$14,000 NES on the show "Storage Wars".

[VG_Maniac]

I haven't posted here in over a year, but I saw this on the show "Storage Wars" the other day, and I just had to come here and make a topic about it. For those not familiar with the show, it's where a bunch of pickers bid on storage units that have owners that failed to pay the rent on time and lost ownership of all their stored items. If they win the bidding, all the stuff in the storage unit belongs to them, and they try to resell everything for a profit.

So I was watching an episode yesterday, and this guy finds a dirty looking NES system in the storage unit he won the bidding on. He calls his partner over and is like, "Look! It's a model-001!! These things go for $14,000 on the internet! This is it! This is the big one everybody wants!"

I just busted up laughing at what an idiot this guy was (unless his ignorance was just part of the show). So he took it to an "expert", some guy who was working at a game store who than told him it wasn't worth near that much (obviously). He plugged it in to test it and it wouldn't even power on. The guy who found it than said that definitely saw one sell on Ebay for $14,000, and the game clerk told him it must have been a "special" NES like a first production run system that was never opened. I couldn't even imagine one of those fetching $1,000, let alone $14,000.

[chrisbid]

our economy is in such tatters, that we celebrate garbage pickers by giving them televisions shows

[maxlords]

our economy is in such tatters, that we celebrate garbage pickers by giving them televisions shows

This.

[jonebone]

I just busted up laughing at what an idiot this guy was (unless his ignorance was just part of the show). So he took it to an "expert", some guy who was working at a game store who than told him it wasn't worth near that much (obviously). He plugged it in to test it and it wouldn't even power on. The guy who found it than said that definitely saw one sell on Ebay for $14,000, and the game clerk told him it must have been a "special" NES like a first production run system that was never opened. I couldn't even imagine one of those fetching $1,000, let alone $14,000.

I think they were referencing the NES console that sold with SE for around $14k maybe a year ago? The way it was listed, it could have appeared that a normal system bundle sold for that amount. Only the collectors would realize the CIB SE was virtually all of the price.

[soloman]

I'd say it's better celebrating frugality and turning junk into treasure than a show about obnoxious, vain rich kids who do nothing but tan, party, fight, and fuck.

[Ro-J]

I'll admit it, I love those auction shows, and I saw that episode. The guy actually said it was worth $13,000 (not $14,000) in the episode which was a definitely clue that he was referencing the Stadium Events auction. And as someone said above me, he thought that auction was for the system not the game. Thankfully at the end the "expert" told him that at most it was worth $10.

And I thought the guys are American Pickers were bad when they claimed a boxed 2600 (4 switcher) was worth $250.

[OldSkoolBrian]

I watch those shows.. Sometime they don't know what the hell they are talking about.. I watched one show and they opened a box and on the top there were boxed nes games and they didn't even bother to look through it..

[Emperor Megas]

I'd say it's better celebrating frugality and turning junk into treasure than a show about obnoxious, vain rich kids who do nothing but tan, party, fight, and fuck.Seriously!

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

And I thought the guys are American Pickers were bad when they claimed a boxed 2600 (4 switcher) was worth $250.

I don't recall the American Pickers guys ever coming across a 2600, but there was an episode of Auction Kings (another storage lot show) where that happened and they called it at that price.

Regardless of the accuracy of any of the prices cited, I love all of these shows and I can't get enough of them when they're good.

[Ro-J]

I don't recall the American Pickers guys ever coming across a 2600, but there was an episode of Auction Kings (another storage lot show) where that happened and they called it at that price.

Regardless of the accuracy of any of the prices cited, I love all of these shows and I can't get enough of them when they're good.

You're right, it was definitely a storage lot show. Now that I've looked it up I'm sure it was Auction Hunters, the show on Spike. I believe Auction Kings is about an auction house.....and yeah, I also can't get enough of these shows.

I wonder how many people watch these shows, see the ridiculous video game "appraisals" and think they're sitting on a gold mine in the attic?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

You're right, it was definitely a storage lot show. Now that I've looked it up I'm sure it was Auction Hunters, the show on Spike. I believe Auction Kings is about an auction house.....and yeah, I also can't get enough of these shows.

I wonder how many people watch these shows, see the ridiculous video game "appraisals" and think they're sitting on a gold mine in the attic?

Right right: Auction HUNTERS.

So damned many of them.

[Kitsune Sniper]

It's people like them that make finding cheap games in the wild much more difficult.

[Aussie2B]

I actually really like Storage Wars. Captures the thrill of the hunt well. Dumb mistake about an NES or not, these guys know more about appraising things than any of us. We just have our one, tiny specific niche. These guys need to be fairly savvy about the whole gamut of items. Show any of us a piece of furniture, jewelry, art, clothing, an appliance, etc. and good luck with knowing its value. They could just as well say that something else on the show is worth $13,000 that's really worth $20 and all of us would say "Wow, great find", while on some other forum there's a bunch of people going "lol, I can't believe they're that stupid." The important part is that the mistake is corrected on the show, so we don't have the masses thinking their old video game systems are worth thousands. Like how Pawn Stars made people think the Virtual Boy is worth more than it is (although that's not remotely as extreme of an example). Although there was an episode of Storage Wars where they said a boxed SNES was worth $200 and then never another word on it. But who knows, maybe they really could get $200 for it in their shop from some sucker.

