• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

American Pickers: Superman #9 and Amazing Fantasy #15
2 2

105 posts in this topic

Did anyone see the tease for next week's new American Pickers episode? They did a full five minute tease last night where Mike and Frank found a guy with a (seemingly) beautiful AF 15, and an also nice Superman #9? The guys call one of their friends (dealer from I forget where) to get an idea of value. I know grading from some brief TV shots is far less than accurate, but the Supes looked like an easy 6.0 to me with potential to be higher. The AF looked way better...maybe an 8.0 or even higher? No chipping, no noticeable creasing at all, great color. The expert on the phone estimated $850 for the Supes, and $40-50K for the AF. Both seemed low to me, but again, I don't have a great feel for grades...just guesses.

 

The guys apparently don't know much about comics, because the owner wanted $10K for the AF before they talked to the expert on the phone. I was thinking to myself, YES. That was pretty much the end of the tease. It airs Monday night. I know I saw an ASM 1 sitting in the background at one point. There were also comic boxes all around (most that could be seen had things  other than comics in them). I just don't see the guys come across comics very often. It will be interesting to see what they give for it.

Edited by elibowman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Artboy99 said:

I still feel all of these types of shows are staged. Of course the seller just happens to have an AF 15, it makes for far better TV than if he had a ASM 112.

He told the story of how he acquired it, sounded legit to me. And the look he and his wife exchanged when Mike's appraiser announced over speaker phone that it was worth $40-50,000 seemed genuine also. Add in the fact that his asking price was only $10,000 before the call was placed as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, mrwoogieman said:

He told the story of how he acquired it, sounded legit to me. And the look he and his wife exchanged when Mike's appraiser announced over speaker phone that it was worth $40-50,000 seemed genuine also. Add in the fact that his asking price was only $10,000 before the call was placed as well.

Yep, great TV. What great guys those pickers are. Most other buyers would just give the seller the 10K price they asked. But not these absolute saints.

Edited by Artboy99
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Artboy99 said:

I still feel all of these types of shows are staged. Of course the seller just happens to have an AF 15, it makes for far better TV than if he had a ASM 112.

I also wonder how many stops they have to make to get a show's worth of picking. I have to think that more than half of their "leads" are complete busts. You don't see that often on the show. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This show is staged as hell, and these dudes are total goofballs, but for some reason this is my go-to guilty pleasure watching when I'm goofing off in the basement. I guess I just like seeing the old junk they dig up, even though I'm sure 99% of it is planted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Artboy99 said:

I still feel all of these types of shows are staged

Of course they are! But these guys are still experienced at picking and I'm also sure they had their fair share of scores before the tv show.

Gives us all the idea that we'll stumble upon a goldmine one day. It's nice to dream. Even if we do come across something of value in a random yard sale, will we even know what we're supposed to be looking for?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, TheFifthHorseman said:

Of course they are! But these guys are still experienced at picking and I'm also sure they had their fair share of scores before the tv show.

Gives us all the idea that we'll stumble upon a goldmine one day. It's nice to dream. Even if we do come across something of value in a random yard sale, will we even know what we're supposed to be looking for?

I'll give them this: I definitely spend more time at auctions and estate sales rummaging through rusty oil cans and cigarette signs than I ever would have dreamed of, directly because of them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Artboy99 said:

Yep, great TV. What great guys those pickers are. Most other buyers would just give the seller the 10K price they asked. But not these absolute saints.

They caught a ton of flak after an early episode where people thought they paid too little for several items purchased from an elderly man. Now they pay more, send money to people when things "unexpectedly" end up worth substantially more than they paid, make offers closer in line with market value even when the ask was lower, and make sure that any elderly sellers are accompanied by younger relatives.

 

......all things that antique dealers probably do it real life. lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, atomised said:

everytime I see this show I think I'd how much more I'd rather see a reality show following Metropolis Comics or Heritage Auctions.  The market for general antiques is pretty much dead, but I guess it lives on with American Pickers.

The market for a lot of what they pick is still VERY strong. Old motorcycles and cars are all over my town. They have car/motorcycle swap meets that draw huge crowds. Advertising items especially signs, are also very strong. They are hard to find here and sell real quick for real good money. Toys are also quick sellers for the right stuff at fair prices. General antiques and furniture not so much...

I think Carbo did a few pilot shows at comic cons. I don't know what ever happened with them. They were kind of fun but then, they were, Mike...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
2 2