The WWII Items That Had Rick In A Heated Negotiation On Pawn Stars
Rick Harrison of "Pawn Stars" is a master negotiator. He's been in the pawn business for decades now, and while sellers who come into his hock shop may try to get as much money as they can from him, Harrison knows exactly how much he needs to spend on an item to turn a profit. His negotiation skills began even before he opened shop as he tells a story of how he managed to expose a Las Vegas loophole to get a pawn license for $50 when they ordinarily cost $1 million.
Many of the great deals Harrison has made over the years come from him dealing with people who don't really know how to haggle; however, he runs into a bit more trouble when he goes toe-to-toe with others in the pawning business. That's precisely what happened in the Season 18 episode, "Atomic Pawn," when the real-life pawn star took a trip to Southern California to see what goods he could bring back to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop.
He arrived at a private showroom filled to the brim with rare items straight out of World War II. Harrison probably would've taken as much as he could've carried out of the shop, but he met his match when it came to the art of arbitration.
Rick Harrison probably paid more than he wanted to in this episode
There's a central issue at the heart of this episode. The other shop owner wants to make a profit, but Harrison needs to ensure he can resell the items at an even higher return on his investment. Despite the litany of WWII gear in front of him, he doesn't go home with everything he wants. Plus, most of the stuff he does purchase goes for higher than he would've likely wanted. By the end and after a lot of back and forth, he buys two WWII-era bags and a vintage submarine battle flag for $5,075 total.
A lot of cool pieces end up going back into storage, most notably the bomber jacket affiliated with the Enola Gay. It's the most valuable piece put in front of Harrison, but since there aren't many comparable items to it, he's not quite sure how much he can get out of it. Dealing with unique collectibles is a gamble, and despite coming from Las Vegas, he's not the kind of guy to take unnecessary risks.
Below the YouTube clip, a ton of comments pour in from "Pawn Stars" fans who took complete and utter delight in seeing Harrison squirm a little bit in his own negotiations. Comments like "Glad to see Rick finally met his match" and "This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object" show how people enjoy seeing the "Pawn Stars" crew face a challenge every once in a while.