This was on in the UK today in a compilation episode, first time I'd seen it. I love the show and whilst I don't believe for one minute that Danielle is on the phone giving them picks while they're driving I do think the places they go to are unstaged in terms of content. Sometimes I look at my 'stuff' and think, 'what a lot of nice things I have'. Then I see some of these guys out on farms in the States with barns 30 times the size of my house filled to the brim with stuff. You can't stage that.
In the version I saw the owner wanted 8, they offered 4 and a half and shook on it. If this is true and unstaged, what must that guy think now! And my God did he have some stuff. Why would you sell your AF 15 though if you had all that stuff and, presumably, knew its worth and loved it? Could they have staged the sale for the cameras I wonder? In other words, bought it just for the show but the guy obviously didn't sell it?
As I say, I only saw an edited compilation so maybe there's more to the story. Great show though.
Part of my job at the moment includes collecting donations in support of an animal charity. An old couple last week gave me a box of comics and a dusty old LP box. The comics were all Alan Class reprints and were in a shocking state. Lots to read, if I can get the dust off of them but worth nothing (no AF15 reprint copy alas)! The LPs though included some really rare stuff and at first thought I thought we'd do very well. Ebay seemed to indicate they were worth hundreds (Led Zeppelin early releases etc). My plan was to take them to a record dealer we use and, if he gave us hundreds, take half back to the old couple. I saw Frank and Mike do this once - take money back to the owner when they made a bomb - and the guy cried he was so taken aback. Turns out each LP was scratched to oblivion and all I got was £120 (I say all, that's a days takings in some of our shops). So not enough to split with the donators and I gave it to our shop which takes the least. Good day for them and it was fun doing the research.
Picking in the US seems so glamorous. 'Dagenham Pickers' would, I suspect, be less so....