View Full Version : Rick Harrison of 'Pawn Stars' spills success secrets
MNeagle
7th July 2011, 05:01 PM
224
Successful pawn shop owner Rick Harrison is the star of reality show ''Pawn Stars.''
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Rick Harrison knows a deal and a steal when he sees one.
Ever since he was a young boy, he's had the uncanny ability to make money selling other people's unwanted items. Today, that ability has made him a mint and turned him into one of TVs hottest reality stars.
The 43-year-old pawn shop owner has achieved a cult following as part of the cast of the reality show, ''Pawn Stars,'' on The History Channel.
Along with his father, Richard "The Old Man" Harrison, his son, Corey "Big Hoss" Harrison" and family friend Austin "Chumlee" Russell, Harrison gives viewers a behind-the-scenes peek into his Las Vegas business the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. In the process, he educates audiences on the history behind many of the unique items sold in the store.
Debuting in 2009, ''Pawn Stars'' is now the History Channel's top-rated show, and one of the highest-rated shows on cable television, averaging 5 million viewers per week. This month, Harrison signed a new, record-breaking 80-episode renewal contract for four more seasons of ''Pawn Stars.'' He's also released his first book, ''License to Pawn: Deals, Steals and My Life at the Gold and Silver'' (Hyperion).
So what's the secret to his success? Harrison shares his tips on finding fame and fortune. Here are edited excerpts from the interview below.
Set yourself apart. As a small business owner with big competition, we had to figure out a way to be different. We saw an opportunity to invite people to sell their rare and unusual items at our shop, in addition to conducting our usual pawn business. Now, when the big corporate pawn shops get an item they don't recognize, they send the customer to us. "
Know how to negotiate. Never fall in love with something when you're negotiating a price. Never decide you're going to buy something because you can't live without it. Negotiating to buy an item shouldn't be an emotional process. And you should never, ever, give the first number. As a buyer, you don't want to risk coming in first with a high price.
Offer something no one else does. In the 90's, I went on eBay to buy some paddle tires for my four-wheeler ATV and couldn't find any. When I did find a manufacturer that sold them, I bought 20,000 and had no problem reselling them. So the next time you get mad when you can't find an item, realize there's a market waiting to be explored.
Treat every customer well. I tell everyone that works for me not to look down on people. If you're nice to people and take a minute to talk with them, it's good for business whether or not they buy anything. Just because they don't look like they have money doesn't mean they're poor.
Once an unkempt, elderly woman came into the pawn shop. She appeared homeless, and she insisted on seeing every piece of expensive jewelry in the store. Just when I was feeling impatient, the woman pointed at the most expensive piece of jewelry and said, "I'll take that one." Then she proceeded to pull $4,000 out of her sock to pay for it.
Embrace social media. After ''Pawn Stars'' became popular, we began selling a lot of T-shirts and swag [promotional items] in the store. A year ago, I decided that rather than having our T-shirts professionally designed, we should hold a competition on Facebook and ask our fans for design ideas. For every design we choose to go on a shirt, the winner receives $250 and a box of swag. As a result, we're receiving hundreds of design ideas, and have saved over $100,000 on producing t-shirts."
We also pay someone to do regular Facebook status and Twitter updates. Corey and Chumlee have been getting paid $1,000 a night to appear at different nightclubs. Club owners know that once they start tweeting their location for the night, hundreds of people show up to see them. http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/images/bug.gif (http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/06/smallbusiness/rick_harrison/index.htm#TOP?iid=EL)
http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/06/smallbusiness/rick_harrison/index.htm
Saw this show for the first time this summer, it is absolutely addicting!!
freespirit
7th July 2011, 05:10 PM
it is a good show...i watch it fairly regularly myself. i like when the odd person comes in with rare gold and silver coins and old firearms.
midnight rambler
7th July 2011, 05:16 PM
it is a good show...i watch it fairly regularly myself. i like when the odd person comes in with rare gold and silver coins and old firearms.
I bet you cannot even tell me what a 'firearm' is.
gunDriller
7th July 2011, 07:35 PM
I bet you cannot even tell me what a 'firearm' is.
http://images.theage.com.au/ftage/ffximage/2008/07/25/LHgrant2_wideweb__470x335,0.jpg
fire-arm - the OTHER definition.
zap
7th July 2011, 08:21 PM
I've watched the show, and I don't like him much, I know he is out to make money..... I guess that is the name of the game. But I tend to think he is a rip off artist.
ximmy
7th July 2011, 08:32 PM
I've watched the show, and I don't like him much, I know he is out to make money..... I guess that is the name of the game. But I tend to think he is a rip off artist.