[Rickstilwell1]

One time I posted an ad on craigslist saying I would take any broken NES systems for $10 so I could repair them and sell them for $20 just like the local store does, and some dummy said "those are worth way more than that, go scam elsewhere" I'm assuming it was because of that Stadium Events auction. I replied back correcting him saying "if you know anything about game collecting, you should know that the local store sells NES systems for $20 and the Stadium Events game is what was worth $13,000." He never replied back again as I'm sure he had nothing else to say. When people learn they are wrong they tend to be embarassed, shut up and go away.

[Tupin]

You would think that if you were so excited about finding one of them, you would have done research on that auction, or even checked eBay.

I love that the guy that came to the store just to show that the guy was wrong was right. The look on his face was priceless.

[Baloo]

Storage Wars is one of the worst shows to ever grace television. It's so staged and way too dramatic.

[spongerob]

I once saw on Antiques Roadshow someone claiming an Atari 7800 was worth around 400 bucks, and games could run you 100-150 dolllars since it's such a collector's item, and so old and rare.

And don't get me started on Pawn Stars.

All of these shows are ridiculously full of shit and ignorant. But no one cares, because the sheep continue to watch. They've been caught lying and deceiving their viewers, yet people continue to watch. Why? It's all entertainment, and that's the cop out excuse. It's all real, and portrayed as such and they've gotten snippy when questioned....yet when they're caught spinning their web of horse shit, suddenly it's just all entertainment and we need to relax. Uh huh, right.

My GF works at a storage facility and routinely auctions off the junk sitting in storage. She has never once come across anything worth even a 10th of that. People aren't stupid enough to consistently leave expensive, rare items in storage. I wouldn't be surprised if they tracked down cheap rare stuff, and planted it there for the theatrics of creating a TV show.

For whoever said our economy is in such tatters we give garbage pickers TV shows, I agree to a point, and I also think that TV is in such a stagnant, creative-dead state that we'll take mundane, everyday occupations and activities and make shitty TV shows out of them.

I'm just gonna create a show called Shit Takers. It's people just taking routine dumps, but there's drama and twists and absolutely no subtly about it.

[Tupin]

I stopped watching Pawn Stars when they did this:

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQgY39-ETDP4NDG01PKigL-PTU6Byelxm5Hd37J4JHSBgWh_uTA

That and the pinball machine that they could maybe sell for $600-800 in perfect condition on a good day that they bought for $1000, put $2000 in repair into, and are trying to sell for $5000.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

All of these shows are ridiculously full of shit and ignorant. But no one cares, because the sheep continue to watch. They've been caught lying and deceiving their viewers, yet people continue to watch. Why? It's all entertainment, and that's the cop out excuse. It's all real, and portrayed as such and they've gotten snippy when questioned....yet when they're caught spinning their web of horse shit, suddenly it's just all entertainment and we need to relax. Uh huh, right.


News flash, reality TV is about as real as a wooden nickel.

Still, with full knowledge of the potential for staged scenarios and inflated estimated pricing when there's nothing else on, I find them very entertaining to watch.

[JSoup]

Oh, that show. I used to do the exact same thing, those idiots make it seem like it's crazy dramatic and highly difficult work. In actuality, it's a simple matter of walking in to the office of a local storage facility, saying "You have any delinquent units? Yes? Instead of going through all the trouble of moving everything out and selling the shit two weekends a month for pennies, how about I give you $300 and do all that myself?" and then picking through all the crap you just got. People tend to store crap they wish to keep but no longer have room for and what that is depends greatly on the size of the storage facility. The places I used to frequent would normally yield a few hundred dollars worth of furniture.

[Atarileaf]

All of these shows are ridiculously full of shit and ignorant. But no one cares, because the sheep continue to watch. They've been caught lying and deceiving their viewers, yet people continue to watch. Why? It's all entertainment, and that's the cop out excuse. It's all real, and portrayed as such and they've gotten snippy when questioned....yet when they're caught spinning their web of horse shit, suddenly it's just all entertainment and we need to relax. Uh huh, right.



I love those shows but you're right, I always question the rationale of the prices they throw out for things. I'm interested if you have an example of them being caught lying and deceiving viewers. Which show of the ones mentioned did this and what did they get caught fibbing about?

[Aussie2B]

I'm just gonna create a show called Shit Takers. It's people just taking routine dumps, but there's drama and twists and absolutely no subtly about it.

I'd watch that, haha.

For you guys that are totally ripping into these shows, seriously, have you guys seen any other TV these days? These shows may be pretty dumb in concept and are way overdramatized, but there are so many shows that are much, MUCH worse. It's not like we're talking about Jersey Shore and the Bachelorette here. Even if the values are off and even if some of the minor details are off too, people are still learning a little bit of history when they watch these shows. What value does practically any other reality show have? And if you avoid the reality shows, you're just as bad off these days because the sitcoms are painfully unfunny, and dramas are pure cheese with horrible acting. TV in general is a cesspool.

[skaar]

I just watch the real stuff like wrestling.

[Greg2600]

I like shows like Pawn Stars and American Pickers, but Storage Wars is just a waste.

