Anna Daniels
It’s been alleged by some of the ordinary folks who have appeared on the show (like Ken Young, whose toy shop was featured in an episode) that this is the case — but Wolfe, Fritz, and Colby all insist that this is a bunch of baloney. They say that when the producers set their sights on a destination, there is often only a phone call or an email exchange to warn whatever junk collector or antique shop owner the crew will be visiting that the guys are on the way — and according to Colby, they really do attempt to resell everything that you see Fritz and Wolfe buying on the show at their Antique Archaeology shop.
“There are rumors as to whether the business is real or if it’s just for TV,” Colby said in a 2013 interview. “It is real, we actually do work there, we do depend on it for our livelihood” (via Chattanooga Times Free Press).
So, while some of the rough edges of the Pickers’ daily grind are understandably sanded smooth for television, you won’t catch Wolfe and Fritz hopping on a plane to go “discover” a valuable “find” which has been shipped to a TV-ready “collector” by the show’s producers. By and large, what you see on American Pickers is what you get — although Fritz did note to the FRY fest crowd that the series’ editors have an annoying habit of nixing what he considers to be some of their best jokes. We’ll leave it to you to decide just how much of a loss that really is.
Written by: Looper
