The "American Pickers" Just Can't Be Trusted

#1 Sideshow Banners

The hosts picked up some sweet sideshow banners at an old amusement park and valued the entire lot at only $700. They later discovered that the banners were worth closer to $5,000...each.

Fritz and Wolfe returned to Neal Fehnel, the man they purchased the banners from, and gave him an additional $5,000. Some feel they should have paid him an extra $5,000 for each banner, since that was what they'd be able to sell them for.

#2 Custom Von Dutch XAVW Motorcycle

The villainous pair paid $21,000 to pick up this custom bike made up of a combination of Harley-Davidson and Volkswagen parts, which they described as a "holy grail item." While $21,000 sounds like a lot, the item is so rare, it is easily worth significantly more than that. Most people only know Von Dutch due to an unfortunate trucker hat trend in the early '00s. However, Kenny Howard, or "Von Dutch" as he was known, was famous in the automotive world for pin-striping classic cars and putting together custom muscle cars and motorcycles.

#3 This WWII Vet's Saddle

Fritz and Wolfe found this saddle on the property of a World War II veteran and paid him $75 for it. When they had it appraised, they discovered it could be worth between $1,500 and $5,000! They spent $30 restoring it, but when they put it up for sale, they were only able to get $150 for it. We guess that's karma for trying to work a World War II vet for profit.

#4 A Ridiculous Trade

Not even celebrities are impervious to getting scammed. Fritz and Wolfe goaded musician Jack White into giving them $1,000, a photo booth, and jukebox for a taxidermy elephant's head. To be fair, Fritz and Wolfe might have been scammed on the elephant head. Reportedly, they bought it for $9,5000, even though the tusks and ears aren't real and are made of fiberglass. Perhaps they were just trying to make their money back after they realized they made such a bad purchase.

#5 A Lionel Train Set

It was inevitable that Fritz and Wolfe couldn't keep up with their scheming ways forever. The pair ran into a man named Cecil from Kentucky. He had an extraordinary collection of vintage toys. Apparently, even well into his adult life, he saved all the toys he received as a child. They bought a Lionel train set for $8,000, but they sold it for only $3,400. Way to stick it to those smug dudes. That's what you get!

#6 A Set of Motorcycles

Fritz and Wolfe are usually penny pinchers. Nevertheless, they were willing to part with $62,000 for a collection of vintage motorcycles in Massachusetts. The pickers found this treasure trove at Paper City Brewery, of all places. The motorcycles belonged to Jon and Jay Herbert, brothers who also run the brewery. The collection was made up mostly of old Harley-Davidson and Indian motorcycles. The brothers still had plenty of other bikes in their collection.

#7 A Set of Motorcycles

Jay said the bikes they let go weren't in the brothers' refurbishment plan. He admitted that it was hard to part with the five bikes. He told the "Republican," "It was, but as I said on the show, like with one of the ones Frank bought, I wouldn't even be getting to that one in my five-year plan to fix them up." Besides, the money from the sale of the bikes is being reinvested into upgrades for the brothers' business.

#8 Fritz has been sued for his behavior.

Clearly other people have caught on to how out of hand the "American Pickers" hosts have gotten. Fritz was sued by a South Carolina man for swindling him. The man, Jerry Bruce, won a $1,000 judgment against Fritz. Bruce is a keen collector of historic farm tools and agricultural implements. He saw a polarimeter on the show and offered to buy it for $300. Fritz agreed to the sale but never cashed the check or sent the device.

#9 Would you trust this guy around your grandma?

After Fritz got the check, he ceased communication. Bruce sued Fritz for breach of contract, and Fritz failed to show up on the court date. That's why the court ruled in favor of Bruce, and Fritz had to pay him $1,000. The judgment seems fair, considering Bruce just wants to start an agricultural museum. He told the "Greenville News" the project was important, "So that we don't lose our heritage or that kids can see what the world was like about 1880 or during the Civil War."

#10 Wolfe is a phony too.

When the show first started, viewers could see Wolfe's antiques-filled house and marvel at all of the stuff he has been lucky to find over the years. But that's not the real Wolfe. According to an interview with the "New York Times," Wolfe said, "I love this stuff, but I would never live in a place that looks like the places we pick." In fact, Wolfe actually resides in a refurbished building in downtown LeClaire, Iowa. It's located right on the Mississippi River.

#11 Is it really a surprise at this point?

According to the "New York Times," he bought the building for $175,000 after negotiating down from $325,000. He sold some rare items in his collection, mainly unique motorcycles, to pay for the building and its renovation. Now he rents the ground floor to a couple of businesses and lives in a duplex on the top two floors. Wolfe admitted he could never live in the sort of house that's depicted on the show, and that it was all for appearance's sake. Basically, he lied to us to make the TV show look more authentic.

#12 Danielle Colby owes back taxes.

The hosts of "American Pickers" are not the only ones with something to hide. In the past three years, co-star Colby has been served five notices over unpaid retail sales taxes on her antique sales. Reportedly, in 2013, Colby was hit with an order by the IRS to pay nearly $6,000 in retail taxes, stemming from her shop 4 Miles 2 Memphis. In the following years, the government gave her several more notices of tax liens. There's no word on whether she's settled up with Uncle Sam.

#13 The show is staged.

While there is no hard evidence, it's difficult to believe these guys could turn a profit if they actually puttered around looking for valuable items without already knowing where to look. It shouldn't be surprising by now, but most reality shows are staged. They're less "reality" and more a certain version of "reality." Some reality shows employ writers and story editors, which sounds a lot like a scripted show to us.

#14 Why do people even sell to them?

According to an interview with AOL, Wolfe said people just don't want the hassle when they could have cash on the spot. Wolfe said, "People don't want to mess with it. eBay is a full-time job. I've hired someone at my shop, and that's all they do is eBay and put stuff of my website. It's not that they can't understand it, but it's just like, 'I've got too many other things in my life going on right now to mess with this stuff.'"

#15 Auctions are also a hassle.

Wolfe also said that going to auction can be fraught with uncertainty. He told AOL, "Who knows how an auction is going to go? That can go either way, especially in this economy. Things are going a lot cheaper at auctions now. People aren't turning out like they used to at auctions. A little bit of that has changed now that we have the show, and people are like, 'Wow, I can make a buck on the side doing this.' It's rough, man. It's rough out there finding good stuff."

#16 Don't let them fool you.

They may seem like nice guys on TV, but at the end of the day, it's a reality television show meant to deceive you. Be careful if you're unfortunate enough to cross these guys' paths! Also, keep in mind that if a picker is offering to buy from you, they intend to make a profit. That means you probably could, too! It might be hassle, but it could be worth your time to try to sell the piece yourself or go to an auction.