Pawn is a risky business! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the purchases that weren’t as good a deal as the Pawn Stars initially thought they were.
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00:00 "It was the stupidest thing you ever bought."
00:02 "It is not stupid, okay?"
00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo,
00:04 and today we're counting down our picks for the purchases that weren't as good a deal as the Pawn Stars initially thought they were.
00:11 "Corey, why don't you take it home and remind yourself not to be so damn stupid?"
00:15 "Fine."
00:17 Number 20, Comic Books.
00:19 "They're all comic books?"
00:20 "All comic books."
00:22 "This is pretty cool. Is there anything good in here?"
00:24 "I have no idea."
00:26 When a customer brings in an impressively large collection of comics,
00:29 Chumlee can't hide his excitement.
00:31 Although Antoine tries to convince him to call an expert to appraise them,
00:35 Chum decides to make the deal himself.
00:37 As he points out, these Marvel properties were at the height of their popularity when this episode aired in 2017.
00:44 Surely some of the comics in these boxes are worth good money, right?
00:47 Surprisingly, no.
00:49 After Rick insists on calling in comic book expert Paul,
00:52 they get the bad news.
00:54 There's nothing particularly valuable in the collection.
00:57 In total, the comics are worth about $200 less than Chum paid for them.
01:01 "This is about 200 bucks retail,
01:04 and the other couple hundred pounds of comic books are worth about five cents a book if you're lucky."
01:11 Number 19, Underground Railroad Sketches.
01:14 Talk about a fascinating and important piece of history.
01:17 "Underground Railroad Sketches by E.M. Petit."
01:21 "It's a bunch of little stories about the slaves that actually use the Underground Railroad."
01:25 "Um, that's pretty cool. You know, I have an employee who would actually think this was about subways."
01:30 In Underground Pond, a seller comes in with a collection of true stories about the Underground Railroad
01:35 that was made in the late 19th century.
01:37 Not only is it authentic,
01:39 it's even signed by the editor of the newspaper who commissioned the book to be written.
01:43 This is all music to the ears of the seller and Rick alike.
01:46 This is a documentary record of the Underground Railroad,
01:49 printed in a relatively small batch,
01:52 and all things considered, it isn't in bad shape.
01:54 "The big question, what's it worth?"
01:55 "I think it would be completely fair to price it around $12.50."
02:02 "Can I give you 500 bucks?"
02:04 The two men settle on a price of $700 and both walk away happy,
02:08 but the seller especially so.
02:10 Turns out he only spent $2 on the book. Nice payout.
02:13 "You know, 700 bucks sounds good. I only paid two bucks for it."
02:16 "All right, good for you. Let's go up front. I'll write you up."
02:20 Number 18, Sun Tune-Up Tester.
02:23 This vintage machine used to be state-of-the-art technology back in the 1970s.
02:29 Although it still works, it's now mostly obsolete.
02:32 Still, Rick is sure he can find a buyer, and he makes a deal with the customer.
02:37 Corey and the old man make it clear that they think this was not a smart move.
02:41 "Hey, what did you pay for the damn thing?"
02:43 "275 bucks."
02:44 "At times you're a friggin' idiot."
02:48 Rick calls in his friend Danny, who restores old cars for a living,
02:52 assuming he'll be eager to buy the machine.
02:54 Unfortunately, Danny isn't as enthusiastic as Rick had hoped.
02:58 "How about 100 bucks?"
02:59 "I'll be honest with you, Danny. I paid 275 bucks for it. Give me a profit."
03:04 "You may have overpaid for this."
03:06 They agree to a deal, but Rick ends up losing $175 on the purchase.
03:11 At least he's getting free drinks out of it.
03:13 Number 17, Native American Vest.
03:17 At first, this beautifully decorated beaded vest looks like an authentic
03:21 piece of American history.
03:22 Rick examines it closely and is pretty sure that it's a real 19th century piece made for an infant.
