American Pickers (2010– ) User Reviews (79)

I love the boys and set aside Wednesdays to turn on the TV especially.

[cheryl-864-120878 · 8/10 · 10 February 2014]

From reading other reviews here, there seems to be a trend to judge the show not on it's merits, but rather because of the History Channel affiliation. We don't have that problem in Australia. This shows on normal free TV, just like all other shows. I hadn't even realised it was a History Channel show.

I should say in advance that I enjoy shows like Bargain Hunt (UK)and I really enjoy American Pickers.

So, to the show. Obviously these are setups. But the people who appear seem to be real people, and Mike and Frank put them at ease as much as possible. The boys are funny, entertaining and the show is educational. It is an interesting look at different parts of America and the real people who live there. Usually all we see here in Oz are the cities, and often it's not a very flattering view.

I don't think of this as "reality TV" - I think of it as a fun way of learning a bit more about America, it's people and it's history.

We don't watch much TV, but I do turn it on for this one.

Was good, but........

[randychenault · 8/10 · 7 March 2022]

The first seasons are by far the best. No matter what Franks demons may be he really complemented the show. If you watch Mike Wolfe is always trying to cut Frank down.

Since they have incorporated Mike's family the show has been going down. It may be too late to get back to the basics.

Where's Frank

[jersiddall · 6/10 · 26 July 2021]

Would have been 10/10 until they dropped Frank in the recent season. Replacements are going to cut it Mike.

100 miles or 100 years

[SteveCrook · 9/10 · 18 April 2020]

The British often think that 100 miles is a long way. Americans usually think that 100 years is a long time ago.

Mike and Frank seem to think nothing of driving a few hundred miles and often pick items that are a hundred or more years old.

This series is very popular with many of my friends here in the UK.

Entertaining but a bit puzzled.

[beverleyhunniford · 7/10 · 21 February 2021]

This is a program I'll watch and find interesting should I stumble across it. It's the ad break, I don't know what channel I'm on. - oh! Dave. Ok. It's showing several episodes back to back. The first seemed to have a tin toy theme, then the were somewhere buying signs. Next episodes, a couple of visits, the theme seems to be signs. Is it just that most of the collectors have collected signs. Maybe I need to watch more episodes, maybe they don't have themes?

Being in the UK we've grown up with antique programs ranging from high end discoveries on Antique Road Show to accessible objects on Bargain Hunt. Far from giving me insights into what will make money, I'm usually amazed when something makes money and baffled by what makes a loss. With this program I am amazed at how much they pay for items. Considering the glut of signs there appears to be in the US I don't get the prices the pickers are paying. I would rather know how much they actually sell items for but on the whole they just give a valuation which is always higher than they paid. The one item the reported has selling at auction made a massive loss which is what I suspect happens with most of the stuff, if it ever sells. ..... enjoying it, fascinated, intrigued as the numbers don't add up.

Great show, great characters and it is a learning experience.

[sheer64 · 10/10 · 27 September 2011]

I love this show. American Pickers is one of the best reality TV shows to come out of America and even rivals my favorite reality show, Bargain Hunt from the UK. Mike and Frank whilst they seem a little over the top for us Aussies, simply love their job and their passion shows. In a strange way it is a bit Abbott and Costello-ish but that is the beauty of the partnership. Add Danielle who is holding the fort whilst Mike and Frank are away and the team is complete. The characters they meet in their day to day travels picking are the heart and soul of America and every nation. Some of the collections they unearth are to be envied by us all. But the true gem is the fact we learn about the history of the items they pick and the companies that made them. If you read this and have never watched the show I hope this inspires you to have a peek.

Like the guys and the items

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 4 September 2014]

Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe are business partners buying (mostly) and selling old junk. They travel the country and even the world to find interesting items. The boys are helped by Danielle Colby-Cushman.

I'm sure that there is some scripting going on but it doesn't really matter. I don't think anybody actually believe they make their money doing this. The reality is that they probably barely cover their gas money. That's not why I like this show. It's about interesting items and their history as well as the chemistry between the guys. One can't help but like the guys. It's fun to see some of these items and the prices isn't even that important.

