A "Picker" just called...

[MissMittens]

7 1/2 here

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Well, OK then. You are obviously better connected than I. But those pictures had to be taken before Santa packed up the entire works and moved to Nevada. The way I heard it told, melting polar ice had him concerned about the longterm viability of the N.P. base of operations, and the real estate crash in Nevada brought prices there down to where it was really a no-brainer.

Santa moved to Garland,Texas just read a newspaper account. They closed the North Pole and moved everything to Texas.

 

[Justin B]

Don't blaim the old fella. It's a nice area here, Have to see if the Mrs. will let him out of the house for drinks.

 

[hatophile]

He'll have to trade in his red furry suit and boots for jeans, cowboy hat and cowboy boots though. May have to shave his beard with the heat.

 

[EggHead]

Mr. Macy will roll over in his grave.

He'll have to trade in his red furry suit and boots for jeans, cowboy hat and cowboy boots though. May have to shave his beard with the heat.

 

[pjt113]

Here's hoping we're talking really big -- 7 5/8, 7 3/4, 7 7/8. Like that. If so, please keep ME in mind.

Me too please, UI have a XXL melon

 

[cookie]

American Pickers is one of my favourite shows ...along with Boardwalk Empire...Dexter...and Sons of Anarchy...just thought you should know that...

 

[cookie]

Welcome to my world, Tom. I can't even remember how many times this sort of thing has happened to me ... with vintage clothing, hats, and other stuff.


Want to hear a nightmare? I once met an elderly lady in North Hollywood whose late father had an unbelievable collection of vintage 1930s-'50s fedoras and homburgs, each in its original box. The lady was selling off most of her stuff, including --she said-- those hats. I went to her home and she showed the lids to me: size 7 1/4, my size, and in beautiful condition! But when it came time to part with them, she changed her mind...


I told her to call me if she rued her decision. She did call: but when I arrived at her house, she changed her mind again. Later, she called me yet again ... ready to sell. I rushed over, and ... well, no sale.


I finally gave up.

No excuses Marc you just could not close the deal. You needed to bundle or get the juices flowing like Mike and Frank on American Pickers.

 

[Two Types]

Hate to burst anyone's balloon, but that TV show (among others like it) is largely staged. I know this because I'm friends with someone whose close relative is the "star" of one of these shows.

I'd be interested to know how much of something like 'American Pickers' is staged. I assume they are actually 'pickers' and do run that business?
I had always imagined that they do actually visit the sites on the show, but simply that they make the deals, then restage it for the cameras. The really fascinating bit (i.e. the secret of how they make these contacts in the first place) is always left out. I can understand why they would not want to reveal their network of contacts for fear of the competition finding out.

 

[Sam Craig]

Think about it in hat terms ... especially now, with the rapid growth of "antique malls" where people throw together all their garage sales inside a building and then pass off their junk as a flea market.

How often have you passed by one, even gone in, seen all that stuff and figured "Man, there's got to be some hats in here somewhere."

You waste an hour digging through the mess and come up with a couple filthy, greasy tweed Penneys stingybrims, size 6 7/8!

Now, honestly, would you want to watch that on TV?

Of course they make sure they have great stuff to dig before the cameras roll! And who could blame them?

Sam

 

[tonyb]

Sam has it right. It's a TV show. Entertainment is its reason for being -- not to educate people in the finer points of the antique/vintage trade, and not to convey a realistic view of that world. And that's fine by me, really. Like Sam, I wouldn't choose to spend my time watching a TV show that more accurately portrays how junk picking typically goes.

 

[tonyb]

For anyone who might be interested ...

The first hour of today's Diane Rehm show is a discussion of hoarding -- you know, "collections" that get way out of hand. The show is about to start on the radio station that carries it in my area. It'll likely be available online later in the day.

 

[Sam Craig]

Sam has it right. It's a TV show. Entertainment is its reason for being -- not to educate people in the finer points of the antique/vintage trade, and not to convey a realistic view of that world. And that's fine by me, really. Like Sam, I wouldn't choose to spend my time watching a TV show that more accurately portrays how junk picking typically goes.

My grandmother ran an antique store for about 40 years.
It was a good business, but would have made lousy TV

Sam

 

[Marc Chevalier]

No excuses Marc you just could not close the deal. You needed to bundle or get the juices flowing like Mike and Frank on American Pickers.

:eusa_clap What I needed was my own 'reality' show!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I'd be interested to know how much of something like 'American Pickers' is staged. I assume they are actually 'pickers' and do run that business?
I had always imagined that they do actually visit the sites on the show, but simply that they make the deals, then restage it for the cameras. The really fascinating bit (i.e. the secret of how they make these contacts in the first place) is always left out. I can understand why they would not want to reveal their network of contacts for fear of the competition finding out.

They are real pickers, but they often have family and friends pose as "sellers" ... and the stuff that they "find" and "buy" is often chosen in advance, brought in from somewhere else, and wedged into the "seller's" inventory. In at least one case, the stuff came from the picker's own inventory.

 

[gtdean48]

.... In at least one case, the stuff came from the picker's own inventory.

Sounds like hunting on a baited field....

 

[cookie]

Mike and Frank = How it happened.

http://www.rcreader.com/news/american-pickers-feature/

 

[tonyb]

Thanks for posting that, cookie. I couldn't help but note that the lovely Danielle acknowledged that while she has known Mike Wolfe for about five years, she didn't start working for him until the show started. The young woman is blessed with an almost perfect blend of cute and sultry (works for me every time), which is why she is featured on the show, of course. All that stuff about how she's there to mind the shop? Please. Old Aunt Flossie would likely be a better candidate for that job.

They acknowledge in several ways how the show isn't an accurate portrayal of an old-junk dealer's working life. And they say why, too: because if it were it wouldn't be much of a television show. And I appreciate how Frank says they'll ride this bus for as long as they can (three of four years is about all a typical "reality" show is good for; how well this one wears is yet to be seen, of course), and how Mike expects the copycats to come on like "a f@#%in' tsunami." I'd bet on that myself.

 

[cookie]

Interesting that all the filming is in summer as well.

 

[O2BSwank]

I love the show and watch every episode. I used to be a picker for vintage car parts. My wife has a side business selling furniture, antique, and home decor items in a consignment shop in the Bay Area. We comb yard sales, flea markets. estate sales, and thrift shops looking for items. She will transform them in the "Shabby chic"style. I steer her away from Golden Age era veneered furniture. We have found some furniture and a bunch of little items that are adding to the clutter of our home.