[VG_Maniac]

I never saw the Stadium Events NES auction. I do remember the auction from a few years back where the guy was selling off his son's NES system and games (I believe his son died in Iraq), and he put everything together in a lot on Ebay, hoping to get around a $100 or so for everything, and it ended up selling for $20,000 or $30,000 because one of the games just happened to be the gold NWC cart.

[Gameguy]

I'm just gonna create a show called Shit Takers. It's people just taking routine dumps, but there's drama and twists and absolutely no subtly about it.
If they could make a TV show based on that Shit My Dad Says twitter account, you can definitely make a show based on Portnoyd's Log Log. Would probably be a success too.


For you guys that are totally ripping into these shows, seriously, have you guys seen any other TV these days? These shows may be pretty dumb in concept and are way overdramatized, but there are so many shows that are much, MUCH worse. It's not like we're talking about Jersey Shore and the Bachelorette here. Even if the values are off and even if some of the minor details are off too, people are still learning a little bit of history when they watch these shows. What value does practically any other reality show have? And if you avoid the reality shows, you're just as bad off these days because the sitcoms are painfully unfunny, and dramas are pure cheese with horrible acting. TV in general is a cesspool.
I said it before in another thread but I wasn't kidding when I said that cartoons were the best shows on TV now. Sure there were always crappy shows on like Baywatch or Married with Children but there were good shows too like Newsradio or Frasier, now there's just the lousy stuff. Big Bang Theory is about the only show I can think of that's any good, the Law and Orders and CSIs are pretty bad now.

[Aussie2B]

You lost me when you called Married with Children crappy. o_O

[spongerob]

I love those shows but you're right, I always question the rationale of the prices they throw out for things. I'm interested if you have an example of them being caught lying and deceiving viewers. Which show of the ones mentioned did this and what did they get caught fibbing about?

The coke machine example, I forget which page it's on. The Atari worth about a hundred and some more than it really is, the magical $14,000.

[Aussie2B]

You have to keep in mind that the values they give aren't necessarily eBay value. They'll value an item at whatever they feel they can get with reasonable ease, which very well could be an inflated price. I mean, I know that when I buy something to resell, I don't think about getting bottom dollar for it. I shoot for the highest I know I can reliably get in a timely manner. And if you got a store where you can just throw something in a display case or whatever, you may not even be concerned about selling every item quickly, allowing you to bump the price higher yet.

Also, how were they lying about the Coke machine? From what I remember of that, it was beat to hell, and they basically built a new machine around whatever little they salvaged. I thought it was sad that they didn't try to restore more of the original piece, but I guess they were just doing what was most profitable for them.

And obviously the NES wasn't a case of lying or deception considering it was just a mistake that was corrected during the show.

[TheRedEye]

I never saw the Stadium Events NES auction. I do remember the auction from a few years back where the guy was selling off his son's NES system and games (I believe his son died in Iraq), and he put everything together in a lot on Ebay, hoping to get around a $100 or so for everything, and it ended up selling for $20,000 or $30,000 because one of the games just happened to be the gold NWC cart.

I think you've been misinformed.

[Vectorman0]

I miss The History Channel having shows about history.

[Collector_Gaming]

Thing is though about these shows i dont like (and believe me i love them cause i am a junk collector at heart in terms of trying to preserve history as best as possible).
Is that it inflates prices like crazy

Some guy watches american pickers and finds out say a bicycle on the tv show will go for 500 bucks when in real world buisness setting its probably more like 300-350 and people won't budge cause they just saw on american pickers this item go for this price so theres no way they will budge.

probably the best quote for this thread is from one of my favorite show men

"There's a sucker born every minute" - P.T Barnum

[spongerob]

You have to keep in mind that the values they give aren't necessarily eBay value. They'll value an item at whatever they feel they can get with reasonable ease, which very well could be an inflated price. I mean, I know that when I buy something to resell, I don't think about getting bottom dollar for it. I shoot for the highest I know I can reliably get in a timely manner. And if you got a store where you can just throw something in a display case or whatever, you may not even be concerned about selling every item quickly, allowing you to bump the price higher yet.

Also, how were they lying about the Coke machine? From what I remember of that, it was beat to hell, and they basically built a new machine around whatever little they salvaged. I thought it was sad that they didn't try to restore more of the original piece, but I guess they were just doing what was most profitable for them.

And obviously the NES wasn't a case of lying or deception considering it was just a mistake that was corrected during the show.

You'd think they'd know. It's kinda their job to at least have a best guess, like the AR guys.

And even if they don't, $14k? Man oh man...that's just laughable. I don't know anything about cars other than how to drive them and fill the tank up but if I find a rare Hyundai Pony in a scrap yard, I know it's not worth 6 figures. You'll have a hard time convincing me he didn't utter that figure just for dramatic purposes. We watch to see things worth a ton. We talk about it. We read about it. No one cares about the spoon worth 20 bucks instead of 10, we read about the ancient incan fossilized ass wipe that looks like it's worth 20 cents but is actually valued at $60,000.

[MarioMania]

Anyone have the Episode on youtube??

[Aussie2B]

You'd think they'd know. It's kinda their job to at least have a best guess, like the AR guys.