Fun while it lasted

[jsucie · 8/10 · 12 October 2021]

I have always enjoyed American Pickers since I first started watching it in 2012. I had never seen a show like it; the collectors, the inheritors, the bat crap crazy. It has always been interesting to see into the lives of so many people and the stuff or treasure, depending on your view, that they had. Seeing Mike's and Frank's excitement when they see a toy, bike, piece of history, something they have never seen before; it was like 2 kids in a toy store. That being said, it is a shame of bad of a falling out Mike and Frank have had in the past year over Frank's allegations after his back surgery. I don't know who is right or wrong but it is always sad when this kind of friendship ends this way. This is not like Mythbusters, where both Jamie and Adam really didn't like each other but managed to work on a show for years without any real public dust-ups; these 2 were actually friends travelling around buying stuff. Without Frank the show just isn't the same; having Danielle and Robbie on it in a far more prominent picking role never seemed right and still doesn't. They have had a wonderful decade of picking for entertainment but time for the show to end.

Missing Frank

[punchup · 7/10 · 24 July 2022]

I used to love this show and never missed an episode, but without Frank I've lost interest completely. Mike's brother is a dud and the other characters just don't make it. The chemistry between Mike and Frank is what made this show work and it was a big mistake letting Frank go. Too bad. Now it's just like watching a bunch of junk collectors.

The end of the road

[oran467 · 1/10 · 19 September 2021]

Time to park the van in reality none of the picks end up in the shop , it was fun when it was Mike and Frank now it's an assembled cast all competing for screen time , it's done let's the dust settle on this show and shelve iit.

Good TV on 3 levels

[doujoe · 9/10 · 2 July 2012]

Let's separate the vitriol and resentment of History channel's programming shift as presented by other reviewers to acknowledge this fact: History has clearly shifted it's initial charter. While I share many of the forlorn opinions of disappointed viewers in History's departure from educational programming, I say to those who resent this change to donate to PBS. History needs to pay the bills and meet viewer demand, so alas we're subject to 75% 'reality shows' that are on the thinnest thread tangentially related to history.

So I evaluate American Pickers as a show in its singularity, and not in the context of the network's namesake. And as far as 'reality' TV goes (a content matter in which I generally avoid), I find this show as wholly engrossing television. My review assumes the reader is familiar with the show's premise.

The appeal has layers for many viewers, perhaps accidentally. It appeals to the human element, the business element, and the joy of discovery. Not necessarily in that order.

The human element shows the primary hosts are affable and enjoyable, and they treat their prospective sellers with respect. The dynamics between the Mike, Frank, and Danielle are enjoyable to watch and relatable to anyone who has worked in a front office/field environment.

The business element is fascinating in the negotiations, valuation, and reward (or loss). For those who have suggested that Mike and Frank are "vultures" looking to "rip people off," I counter by saying these two are forthright businessmen, and they do the work of what any middle party does—that is to maximize profit. If the negative reviewers want to cry injustice, I'd suggest a study in how much it cost to manufacture any iDevice.

The third element, and perhaps most inclusive, is the joy of discovery. Whether it's an old oil can or a rusty old gear shift, it's fascinating to see the collection of odds and ends that would otherwise be discarded, forgotten, or simply erode with time spark with new life by those who can assign value. And superficially, they discover some really interesting items.

So this program has as much to do with history as "Ice Road Truckers" or "Tracking Bigfoot" or any other sensational program on History. Let's face and embrace reality viewers—History has mostly abandoned history some time ago. So whether this show is on History, Discovery, NBC, or Comedy Central, it matters not. This show is good TV regardless of the network.

Both Mike and Frank are rip offs

[flyercrazygw · 9 April 2014]

These guys are so fake, however Frank's cheap and self centered attitude is for real. I've watched this guy haggle over $5 for an item he is going to make a few hundred dollars on, can't stand to watch him wheel and deal with people so I mute the TV when he is ripping off people. Their laughs are so phony and Frank never has anything of value to say, everything he says is so obvious, his grammar is so juvenile and he comes across very uneducated with his comments like "she don't have to know", "he don't know nothing", "we was going to do that", he makes me and thousands of people sick with his cheap dealings, get a clue you little fat piece of crap, people disrespect you because you rip people off "it's just the picker in me", bull!

Oddly entertaining

[siriusdazjensen · 7/10 · 20 January 2020]

This isn't a show I go out of my way to watch. I'll put it on in the background or if there isn't anything else on that i'm interested in. However most of the time I do end up focusing on it because there's just something interesting about it.

People like to say they rip people off but you have to keep in mind they are buying to make a profit. Of course they aren't going to pay retail prices. Also, if you pay attention, quite often they will ask the seller for a price and then give them MORE because they know its worth more. They aren't ripping people off.

