Why nobody really cares if Storage Wars is fake

http://www2.macleans.ca ^ | january 3, 2012 | Colin Horgan

[lowbridge]

These days, if you Google “Storage Wars,” likely two things will come up. First, is the fact that yet another version of the ever-popular A&E reality show is set to launch in January – Storage Wars: New York – and, second, that one of the original cast members, David Hester, recently claimed in a lawsuit that “nearly every aspect of the show is faked.” The latter has somewhat overshadowed the former in terms of publicity, and yet, based on the continued popularity of the series, there’s little doubt Storage Wars: New York will be a success, because if there’s anything we know about ourselves these days, it’s that nobody cares if reality television is exactly the opposite of what it says it is.

To explain: Storage Wars is an immensely successful program that shows, half an hour at a time, a group of Californians who spend their time bidding on repossessed storage lockers in the hopes of finding something inside that will make them a large profit. Generally, at least one of the five main characters is successful – sometimes wildly – but often, some go home having lost cash on their purchases. It seems real enough. But in his recent lawsuit, Hester claims the show’s producers sometimes salt lockers with items that weren’t originally there (perhaps uncovered in another locker) to make the show more interesting. Hester claims he complained about the practice and was fired from the program. Thus, his litigation.

[count-your-change]

You talking about the guys with button down flannel shirts and new LL Bean hiking boots? Na...they don’t stand out.

[Tublecane]

It is so painfully obvious that it’s at least heavily tampered with, if not totally fake. I mean, those people obviously aren’t seasoned actors, and everything they say sounds like they’ve been fed lines.

Who cares?

[databoss]

yuuuupp its fake and Dave is an a$$

[Tublecane]

“nobody could survive all the close calls these guys have”

That’s one reason it can’t be real. Another is that they act nothing like actual human beings. Could be because they’re bad actors or the writing is lousy, probably both.

[political1]

When I was growing up, I would watch wrestling. Even though in the back of my mind I knew it was fake. The announcer would say, “He just pulled a foreign object out of his tights.” The wrestler would then start gouging at the others forehead and eyes. Great theater!!! Abdullah the Butcher type stuff. Each generation has their own allowable fakeness, and we all look back on it fondly. Half of the Rock and Roll concert industry is based upon lip singing, and air guitar, yet we still buy concert tickets. This is just this generations P.T. Barnum via Television.

[Chode]

i have no idea what "Storage Wars" even is... am i blessed or cursed???

[Eaker]

With wresting at least back in the old days they only had one match a week and they actually got cuts and bruises. The guys nowadays wrestle six nights a week and nary a scratch even though they were practically “killed” during each match.

Years ago they didn’t get paid worth a damn and now they are millionaires.

[uglybiker]

Long as they don' say nuthin' bout rasslin, then we'll be awlright.

[21twelve]

I like Storage Wars - and so what if it is fake. Although in real life I know that some folks DO find treasures. I bought a piece of scientific equipment once from a guy that had found it in one of these storage locker auctions. He sold it to me for $500 and said “it has all sorts of memory chips and computer components that could be recycled”. When I received it I put together a power cord, plugged it in, and it worked! If I had bought the same unit (used) from a supply company it would have cost me $23,000!

And what's not to like about Barry!? Although I did just have to google to see if all the cool cars he drives are his own - or just rented for the show. They are his. (He made his millions in grocery produce!)

[packrat35]

I never said people couldn't watch what they want or that sometimes (rarely) some good items are found in real life. But thanks for proving my main point.

Anyone who says they watch and like this show, I consider nitwits. Anyone getting mad at me when I say this, I consider totally stupid

[Inyokern]

Pawn Stars: No pawnbroker works on as small a margin a those guys. No pawnbroker consults an expert IN FRONT OF THE CUSTOMER.

Hard Core Pawn, on the other hand, appears to be a more realistic portrayal.

[Inyokern]

Pawn Stars: No pawnbroker works on as small a margin a those guys. No pawnbroker consults an expert IN FRONT OF THE CUSTOMER.