03:28 He makes a deal with the customer for $1,300 and feels good about it.
03:32 However, museum administrator and Pawn Stars' regular Mark Hall patent has to burst Rick's bubble.
03:37 "All of that is correct on it. Unfortunately, I don't think this is from that time period."
03:45 The vest isn't as old as Rick thought, and it was made specifically to be sold,
03:50 not for actual use.
03:52 Because of the museum's ethics code, Mark doesn't put a monetary value on the items he inspects.
03:58 But it's safe to say this vest is probably not worth what Rick paid for it.
04:02 "Someone paid $1,300 for that vest. What do you think about that?"
04:04 "The seller got a good deal."
04:07 Number 16, Flamethrower.
04:10 Chumlee and flamethrowers is a bad combination.
04:13 This item was made by The Boring Company, a subsidiary of Elon Musk's SpaceX,
04:18 and was apparently a hot ticket when it was first released.
04:22 Chum makes a quick deal with the customer,
04:24 mostly because he wants the flamethrower for himself.
04:27 When an expert comes in to examine it, no one is surprised to hear that Chumlee overpaid.
04:32 After a demonstration that involves barbecuing some hot dogs,
04:46 Chum agrees to buy the flamethrower for the price that the expert quoted.
04:50 But the shop is still out $200 on the deal.
04:53 We have to assume that the only reason Rick doesn't fire Chum is because he's so entertaining.
04:59 "I could do a thousand bucks."
05:00 "You paid $1,400 for it, Chum."
05:02 "No, you paid $1,400 for it."
05:04 Number 15, 1909 Cy Young Baseball Card.
05:08 Everyone knows baseball cards are super collectible, so how could this be a bad deal?
05:13 Cy Young was one of the greatest pitchers of all time,
05:16 and this rare card is over a century old.
05:19 If it were in mint condition, it would easily be worth thousands.
05:23 The problem is, this one is in terrible shape.
05:26 "What do you want for this thing?"
05:27 "About a thousand."
05:30 "Do you got the other corner?"
05:34 "I wish I did."
05:35 "I'll tell you what, I'll give you $200."
05:37 Rick can't get his expert in to appraise it,
05:39 so he takes a risk and buys it from the customer for $300.
05:43 This turns out to be the wrong move.
05:45 When sports memorabilia expert Jeremy finally comes in to check out the card,
05:50 he has to tell Rick that he struck out.
05:52 "Give me some good news."
05:52 "Uh, I don't know if I can give you good news about that."
05:56 "As is, you're looking at around two $250 tops."
06:01 Number 14, Diamond Earrings.
06:04 "Guy in a suit comes in the pawn shop, got a big set of diamond earrings."
06:08 This one wasn't the Pawn Stars' fault.
06:10 Rick did everything right, but sometimes you just get unlucky.
06:14 When a customer came in with a no-doubt stunning pair of diamond earrings to sell,
06:19 Rick's eyes must've lit up.
06:21 He paid the customer $40,000 for them, probably thinking they'd be easy to flip.
06:26 "Ask him all the questions, he even had a receipt. I gave him $40,000."
06:32 As Rick has explained many times,
06:34 the shop takes every possible precaution to avoid buying stolen items,
06:38 since it never ends well for anyone.
06:41 But occasionally, something is bound to slip through the cracks.
06:44 We can imagine how painful it must've been when the cops showed up
06:47 to confiscate those earrings just a short time later.
06:50 Number 13, Stolen Submarine.
06:53 This was definitely one of the more unusual items to appear on the show.
06:57 The customer claimed that someone gave her this one-person mini-sub for free,
07:02 which should've raised red flags for Rick.
07:04 "Where in the world did you get this?"
07:06 "I got it from somebody that told me to take it off their yard, they didn't want it."
07:10 "So this was just sitting in someone's yard and says you could have it if you wanted?"
07:13 "Right."
