User reviews

Why does Ashley do those stupid looks, her eyes roll, she tries to stare people out, she looks crazy. She should look at herself, she looks like a person not understand what is going on, she does it to staff, customers, her brother, dad and the Cat......

This show is like a school bus fire.It's very upsetting but at the same time it's impossible to look away.They offer up every Jewish stereotype in the world, then go nutzoid on anyone who says the word "Jew".Did I mention that it's also 100% fake?The basic premise is that a family runs a pawn shop and they all hate each other.For almost a decade they have been talking about how the annoying fat girl just came back from having a baby.She spends all her time trying to undermine what everyone else is doing and it's quickly clear that she is an angry troll with a tiny brain, the only tiny thing about her.For some reason every customer who comes in goes crazy and has to be dragged out by security.Even though there are signs everywhere saying that you have to take items to the window to sell them, no one ever goes to the window.The best thing about this show is that they don't even try to pretend that it's real.Every customer who freaks out is clearly wearing a microphone.One time people who got thrown out could clearly be heard talking in their car that was a hundred feet away and had all the windows up.Another time they needed a necklace made by the end of the day.The jeweler says there's not enough time to do it and he's told to get it done before he leaves so he immediately goes to lunch because that makes sense.Then the owner "accidentally" melts the necklace.This show is total garbage but I can't stop watching.It's much better than Pawn Stars.

What is wrong with this person? She seems to be constantly arguing with everyone, pushing her nose into other peoples business, and generally being the most unpleasant person in existence.

After watching 2 episodes of "Hardcore Pawn" and noticing that the producer of the show is Richard Dominick, I wasn't surprised. Dominick is/was the producer of the Jerry Springer show, and unless you've been living under a rock, you know what drek that show is.

Others have commented on the curious similarity, or dissimilarity to 'Pawn Stars', if you were hoping for something in the same vein, forget about it. Pawn Stars in a more interesting take on the PBS show 'Antiques Roadshow' and is interesting as well as entertaining. HP is televised ghetto exploitation, I felt like taking a shower after watching it.

It gets 2 stars because the camera operator didn't drop the camera, I'm feeling generous today.

Found this show by accident and thought at first it was some parody of Pawn Stars but after watching 4 or 5 episodes I have come to some firm opinions. First, if ever a show perpetuated stereotypes, it's this one. From the sneering, low ball price offering Jewish money lender who "just want to help every one out if I could" (the father) to the "look at me, I'm tough when I stand behind my burly bodyguards and flex my mini-muscles while I imitate Daddy's sneer (the son) to the whining, screech-voiced princess of a daughter who, by the way, should probably spend more time pushing herself away from the table, and less time proclaiming how much she and her brood of Harpy's " care about the people". I'm still not convinced that everything that happens in that zoo isn't at least slightly enhanced for the cameras. That being said, I thank my lucky stars I've never had to deal with anyone like this group and I'm sure glad I don't live in Detroit but anyone who buys the crap this bunch is selling and thinks this is compelling TV would probably shop there. God forbid.!!

I'm of Asian descent. My uncle had the only supermarket in Watts, L.A. He had surveillance cameras in every aisle. His family lived in a house right in the middle of Watts. I would go visit him every once in a while and it would be commonplace to hear gunshot fire almost every night. I'd imagine American Jewelery and Loan is in a similar position. As far as I know the people in Watts were thankful to my uncle because it was one of the few places to go to cash their welfare checks and buy food. Hardcore Pawn reminds me of my time spent in Watts with my uncle and cousins. The irate customers on HP are real and hats off to Les Gold and family to be able to deal with it day in and day out. Is the show completely staged? I don't think so. You won't see much interesting merchandise but you'll see a lot of interesting people to people interaction. I only wish the show wouldn't edit the sound so much. More raw realism please.

