Dancing & Skating with the Stars!? Outdoing American Picker?
We're among the millions of folk who watch Dancing with the Stars. We watch ABC's Castle too and Bachelor and Bachelorette. We are among those who are hooked by some of ABC's shows although not all.
After an initial brief love affair with Grey's Anatomy years ago, the infatuation wore off and we developed a profound apathy about what was going to happen next. There were too many promoted gasps of "omg, what will happen next?" regarding the love lives of the characters and the emergency medical procedures. The last one I remember watching was the one where the bomb blew up in the hospital. I think that's what happened. It was years ago and after that, I lost interest in one more enormous emergency. No matter whether it was in a love life or the emergency room.
But I do like quite a few of ABC's programs. (I watched the 20/20 program last night and was shocked and troubled by the story of Ray Spencer, a man who was imprisoned for twenty years for crimes he never committed.)
Getting back to the much lighter than 20/20 Dancing with the Stars, we were amused to hear the announcement of ABC's new entry in their schedule: Skating with the Stars. The developers of TV programs lately seem to be stuck in a rut creatively. When they can't think of new ideas, their solution is to take an old idea that was successful and make a variation of it. This happens everywhere in TV land.
Recently we got a phone call from a company (not ABC) that develops TV programs. They called us because they saw one of our antique mechanical bank listings on ebay. Apparently they did not take the time to look at our About Me page on ebay. Or if they did look at it, they called us anyway, ignoring the information there.
The reason that they called was that they wanted to develop a series in which they would find people who didn't know what they had as far as value. Then they would research the items and put them in a televised auction where the bank or whatever the item was would bring at least twice if not more what other similar items had brought. That is what the person on the phone said. Although later in the conversation, when asked, the person said that there would be no reserve allowed or guarantee of what it would bring. They also said that the seller would be asked, after the exciting sale, of what they would do with all the money! But later, when told that the amount bid could be disappointing, they said that, of course, that could happen and that they would use that also in the after the auction story line.
Take into account that they were talking to my husband who has been a member of the Mechanical Bank Collecting Association for over forty years and has been an antiques dealer for longer than that. They were saying that they were going to get him at least twice or more what he, an experienced collector/dealer, was asking for a bank he currently had for sale. This is kind of like calling art dealer Saatchi and telling him that they could get him twice or more of what he wanted for an artwork he had for sale and telling him how excited he was going to be by the sale. Of course, this would all be televised and no art dealers or mechanical bank collectors, as the case may be, would be at all influenced by the fact that the much publicized owner of the item was an experienced dealer/collector. How naive can a TV developer be?
The reasoning behind the TV program developers thinking was that the History Channel's American Pickers and Pawnstars had been hugely successful so this was the next step. That they would have a show where the item's owners, not the pickers or the pawn shop, would be the recipient of huge amounts of money and they would find these currently unknown owners with their currently unknown treasures and they would put them on TV where they would find the currently unknown passionate collectors who would make everyone rich at the auction where it all would bring lots and lots of money! Where they were going to get the crystal ball that would be needed, I don't know. They should figure that out first!
So they call an experienced antique dealer specialist in mechanical banks to ask him if he is interested in participating in their idea. And if not, if he would refer people to them who have undiscovered treasures that they would be willing to sell in an auction on their program?
I have a suggestion for the TV program developers that called us. Since they know the guys who are the American Pickers, why not ask the American Pickers to refer these folks with the undiscovered treasures to the TV developers and see what the American Pickers have to say about their idea?
Shortly after receiving that phone call, we saw Syfy's new program Hollywood Treasure and realized that the person who had called us perhaps was hoping to do a variation on that theme. But without the "in" or the knowledge of a Joe Maddalena into where the "treasures" might be. They thought that by calling someone with a valuable mechanical bank listed on ebay, they might locate the treasures!
I hate to say it as I am at heart a big softie and don't like the idea of anyone losing their job, especially in this difficult economy, but if I were the boss of the person who called us, I would have to fire them. By calling us, they showed their hand in not having done due diligence and they showed a lack of logic and sense in how auction prices are achieved and a lack of logic in how to find a true treasure. I'd be like Donald Trump. You are SO fired!
