Have shows like pawn stars/auction kings, storage wars, etc helped or hurt resal

Anyone on these boards actually own a brick and mortar retail shop?

Just curious what your opinoin is. Do you think shows like pawn stars, auction kings, storage wars, pickers, etc has helped or hurt your business?

I was just curious?

I can see it helping in that more people are looking for bargains, interested in antiques and collectibles, etc however at the same time I can see it hurting as now your competing at auctions with all these people who before would just buy retail from you.

Also, with so many people going to storage and other types of auctions so much of the stuff that previously people would have gotten from you they can now get from someone else off craigslist who doesn't have the expenses of a brick and mortar store?

I know of one store in my area that does really well but it's not your typical resale shop more upscale stuff and lots of unique items.

I agree though overall I don't think its good for them.

I would love to run a resale shop someday. Personally my strategy would be to try to run a store and have walk in customers but I would really utilize craiglist. Many of the things that I personally think are not enough money to justify messing with craigslist, finding common times, meeting up, etc I could then list on craigslist and have people come by teh store to pick up since I'm sitting there all day anyway.

I agree though I don't think its a great time for this type of business. A few of the other shops I go to have been pretty dead lately and h avn't been buying as much stuff.

I know of one store in my area that does really well but it's not your typical resale shop more upscale
I would love to run a resale shop someday. Personally my strategy would be to try to run a store and have walk in customers but I would really utilize craiglist. Many of the things that I personally think are not enough money to justify messing with craigslist, finding common times, meeting up, etc I could then list on craigslist and have people come by teh store to pick up since I'm sitting there all day anyway.

Tha is a great strategy.  I had a cb repair shop in the office of a small mechanic shop my dad and I had a couple years ago.  I used that strategy for the cb radios.  People would see me on craigslist, come by the store to buy an item, and usually buy more stuff or bring some radios for me to work on. 

To bad the mechanic shop didn't make enough money and the cb shop didn't generate enough to justify the overhead.  Truthfully, though the cb side did ok, I do better now working out of the house part time.

The way people bid there is really no room for big profit. Also now for every 10 of something there are now 1000. I use a site ksl.com which is local to my state and is free to post classifieds and there is too much of everything. Trying to sell a wash machine there are 1000 now. After the show goes away people will move on to the next fad.here are the ratings for the week 9 Storage Wars A&E Wed 10:30P-11:00P 5,089 and here is the link- look for cable top 25 for the week. Storage wars is sinking fast.http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/07/26/cable-top-25-pawn-stars-the-closer-rizzoli-isles-top-weekly-cable-viewing/98876/.

Hope the ratings will continue to drop and people start realizing there is alot more to storage auctions then what they show on TV. Just hope it dont take 20+ years for them to realize that the shows are just entertainment like they were with wrestling.