And even if they don't, $14k? Man oh man...that's just laughable. I don't know anything about cars other than how to drive them and fill the tank up but if I find a rare Hyundai Pony in a scrap yard, I know it's not worth 6 figures. You'll have a hard time convincing me he didn't utter that figure just for dramatic purposes. We watch to see things worth a ton. We talk about it. We read about it. No one cares about the spoon worth 20 bucks instead of 10, we read about the ancient incan fossilized ass wipe that looks like it's worth 20 cents but is actually valued at $60,000.

As was explained earlier, they must've heard about the Stadium Events auction. Since it wasn't clear that the value of the auction came from that single game, many people would mistakenly assume that the system was the moneymaker. Maybe they should be familiar with more than one single NES auction, but when you're trying to learn a little about the value of EVERYTHING, it's hard to have more than cursory knowledge of any particular type of item, not unless you specialize in it or have a particular passion for it.

[Baloo]

I miss The History Channel having shows about history.

They've moved onto crummy "get rich off of junk lying in the house" shows and apocalypse shows.

Then again, how many times can you report on Hitler and World War II?

[The 1 2 P]

Then again, how many times can you report on Hitler and World War II?

About the same amount of times you can have World World II games made every year.

I didn't watch this episode but I read about it earlier. And last week there was an episode of Pawn Stars where they told a dude his Master Chief Halo outfit wasn't worth buying(for what he wanted for it). I definitely don't watch these shows but reality tv has taking over and the world unfortunately has to get use to it.

[Greg2600]

I miss The History Channel having shows about history.
Watch History International and Military History, that's where those shows went!

[Tupin]

Watch History International and Military History, that's where those shows went!
Modern Marvels is pretty good though, even if their ideas of "marvels" are pretty strange. They've had like thirty shows on engineering disasters.

[Collector_Gaming]

Modern Marvels is pretty good though, even if their ideas of "marvels" are pretty strange. They've had like thirty shows on engineering disasters.

well considering the shows been on for a decade atleast.
How many interesting marvels in the world you feel they should report on? lol

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

The important part is that the mistake is corrected on the show, so we don't have the masses thinking their old video game systems are worth thousands. Like how Pawn Stars made people think the Virtual Boy is worth more than it is (although that's not remotely as extreme of an example). Although there was an episode of Storage Wars where they said a boxed SNES was worth $200 and then never another word on it. But who knows, maybe they really could get $200 for it in their shop from some sucker.

I agree, this much attention tends to artificially drive up prices, especially for Nintendo products. I cringe every time I hear about a Stadium Events auction making it into the mainstream news. All of a sudden, everyone on the block thinks their Duck Hunt cartridge is worth more than a car.

[Gameguy]

You lost me when you called Married with Children crappy. o_O
I know it was on for a long time but it was a trash show and I never found the humour to be that funny, just like Two and a Half Men. From what I've seen the acting was good for the main characters but the material they had to work with was terrible.

I did think of another good current show, Blue Bloods.


Maybe they should be familiar with more than one single NES auction, but when you're trying to learn a little about the value of EVERYTHING, it's hard to have more than cursory knowledge of any particular type of item, not unless you specialize in it or have a particular passion for it.
I usually think things are worthless unless I become informed otherwise, I don't assume something is worth big bucks automatically. I know art can be worth millions but that doesn't mean every painting I come across is priceless, most are near worthless. If I thought everything was worth big bucks I would be stuck with a lot of crap, I don't bother unless I know it's worth something. The NES was a mass produced item that sold extremely well, I don't see how anyone can think a popular system would be worth $14,000 today if they buy stuff to resell for a living.


They've moved onto crummy "get rich off of junk lying in the house" shows and apocalypse shows.
I'd like them to make a new show by combining Hoarders with American Pickers. You get to see someone dealing with their crippling emotional problems struggling to let go of some old crap, then as soon as they can let go of something the American Pickers guys come in and offer some cash for the item to cheer them up. It's win-win.

I'm actually a bit bothered by the guys they go to, mostly by the guys who can't let anything go. They have tons of stuff left to rot and rust because it's not stored properly, yet they'd rather hold on to it while it's packed all in barns or just scattered around their property. If you can't take care of something properly you really shouldn't keep it.

I find it funny that the History channel ran out of history stuff to air, even though there are millions of years worth of history to talk about.

[Emperor Megas]

You lost me when you called Married with Children crappy. o_OAnd went beyond the point of no return when he said that HORRIBLE corn fest, Big Bang Theory, was good.

[Boltorano]

I've been guilty of watching these shows, and still watch them even after they had Nathan Barnatt buying an overpriced Pac-Man cabinet with a half-assed decal restoration job on Auction Hunters.

One thing does make me seriously annoyed though, and it's not related to video games at all:

I was watching an episode of Pawn Stars last night, and the owner's son buys what is supposedly a vintage Coca-Cola sign, his father comes in and is like "Who bought this?! It's fake!". Then they just have the son come in, apologize, he says they can take it out of his paycheck and the response is "It's okay, lesson learned.".

But they never explained how it was so obviously fake. @_@

How can they just leave us hanging at the end of the episode like that?

[allyourblood]

And went beyond the point of no return when he said that HORRIBLE corn fest, Big Bang Theory, was good.

This is correct.