Hard Core Pawn, on the other hand, appears to be a more realistic portrayal.

[Captainpaintball]

Hard Core Pawn, on the other hand, appears to be a more realistic portrayal.

And it also seems to be a prediction as to where the country is headed.

[21twelve]

I’m not mad at you - just saying that I like the show. And not sure how I proved your main point? That I’m a nitwit for liking some show that you don’t care for?

BTW - with a name like packrat35 - I wonder what sort of treasures YOU might have squirreled away. ;) (Reminds me of that other show - the Antique Road Show! Unless they come out and tell me THAT’s fake too!)

[Smokin' Joe]

Yuuuuup!

No one really cares. They dream of finding buried treasure, while not realizing the most popular shows on the tube are picking over piles of stuff for an odd goodie, scrounging up bins full of things someone through misfortune lost, seeing how much they can get at the pawn shop for whatever...

We've become a nation of vicarious scavengers, and that is a social comment in itself.

[lowbridge]

Amish mafia couldn’t be fake because it doesn’t air on MSNBC.

[Einherjar]

I`m writing the screenplay now for a new show. About a year ago i paid $200 for a metal detector........so far i have found over $1.00 in coins right off the driveway where i park my car. turns out the dates on the coins are going back to 2001.....right about the date i bought the property. to embellish to show i will find other coins with the date stamp of 12 B.C. .

[wardaddy]

I own a 1000 unit 11 acre mini warehouse

We call them units not lockers

We auction contents on maybe 50 units a year
I would guess only maybe 5-10 bring the money they owe and only one to two bring over 1000

Furniture and tools get attention but usually its just old clothes and junk and sometimes we give em away to clean em out of crap
We do our own auction and the professional bidders are characters
You have to draw a crowd or they collude....if I get just a few folks i cancel

[lowbridge]

Let me fill you in.

When you rent a storage unit from a storage company, if you start missing payments, the storage facility will make an effort to track you down to try to get you to pay what you owe. Failing that, the storage company then puts up the contents of your storage unit up for auction.

This show is about a group of people who bid on these auctions. For the most part they’re owners of their own thrift stores and they rely on winning these storage unit auctions to help fill their store inventory with second hand goods (furniture, toys, tools, clothes, etc). The one exception is Barry Weiss who is a multi-millionaire. He doesn’t own a thrift store. Rather, he attends and bids on these auctions simply because he is on the hunt for the rare, collectible treasures that can sometimes be found in these storage units. When he finds such a treasure that he likes, he doesn’t resell it. Rather he keeps it for himself at his home.

The fakery of the show comes from the scripted banter between the auction bidders, portraying them as constantly sniping at each other and turning these rather mundane auctions into some sort of macho pissing contest.

Another part of the fakery is the planting (called salting) of rare, collectible, and valuable items within the units for the winning bidders to find amongst all the junk inside the unit. People who have been taking part in storage unit auctions for many years say that 90 percent of the storage units up for auction are filled with worthless junk. Only about 10 percent of the units contain that rare treasure. But in the show the bidders are ALWAYS finding these rare, collectible, and valuable items (antique furniture, hundreds or thousands of dollars in cash, safes filled with valuable coin collections, antique jewelry, rare collectible toys, valuable paintings, etc).

One of the regulars on the show, Dave Hester, after a couple seasons became concerned that the planting of items and staging of these auctions could possibly be illegal and took his concerns to the producers who fired him. Dave has turned around and sued for wrongful dismissal and in his lawsuit has revealed the act of the shows producers salting storage units with rare, valuable items.

[lowbridge]

According to people who have been regularly bidding on these auctions, before the show ever existed, they could count on winning the contents of a storage unit for a reasonable price. After the show came on the air, all of the sudden these auctions got more crowded with newbies who have been inspired by the show to attend these auctions and bid in the false hopes that rare, valuable treasures are contained within all the units up for auction. These newbies also tend to drive up the auction bids past what the regulars can afford or willing to pay for a unit.