■ antiques WELCOME In My Opinion A real reality show K icking a man when he’s down has always been the most un-American activity. So why, as an antiques dealer in 2010, do I feel like a man on the floor with black and blue ribs? The economy may have put me on the floor, but why are the boots landing on my ribs from all directions? Why, I ask myself from my tightly curled fetal position, why? But first, where are the boots coming from? A reality (?) show TV for one. Last season’s “hit” (not for long, I hope) on the History Channel was American Pickers. It shows Mike and Frank, a couple of pickers at the bottom end of the business taking great pleasure (and apparently giving great pleasure) by using their (slightly) superior knowledge and charm (?) to buy things for almost nothing, and then resell them for large profits. The public loves Mike and Frank – see the show’s Facebook page if you have any doubts - but now listen to a viewer who’s actually in the business: “I’ve tried to watch and like this show. It really seems like a show that I would since I’m what you would call a ‘picker’ but these two morons get under my skin the way they take advantage of people that don’t have a clue of what their stuff is worth... These fake pickers just flat take advantage of people that don’t know any better and it makes me sick.” (On the show’s “Community” bulletin board http:// community.history.com/forums/160/t/American-Pickers. html.) Says another viewer, “I like this show. I do feel that sometimes these two guys are taking advantage of people when I see how cheap they get the items then make a huge profit.” Mike and Frank bilk sellers and buyers alike – for them there’s a sucker at each end of the chain. They portray our business as a series of skirmishes between dealers and the public, where the dealers always have the advantage, but never have any ethics. It’s a show alright, but it certainly ain’t reality. Lovable rogues? Gimme a break! In his newsletter, the show promoter Eric Miller cites a dealer, “'I’ve seen American Pickers and I know how you guys operate.' This is a comment Klass, owner of Highwood Market Dealer Industrial Evolution, says he’s encountered more than once since American Pickers began showing on the History Channel.” Another viewer, not in the business: “I agree that those guys are taking advantage of people. It infuriates me. They have a rough idea of what the things they’re trying to swindle off people are worth, and if the person isn’t willing to sell anything they keep trying to go back and badger, mostly elderly people, until those people finally give in. ….. I think the deceiving way the 'American Pickers' acquire their items should be punished.” Reality (not a show) Note where this viewer ends up: Punishment. And then note that a few months ago in Dennis, Mass. (on Cape Cod), the select board proposed an ordinance that would have punished not just the Mikes and Franks, but all antiques dealers in the town. And Dennis is not alone; Barnstable, Harwich and Orleans are proposing their own versions. In principal, these ordinances are nothing new, though Dennis’s was somewhat more draconian than others that have been put forward in various towns and cities across the country. Continued on page 44 Page 10 ■ Antiques Journal ■ August 2010