'Pawn Stars' Missile Guidance System Purchase 'Not Illegal,' Producer Says

FoxNews ^ | March 15, 2011

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Sources confirm to FOX411 that the stars of the History Channel’s reality show “Pawn Stars” have purchased a guidance system for a missile used on F-4 Phantom fighter planes.

TMZ originally reported that Rick Harrison and his team made the deal for an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile last week, although the missile did not contain a live war head.

According to the website for the U.S. Air Force, the AMRAAM missile is a medium-range, active radar homing air-to-air missile, which uses high-explosive blast fragmentation.

[vetvetdoug]

I hate this program. They rip people off right and left with their shtick. I guess that is what Pawn Shoppes are supposed to do though.

[edpc]

Interesting item to have around until someone calls out, “Fox three!”

[caver]

I like the show. If people get ripped off, it’s their own fault.

[redgolum]

WTF?

[CAluvdubya]

A pawn shop is not an auction house. If folks want to get more money, they can always take their items elsewhere and get more for it, IMO. <p.They are in Vegas, baby! And they want cash....fast.

[cripplecreek]

If it doesn’t have a warhead its a glorified model rocket.

Cool to own but too rich for my blood.

[eddie willers]

I have yet to see Chumley pull out a blunderbuss and force someone to sell.

I’ve even seen a few say “No” without incident.

[Red Badger]

I love the show, and yes, they do seem to rip people off, but they are in business to make money, not be a charitable organization, as any business is. Car dealers are no different. The customer has the choice to walk out at any time. Buy low, sell high. It’s called capitalism..............

[pgkdan]

I’ve never seen anyone get ripped off. I’ve seen them negotiate on a price that both parties felt they could live with. The pawn stars are buying what they buy for resale. Their aim is to make a profit. You have a problem with people making a profit?

[Red Badger]

Make a nice lawn ornament.................

[alicewonders]

I’m an antique dealer. This show is pure television unreality. Nobody in their right mind would “call in an expert” IN FRONT of the seller! You could never make any money that way. If someone comes in my shop and wants to sell something - they name the price and we work from there. It’s up to the seller to know what they have and how much they want for it.

The experts make this show educational and interesting to watch - but it is totally removed from reality.

[Moonmad27]

I enjoy the show — and have bought several real jewelry bargains from them on my Vegas trips. They’re getting to be more an attraction than a pawn shop now though.

[cripplecreek]

I have seen them turn people away that they could have ripped off big time. I don’t remember what it was but a woman brought something in that was extremely valuable and she didn’t know. The old man wouldn’t even make an offer. He told her to get it appraised and take it to an auction because any offer he made was going to be a rip off.

I also think a lot of people bring stuff in just because they want to be on the show.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Actually, in their case they frequently bring in an expert to tell the seller what the item is actually worth, then present an offer that will leave them a profit, which is why they’re in business in the first place.

Often a customer comes in wanting to get, say, $300 for an item, but the expert appraisal indicates the item may be worth up to $5K. If the PS guys really wanted to “rip the seller off”, they would have agreed to buy the item for $300 and made an enormous killing.

[Dilbert56]

AIM-120 AMRAAM on F4?

[steveo]

“...I really want this in my shop but first I gotta call a buddy of mine”

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Oh, I agree totally; not how a real pawn shop works. But as you say it’s very entertaining.

But now that they have this huge hit tv series they don’t really have to worry about making a profit on the items anymore, so it’s all in good fun.

[P-Marlowe]

I am a big fan of this show. If your idea of someone being ripped off by a pawnbroker means that the pawnbroker should only pay for an item what they could expect to sell it for, then your idea of economics is Marxist. IMO these guys are more than generous when they offer anything more than about 50% of the projected retail value. A lot of the time they offer more than 70% of what their experts tell them they can expect to sell it for. With their overhead that is not a very smart business practice.

These people are told up front what the pawnshop will be able to sell their items for. They choose to take the pawnshop's money. It is pure unfiltered capitalism. Only a communist could find it objectionable.

[TexasFreeper2009]

how are they ripping people off? they get an expert to tell the selling exactly what an item is worth... then they make them an offer for usually half of that to buy it from them, then and there with cash.

The seller, who now knows the real value of the item then chooses to sell it anyway for half it's worth, so they can get the money they need now to pay for their crack habit or whatever.