazi Hunters
Or Ancient Aliens

I did watch the first mini-series on the men who built America. There was stuff there I didn't know and, more abundantly, connections between people and events that I had never drawn.

 

I would imagine some of them that come in are desperate to get money right then. Saw an episode yesterday where the guy had an autographed Babe Ruth picture. They brought in their autograph expert who verified and said it was probably worth at least 3K. Dude ended up taking 1200 or so for it. If it actually was worth 3K I'm sure he could have got a lot more on eBay. But that might take a bit longer.

If you're actually looking to get the true value for something, you don't go to a pawn shop.

 

Exactly, you can try selling directly to a collector.
The pawn broker wants to resell. He's got overhead to cover plus needs a chance to earn.
It's not a screw job. It's just business.

But it's a fast transaction, and money in hand now is worth more than possible money in the future.

And most people who want to sell this stuff don't want to take the time or have access to the right buyers.

If you think something is worth $3,000, great.
The pawn brokers offers you $1,500. That is $1,500 in hand.
The $3,000 is an idea. If your Lou Gehrig sweater sits in the closet, you don't have $3,000; you've got $0 and an old sweater.

 

Yeah, I get the point of the negotiation. I know how it works.

I just think it's funny that the seller is willing to say bottom line is X and then take half that amount. Then it's not your bottom line, is it? That was my point.

And like I said, it's scripted entertainment, the prices are already settled before the back and forth negotiation. Maybe their scripts shouldn't say bottom line if they're willing to actually take half that amount.