I've watched the show too.. Actually, he gives a pretty good amount of cash to the sellers... remember it is 'quick cash" (not searching & waiting for a buyer) for the seller who would otherwise have to do their own research and sales without expert advice, which is worth something. Many (turn around) dealers need a 100 percent profit margin (buy for .50, sell for 1.00) to maintain a business, ie. brink & mortar building, staff, payroll, taxes, etc. The "walk in" seller has none of these expenses. :)
steyr_m
7th July 2011, 08:44 PM
For every design we choose to go on a shirt, the winner receives $250 and a box of swag. As a result, we're receiving hundreds of design ideas, and have saved over $100,000 on producing t-shirts."
I like the show, but giving away $250 for saving $100k sounds cheap. No wonder he's successful, he's kinda screwing people in the process....
zap
7th July 2011, 08:56 PM
True Ximmy, But I wouldn't sell him Nothing,
Yep Steyr_m ( he's kinda screwing people in the process....)
I like it when people come in and he tries to give then a crappy price and they walk . :)
But like I said its all about, Making Money Right!
midnight rambler
8th July 2011, 02:47 AM
I don't like pawn shop people in general, but in his defense a woman walked in with a very rare piece of Faberge jewelry not at all knowing what she had, expecting a few hundred dollars and he was straight with her about what it was paying her like $16k for it when it was worth (according to him) $24k IIRC.
freespirit
8th July 2011, 03:15 AM
I bet you cannot even tell me what a 'firearm' is.
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile(s) at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant.
...any other questions??
...btw, were you trying to be cute with that post or trying to be a dick?
them sound like fightin' words.
midnight rambler
8th July 2011, 03:23 AM
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile(s) at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant.
...any other questions??
...btw, were you trying to be cute with that post or trying to be a dick?
them sound like fightin' words.
Legally, a 'firearm' has a specific definition in the USC. The definition you furnished is as wrong as can be. Care to show me where any of the founding fathers used the term 'firearm'?
FWIW, Gold and Silver Pawn in Lost Wages (of the reality show fame) does NOT deal in 'firearms', but they DO deal in guns (pre-1898 guns).
Also FWIW, I don't own any firearms, never have and it's highly unlikely I ever will since owning a 'firearm' requires a full blown background check and a tax stamp from BATFE.
freespirit
8th July 2011, 03:39 AM
Legally, a 'firearm' has a specific definition in the USC. The definition you furnished is as wrong as can be. Care to show me where any of the founding fathers used the term 'firearm'?
FWIW, Gold and Silver Pawn in Lost Wages (of the reality show fame) does NOT deal in 'firearms', but they DO deal in guns (pre-1898 guns).
Also FWIW, I don't own any firearms, never have and it's highly unlikely I ever will since owning a 'firearm' requires a full blown background check and a tax stamp from BATFE.
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile(s) at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically black powder or cordite, but modern firearms use smokeless powder or other propellants. Most modern firearms (with the notable exception of smoothbore firearms) have rifled barrels to impart spin to the projectile for improved flight stability.
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol, but there are exceptions, such as the U.S. Air Force's GUU5/P. At one time, land-based artillery tubes were called cannon and sea-based naval cannon were called guns. The term "gun" evolved into a generic term for any tube-launched projectile-firing weapon used by sailors, including boarding parties and marines.
In modern parlance, a gun is a projectile weapon using a hollow, tubular barrel with a closed end—the breech—as the means of directing the projectile (as well as other purposes, for example stabilizing the projectile's trajectory, aiming, as an expansion chamber for propellant, etc.), and firing in a generally flat trajectory.
The term "gun" has also taken on a more generic meaning, by which it has come to refer to any one of a number of trigger-initiated, hand-held, and hand-directed implements, especially with an extending bore, which thereby resemble the class of weapon in either form or concept. Examples of this usage include staple gun, nail gun, glue gun, grease gun. Occasionally, this tendency is ironically reversed, such as the case of the American M3 submachine gun which carries the nickname "Grease Gun".
you never asked for a legal definition as defined in the USC. you asked if i could tell you what a firearm is. i did.
go have another cup of coffee (i suggest decaf, you already seem a little high strung) and quit splitting hairs....since i don't live in the US, why would i give a shit about how the term is defined in the USC?
