Being among the majority of viewers who find (some) entertainment in this, the latest style of "reality shows." ie based on odd albeit interesting professions. I HAVE TO SAY, "This family was born to do this work." For a minute, their competition, "PAWN STARS" almost lifted the reputation of pawnbrokers OUT of the gutter. FEAR NOT American PAWNBROKERS EVERYWHERE......this family are the very brand of parasites your "profession" is believed to have in droves. I'll start at the top. Ashley the sister, is without a doubt, her fathers daughter, but at times, shows some charity if only by giving "lip service" to the plight of those she deals with. Les Gold, the father is a "stand fast" negotiator, if he sets a price when buying merchandise, he won't budge from THAT price no matter what. The problem is, the price is NEVER FAIR. One gets the impression that as a boy, he must have been bullied. The reason for this is, no matter the price asked by a seller, he always goes lower, as if to force his will on the person he deals with. And NEVER SLIGHTLY LOWER...he goes so low as to insure disappointment, injury if you will. A not so sub-conscious need to avenge his own honor. He achieves the opposite. In any environment, outside an actual "Court of Law" what he does, would be considered robbery. The son Seth, is the worst of the bunch. He derives some sort of internal pleasure each time he "gets the better" of some poor "down on their luck" citizen of Detroit. The expression on his face is chilling. It isn't so much a smile as it is a sneer, showing contempt for those he considers beneath him. ie. The very people who put food on his table. He drew a "misers pleasure" by charging a fee from a man whose superstition put a need to have daily contact with some figurine he had pawned with the shop. To watch Seth tell his little scheme of charging a "visitation fee" was truly "telling". He all but wrung his hands, like the classic "villan" in an old "silent film". I feel it necessary at this point to mention that although they're in the same trade, the folks on "Pawn Stars" conduct business in a completely different manner. I suspect that when a client leaves the Vegas pawn shop, he feels as if he's been treated fairly and with respect. In contrast.....when a Detroit citizen leaves "American Pawn and Jewelry" the ONLY thing he feels....is the need for a bath.
In closing, I can't help remembering the woman who came into "Pawn Stars" with a small, old fashioned pin. A butterfly perhaps..... She was hoping for a hundred dollars or two, as she'd found it in a drawer belonging to her recently passed granny and knew nothing of its' true value....after close inspection of the pin, and the blue box it came in, the "pawnbroker" informed the woman of what she had.....what the "Pawn Stars pawnbroker could EASILY have purchased for a mere few hundred dollars. Would NOW cost him $17,000.00, due to his sense of "fair play". Had this woman possessed the "bad luck" of living in Detroit, Les or Seth Gold would have probably whittled her down to a hundred dollars or less, and walked away feeling fulfilled by their negotiating "skill"(?)and their ability to wrangle a larger profit from an unsuspecting victim. This show is worth watching if only to show HOW NOT TO DO BUSINESS.
