'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison buys Miami Heat ring for $9,000 — but fans question the tough bargain
Rick Harrison, the owner of the world-famous 'Gold & Silver Pawn Shop' in Las Vegas, is known for his hardball negotiation techniques on "Pawn Stars." While his approach has helped him bag massively profitable deals, sometimes they backfire, like the time when Harrison almost blew the deal for a 'Miami Heat '06 Championship Ring' to save just $3,000. While the seller came around to make a deal in the end, fans had a lot to say about his style.
In the episode, the seller, Tony, brought the championship ring with high hopes of selling it for a profit. "I came to the pawn shop today to try to sell my Miami Heat '06 championship ring. It's got diamonds; the workmanship on it is fantastic. It's just an awesome ring," he said in his interview.
Upon looking at the ring, Harrison, too, acknowledged that it was a cool item. When asked where he got it from, Tony said that he bought it three years ago from a collector. "All right, and what does '15 Strong' on the side mean?" the pawn boss asked, looking at the ring. "That means there are 15 players on the Miami Heat basketball team that won the championship," Tony explained.
Harrison pointed out that it wasn't a player's ring, as those had a lot more diamonds on them. "They were bigger, and the players got a number on theirs, too," he said. Nevertheless, the pawn boss loved the ring. "They're big, embellished, and they look great in my showcase," he said, noting that championship rings are always collectible. "They don't come on the market too often, because people tend to hold onto them," Harrison added.
He then asked for the price, and Tony told him that he was hoping to get at least $20,000 for the ring. Hearing the number, Harrison straight up refused to make a deal, shaking his head. "Ah, no, no, no, no, not going to happen," he said. He then told Tony that since it wasn't a player's ring, the best he could offer was $8,000. "Oh, I need to get at least $14,000 out of it," the seller said in response.
Hearing this, Harrison went up to $9,000 and stuck with it. Tony made multiple counteroffers, with the lowest being $12,000. "I'll sell it to you for $12,000 today. If you don't sell it in six months, I'll buy it back for $12,000," he offered. Sticking to his usual hardball approach, Harrison refused, and Tony left the shop without a deal. He then returned and asked if Harrison was willing to split the profits later. When Harrison refused, Tony gave in and sold the ring for $9,000.
"But I'll tell you what, when you sell it for probably $18,000-$20,000, just remember my face," Tony said in the end. "You've got to remember, this is a cash business and this is Vegas," Harrison replied.
While Harrison managed to pull off the deal, fans didn't hold back in the comments section of the show's YouTube clip. "People go to a pawn shop for quick cash. They should never expect a good price selling to Rick," wrote @GreatDataVideos.
"Bro's reverse lowballing the Master of lowballing" joked another fan, @jamesweb5305. "If only Rick had called in an expert, he could’ve got the ring cheaper!" suggested another fan, @whitemamba24xe98.
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'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison offered $10,000 for coin linked to the Titanic — but the deal sank
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