Being among the majority of viewers who find (some) entertainment in this, the latest style of "reality shows." ie based on odd albeit interesting professions. I HAVE TO SAY, "This family was born to do this work." For a minute, their competition, "PAWN STARS" almost lifted the reputation of pawnbrokers OUT of the gutter. FEAR NOT American PAWNBROKERS EVERYWHERE......this family are the very brand of parasites your "profession" is believed to have in droves. I'll start at the top. Ashley the sister, is without a doubt, her fathers daughter, but at times, shows some charity if only by giving "lip service" to the plight of those she deals with. Les Gold, the father is a "stand fast" negotiator, if he sets a price when buying merchandise, he won't budge from THAT price no matter what. The problem is, the price is NEVER FAIR. One gets the impression that as a boy, he must have been bullied. The reason for this is, no matter the price asked by a seller, he always goes lower, as if to force his will on the person he deals with. And NEVER SLIGHTLY LOWER...he goes so low as to insure disappointment, injury if you will. A not so sub-conscious need to avenge his own honor. He achieves the opposite. In any environment, outside an actual "Court of Law" what he does, would be considered robbery. The son Seth, is the worst of the bunch. He derives some sort of internal pleasure each time he "gets the better" of some poor "down on their luck" citizen of Detroit. The expression on his face is chilling. It isn't so much a smile as it is a sneer, showing contempt for those he considers beneath him. ie. The very people who put food on his table. He drew a "misers pleasure" by charging a fee from a man whose superstition put a need to have daily contact with some figurine he had pawned with the shop. To watch Seth tell his little scheme of charging a "visitation fee" was truly "telling". He all but wrung his hands, like the classic "villan" in an old "silent film". I feel it necessary at this point to mention that although they're in the same trade, the folks on "Pawn Stars" conduct business in a completely different manner. I suspect that when a client leaves the Vegas pawn shop, he feels as if he's been treated fairly and with respect. In contrast.....when a Detroit citizen leaves "American Pawn and Jewelry" the ONLY thing he feels....is the need for a bath.

In closing, I can't help remembering the woman who came into "Pawn Stars" with a small, old fashioned pin. A butterfly perhaps..... She was hoping for a hundred dollars or two, as she'd found it in a drawer belonging to her recently passed granny and knew nothing of its' true value....after close inspection of the pin, and the blue box it came in, the "pawnbroker" informed the woman of what she had.....what the "Pawn Stars pawnbroker could EASILY have purchased for a mere few hundred dollars. Would NOW cost him $17,000.00, due to his sense of "fair play". Had this woman possessed the "bad luck" of living in Detroit, Les or Seth Gold would have probably whittled her down to a hundred dollars or less, and walked away feeling fulfilled by their negotiating "skill"(?)and their ability to wrangle a larger profit from an unsuspecting victim. This show is worth watching if only to show HOW NOT TO DO BUSINESS.

This is a family owned business in Detroit, Michigan. Les and his two children run the business. They are allowed to make the rules how they see fit. People use their store as an outlet to get CASH for their possessions. They have two choices: They can PAWN which means they have to pay their loan back. Or, they can sell. The owners of the business DO NOT have to GIVE THEM MONEY. This isn't a FREE RIDE.

They don't have to GIVE YOU MONEY. It's NOT OBAMA CARE. It's a business. From what I've seen, they've had to grow a tough skin. It's obvious they have to hire BIG security guards for a reason. Drug addicts, low life's and just bad people sometimes need to resort to cheating. That's not what this family is about. They are just trying to help the people who are! Seth, you need to smile more and quit acting like an expert. You're too young. You act like your dad owes you a living. Learn a lesson or two and quit disrespecting you dad. Ashley, I love your tenacity! Keep it up. Les, I think it's wonderful how you are trying to teach your children how to run a successful business and sometimes how to deal with people that think they are ENTITLED.

I know a lot of Hardcore Pawn is fake for TV, but for all the contrived bickering between Ashley and Seth, or Ashley and pretty much anyone, or the antics of the various crazy customers, there is something very real about the show. The mood swings and the shifting alliances of the Gold family and their employees feel very genuine, and while the constant hysterics might grate sometimes, it's still much more entertaining than yet another reality show about vapid relatives of a Zelebrity, or the sex lives of drunken 20 year olds. There are a lot of moments which are just a pure adrenaline rush, as well as occasional moments of tenderness (like when Seth tells Ashley she did a good job in how she handled firing someone).

Neither Hardcore or Pawn Stars are a great guide to real life. One is full of fireworks, the other is full of somewhat laborious lectures and painful "comedy" segments with Chumley. Both of them thrive because of the relationships of the people who run the shops.

If you want a painstakingly realistic chronicle of life, then don't watch Hardcore Pawn. If you want a fun ride which is at times a little more realistic than you may want to admit, then give it a try.

In recent years Tru TV has been churning out these phony Reality shows at a brisk clip. Probably entirely scripted, their casts aren't real actors and are only marginally real humans. The opening tag "Based on real-life events", is key to understanding this deception. It's a slippery way of saying "We made it all up". If you're willing to spend the $ to become a member of IMDb Pro, you'll discover that they helpfully break down viewership demographically. Guess who likes "Operation Repo", "Hardcore Pawn" and all the others....Young Males....period. I was one of those a long time ago and remember being loud and self-importantly clueless. If you assume everyone likes to watch shows full of people and situations they can identify with you begin to understand. This is about capturing the attention of the advertisers dream audience. Undiscriminating immature dudes. It's deeply cynical of Tru TV execs to pretend these shows are anything but bogus and shows a genuine contempt for their target audience. Ugly, full of improbable events and noisy cranks it's not even good fiction. Radioactively bad.