---eta---you haven't furnished us with the "specific definition" you mentioned...all you have done is point a finger at me and tell me i'm wrong. show me where i am wrong. otherwise i'll have to go with the assumption that you are being a dick. FWIW, i typically use a DICTIONARY to find definitions, not the USC.
Dogman
8th July 2011, 05:05 AM
Legally, a 'firearm' has a specific definition in the USC. The definition you furnished is as wrong as can be. Care to show me where any of the founding fathers used the term 'firearm'?
FWIW, Gold and Silver Pawn in Lost Wages (of the reality show fame) does NOT deal in 'firearms', but they DO deal in guns (pre-1898 guns).
Also FWIW, I don't own any firearms, never have and it's highly unlikely I ever will since owning a 'firearm' requires a full blown background check and a tax stamp from BATFE.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sup_01_18_10_I_20_44.html
TITLE 18 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sup_01_18.html) > PART I (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sup_01_18_10_I.html) > CHAPTER 44 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sup_01_18_10_I_20_44.html) > § 921
Prev | Next (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_00000922----000-.html)
§ 921. Definitions
How Current is This? (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/HowCurrent.php/?tn=18&fragid=T18F00381&extid=usc_sec_18_00000921----000-&sourcedate=2010-06-28&proctime=Tue%20Jun%2029%2010:10:38%202010)
(a) As used in this chapter— (1) The term “person” and the term “whoever” include any individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, or joint stock company.
(2) The term “interstate or foreign commerce” includes commerce between any place in a State and any place outside of that State, or within any possession of the United States (not including the Canal Zone) or the District of Columbia, but such term does not include commerce between places within the same State but through any place outside of that State. The term “State” includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the possessions of the United States (not including the Canal Zone).
(3) The term “firearm” means (A) any weapon (including a starter gun) which will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive;
(B) the frame or receiver of any such weapon;
(C) any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; or
(D) any destructive device. Such term does not include an antique firearm.
(4) The term “destructive device” means— (A) any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas— (i) bomb,
(ii) grenade,
(iii) rocket having a propellant charge of more than four ounces,
(iv) missile having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than one-quarter ounce,
(v) mine, or
(vi) device similar to any of the devices described in the preceding clauses;
(B) any type of weapon (other than a shotgun or a shotgun shell which the Attorney General finds is generally recognized as particularly suitable for sporting purposes) by whatever name known which will, or which may be readily converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or other propellant, and which has any barrel with a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter; and
(C) any combination of parts either designed or intended for use in converting any device into any destructive device described in subparagraph (A) or (B) and from which a destructive device may be readily assembled.
The term “destructive device” shall not include any device which is neither designed nor redesigned for use as a weapon; any device, although originally designed for use as a weapon, which is redesigned for use as a signaling, pyrotechnic, line throwing, safety, or similar device; surplus ordnance sold, loaned, or given by the Secretary of the Army pursuant to the provisions of section 4684 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode10/usc_sec_10_00004684----000-.html) (2) (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode10/usc_sec_10_00004684----000-.html#2), 4685 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode10/usc_sec_10_00004685----000-.html), or 4686 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode10/usc_sec_10_00004686----000-.html) of title 10 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode10/usc_sup_01_10.html); or any other device which the Attorney General finds is not likely to be used as a weapon, is an antique, or is a rifle which the owner intends to use solely for sporting, recreational or cultural purposes.
(5) The term “shotgun” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of an explosive to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger.
(6) The term “short-barreled shotgun” means a shotgun having one or more barrels less than eighteen inches in length and any weapon made from a shotgun (whether by alteration, modification or otherwise) if such a weapon as modified has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches.
(7) The term “rifle” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of an explosive to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger.
( The term “short-barreled rifle” means a rifle having one or more barrels less than sixteen inches in length and any weapon made from a rifle (whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise) if such weapon, as modified, has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches.
(9) The term “importer” means any person engaged in the business of importing or bringing firearms or ammunition into the United States for purposes of sale or distribution; and the term “licensed importer” means any such person licensed under the provisions of this chapter.
(10) The term “manufacturer” means any person engaged in the business of manufacturing firearms or ammunition for purposes of sale or distribution; and the term “licensed manufacturer” means any such person licensed under the provisions of this chapter.
(11) The term “dealer” means (A) any person engaged in the business of selling firearms at wholesale or retail,
(B) any person engaged in the business of repairing firearms or of making or fitting special barrels, stocks, or trigger mechanisms to firearms, or
(C) any person who is a pawnbroker. The term “licensed dealer” means any dealer who is licensed under the provisions of this chapter.
