Actually I suspect that alot of the experts they bring in for appraisals actually own the stuff they are appraising
Just check out this post about Pawn Stars that I found on a forum for guys that collect vintage gas pumps:
"speaking of entertainment...
I wrote Rick today...found him online and sent him this:
Hi -
Are you the same 'Rick's Restorations' that was on the History Channel show 'Pawn Stars' last night?
...and I got this reply:
To:
Subject: Re: Pawn Stars?
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 21:38:45 -0500
From:
restoricks@aol.com
Yes
Thank you,
Rick Dale
Rick's Restorations - Everything old is new again!
(702) 655-5544
...so I sent him the following:
Hi Rick -
Wow...what a small world!
Hey, that was some Coca-Cola machine! I gotta tell you, it looked like a different machine when you were finished with it.
I mean that - it really looked like a different machine. It looks like you started with a trashed machine, maybe a Vendo?...and finished with a Cavalier. My buddies and I were trying to figure out how you got the embossed Coca-Cola logo to be smaller on the 'restored' machine than on the original. We all thought of the number of hours it would take to do all of that work (and how much it would cost), and we decided it would have been easier for you just to roll out a restored Cavalier, and pass that off as if you had transformed that rusty junk into another make/model Coke machine. That dope on Pawn Stars couldn't tell the difference, right?
Hey - I guess that's why you're on TV...
One more thing - that gas pump you restored for the Pawn Stars...funny, the man that sold that pump to you years ago is a friend of mine! (Small world, right?) Anyway, he was watching the show with his wife, and - in his words - he almost fell out of his chair when he saw that pump. His wife actually recognized it! I mean, what are the odds that a pump you bought got sold unrestored to someone, who just happened to bring it into that Pawn Shop - only for them to buy it and return it to you for restoration? They'd have to be astronomical!
If I didn't know better, I'd almost think the people bringing stuff into that cool pawn shop were bringing your stuff in there and just acting like it was their stuff. What a set-up that would be! The guys filming the show would get a plot, and you'd get a 30-minute commercial for your business on the History Channel. Heck, you could get your employees or friends to play the part of the 'seller' at the pawn shop - and you wouldn't even have to pay an actor!
But, hey - that would all be a big fraud, wouldn't it?"