07:14 She was quick to accept Rick's lowball offer,
07:17 even though it was much less than what she originally wanted for it.
07:20 Unfortunately, like the diamond earrings, the sub later turned out to be stolen.
07:25 A lawyer who worked for a wealthy California man happened to see the episode and recognize the sub,
07:30 which had been stolen off his client's yacht five years earlier.
07:34 The sub was returned to its owner and Rick was out $3,000.
07:37 "That was a stupid buy."
07:40 Number 12, 1932 Ford Model B Roadster.
07:44 If a classic car has none of its original parts, is it still a classic car?
07:49 This enthusiast has spent years rebuilding an iconic 1932 Ford,
07:54 and he's asking a hefty price for it.
07:56 Danny quotes Rick a value of $70,000 to $75,000.
08:01 Considering how stingy Rick usually is,
08:04 we're shocked to hear him agree to a final price of $68,250.
08:08 "All right, we got a deal, man."
08:10 "Thank you."
08:11 "All right, I got a pretty cool car."
08:14 That doesn't leave much room for profit.
08:16 Even though this is a gorgeous custom-built car,
08:19 all its replacement parts make it more like a replica than the real deal.
08:23 1932 Model Bs only go for around $50,000 with their original parts.
08:28 It seems like Rick and Danny both let their emotions get in the way of this deal.
08:31 "Your joyride just cost me a big sale on that car."
08:34 "Well, it wasn't a joyride, it was advertising.
08:37 Trust me, I want to sell the car just as bad as you do."
08:39 Number 11, fake Napoleon letter.
08:42 If you've watched enough Pawn Stars,
08:44 you know that you should always talk to an expert before you make a deal.
08:48 A customer brings in a letter supposedly signed by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte
08:52 that appears to be the real thing.
08:54 It has a certificate of authenticity and is stamped with a period-accurate seal.
08:59 After a bit of haggling, the seller settles for $2,000, and Corey walks away happy.
09:04 But Rick wants to be absolutely sure the letter is real before putting it up for sale,
09:09 so he sends Corey to get an expert opinion.
09:11 "I mean, it's got a COA, guys. Isn't that big of a deal?"
09:13 "We've seen phony COAs before, son."
09:17 You know where this is going.
09:19 Too bad, because this would have been an incredible buy if it were authentic.
09:23 "I just found out a Napoleon letter I bought for $2,000 is completely fake."
09:28 "This is not one of those original manuscript copies."
09:30 Number 10, cubic zirconia
09:32 Everyone calls him the old man, but Richard Harrison's age and experience
09:36 also make him a wealth of knowledge when it comes to buying and selling valuable goods.
09:40 Unfortunately for him, acquiring that knowledge sometimes cost him big bucks along the way.
09:45 "One of the biggest losses I probably ever took in this business
09:48 is back when CZs first came out.
09:52 CZ is a cubic zirconia, which is a man-made substitute for a diamond.
09:58 Nobody knew about them, and they tested as diamonds."
10:02 You learn from your mistakes, as they say.
10:04 And as Richard explains, he got an expensive lesson when cubic
10:08 zirconia first hit the market in the 1970s.
10:10 People had hardly heard about these flashy, inexpensive synthetic rocks at the time,
10:14 let alone learned how to distinguish them from actual diamonds.
10:17 "I lost close to $25,000, $30,000 on that, but it was the best thing I learned."
10:23 Harrison claims he lost nearly $30,000 in mistaken purchases,
10:27 which was even more money at the time.
10:30 Thankfully, the Pawn Stars now know how to spot a cubic zirconia.
10:33 "When you're looking at a CZ or a fake diamond, they're too perfect.
10:36 This is what's called a cubic zirconia.
10:38 It's made to look like a perfect diamond.
10:40 There are very, very few perfect diamonds out there."
10:43 Number 9, fake Rolexes
10:46 The old man isn't the only one who's lost big money accidentally buying fakes.