I will talk about my thoughts on the subject of Skating with the Stars in my next post.
Ginny
After an initial brief love affair with Grey's Anatomy years ago, the infatuation wore off and we developed a profound apathy about what was going to happen next. There were too many promoted gasps of "omg, what will happen next?" regarding the love lives of the characters and the emergency medical procedures. The last one I remember watching was the one where the bomb blew up in the hospital. I think that's what happened. It was years ago and after that, I lost interest in one more enormous emergency. No matter whether it was in a love life or the emergency room.
But I do like quite a few of ABC's programs. (I watched the 20/20 program last night and was shocked and troubled by the story of Ray Spencer, a man who was imprisoned for twenty years for crimes he never committed.)
Getting back to the much lighter than 20/20 Dancing with the Stars, we were amused to hear the announcement of ABC's new entry in their schedule: Skating with the Stars. The developers of TV programs lately seem to be stuck in a rut creatively. When they can't think of new ideas, their solution is to take an old idea that was successful and make a variation of it. This happens everywhere in TV land.
Recently we got a phone call from a company (not ABC) that develops TV programs. They called us because they saw one of our antique mechanical bank listings on ebay. Apparently they did not take the time to look at our About Me page on ebay. Or if they did look at it, they called us anyway, ignoring the information there.
The reason that they called was that they wanted to develop a series in which they would find people who didn't know what they had as far as value. Then they would research the items and put them in a televised auction where the bank or whatever the item was would bring at least twice if not more what other similar items had brought. That is what the person on the phone said. Although later in the conversation, when asked, the person said that there would be no reserve allowed or guarantee of what it would bring. They also said that the seller would be asked, after the exciting sale, of what they would do with all the money! But later, when told that the amount bid could be disappointing, they said that, of course, that could happen and that they would use that also in the after the auction story line.
Take into account that they were talking to my husband who has been a member of the Mechanical Bank Collecting Association for over forty years and has been an antiques dealer for longer than that. They were saying that they were going to get him at least twice or more what he, an experienced collector/dealer, was asking for a bank he currently had for sale. This is kind of like calling art dealer Saatchi and telling him that they could get him twice or more of what he wanted for an artwork he had for sale and telling him how excited he was going to be by the sale. Of course, this would all be televised and no art dealers or mechanical bank collectors, as the case may be, would be at all influenced by the fact that the much publicized owner of the item was an experienced dealer/collector. How naive can a TV developer be?
The reasoning behind the TV program developers thinking was that the History Channel's American Pickers and Pawnstars had been hugely successful so this was the next step. That they would have a show where the item's owners, not the pickers or the pawn shop, would be the recipient of huge amounts of money and they would find these currently unknown owners with their currently unknown treasures and they would put them on TV where they would find the currently unknown passionate collectors who would make everyone rich at the auction where it all would bring lots and lots of money! Where they were going to get the crystal ball that would be needed, I don't know. They should figure that out first!
So they call an experienced antique dealer specialist in mechanical banks to ask him if he is interested in participating in their idea. And if not, if he would refer people to them who have undiscovered treasures that they would be willing to sell in an auction on their program?
I have a suggestion for the TV program developers that called us. Since they know the guys who are the American Pickers, why not ask the American Pickers to refer these folks with the undiscovered treasures to the TV developers and see what the American Pickers have to say about their idea?
Shortly after receiving that phone call, we saw Syfy's new program Hollywood Treasure and realized that the person who had called us perhaps was hoping to do a variation on that theme. But without the "in" or the knowledge of a Joe Maddalena into where the "treasures" might be. They thought that by calling someone with a valuable mechanical bank listed on ebay, they might locate the treasures!
I hate to say it as I am at heart a big softie and don't like the idea of anyone losing their job, especially in this difficult economy, but if I were the boss of the person who called us, I would have to fire them. By calling us, they showed their hand in not having done due diligence and they showed a lack of logic and sense in how auction prices are achieved and a lack of logic in how to find a true treasure. I'd be like Donald Trump. You are SO fired!
I will talk about my thoughts on the subject of Skating with the Stars in my next post.
Ginny