(12) The term “pawnbroker” means any person whose business or occupation includes the taking or receiving, by way of pledge or pawn, of any firearm as security for the payment or repayment of money.
(13) The term “collector” means any person who acquires, holds, or disposes of firearms as curios or relics, as the Attorney General shall by regulation define, and the term “licensed collector” means any such person licensed under the provisions of this chapter.
(14) The term “indictment” includes an indictment or information in any court under which a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year may be prosecuted.
(15) The term “fugitive from justice” means any person who has fled from any State to avoid prosecution for a crime or to avoid giving testimony in any criminal proceeding.
(16) The term “antique firearm” means— (A) any firearm (including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system) manufactured in or before 1898; or
(B) any replica of any firearm described in subparagraph (A) if such replica— (i) is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition, or
(ii) uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the United States and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade; or
(C) any muzzle loading rifle, muzzle loading shotgun, or muzzle loading pistol, which is designed to use black powder, or a black powder substitute, and which cannot use fixed ammunition. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “antique firearm” shall not include any weapon which incorporates a firearm frame or receiver, any firearm which is converted into a muzzle loading weapon, or any muzzle loading weapon which can be readily converted to fire fixed ammunition by replacing the barrel, bolt, breechblock, or any combination thereof.
(17) (A) The term “ammunition” means ammunition or cartridge cases, primers, bullets, or propellent powder designed for use in any firearm.
(B) The term “armor piercing ammunition” means— (i) a projectile or projectile core which may be used in a handgun and which is constructed entirely (excluding the presence of traces of other substances) from one or a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium; or
(ii) a full jacketed projectile larger than .22 caliber designed and intended for use in a handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more than 25 percent of the total weight of the projectile.
(C) The term “armor piercing ammunition” does not include shotgun shot required by Federal or State environmental or game regulations for hunting purposes, a frangible projectile designed for target shooting, a projectile which the Attorney General finds is primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes, or any other projectile or projectile core which the Attorney General finds is intended to be used for industrial purposes, including a charge used in an oil and gas well perforating device.
More at link.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sup_01_18_10_I_20_44.html
undgrd
8th July 2011, 05:10 AM
WOW!
3rd post and the thread veers off into a cornfield. Must be some kind of record! ::)
I've seen the show a few times. I can watch it longer when Chumlee isn't in too many scenes...that guy irritates me.
Dogman
8th July 2011, 05:31 AM
WOW!
3rd post and the thread veers off into a cornfield. Must be some kind of record! ::)
I've seen the show a few times. I can watch it longer when Chumlee isn't in too many scenes...that guy irritates me.
Hay! ::)
This is GSUS, what else would you expect! The poster was just following a cherished, long standing forum tradition! ;D
Twisted Titan
8th July 2011, 06:00 AM
I don't like pawn shop people in general, but in his defense a woman walked in with a very rare piece of Faberge jewelry not at all knowing what she had, expecting a few hundred dollars and he was straight with her about what it was paying her like $16k for it when it was worth (according to him) $24k IIRC.
he did that cause a big fat camera was in his face and it would be worth more to come across like a honest shopkeer.
I have talked to owner of stores who called those deals " book balancers" because the profit margin is so high it can wipe out a lot of losses.
horseshoe3
8th July 2011, 06:11 AM
Pawn shop guys are some of my favorite people to deal with. Sure they're shrewd and usually a little rough, but they know the score. I can haggle with them and not worry about hurting their feelings. They know it's just business.
steyr_m
8th July 2011, 06:41 AM
he did that cause a big fat camera was in his face and it would be worth more to come across like a honest shopkeer.
I have talked to owner of stores who called those deals " book balancers" because the profit margin is so high it can wipe out a lot of losses.
You beat me to it TT/TA, I thought the exact same thing when I saw that show. I do like that show myself, mostly because I like seeing all the interesting stuff coming in.
Canadian-guerilla
8th July 2011, 06:45 AM
i watch Pawn Stars, along with American Pickers
for the little tidbits of history / nostalgia
- is Chumlee really that dumb ?
- will Chumlee get his own reality show ?
Olmstein
8th July 2011, 08:13 AM
I love Pawn Stars. The old man cracks me up. Chumlee is not that stupid, he just plays it for laughs.
Check this clip of Rick Harrison from another TV show back in 2003.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvu6APT3JLY
po boy
8th July 2011, 08:25 AM
I think the simplest answer Rick could have given is buy low and sell high.
