I get a feeling that American Pickers is more "reality" than almost any of the other shows. The only thing that seems to me to be staged is the shots of them driving up and the initial meeting with the client. Then of course the staged "antics" of the guys and gals on the show, just done for comedy relief and that sort of stuff.

But their finds and all of that, maybe I'm a sucker, but I buy it. I've been to places like that before, and I know (of) someone local that was on their show in Pickens, SC a short while back and they swore it was totally legit in terms of their picking and all of that.

Yeah, resetting the bid is silly. Nothing wrong with what Dave does, and we've seen cases where Barry or someone tries to bid someone up but gets stuck with a locker he didnt really want. It's all part of what an auction is.

I don't know, it seems like he paused and was careful with his words before he said "special item" or whatever term he used. He was complaining about driving all the way to hollywood when there were auctions closer to where they lived on that day. Why drive all the way to A&E auctions for that one special item when they can make more money off the auctions at home, is how I interpreted it.

That being said, I seriously doubt the producers with all the footage they accumulate would air this remark if it was indeed what Jarred was referring to. But I'm just going to assume the producers are idiots and did let this air and interpret what he said the way I have already said

Pickers is another one of those quasi reality shows. Shit Danni was hired for the TV show, not for their shop.

I read that she's been friends with Mike for years before the show?

Since folks are mentioning other "reality" type shows, can anyone remember the name of the show where a guy (he had a full beard) would travel to basically abandoned buildings and look around for stuff to try and buy from the owners. He did this often before the buildings were torn down but not always. Can't recall the network but possibly History. Many of the buildings were old factory's, one was a Masonic home, old farms, etc. I really enjoyed that one and it seemed as real as anything.

Rick

Yeah the interactions with the sellers feels genuine and not rehearsed.
Judging from this video, it looks like a fan could actually meet the stars of the show. I thought it was really classy of Mike to take time to go over and chat with the fans.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoDWLuerlpw

I honestly don't mean this as an insult to you, but that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Using that logic, if I bid someone up and they drop the locker on me, I can call "do over" since I had no intention of buying the locker anyway. There is a natural potential consequence to bidding someone up and that is that they could stop bidding and leave you to over pay. And I don't see the issue with bidding someone up. The more they spend on a unit you don't want, the less they have to spend on a unit you do want. It's strategy as far as I'm concerned and not dishonest, as again, you have to pay if you win the damn thing.

Now I can see how if you bid someone up and then say "Oops, sorry, can't pay," THEN you're not allowed to take part in future auctions.

With ALL this said... is Hester really complaining that he was paid to be on a show where producers put expensive things in lockers he won and he got to keep the stuff? Also, it doesn't look like Brandi has had any work done, so was it Laura?

No offense taken. I can handle a disagreement on the Internet, unlike too many people.

Hester is taking a monumental risk. Either he better have evidence to nail them or his name will be perpetual mud. He's already got numerous complaints against him for fraud involving his auctions and old stores.

As for the surgery, last night Nabila gave us quite a show in a very low cut top and it's obvious hers are fakes. But also if you look at that alleged webcam pic of Brandy I posted a few pages back, it certainly looks like her and she was a LOT smaller in that pic than she is now.

You're a bigger man than me!

Did Hester close his thrift shop over in (was it) Long Beach? I remember driving past it a few years back covered with his face.

The original Radar Online article mentioned that due to the “demands of working on the Series,” he closed his storefronts and now operates his business entirely online.

yeah, it closed down. i think because he was losing money and getting sued repeatedly.

Sued a lot, too. He has multiple claims against him. Don't think that won't be brought out in court.

He was in Newport Beach.

Over thriftshop sales? Damn. What can you be doing to get sued over used stuff?

Not the sales. From what I read, he'd do estate sales. He'd come in and get he items, then auction them off. Thing is, he'd "rig" the auctions to where his people would buy the stuff for super cheap, then turn around and sell it for more. There are numerous stories out there about him doing this.

Basically, people would be getting pennies on the dollar for valuable antiques and such that were sold, while he would make tons of profit reselling the items later.

Yeah, it was over the consignment auctions. He'd "manage" an auction of an item or an estate for someone, and only pay them what it sold for, minus his cut. The contention is that he would promise the moon, and then sell the items for well under their value, possibly to cronies of his.

His stores got bad reviews on Yelp for being overpriced. I thought some of the reviews also mentioned problems with the consignment sales, but I can't find those anymore:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/rags-to-rich...ore-costa-mesa
http://www.yelp.com/biz/newport-cons...ery-costa-mesa
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dave-hester-auctions-santa-ana

I got a question: What the hell is Hester suing for? What civil crime is there? All he's done is air dirty laundry and implicate himself in it by association, but I've yet to hear the law involved and damages.

@ Everyone hating on Hester it is just making my point even stronger. This series is nothing without him. Personally I don't care one way or the other what happens. I will watch if he is there; won't if he is not. The replacements they have tried are fucking insanely bad.

He's suing for:

1. Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy;
2. Breach of Contract;
3. Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealings;
4. Unfair Business Practices; and
5. Declaratory Relief

The legal brief for the suit is available online:
http://www.radaronline.com/sites/rad...gainst-A&E.pdf

Does anyone really want the Jeff Jarret guy to be a regular? I am not saying he is creepy but you can find people with more charm and that look less likely to go on a rape spree at the junior high if you picked someone off a sex offender list.

God know I don't want Jeff Jarrett or Nabila as the next Hester. They are both awful. I wouldn't be worried about this Hester business at all had they shown any skills at picking someone to be his replacement.

I'll be happy when Hester is off the show. I say just leave it as it is without him. Bring Jeff and Nabila in every so often but leave the core group for every episode.

Jesus Christ no. Jeff's a whiney little bitch. Nabila is just a bitch. Hester has obviously lost some of his magic as I remember in early episodes, he usually walked away making the most money. This was part of his appeal as you were rooting against him but he still usually came out on top.

I want Moe from SW: Texas to show up in California. Just to see 1. Barry beat the crap out of him for being a horrible gimmick. or 2. Barry and Moe to melt together like that senator in JCVD's Timecop because they're in the same place at the same time.