So I've read some reviews on here and all the negative ones are absolutely true. The family who runs this business is first class trash and does not deserve any kind of support. The way they treat people, customers and employers alike, is apalling. Clearly, a lot of events are staged and rehearsed, but who in their right mind would want to appear like this on television? Not even trailer trash would stoop so low.

Still, the show is a guilty pleasure of mine. It can be fun to watch and the shenanigans of this family can glue you to your seat, waiting for what's next. One tip though: Do not watch too many episodes in a row, as the amount of agression and stipudity in each one can wear you down.

We have Hardcore Pawn in Ireland for the past year and a half. I first watched it a couple of months ago. In that time i don't think i have ever seen a family business run in the manner that this family run theirs. Normally when the kids come to work in the family business they start somewhere at the bottom so that they learn respect for Authority. These two consequences for children do not even respect their own father never mind that chap Rich who has been manager for 25 years. The series is a few years behind here in Ireland so i had to see an updated version to see if Rich the manager was still there. I just happened to look at the episode where he gets sacked. I can only say that they should be called the "Adams Family in Pawn" cause thats where it is at in terms of logic business. To think they have not grown up in two years is unbelievable. I did see the next episode where Rich comes back, but the Father is in the background watching him like a hawk as though he has done something terrible. The two Gold Kids should go out and get a job in the real world and learn to have respect for other human beings. If they want to be in Managerial Positions, first learn to be the employee so to understand the importance of the employee. The only other reason for all of this carry on is that it is staged. I would like to believe this is the case rather than to believe that this family actually run their business in the manner they do. If it is true the way they carry on, i can just imagine the family home on Thanksgiving: Ashley: Dad Seth is picking on me again. Seth: No Im not Dad, i had first say on the Turkey drumstick and she just can't keep getting her own way on everything. Dad: if the two of you don't stop arguing i will give the drumstick to your Mother. I've been cutting up turkey's for many years and i want you both to learn how to cut up a Turkey together even if it means on the journey you cut the Turkey to ribbons each year while you learn, at least in the end you will learn. The Turkey in this case is the employee's and the Father hopes that in the end they will eventually learn to respect the employees that are under their supervision. If the above is actually real. Its a very very long journey.

These have to be the most immensely loathsome,vile,disturbed clan of knuckle dragging self f isting troglodyte cave dwellers ever been,for some misbegotten reason,allowed on tv.I can imagine that shafting peasant les hovering like a crazed vulture salivating over his parents dying bodies waiting to rip their jewellery & gold teeth out & the other two thinking how to do away with the other

This program is painful to watch. 90% of the customers are African-American's that seem to wish to to run scams on the owners. The other painful aspect is Ashley! This woman has to be seen to be believed! She is an Out-of-Control, control freak and doesn't know what she is doing in the first place. If the old man is going to depend on her to run the business, he might as well burn the place down right now. Other than this woman going off on the customers and her co-workers, the other employees seem to have the patients of Saints.The program has shown me that the art of negotiation is a many faceted one, especially when being the pawn-broker that automatically has the upper hand in this process.

Let's put this show in context, it's a reality show. So if you're expecting Jerry Springer meets pawn shop, you're in for a good time!

That's until you see the one person who completely ruined the show. I know you're thinking, "hey didn't you just say, not to take this show too serious and that it's a reality show?"

Yes I did, but then the most annoying, immature, "see you next Tuesday" TV personality I have ever seen on TV, literally made it impossible to watch the show... seriously, I stopped watching mid episode and have not watched another one.

Note to producers: 1) The stars of the show are the pawn business, seeing interesting items, and the freaks that bring them in. 2) Remove Ashley from the show.

This show is fantastic. If you're into precious metals, ancient guns, and historical artifacts- THIS IS NOT THE SHOW FOR YOU. If you have more than 2 working brain cells you will clearly see that this show isn't anything like Pawn Stars. Pawn Stars is more on the historical side,(hence the network they are on) while Hardcore Pawn is more on the "intense" and "realistic" side of the pawn business. This show is a REALITY show. Comparing it Pawn Stars is like comparing Terminator to Back to the Future. In which they share a certain concept but not a genre. I really got into this show, they actually want to help people and don't rip off every single customer they meet. It's not a perfect 10 but it's fun to watch. Seriously, if you're into reality shows, this is a must watch. It's funny, intense, and really realistic.