[Gameguy]

I've watched around 10-20 episodes of Big Bang Theory and compared to everything else that's on, it's decent. There's Dan for Mayor or Hiccups which are unwatchable, I have no idea what other comedy shows are even on besides those(and Two and a Half Men which I previously mentioned). Nothing is anywhere near as good as previous shows like Frasier. There's multiple reality shows like So You Think You Can Dance which I avoid entirely, and that's basically all that's broadcast where I am.

As I've already said, current cartoons are better than any of those and I have to watch those over the internet. I mostly watch older shows anyway.

I forgot but I sometimes watch Flashpoint or Criminal Minds when they're on, if I didn't watch anything at all on TV I'd just be on the computer all the time which I want to avoid.

[VG_Maniac]

I think you've been misinformed.

From wikipedia: "On March 18, 2007 a listing appeared on Myebid.com in which a gold cartridge appeared to have been inadvertently included in a bereavement sale of 24 NES games; according to the auction, a father was selling the possessions of his deceased son. The auction ended at $21,400,[9] though collectors have speculated that neither the listing nor the bids were legitimate.

Could have been a fake auction, but I remember the buzz going on back when it happened and I never heard any official confirmation that it was fake.

[spongerob]

As was explained earlier, they must've heard about the Stadium Events auction. Since it wasn't clear that the value of the auction came from that single game, many people would mistakenly assume that the system was the moneymaker. Maybe they should be familiar with more than one single NES auction, but when you're trying to learn a little about the value of EVERYTHING, it's hard to have more than cursory knowledge of any particular type of item, not unless you specialize in it or have a particular passion for it.

So...he looked quickly at one auction? Man, I wish I could've slacked off like that at my job.

I also confirmed with my GF that they plant things and bid on them later while no one else bids. Her boss hosted some guys who were filming a documentary about storage auctions. They're regulars who have been making the rounds for decades.

Truth is, the most expensive shit sitting in a storage compartment, is the stuff we'll never see. Because if you have the money to own something like that, you usually just have money period. Or are a drug dealer and are just hoping no one's looking when you go into your unit.

[Atarileaf]

And went beyond the point of no return when he said that HORRIBLE corn fest, Big Bang Theory, was good.

BBT is great. Only funny thing on mainstream TV IMO. Married with Children and Two and Half Man, I agree, are utter crap.

[Atarileaf]

There's Dan for Mayor or Hiccups which are unwatchable

Dan is OK, but I don't watch either with any regularity at all. No where near the charm and wit of Corner Gas. Perfect cast and perfect show. Wish it would come back.

[Atarileaf]

Truth is, the most expensive shit sitting in a storage compartment, is the stuff we'll never see. Because if you have the money to own something like that, you usually just have money period. Or are a drug dealer and are just hoping no one's looking when you go into your unit.

That's what I always thought - People with the kind of money to own these things in the first place (such as a recent one with brand new vending machines worth $30,000) aren't just going to let them go because of a few months storage fees.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Thing is though about these shows i dont like (and believe me i love them cause i am a junk collector at heart in terms of trying to preserve history as best as possible).
Is that it inflates prices like crazy

Some guy watches american pickers and finds out say a bicycle on the tv show will go for 500 bucks when in real world buisness setting its probably more like 300-350 and people won't budge cause they just saw on american pickers this item go for this price so theres no way they will budge.

probably the best quote for this thread is from one of my favorite show men

"There's a sucker born every minute" - P.T Barnum

See, that's interesting because even though all of these shows operate under inflated estimated pricing I always feel like they work really hard to show the viewer how effective the art of low-balling can be.

If anything I think that these shows are showing viewers how ineffective it is to over-price an estimate and that it's not a bad thing to settle for less than what you think something is worth.

[thahurricanegame]

I'd say it's better celebrating frugality and turning junk into treasure than a show about obnoxious, vain rich kids who do nothing but tan, party, fight, and fuck.

This guy knows what he's talking about.

[thahurricanegame]

Did anyone see the American Pickers episode where they were in a barn or shed and right on top of the shit they were going through was an old school Nintendo sign?

Not sure what those Nintendo signs are worth, if anything, but it was funny they didn't even acknowledge the damn thing sitting in front of them as they were going through stuff.

I thought for sure the focus was going to be on the Nintendo sign since the camera was dead center on it..

[Atarileaf]

Did anyone see the American Pickers episode where they were in a barn or shed and right on top of the shit they were going through was an old school Nintendo sign?

Not sure what those Nintendo signs are worth, if anything, but it was funny they didn't even acknowledge the damn thing sitting in front of them as they were going through stuff.

I thought for sure the focus was going to be on the Nintendo sign since the camera was dead center on it..

They've acknowledged prevously that video games aren't really their thing. They were in one guys house in an episode last year that had all kinds of old 70's and 80's toys including video games. One was a Vectrex and I also remember seeing a boxed Tomy Atomic Arcade Pinball. (I've got one, love it) They said someone would love that stuff but it wasn't their thing. If it isn't 100 years old and rusted to hell they don't care.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

They've acknowledged prevously that video games aren't really their thing. They were in one guys house in an episode last year that had all kinds of old 70's and 80's toys including video games. One was a Vectrex and I also remember seeing a boxed Tomy Atomic Arcade Pinball. (I've got one, love it) They said someone would love that stuff but it wasn't their thing. If it isn't 100 years old and rusted to hell they don't care.

