Rick Harrison is known for trying to strike a good bargain on anything he buys for his shop, the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, for his show, Pawn Stars.
One transaction featured on the Pawn Stars Facebook and YouTube pages has fans crying foul on Rick, saying that maybe the item was worth more than he offered the seller.
Rick makes a living by buying low and selling high for his pawn shop items. Each item must make a profit; otherwise, it is not worth buying, but fans think he may have gone too far on a sale.
Rick has a spin-off to his famous Pawn Stars show, Pawn Stars Do America. This show features his crew traveling around America looking for pieces too large for fans to fly into Las Vegas, where the original films were filmed.
During the filming of this show, a seller brought in a particular collector’s item from Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, but the price Rick offered had fans crying foul.
Queen Elizabeth passed away in 2022, and items that belonged to her are highly sought after, according to Good Housekeeping, especially pieces related to her coronation, such as the stool offered for sale on Pawn Stars Do America.
Did Rick do a royal rip-off in this sale?
In a segment on Pawn Stars Do America, Rick had the chance to buy a stool from Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 for $5000 from a seller.
Rick called in an expert who said it was legitimate and a nice piece from the coronation. Despite that news, Rick immediately said he would not pay $5,000 and offered a lowball of $800 for the item.
The seller countered with $1,100, and Rick snapped up an authentic stool that someone had sat on during Queen Elizabeth’s coronation decades before.
Fans immediately called out Rick for ripping off the seller. One fan wrote, “What a rip-off…he could have given her a little more money.” This same fan wrote, “Lowballing people after telling them the true worth…is crazy to me.”
Another fan wrote that the seller “was a bit silly taking that bait. Best to go online first and see if any others have been sold and for what price?”
Another fan asked why the seller did not take the time to ask the expert how much it was worth, thinking that the stool was worth more than $1,100.
One fan explained that “the expert was the curator of a Las Vegas museum, and he only authenticates, never states a value.”
Perhaps the seller wanted to sell the item quickly and worried the opportunity would disappear if she didn’t accept the terms quickly.
Some people pawn their items without selling them
A recent video on Pawn Stars YouTube showcases something rarely seen on Pawn Stars.
Not everyone wants to sell their items; some want a loan with an agreement to repay the amount plus interest in 120 days.
The owner wanted to borrow an astronomical $20,000 for a Matchbox collection worth every bit of the asked-for amount.
Rick’s son, Corey Harrison, was on hand for this particular sale and was open to lending that amount of money as long as the customer understood the seriousness of the loan.
If a pawned item goes unpaid by the allotted time or the transaction is not extended, the item belongs to the pawn shop, and they can sell it.
Pawn Stars airs Wednesdays 8/7c on History and streams the next day.