They are mostly car, bike, oil, advertising guys so thats the majority of the history you get. Sometimes you get the history of the cool area they're in, sometimes its of the seller and their life. You never know what you're going to get. Most of the time whatever facts and stories that are told are entertaining or at least interesting.

The two guys themselves are fairly entertaining. Mike can be a bit over the top and Frank's mild stand-offish attitude can rub people the wrong way. This is a show based around them, not a show with hired actors, they're real people with real people characteristics.

I lost interest in the show

[franmanm · 1/10 · 5 March 2022]

I lost the ability to keep on watching a show that the people that started it are no longer together. And the way that the cast is all new is the reason why I won't watch the show anymore it feels like it's a stab in the back to the people that actually were doing the show for years that's how I feel. So I boycott and will continue to boycott it forever.

American History

[abeard52 · 8/10 · 14 April 2010]

Two men "Frank and Mike" travel around the country looking for pieces of American history. From reading other reviews it would sound as if these two men are monsters but that is not the case. They are simply bartering for items that an individual has been storing on his property for years. These collectors live in rural areas and have preserved many items that no longer exist. Yes many of them have long beards, own guns and own large tracks of land that they have stored cars, bikes and who know what else for many years. That is no reason to automatically judge them as being idiots, and bigots. Many of these men know exactly what they have and know exactly what they are worth. Also many of these men are in there 60's and 70's, some older and many feel they have to start selling there collections before they die. Many times when the guys show up to "pick" and they end up buying items from the widow who has know clue and just wants to get rid of her husbands collection.

Frank and Mikey or a strange brew but I think its kinda of funny and entertaining. I often find myself impressed of there knowledge and how polite and respectful they our to the folks they are buying from. Many of the collectors they buy from have very deep feelings about there collection and letting go with there items. I think they do a good job of not insulting the collectors and in a way its kinda like a little bit of therapy. They talk the men into selling some of there possessions and most likely they hadn't sold anything off there property in a long time. In all this is a very good show and it is surprising because you never know what they will find.

Entertaining, but unrealistic.

[gerard-45797 · 7/10 · 2 May 2018]

Very fun show to watch, but the logistics just don't make sense, dollars and cents, that is. If these two guys are driving all over of the country wasting time and incurring expenses, how can the make any money when the vast majority of the items they come back with promise to bring a profit of less than $100? couple hundred $ in profit? Frank Fritz is the major culprit here. While Mike Wolfe often does set his sights on big ticket items (and the most interesting ones), Fritz is busy haggling with property owners over whether they will sell that toy or oil can to him for $20 versus the $25 they were asking, so that we he sells it he can make $10 rather than $5. It just doesn't add up, but it is entertaining escapism.

Great show. Anyone who has bought or sold in this type of business can relate.

[jforem1-1 · 9/10 · 22 January 2011]

American Pickers represents a strong niche of society, the buyers, sellers, and collectors of treasures that most people wouldn't regard as treasures. Having worked in a similar type of store growing up, I can relate to their plight.

'Pickers' can take different forms. Some are pure pickers who will go place to place, yard sale to yard sale, buying select items like Mike and Frank do. Others will buy entire estates for a flat fee: trashing the trash and selling the good stuff at different rates. There are multiple variations in the middle.

What makes Mike special is that within picker ranks there are invariably people who are looking for the buck, more than the adventure. There are very few people like Mike who will say something like "its worth more than that" and offer someone a better price on an item when the owner of the item gives him a low price offer. Commenters who think Mike and Frank are "rip-off" artists are incredibly misinformed.

1) Selling items requires knowing the market to sell in. If you place an item for auction you pay a fee on top of placing the item up, and it may not go for what you want. 2) Even selling on Ebay you may not get the price you want. When the show gives the "price" of items, that doesn't mean thats what Mike and Frank will get for the item. But people sell items to them because Mike and Frank have developed a customer base who the individual seller may never be able to find.

American Pickers is a show that does what it advertises to do: tell the history of America piece by piece. The little "historical quips" are NOT what tells the history, as the idiotic review before me noted. Rather the history of America is told through the items, their materials, and the people who hold on to them. American Pickers is a highly recommended show for anyone who wants to deviate from the path of the history books and see American history as it exists today.