AFAIK They bought a Kiss pinball once (which seems to be the go-to standard buy a classic pinball table pinball)...

and on one episode Frank did buy a cocktail table style pinball machine with a 1960's country singer license/theme. Can't remember of who, not Conway Twitty but somebody ... aesthetically similar.

[Stringfellow]

That's what I always thought - People with the kind of money to own these things in the first place (such as a recent one with brand new vending machines worth $30,000) aren't just going to let them go because of a few months storage fees.

I seem to remember Paris Hilton losing a storage unit and the person who won the contents at auction put it on his now shut down web site.

[Emperor Megas]

BBT is great. Only funny thing on mainstream TV IMO.You must be extremely corny, or extremely nerdy. There's nothing wrong with the latter, IMO (either really, to each his/her own). I'm a bit of a geek myself, but BBT is SO fucking cornball hokey that I can barely go into GameStop anymore, or stay more than 5 minutes or so, tops, if I do (they have it playing on the monitors and the store speakers).

I've NEVER heard a television show abuse and laugh track more than BBT does. It's just fucking AWFUL. The only thing that comes close were those episodes of The Flintstones where there's a laugh track which borders on the surreal, considering there's no studio audience in an animated feature. I know that there aren't live audiences on (m)any live series either anymore, but laugh tracks are a little less in your face on a live show.

Everything about BBT absolutely SCREAMS: "LOOK, WE'RE BEING NERDY!! YOU'RE A NERD TOO, YOU CAN RELATE! LOOK, WE'RE MENTIONING VIDEO GAMES AND COMPUTERS, AND BEING GEEKY! LAUGH! LAUGH! WE'RE SAYING THINGS THAT YOU CAN RELATE TO! THIS IS AN UNDERDOG SHOW, LIKE GLEE, ONLY THERE'S NO SINGING! IF YOU WATCH THIS YOU CAN BE A PART OF GEEKS BEING ACCEPTED, AND SEEN, AND RELEVANT, AND COUNTED! HELP GIVE US RATINGS, BE A PART OF THE MACHINE THAT DRIVES THIS SERIES! DON'T_LET_THE_DREAM_DIE!"

The show is just God awful.


Married with Children and Two and Half Man, I agree, are utter crap.I never watched Two and a Half Men, but the fact that 'Ducky' from Pretty in Pink stars in it is reason enough for me to avoid it. Married' on the other hand was first rate camp. It was SUPPOSED to be terrible, where as BBT actually attempts to take itself seriously. Did I mention it's horrible?

[Snapple]

Boy, some of you guys are pissy.

Obviously the guy from Storage Wars goofed on the NES, but my God. Overreact much.

[Aussie2B]

So...he looked quickly at one auction? Man, I wish I could've slacked off like that at my job.

Again, you're failing to look at this from a viewpoint other than that of the game collecting community's perspective. When you deal in buying and selling virtually ANYTHING, do you honestly think it's reasonable for a single person to do extensive research on EVERY item in existence? It's just impossible, so how is it slacking off? The fact that he knew about the auction shows that he knows at least a little about games, which is better than if he said "I don't know what the heck this is." It was foolish of him to assume he had hit the jackpot (although that excitement could've been for the sake of the show), but making a mistake itself is perfect understandable. You never make any mistakes in your job? I bet you do, and I also bet your job is way more targeted too. That's why these people go to experts on specific subjects. Their business is in attempting to make educated guesses, and sometimes they're not educated enough to make a good guess. That's just expected. Even with our passion for games, I'm sure most of us have bought something because we thought that we heard it was really valuable or rare or something only to learn otherwise when we got home.

[JSoup]

Again, you're failing to look at this from a viewpoint other than that of the game collecting community's perspective. When you deal in buying and selling virtually ANYTHING, do you honestly think it's reasonable for a single person to do extensive research on EVERY item in existence? It's just impossible, so how is it slacking off? The fact that he knew about the auction shows that he knows at least a little about games, which is better than if he said "I don't know what the heck this is." It was foolish of him to assume he had hit the jackpot (although that excitement could've been for the sake of the show), but making a mistake itself is perfect understandable. You never make any mistakes in your job? I bet you do, and I also bet your job is way more targeted too. That's why these people go to experts on specific subjects. Their business is in attempting to make educated guesses, and sometimes they're not educated enough to make a good guess. That's just expected. Even with our passion for games, I'm sure most of us have bought something because we thought that we heard it was really valuable or rare or something only to learn otherwise when we got home.

It's very obvious that you've never run a product based business.

[Badhornet]

I wonder how many people have watched something like Storage Wars, and have quit their job thinking they could do something like that and become "rich".

