Described as the ‘Rock n Roll version of Antiques Roadshow’ the world’s favourite TV pawn franchise, is getting ready to make its mark down under, with the July 21 premiere of Foxtel’s new local production Pawn Stars Australia on A&E channel.
Hosted by brothers Aaron and Ben Senes, together with best mate Shanon Folden, the trio bring you inside one of Sydney’s most renowned pawn retailer chains, “Happy Hockers”. With five shops, and 22 years behind the counter, Aaron, Ben and Shanon are always ready to buy, sell or pawn anything. If there’s money to be made, there’s always a deal to be done!
“We’re just passionate collectors.” Aaron told me when I caught up with the hosts recently, “We love the history of the item and there’s a good portion of our business that has interesting, unusual items. That’s what we enjoy. Sharing our knowledge that we have and learning the knowledge that our customers have because they teach us a lot.”
The 3 mates love to compete against one another and have great on-screen chemistry. “It’s a friendly rivalry.” says Ben, “who does the best deals? Who gets the best prices? Who buys the best, and who sells the best? It’s a good thing. It keeps you on your toes”
The first series of Pawn Stars Australia features a fascinating collection of items including a treasured tile from the roof of the Sydney Opera House, a Laughing Clown amusement game from Luna Park and even a prosthetic leg. Nothing is off limits.
“Pawn broking is all about doing the deals.” says Aaron, “We don’t have the luxury like a normal retailer where you can just order another ten pair of jeans in once you sell them. We have to buy when we get offered to.”
Doing deals is something the boys relish, and they are always negotiating hard with the customers to get the best price. “A lot of friend’s of mine do shy away from a good haggle. Whether they think it’s rude or they’re not comfortable with it,” says Ben, “I haggle in Westfield’s and retail stores buying Levi jeans. The worst they could say to you is no.”
“I think the secret to haggling or buying smart is, just ask.” adds Aaron, “If you don’t ask for a discount, you won’t get it. Just ask politely and negotiate with integrity.”
Pawn Stars Australia is produced exclusively for Foxtel by Leftfield Pictures, the same company that produces the US series.
“We were approached by some talent scouts working on behalf Left Field, out of New York,” says Shanon “Basically they were tasked to find a pawn business in Australia that would suit the bill to be on TV. They cast a wide net all over Australia.” “One day they just rang up and said that we’ve chosen you guys. Do you want to do it? We said, why not.”
The boys admit to being big fans of the American version and watching it religiously before joining the Australian version. “We’re the same franchise, just different blokes doing the same thing on another side of the world,” says Ben “They deal with a lot of guns, a lot of knives, presidential memorabilia. We don’t have that same depth of history in our business coming out in our country but we do have interesting things from our country. We get items that are related to our country and our history.”
“As pawn-brokers, we know a little bit about a lot. Customers on the other-hand often know quite a lot about a particular subject,” says Aaron, “It’s very interesting for us to learn about the item, the history of the item, the journey of the person acquiring the item. That’s what we enjoy and that’s why we decided to go with TV.
“Everyday is a new day. We never know what we’re going to get.”
Pawn Stars Australia begins Tuesday July 21 on Foxtel’s A&E.
Click to Record this series on Foxtel