Mike's use of MAN

[goodturn · 7/10 · 27 October 2017]

One of my favorite shows on TV, but can Mike stop saying MAN all the time. I'm almost ready to turn the volume down every time he speaks. Enough already ! Other than that, I look forward to the discoveries on each episode. The automotive and motorcycle shows are the ones that I enjoy the most and I'm amazed that there is still that much treasure still out there.

The Real Story Of America

[jedimaster0011 · 10/10 · 13 January 2011]

American Pickers is the true story of America. Small towns and gravel roads. Mike and Frank are digging up America, one piece at a time. The history is evident, the story is true, and the picks are as exciting as it gets. Many people say that there is no history in this show. Well, the history is in the items. Years of Ameican history, be it a local filling station porcelain sign, or a painting of Victorian horse-races. This really depicts small town America, and its ups and downs. Mike and Frank are doing their job, rescuing treasures that would otherwise be rotting in the ground at the expense of the owner. So they are doing all of us a favor by being American Pickers.

Good show!

[whitecap-98991 · 7/10 · 10 February 2020]

I wrote a review, but I lost it before I could send it. Suffice to say, I like the show best when Frank and Mike are on the road. Frank is the best and appears very professional and sincere. Mike seems like a nice guy, too. I think Danielle is best working at the store and talks to the guys by phone after she has worked on a lead. This is just how I feel and is my opinion.

This was a great show.... But not anymore!

[mark-523-226131 · 1/10 · 1 August 2021]

Without Frank, this is not the same show anymore. Don't waste your time watching Mike and his over blown ego.

Best nonfiction show since DIRTY JOBS

[ctomvelu1 · 8/10 · 24 October 2010]

For those not familiar with the show, two antiques proprietors from Iowa travel the country in search of sellable junk. The often end up scouring through miles of old stuff on farms and in junkyards throughout the nation. The show, like DIRTY JOBS and that new pawn shop show, is a perfect mix of entertainment, education and history. The boys have their personal favorites -- one loves old bikes, the other, old signs -- but they will buy anything they think they can sell, to collectors, retail establishments and auction houses. They try to double their money on an item, if they're lucky. The duo is vaguely reminiscent of Tim the Toolman Taylor and his sidekick, Al. Many of the people they meet are elderly gents, often with tons of historical information to go along with each piece of rusty treasure. Back at the office, they employ a busty brunette who runs the business and directs their searches. The show's producers are smart to frequently cut back to this gal, as she is stunning eye candy and the perfect foil for the boys' antics. While she is married, I wonder how many marriage proposals she has received since the show started -- and what she makes of all this newfound fame. The show is laced with humor and good-natured fun. I hope it runs for many years.

Pretty good show

[ljs277 · 7/10 · 25 March 2017]

I used to enjoy this show a lot more but not as much since Danielle took on a bigger role. I love the interaction between Mike and Frank and the many characters they meet on the road. I have to assume that Danielle lobbied for a bigger role, and that change has taken something away from the show.

Where's Frank

[coolcanuck-85580 · 1/10 · 27 July 2021]

It has defiantly gone down hill since Frank has left. I heard Frank had health problems but they are all behind him BUT Mike doesn't want him back. He wants his brother and his cronies to replace him. Not cool Mike.

Great Show...

[Tomorrow437 · 10/10 · 27 February 2012]

I think this show serves a real purpose and does a great job of providing a great view of what this kind of life is all about... Who are we to judge if it is completely "genuine" or not? We see them every week going out there and finding unique items to try and make a profit off of... Some jerks like jokingkong this that it is fake and make themselves feel better by talking crap about the show and even worse about the looks of Danielle... I will say that Danielle is the kind of girl that I always liked. She is a Beautiful girl that has some great tattoos that has a great personality... Although I would watch the show if she wasn't on it she really does add a nice element to the show and adds something special to look at... Idiots can say all they want that it's fake or they are just trying to get things in the cheap... But business is all about profit so I do not blame them for any deal they make because web you're in the middle of nowhere you try to get the best price you can... And for the sellers I don't ever ever ever feel bad for them because if they wanted to make full Retail on their items they would pull it out of the mud and piles of crap they have built up and go find a buyer themselves... These two dig through all of the insane built up piles of junk and find things that Anericans may want to display and decorate there house... I say keep it up Mike and Frank, you're doing great and to Danielle... You are a Beautiful person and I wish you the best... And wish I could hang out with you and listen to some old school punk and hardcore with you :-) American Pickers is one of the best shows on TV... Everything in TV land is somewhat scripted... All I know is this show is entertaining and educational and I Love It... Keep it up guys...