Market Warriors Season 1 Episode 14 Antiquing in New Milford preview I have tried to like this show. This should be like what not to do. The
fact that the money is seems to be really no object. People go to
auctions like the ones on the show to not spend retail prices. When
these pickers purchase they are paying retail prices it seems. It seems
to me if you want to make a profit (and consider the additional fees)
at auction you need to buy at rock bottom wholesale prices by going to
house sales/estate sales, yard sales, thrift stores, the swap meets
where sellers are unloading storage bin finds are more apt to wheel and
deal on pricing. I have found lamps at auction for $5.00 to $35.00 and
sold for $45 to $150. Art Deco lamps for $3.00 sold for $150. These
antique shows the pickers are shopping at are outdoor retail/resale
shop pricing...? If this is suppose to entertaining/educational it is a
what not do in the resell market.
When Fred Willard narrated, this show was quite amusing. Mark Wahlberg's narration is a bit too generic for this type of show. It is really a modern re-telling of The Maltese falcon without Sam Spade. You have Miller Gaffney, the southern belle who charms her way through antique dealers. Brigid O'Shaugnessy was also a femme fatale. Wilmer Cook was from New York. Kevin Bruneau is also from the northeast, and mentions sometimes that some dealers are put off by his assertiveness. Bob Richter the designer,has the style of Joel Cairo in that he wants to win but also throws his support to the others. John Bruo, the professor, is the Kasper Gutman of the bunch. besides his physical appearance, his joviality is definitely that of a Kasper Gutman. I can imagine Fred Willard picking up on this metaphor and narrating the show from Sam Spade's viewpoint. Perhaps Wahlberg will do this style for a Halloween episode.
In Market Warriors, Four "pickers" are set loose at a different flea market each week, with $1,000 each, to, in the first round, purchase an item based on criteria put forth by an auctioneer. This is followed by a second, and sometimes third round, where each picker purchases an additional item or two of their own choosing. At the end of the first round, the pickers review each others purchases and decide whether or not they fit the criteria laid out at the start of the show. All the items purchased are then sent to put up in an auction, the winner is the picker who makes the most profit. This show has a similar set-up to the long-running British show Bargain Hunt, except these are all the "experts" rather than a team of two regular people and an "expert" To be fair to the pickers, they are being asked to do the almost impossible, purchase an item for retail at a flea market and then make a profit on it at auction. Keep in mind, most of the items sold at flea markets or antique stores were brought at auction to begin with, and are being sold with a markup. They aren't helped by the fact that the auction houses are half-empty.
That being said, this show is awful. The basic idea of the show, or at least what I think it is suppose to be, sounds interesting...have experts walk though a flea market discussing what is valuable and what isn't and the rationale behind their purchase...but doesn't work. I think part of the problem is there is one picker too many, and I don't think it really matters which one you take out. The other problem is none of the pickers have the charismatic personality needed for interesting television. John Bruno comes close, but goes over the edge into being the crazy hoarding uncle you don't invite to Thanksgiving dinner. Kevin Bruneau has personality, but it comes across as the street-smart scammer trying to get his hand on grandma's silver for a next-to-nothing price. Miller Gaffney and Bob Richter are bland.
When Fred Willard narrated, this show was quite amusing. Mark Wahlberg's narration is a bit too generic for this type of show. It is really a modern re-telling of The Maltese falcon without Sam Spade. You have Miller Gaffney, the southern belle who charms her way through antique dealers. Brigid O'Shaugnessy was also a femme fatale. Wilmer Cook was from New York. Kevin Bruneau is also from the northeast, and mentions sometimes that some dealers are put off by his assertiveness. Bob Richter the designer,has the style of Joel Cairo in that he wants to win but also throws his support to the others. John Bruo, the professor, is the Kasper Gutman of the bunch. besides his physical appearance, his joviality is definitely that of a Kasper Gutman. I can imagine Fred Willard picking up on this metaphor and narrating the show from Sam Spade's viewpoint. Perhaps Wahlberg will do this style for a Halloween episode.
In Market Warriors, Four "pickers" are set loose at a different flea market each week, with $1,000 each, to, in the first round, purchase an item based on criteria put forth by an auctioneer. This is followed by a second, and sometimes third round, where each picker purchases an additional item or two of their own choosing. At the end of the first round, the pickers review each others purchases and decide whether or not they fit the criteria laid out at the start of the show. All the items purchased are then sent to put up in an auction, the winner is the picker who makes the most profit. This show has a similar set-up to the long-running British show Bargain Hunt, except these are all the "experts" rather than a team of two regular people and an "expert" To be fair to the pickers, they are being asked to do the almost impossible, purchase an item for retail at a flea market and then make a profit on it at auction. Keep in mind, most of the items sold at flea markets or antique stores were brought at auction to begin with, and are being sold with a markup. They aren't helped by the fact that the auction houses are half-empty.
That being said, this show is awful. The basic idea of the show, or at least what I think it is suppose to be, sounds interesting...have experts walk though a flea market discussing what is valuable and what isn't and the rationale behind their purchase...but doesn't work. I think part of the problem is there is one picker too many, and I don't think it really matters which one you take out. The other problem is none of the pickers have the charismatic personality needed for interesting television. John Bruno comes close, but goes over the edge into being the crazy hoarding uncle you don't invite to Thanksgiving dinner. Kevin Bruneau has personality, but it comes across as the street-smart scammer trying to get his hand on grandma's silver for a next-to-nothing price. Miller Gaffney and Bob Richter are bland.