It's entertaining to see the crazies on this, of course it's fake. But so is WWE wrestling. Is it the greatest series on tv among the likes of the over rated game of thrones or breaking bad. No. I doubt I'd be able to watch this weekly either. This show is a guilty pleasure for me to binge watch after a long day. Find me any reality show that is real.. let alone as entertaining. All I can think of is Honey Boo boo, the kardashians or jersey shore how awful all 3 of them are.

What I can't stand is all the conflict the brother and sister have. If you've got a sibling you know how it can be but it's just silly how the script is written around all of them. One of my favorites who was on it and the episode screamed fake was for a $20,000 watch the old man (Les) paid $5,000 for to only find out it's fake. He then phones the man pretending he'll buy his other watches. Shouts at the man and magically the money comes out of his wallet. Who walks around with $5000 cash in a rough neighborhood like 8 mile in Detroit and politely just hands it back over. Or when they had a 1954 Fender Stratocaster electric guitar (first year they were sold) they had it in a really bad place where it could fall over as they can easily fetch around $50,000 to $100,000 area. The way they handled it in the back they had no idea what they were doing if it was a real 1954 strat and it was so poorly researched for the script on the show.

It's amazing how little the staff gets hit. One security guard always seems to push them all out. None of them have receipts, no one makes police reports when a spouse or loved one steals and pawns their stuff and every customer the kids or the old man (Les) can't wait to come from behind bullet proof glass to stare them down and even walks some out of the store just so they can have the last word. They always say stuff like "GO AHEAD, HIT ME!!" I just find it amazing they can buy pretty much anything say a bar stool let's say Ron Jeremy sat on and then 5 or 10 minutes into the episode someone buys it and Les or one of the kids tells the viewers how awesome they are. I'll admit though a few episodes I did burst out laughing but some viewers are just overly fake to the point you question how much they got paid to do or say what they did.

I'd rather this than Friends, Seinfeld, Fraiser , The office or Big Bang Theory any day of the week.

... then you will hate this show. When I first saw this show I assumed it was a blatant rip off of Pawn Stars. However, since I love that show I thought that it would be worthwhile to have another similar show to enjoy. Unfortunately this show is simply terrible.

Overall, none of the characters are amusing or worth watching nor is any of the merchandise interesting. This is a sharp contrast to Pawn Stars where the items being pawned are often historically valuable and the members of the show are genuinely funny.

I gave this show the benefit of the doubt and watched four episodes. In this sample, not one item of interest was pawned, I didn't find any part funny, and most of the scenes seem staged and unbelievable. In other reviews you will consistently see the episode with the gun store mentioned. This is because that particular scene seemed like it might be the most interesting situation in the show. However, once they've strung you on until the last twenty seconds of the episode it appears extremely fake and totally unreasonable.

To be fair a lot of my criticism focuses on the comparison of this show to Pawn Stars. Not only does it seem like an extremely cheap knock off, even if I had never seen Pawn Stars I think this might be one of the worst shows I have ever seen.

I find it hilarious people gave it a low rating because they expected Pawn Stars (they're a little obnoxious). A pawn shop in any tourist area is going to have nicer stuff (they obviously wont take low end stuff, no biggie its Vegas after-all), Vegas gets tons of tourists, tons of opportunity to make money. Two totally different economies! They don't typically give people breaks.

This show I love. It takes place in the hood, not the strip! What do people expect? Maybe because most Americans can give two shits about Detroit. I love Les! He's so cool, and always chill and do what it takes to help out the customers! Even if they're fuming mad over their personal problems. (which most store owners won't, especially with people of color, keeping it real)

I remember a girl came in looking for funeral money for her father with tear filled eyes, had to pawn something. She wanted a little more, and Les thought she may have been lying (which some do), BUT he did it anyway.

Les helped her out and she came back to thank him and to prove she was sincere! He then donated some money to her! <3 THAT'S WHAT I LOVE! not some douche in Vegas who would've been like "Not my problem." I don't what wrong with the show according to other people, but I like it and agree with Engel Fleurs. This shows has a sense of community that Pawn Stars lacks.

:D PS chum's an idiot.

I see reviewers talking about how "Hardcore Pawn" is fake & it's nothing like Pawn Stars. Let me point some things out to you that might persuade your opinion. It takes place in Detroit, one of the poorest cities in America. These are low income humans who's desperate for any kind of money. This isn't some high price business located on the strip of Las Vegas, Nevada, like pawn stars is. I will just say, Hardcore Pawn is delightfully entertaining. The cast is down to earth and likable except for Ashley. She has an attitude, and she thinks she's always right & if you question her or talk down to her she'll give you hell. If you find humor in others embarrassing themselves, & if you want a look into real life pawn. Then this is the show for you. If you find humor in good negotiating & historical artifacts, head on over to Pawn Stars on History channel.