Theres a tv show on history channel called american pickers. Every now an then I see some cool tools in the backround. Here in the one episode at about ten minutes in theres a base to what looks to be a scrollsaw.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/332918/american-pickers-pickin-perry-dise

Its a very intresting tv show if you ever get a chance to watch it. It reminds me alot of what some of us do.

Sometimes I enjoy that show, but usually I am disturbed that they pass over lots of cool stuff and buy one or two things only. Do they just leave the rest, or does a truck come behind them and carry it all away? I don't think so, but at least the seller get TV coverage, so maybe other buyers will stop in.
I am aware that they have a list of things they are looking for from their regular buyers,

Oh I hate those guys!!
They'll waltz past great tools of all description, possibly great bottles and lamps, cool stuff of all description
and then buy a beat up rusted out sign or part of a ruined motorcycle and don't even ask about the good stuff!
I just want to scream, look down Doofus, look DOWN!!!
  ahhhhhhhh
  yours Scott

For me the interesting part of the show is the piles they get to look through. A lot of the stuff they pay big $ for I wouldn't know where to give it away. There is a Canadian pickers as well which is much the same only not as good.
My thoughts are that it is quite phony. They have 3 people making a living and driving a nice van with a nice shop as home base. The couple times I added up their profits for a 3 or 4 day road trip it just don't seem like it would cover the expenses for all that. Either they are doing something they are not telling or being on TV pays well.

Yeh, I mean its a show were you have to take it with a grain of salt an think that it is reality tv however its based on a bussniess.

It kills me as well how half the time they walk past the good stuff an just get some rusty junk. But after all one mans junk another mans treasure. Some would look at our collections an say the same about our stuff.

I think that the picks they do would not be enough to support a company an they must pick more then they show. I mean you see them in different clothes for each pick usually an that to me just sais different days. There for they must not be doing 20 places a day. I am sure if you break it down per hour for salarys an then expenses they must be geting more from each pick then they show.

Amici!

De gustibus non est disputandum

to much blah blah blah for me, same for that restorer program.

I can't afford cable(or most likely won't afford cable) so I don't get to watch AP, but have been exercising at the local rec center on the MAtrix eliptical machine which has a built in TV and seen a REAL reality show a couple times, PAWN STARS.  That family is really a lost cause, but if it gives me a bit of inside info on how those folks think, then I can better prepare for my next visit to a pawn shop.

DM&FS

You're not missing much by not being able to watch American Pickers. It's about a couple of apparently unwed guys in the 40-50 age range who drive a Mercedes van around back roads finding household castoffs (shabby old motor scooters, broken toys, rusted signs, etc) and exclaim off camera, "I paid $100, but I know I can get $175 for it." It seems like fiction, because they are always buying, but you never see them selling. While I am sure there are still pickers out there, this show smacks of Hollywood production all the way

As far as studies in dysfunctional families go, you cannot beat Pawn Stars and Orange County (NY) Choppers.   Those shows highlight some genuinely unpleasant main characters who use sarcasm, talking down, meanness, and other aggressive behaviors to wend their ways through family life and business life.  More Hollywood BS.

One of the "plain folks" shows we enjoy is Swamp People.  It's about likeable Cajuns and Homa Indians who go into their native swamps, and capture and kill some pretty big alligators (over 13 feet).  The fact that these people are generally armed with .22 Magnum (and up !) rifles gives the advantage to the hunters.  But there is the element of real fear and respect operating in the hunters as the alligators can, and sometimes do, win.

Its a cool show I think even if its not totally real theres alot of cool things you see. When its 1 in the morning on the weekend I dont mind watching a episode that my brother recorded earlier.

Oh my god disfunctional families on history an discovery are crazy. I serisouly wonder how much is acting how much is real. I know its probably all for ratings.

The swamp people show is pretty cool. I actually lived not to far from one of the areas they do that in. I have a buddy down there who does that with his dad on the side just for some extra cash. And as some people watch that show an say those are hillbilly redneck dumb unedicated people I disagree with every one of those people. The way they act on that show is who they are. Not to meantion off camra they are the the greatest guys you will ever meat. They put the true meaning to the saying "give the shirt off your back for a stranger" not to meantion they have some true family values.

Neil,

I agree with you on this. Swamp People isn't about being on TV, it's about showing how people in those areas truly live. Troy Landry is my favorite, and it is obvious he is a well-respected member of his community.  Willie and Jr. are pretty good, as well. When Willie killed that gator that was about to eat him on the bank with nothing but his knife, I knew these cats were as real as they come!!!

The rest of the "reality TV" shows are nothing but marketing and money making schemes to "buy the shirt" in their stores online!!

I only watch Pickers as I'm flipping thru channels.Swamp people I can usually watch the whole thing.I have 900 + channels of crap.I only watch about 10 at the most.If it wasn't for my hi-speed internet package deal I might drop it.

I like swamp people it is entertainment , the pickers and storage locker shows is only watched when nothing else is on. we have direct tv and I have the 50 channel sport package that i really like
my wife has the tv most of the time  bob w.

The two guys on American Pickers are real and you can buy stuff at their shop in Iowa on the west bank of the Mississippi. I never could figure out how they made a living at it. One of them has a cool collection of antique motorcycles.  All I can figure is that writers and directors are running the script and the boys do what they are told. Hey, making a TV show is a far more lucrative and predictable income than picking antiques, but I am curious about the rest of the tatoo.

I'm sure some guys watch it just to get a look at Danielle and her tattoos.

QuoteWhile the guys are out picking, Danielle Colby Cushman holds down the fort at Antique Archaeology, Mike's store and base of operations. She spends her time talking to buyers, packing up shipments and keeping Mike and Frank in line, while they keep her in stitches with their antics and jokes. Mike likes to say she's the glue that holds them all together.

A mother of three, Danielle is always working
on a new creative project, whether it's painting, designing clothes or selling vintage-inspired gifts online. She feels extremely proud of the "boys" and fortunate to work with such a talented pair.

Read more: http://www.poptower.com/danielle-colby-cushman-american-pickers.htm#ixzz1oG3yvsSA

http://www.poptower.com/danielle-colby-cushman-american-pickers.htm