‘American Pickers’ Fans Slam Recent Rare Find As ‘Staged’

Mike Wolfe from Instagram | YouTube

It seems there are always American Pickers fans who feel too many of the rare finds are staged. While it is true that this is a reality TV show, and often, things are re-filmed after they happen to make the show look better, there are some cases where it seems fake from the start. That happened recently with the discovery of a rare Mustang Shelby.

Here is what fans had to say about this Mike Wolfe moment.

Mike Wolfe Finds Rare Shelby In A Barn

A recent post to the American Pickers Facebook page shows Mike Wolfe finding a rare Mustang Shelby. He was at “Kevin & Tink’s Place” in Alabama with Jersey Jon, and they were looking at other things. However, the landowner mentioned Mike should see something in the garage that might interest him.

<yoastmark class=

Mike went into the garage and saw the 1967 Mustang Shelby. Mike called in an expert to give an estimate on what it would take to restore the classic car. The expert told Mike it would cost $100,000 to restore the Shelby to its former pristine glory.

Seeing how much the car would cost to bring back to life, Mike still made a nice offer to the man. He offered up $75,000 to buy the car. Shockingly, the owner rejected the offer. What made this decision puzzling was that the owner said the car had sat in the garage untouched for over 35 years, but he still wanted more than $75,000 to let it go.

Mike left without the car. However, American Pickers fans think the reality TV show staged the entire event.

Fans Lash Out At American Pickers For Staging Scenes

In the comments after the video, many fans set out to blast the show for what they referred to as “staged” or “fake” moments on American Pickers.

Here is a sample of what fans said about the clip of the Mustang Shelby that Mike Wolfe found:

  • “What a Coincidence that they found a rare car on the day they were filming, I mean , what are the odds ??”
  • “Not at all “staged””
  • “I think a lot of this stuff is planted ahead of time.”

Of course, this isn’t the only time people have accused Mike and American Pickers of staging scenes or faking finds. For example, many fans were shocked when learning that many of the moments in Mike’s antique stores (in Iowa and Nashville) are filmed when the stores are closed. They remain scripted scenes.

This leads to many fans wondering if the moments with them finding rare antiques are real or if they fake it for entertainment value.

What are your thoughts on American Pickers possibly faking or staging scenes for the show? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Shawn Lealos
Follow me

2 Comments

  1. the Pickers has gone down hill in recent years even before Frank left the show, it’s all high end stuff now cars and motorcycles , in the beginning it was about finding treasures we could afford and collect, the show has lost its way , and Mike is just no good without Frank . I don’t think it’ll be around much longer unless they go back to the roots of the show. it’s definitely staged now like Pawn stars ..

  2. I’ve been to their store in Nashville. Besides being disappointed (much of the stuff is tourist souvenirs or Not For Sale), there’s no way someone simply comes into an otherwise empty store.

    The early days were good but, it’s too scripted now. It started downhill after Frank’s departure and just isn’t interesting now.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *