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Man, talk about a flat tire!
As an avid and committed bargain hunter and old-junk aficionado, I had high hopes for the PBS take on the "picker" "reality" show. That it was produced by the people who brought us "Antiques Roadshow" only heightened my hopes and expectations.
But what a letdown! It's ... just ... plain ... absurd.
The premise is that four pickers hit flea markets and antique/collectibles fairs (think Brimfield) in search of items in specific categories (Bakelite jewelry, for instance, or Mission style furniture) to be sold at auction. The picker who shows the highest profit wins.
Anyone who has ever junk picked, as an occupation or serious avocation, knows that you'll rarely find good deals if you go looking for items in any specific category. Sure, a dealer may specialize in vintage clothing, perhaps, or antiquarian books, or modernist furniture, but that person will lose money if he or she just has to come away with SOMETHING within those categories, as is the task assigned to the pickers on the show. (You'll also rarely get killer deals buying from people whose primary occupation is dealing in old stuff, which is what you'll find at most flea markets and antique fairs. That just isn't where the bargains are.)
To its credit, "Market Warriors" avoids the obviously phony setups and scenarios that are the hallmark of "American Pickers" on the History Channel, and shows of its ilk. But it's that veracity that shines a light on the absurdity of its premise: The pickers almost always lose money!
"Market Warriors" shares the problem plaguing most all "reality" shows: It's not an accurate reflection of reality at all, although in the case of "Market Warriors," it's for its own unique reasons. I've done enough picking for enough years that I've come to know a few old-stuff dealers, and to a person they will tell you that more often than not they come away from their shopping expeditions with little if anything to show for it. If good merchandise isn't there at prices less than half of what the dealer can expect to sell it for in fairly short order, he or she has just gotta walk away. Got bills to pay, you know. (Conversely, when the stars are aligned, bargains just keep appearing before one's eyes. Under those rare circumstances, you just keep going until you can't go any further. You go until the thrift stores and garage sales and such are closed for the day.)
Give "American Pickers" credit for being at least somewhat engaging. It's a TV show, you know, and as such its first duty is to entertain. But no, it is not an accurate portrayal of an antique/collectibles dealer's daily reality. Sadly, neither is "Market Warriors," and that weakness might not be fatal in and of itself, but the show also fails as entertainment, and that's deadly. I'm betting its producers will soon be faced with either giving it a major reworking or pulling the plug on it.
As an avid and committed bargain hunter and old-junk aficionado, I had high hopes for the PBS take on the "picker" "reality" show. That it was produced by the people who brought us "Antiques Roadshow" only heightened my hopes and expectations.
But what a letdown! It's ... just ... plain ... absurd.
The premise is that four pickers hit flea markets and antique/collectibles fairs (think Brimfield) in search of items in specific categories (Bakelite jewelry, for instance, or Mission style furniture) to be sold at auction. The picker who shows the highest profit wins.
Anyone who has ever junk picked, as an occupation or serious avocation, knows that you'll rarely find good deals if you go looking for items in any specific category. Sure, a dealer may specialize in vintage clothing, perhaps, or antiquarian books, or modernist furniture, but that person will lose money if he or she just has to come away with SOMETHING within those categories, as is the task assigned to the pickers on the show. (You'll also rarely get killer deals buying from people whose primary occupation is dealing in old stuff, which is what you'll find at most flea markets and antique fairs. That just isn't where the bargains are.)
To its credit, "Market Warriors" avoids the obviously phony setups and scenarios that are the hallmark of "American Pickers" on the History Channel, and shows of its ilk. But it's that veracity that shines a light on the absurdity of its premise: The pickers almost always lose money!
"Market Warriors" shares the problem plaguing most all "reality" shows: It's not an accurate reflection of reality at all, although in the case of "Market Warriors," it's for its own unique reasons. I've done enough picking for enough years that I've come to know a few old-stuff dealers, and to a person they will tell you that more often than not they come away from their shopping expeditions with little if anything to show for it. If good merchandise isn't there at prices less than half of what the dealer can expect to sell it for in fairly short order, he or she has just gotta walk away. Got bills to pay, you know. (Conversely, when the stars are aligned, bargains just keep appearing before one's eyes. Under those rare circumstances, you just keep going until you can't go any further. You go until the thrift stores and garage sales and such are closed for the day.)
Give "American Pickers" credit for being at least somewhat engaging. It's a TV show, you know, and as such its first duty is to entertain. But no, it is not an accurate portrayal of an antique/collectibles dealer's daily reality. Sadly, neither is "Market Warriors," and that weakness might not be fatal in and of itself, but the show also fails as entertainment, and that's deadly. I'm betting its producers will soon be faced with either giving it a major reworking or pulling the plug on it.
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