10:50 "When I first started working the night shift, I didn't have that much experience here.
10:53 And being the typical 18-year-old kid, I thought I knew everything.
10:58 And it must have got around town pretty quick because I bought six fake Rolexes in one week."
11:02 Everyone makes mistakes when they're young and inexperienced,
11:05 but usually those mistakes don't cost their dad's business thousands of dollars.
11:10 In this segment, Corey talks about a series of bad purchases he made
11:13 when he was still fairly new to the business.
11:15 If only a camera crew had been there to capture Rick's reaction
11:18 when he found out about that sixth fake watch.
11:21 Maybe Corey shouldn't have acted so smug
11:23 when he had to train his young cousin to spot fake Rolexes just a few years later.
11:28 Especially since she catches on so quickly.
11:30 "And you see the green tint coming around there?
11:32 That looks pretty good, right?
11:33 Yeah.
11:34 To the trained, untrained eye, that looks really good."
11:36 Number 8, 1964 Austin Healey Sprite BRG
11:40 "This is it, 1964 Austin Healey.
11:43 Damn, the thing looks like a Hot Wheels.
11:44 So does it run?
11:45 It drove down here."
11:46 Looks can be deceiving.
11:48 While this 1964 automobile undeniably has curb appeal,
11:52 this episode serves as a reminder that you should never buy a car
11:55 without test driving it first.
11:56 In his defense, Rick does attempt to start the car.
11:59 But when the engine fails to turn over,
12:01 the owner dismisses it as a minor mechanical issue, a dead battery.
12:04 And Rick takes him at his word.
12:06 Big mistake.
12:07 "Drove down here and battery might have went dead."
12:09 "We got nothing.
12:11 This guy said he drove this car down here,
12:14 and obviously I believe him because he didn't bring it down here on his back."
12:17 We get that Rick saw it as an opportunity to get the Sprite at a better price.
12:21 The right collector is likely willing to pay top dollar for it.
12:24 Unfortunately, the gamble doesn't pay off.
12:26 In the end, Rick's mechanic quotes him thousands in repairs to get the car roadworthy.
12:31 "Unfortunately, I've got some bad news for you, Rick."
12:33 "What's wrong with it?"
12:35 "It has spun main bearings.
12:36 It's rattling.
12:37 See that right there?
12:39 That's a crankshaft.
12:40 The journals on it are the round sections.
12:43 Those are completely galled and scored."
12:45 "As soon as you say crankshaft, I got a bad feeling."
12:47 "What do we have here?"
12:51 "We have Grandpa Cyclops."
12:53 "That is weird.
12:55 I'm assuming he's not related to you."
12:57 Just look at this thing.
12:59 We can totally understand why Rick wanted it.
13:01 Mirror image symmetrical portraits such as this might be as simple as clicking a button on your
13:05 phone today, but the vintage style and manner of production of this print add a certain novelty
13:10 factor. More importantly, it was made by an artist with name recognition, Devo founder and
13:16 singer Mark Mothersbaugh. After calling in an art expert, Rick goes ahead and drops $625 on
13:31 the framed print. According to his consultant, that should leave him room to make anywhere
13:35 between $175 to $375 in profit. Little does he know, the seller is the one who walked away
13:42 with the real victory. As she later reveals, the artwork only cost her $15.
13:47 In this season 8 episode, Rick is approached by studio musician Vic Flick.
14:02 The English guitarist certainly has an impressive resume, having worked with everyone from Engelbert
14:19 Humperdinck and Tom Jones to Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page. He even played
14:25 guitar on numerous soundtracks for various James Bond films. Rick ultimately drops $55,000 on the
14:40 storied instrument on offer. Unfortunately, while the songs this guitar appeared on are
14:44 certainly impressive, the fact doesn't necessarily add that much value to the guitar itself. When the
14:49 guitar went to auction in 2014, it only sold for $25,000. Ouch. Vic Flick might be a legend among
14:57 rock aficionados, but his name seemingly doesn't carry the same weight as that of his rockstar
15:01 collaborators.