[Gameguy]

I've NEVER heard a television show abuse and laugh track more than BBT does. It's just fucking AWFUL. The only thing that comes close were those episodes of The Flintstones where there's a laugh track which borders on the surreal, considering there's no studio audience in an animated feature. I know that there aren't live audiences on (m)any live series either anymore, but laugh tracks are a little less in your face on a live show.
Married with Children always had a laugh track or audience members wooing throughout the whole show. When does the audience ever shut up for more than 5 seconds?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-zl7ILrGrc

I just don't find a man being constantly abusive to his family and strangers to be funny, plus throwing in T&A when they ran out of things to write about is weak. I like the actors in some other roles but not in this show. Ed O'Neill has a black belt in Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, that's pretty awesome on it's own. I really wish they had better roles available to them which would better show off their talent, for the most part they just have small cameos in films or TV shows. Unhappily Ever After also had the same type of humour and also sucked.


@Atari Leaf;
I used to watch Corner Gas back when it was on but just when I happened to catch an episode playing, I never really went out of my way to watch it. It was much better than the current shows the cast members moved on to, it had a better mix of people together. It was a good show overall.

[spongerob]

Again, you're failing to look at this from a viewpoint other than that of the game collecting community's perspective. When you deal in buying and selling virtually ANYTHING, do you honestly think it's reasonable for a single person to do extensive research on EVERY item in existence? It's just impossible, so how is it slacking off? The fact that he knew about the auction shows that he knows at least a little about games, which is better than if he said "I don't know what the heck this is." It was foolish of him to assume he had hit the jackpot (although that excitement could've been for the sake of the show), but making a mistake itself is perfect understandable. You never make any mistakes in your job? I bet you do, and I also bet your job is way more targeted too. That's why these people go to experts on specific subjects. Their business is in attempting to make educated guesses, and sometimes they're not educated enough to make a good guess. That's just expected. Even with our passion for games, I'm sure most of us have bought something because we thought that we heard it was really valuable or rare or something only to learn otherwise when we got home.

I'm not asking him to inspect every single piece of video game hardware ever created. I'm just wondering why he goofed so laughably in regards to the most popular video game console possibly ever. If I saw one for 14 grand and my job was a garbage picker, I'd kinda get at least a tiny bit curious and wonder why 99.99999 percent of them go for 20-80 bucks and this one magically goes for 14k. Hell of a coincidence that that's the only NES he's ever looked up, considering he said he saw it on eBay. It's hard to miss similar auctions on eBay unless you cover your eyes with both hands.

Reality is, there's no reality to these shows. They're instructed to make it dramatic and act knowledgeable and sure of themselves, even when they have no idea. It's just theatrics.

If he said $1400 I'd still be laughing. But 14,000? LMAO yeah and my wristwatch is worth 30k 'cause I saw a dude wearing a Rolex once.

Also, I just have to say, the dialogue reeks of being heavily scripted and the acting isn't even believable. Not to mention the times where a "locked" door is shown being opened and the pickers are already inside, and as soon as the camera shows up, they then go into "we just found this" mode.

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

Also, I just have to say, the dialogue reeks of being heavily scripted and the acting isn't even believable. Not to mention the times where a "locked" door is shown being opened and the pickers are already inside, and as soon as the camera shows up, they then go into "we just found this" mode.

I must say that I can't recall ever having seen this. I can understand reshooting something in order to get it right. Here is what it comes down to for me: Do I find it entertaining? Sometimes, yes. I will DVR the new ones when they come on and then watch them when I have the time. This means that I can also skip a lot of the "personality clash" stuff.

My wife had many of the same complaints about the show Trick My Truck on CMT. The openings to the show were always hokey but I was watching it to see the incredible things that they would do to the trucks.

JY

[Atarileaf]

You must be extremely corny, or extremely nerdy. There's nothing wrong with the latter, IMO (either really, to each his/her own). I'm a bit of a geek myself, but BBT is SO fucking cornball hokey that I can barely go into GameStop anymore, or stay more than 5 minutes or so, tops, if I do (they have it playing on the monitors and the store speakers).

I've NEVER heard a television show abuse and laugh track more than BBT does. It's just fucking AWFUL. The only thing that comes close were those episodes of The Flintstones where there's a laugh track which borders on the surreal, considering there's no studio audience in an animated feature. I know that there aren't live audiences on (m)any live series either anymore, but laugh tracks are a little less in your face on a live show.

Everything about BBT absolutely SCREAMS: "LOOK, WE'RE BEING NERDY!! YOU'RE A NERD TOO, YOU CAN RELATE! LOOK, WE'RE MENTIONING VIDEO GAMES AND COMPUTERS, AND BEING GEEKY! LAUGH! LAUGH! WE'RE SAYING THINGS THAT YOU CAN RELATE TO! THIS IS AN UNDERDOG SHOW, LIKE GLEE, ONLY THERE'S NO SINGING! IF YOU WATCH THIS YOU CAN BE A PART OF GEEKS BEING ACCEPTED, AND SEEN, AND RELEVANT, AND COUNTED! HELP GIVE US RATINGS, BE A PART OF THE MACHINE THAT DRIVES THIS SERIES! DON'T_LET_THE_DREAM_DIE!"



"Don't mince words Bones, what do you REALLY think" :D

That's quite a bit of anger for a tv show. Wow. Doesn't matter, I still enjoy it, but I'm a corny kind of guy. I love the "Laughter is the Best Medicine" jokes in Readers Digest and a good pun so pour the corn syrup on me, I'm corny. I'm 42 and grew up on cornball comedies like Three's Company and loved it, so BBT is right up my alley.