MNeagle
8th July 2011, 02:08 PM
How bad is it? Pawn shops, payday lenders are hot
Down on the US? Consider stocks that rise when things fall. Pawn shops, payday lenders are up
NEW YORK (AP) -- As the jobless rate inches up and the economic recovery sputters, investors looking for a few good stocks may want to follow the money -- or rather the TV, the beloved Fender guitar, the baubles from grandma, the wedding ring.
Profits at pawn shop operator Ezcorp Inc. have jumped by an average 46 percent annually for five years. The stock has doubled from a year ago, to about $38. And the Wall Street pros who analyze the company think it will go higher yet. All seven of them are telling investors to buy the Austin, Texas, company.
Is the economy still just in a soft patch? A hard patch? Will the market rise or drop? Even experts are just guessing. In investing, it's often better to focus on what you can safely predict, even if that safety is found in companies that thrive on hard times. One good bet: The jobless aren't likely to find work anytime soon. And companies profiting from their bad fortune will continue to do so.
Among them:
-- Stock in payday lender Advance America Cash Advance Centers (AEA) has doubled from a year ago, to just under $8. Rival Cash America International Inc. (CSH) is up 64 percent, to $58. Such firms typically provide high interest loans -- due on payday -- to people who can't borrow from traditional lenders.
-- Profits at Encore Capital Group, a debt collector that targets people with unpaid credit cards bills and other debts, rose nearly 50 percent last year. Encore has faced class action suits in several states, including California, over its collection practices. The Minnesota attorney general filed a suit in March. No matter. The stock (ECPG) is up 59 percent from a year ago, to more than $30.
-- Stock in Rent-A-Center (RCII), which leases televisions, couches, computers and more, is up 57 percent from a year ago to nearly $32. Nine of the 11 analysts covering the company say it will rise further and that investors should buy it.
The idea of investing in companies catering to the hard-up might not be palatable to some people. But it is profitable.
Mark Montagna, an analyst at Avondale Partners in Nashville, has developed what he calls "value retail" index of 11 companies -- dollar stores, off-price shops and clothing and footwear chains favored by shoppers looking for deals. The index is up 149 percent since February 2009, which marked the lowest month-end closing value for the S&P 500 during the recession.
Desperation stocks continue to be lifted by a drumbeat of bad news. Consumer spending, adjusted for inflation, has fallen for two months in a row -- the first back-to-back fall since November 2009 when the economy was in recession. On Friday, the government reported the unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent in June, sending stocks in tailspin. On top of that, one in seven Americans now live below the poverty line, a 17-year high.
"It's been a good year," says John Coffey Jr., a Sterne Agee analyst, referring to the companies he follows, not the economy. Coffey created a stir late last month when he issued a report arguing shares of Ezcorp (EZPW), which also makes payday loans, were worth a third more than their price and urged investors to buy. The stock rose 7 percent in just a few hours.
The next day a widely followed survey showed consumer confidence at a seven month low.
"Here we are celebrating the second year of recovery and confidence is at levels consistent with a recession," says David Rosenberg, an economist at money manager Gluskin Sheff. "The folks in the survey are probably not the same folks shopping at Tiffany's." (That company's stock is also up nearly 50 percent since March, to about $82.)
But they probably are shopping at Dollar General Corp. Stock in the discount retailer recently hit $34.13, up 50 percent from its IPO in late 2009. And it may be worth about a third more, at least according Avondale's Montagna.
"People are broke. They're all chasing value. It's a seismic shift in mindset," he says.
Some experts think these down-and-out stocks are just as likely to fall now instead of rise. It's not that they think the recovery will turn brisk and people will get jobs and shop elsewhere. It's that things could get worse -- making customers too poor to borrow or buy even from these outfits. Rent-A-Center, the furniture store, is already suffering. Some of its core low-income shoppers have seen money they would have spent leasing a couch or cocktail table eaten up by rising food and fuel bills.
But not to despair. According to Nick Mitchell, an analyst at Northcoast Research, wealthier customers, say those making $45,000, are feeling so strapped lately that they're starting to rent furniture, too.
Montagna, the Dollar General bull, says he's seeing people earning $70,000 or more at that chain, too. Even he shops there now.
"If I'm driving past one, I stop in," he says, adding triumphantly, "I just bought toothpaste -- Crest -- two tubes for $4."
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/How-bad-is-it-Pawn-shops-apf-2995486552.html?x=0
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