15:02 I was surprised. I thought he was going to go down in the 30s or something like that. I knew he'd
15:06 probably go for $55,000, and I'm happy. Now I've got the money in my back pocket, I think the wife
15:12 and I will just pop out for a beer or two and celebrate the occasion.
15:30 In the season 5 episode "Corey's Big Play," a seller comes in with a Wells Fargo strong box
15:35 and some old prison chains. Rick starts off strong by identifying that both the Yuma Ball
15:50 and Chain and Folsom Prison handcuffs are fake. Apart from being guilty by association with its
15:55 fake contents, however, the lockbox doesn't raise any immediate red flags. So, Rick goes ahead and
16:00 pays the guy $450 for it. He should have trusted his first instinct. When Rick has an expert in
16:05 to appraise it, he's told that it's a "complete fantasy piece."
16:09 4. Shoeless Joe Jackson Fake
16:33 Joseph Jefferson Jackson is one of the most iconic baseball players to ever set foot on the field.
16:38 Not only was his performance in the outfield the stuff of legend, but due to his involvement with
16:55 the Black Sox scandal of 1919, his name has an element of infamy to it as well. And as Rick tells
17:01 the seller, because Shoeless Joe was illiterate, his signature is arguably the single rarest in
17:06 not just baseball, but all of sports. Unfortunately, Rick doesn't bother to bring in an expert to
17:18 verify the signature, instead trusting the certificate of authenticity provided by the
17:22 seller. He pays a whopping $13,000 for the signed book, only to later learn it's almost
17:28 certainly a fake.
17:34 3. Willie Mays Uniform Right off the bat, you can see Corey is hungry
17:39 to make this purchase. His enthusiasm for this San Francisco Giants uniform, supposedly worn
18:00 by Willie Mays, blinds him to some fairly obvious red flags. The uniform has no signs of wear and
18:06 tear, nor has it been authenticated. Thankfully, Corey has the sense to call in an expert who,
18:11 surprisingly, deems it authentic, just not game-worn.
18:15 They settle on $31,000 and the seller leaves happy, only for Corey to lose over a third
18:41 of his investment at auction. But, Corey should still consider himself lucky. It was later
18:58 revealed that Mays never even owned the jersey. It was just a sample, lowering its real value
19:02 to only a few thousand bucks.
19:05 2. Fake Gibson Mandolin There's a reason they try not to leave Chumley
19:14 unsupervised. When a customer brings in a Gibson Mandolin, Chum is eager to impress
19:19 Rick by making a good deal on it. To Chum's credit, he knows that authentic Gibsons are
19:24 worth a lot of money. He blows through his spending limit of $1,000 and pays the customer
19:29 $1,500 for the instrument. But, when he takes the mandolin to get appraised by an expert,
19:35 he gets some bad news. Chum has made some bad deals in the past, but this might have
19:47 been one of the worst, and Rick is not prepared to let it slide.
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20:05 1. Various Auction Losses When the pond stars can't flip an item in
20:12 a reasonable amount of time, it gets sent to auction. This is what happened with Vic
20:20 Flick's aforementioned guitar, but it wasn't the only item that failed to turn a profit.
20:24 As seen in the special two-part episode "Rick's Roulette," Rick loses a small fortune when he
20:49 takes an assortment of big-ticket items to the auction house, including a first edition of a
20:53 Christmas carol and a 1960s Spacelander bicycle. There's even a loss of approximately $29,000
20:59 on a single motorcycle. Even after subtracting the guitar and motorcycle,
21:05 other assorted items collectively lost him lots of money.
21:08 Well, can't win 'em all. Which pond star do you think made the worst deal? Let us know in the
21:27 comments below. Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,
21:36 and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.