I'll watch the show and you take some anger management classes. :D

I think the real question is why you're going into gamestop. There should be more anger and vitriol directed at them than BBT. ;)

[Baloo]

You must be extremely corny, or extremely nerdy. There's nothing wrong with the latter, IMO (either really, to each his/her own). I'm a bit of a geek myself, but BBT is SO fucking cornball hokey that I can barely go into GameStop anymore, or stay more than 5 minutes or so, tops, if I do (they have it playing on the monitors and the store speakers).

I've NEVER heard a television show abuse and laugh track more than BBT does. It's just fucking AWFUL. The only thing that comes close were those episodes of The Flintstones where there's a laugh track which borders on the surreal, considering there's no studio audience in an animated feature. I know that there aren't live audiences on (m)any live series either anymore, but laugh tracks are a little less in your face on a live show.


I thought I was the only one who noticed that! Big Bang Theory is so obnoxious that they trigger the laugh track anytime Sheldon does anything, or when the Indian guy says anything, it's really fucking terrible!

[Cornelius Spunkwater]

Married with Children always had a laugh track or audience members wooing throughout the whole show. When does the audience ever shut up for more than 5 seconds?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-zl7ILrGrc

I just don't find a man being constantly abusive to his family and strangers to be funny, plus throwing in T&A when they ran out of things to write about is weak. I like the actors in some other roles but not in this show. Ed O'Neill has a black belt in Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, that's pretty awesome on it's own. I really wish they had better roles available to them which would better show off their talent, for the most part they just have small cameos in films or TV shows. Unhappily Ever After also had the same type of humour and also sucked.


If you think Al Bundy is abusive, you need a reality check. He's a smart ass, but that's nowhere near the same thing as abusive.

[Aussie2B]

Hell of a coincidence that that's the only NES he's ever looked up, considering he said he saw it on eBay. It's hard to miss similar auctions on eBay unless you cover your eyes with both hands.

He didn't say anything about looking it up or seeing it on eBay as far as I know. I didn't see the episode in question. It's just obvious from the details that that's where the amount came from, and it had confused many other people too. It's very possible that he read some news story about the auction somewhere, since lots of sites reported on it, or a friend may have given him the incorrect information.


It's very obvious that you've never run a product based business.

Uh, okay, care to explain why you've come to that conclusion and what about my post was wrong? Because that comment by itself serves no purpose but to be douchey.

[Gameguy]

If you think Al Bundy is abusive, you need a reality check. He's a smart ass, but that's nowhere near the same thing as abusive.
He's emotionally abusive to his family and everyone else for no reason. If this is normal to you and you're fine with it then we have very different standards.

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

It's just not funny.

[Snapple]

Re: just taking a quick glance to determine value

It's part of the rules of the storage auction that you're not allowed to go inside the locker or inspect for more than a quick glance before bidding begins.

And even once you own the locker contents, you have a limited time to do an on-site appraisal, especially if you had to travel to get there and can't just make endless trips. Because the storage company wants to put the locker back up for rent.

It's not like the show portrayed the NES as actually going for $14,000. One guy thought it was worth 14k, and then he was humiliated when he realized it was worthless.

Do they dramatize the show to make it more entertaining? Obviously. Do they make it seem like it's easier to make money on storage auctions than it actually is? Obviously. But those of you getting angry at these shows and the shit that is entertainment need to settle your nerd rage. You aren't much smarter than the average tv viewer like you think you are.

[allyourblood]

He's emotionally abusive to his family and everyone else for no reason. If this is normal to you and you're fine with it then we have very different standards.

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

It's just not funny.

If you're familiar with the show, you know that Al's family is about a thousand times more "abusive" toward him then he ever is toward them -- in fact, it's pretty much the point of the show; Al gets stomped on at every turn, and simply can't catch a break. I used to like the show quite a bit and watched it for years, but I feel like it hasn't aged very well. Oh, and if sitcoms were supposed to be "normal", no one would watch them.

Still doesn't change the fact that today's TV is absolute drivel. Turn the thing off and read a good book, I say. Or, you know... leave it on and play a video game.

[BetaWolf47]

I want to know how anyone can thing that an item that sold 75,000,000 units can be worth $14,000? There's millions of them out there, and there aren't tens of millions of people who want them...

[spongerob]

Emperor Megas is dead on the button about BBT. It's totally like Family Guy. It's not funny at all, but it references things you thought you were in the minority for being able to recognize.

And whether or not he saw the NES on eBay, he's going off of one auction he saw. That's like me assuming that because one Civic went for 80k, that every Civic is worth that. I wouldn't be much of a garbage picker, since I'd make stupid assumptions and never be able to sell something. Then again, it's not about actual picking and actual selling. This show is complete theater and isn't going anywhere as long as people watch. They could realistically sell nothing, but if ratings are high, they'll get funding out the yin yang.

Which is good for people who like it in spite of their deception. It ain't goin' anywhere so that's good. Personally, I don't find bullshit engaging or entertaining.

[Nightowljrm]

Storage Wars is my favorite show... and Mark Belalo ruins it... He's an idiot... When I saw this, I LOL'ed so hard... I even emailed him about his ignorance. :vamp: I flamed him. Hard. :onfire: