The Pawn Stars often make an opening bid that sounds really low, even after an outside expert has made an assessment of the item and offered an opinion on its value. That's called a 'lowball' offer, and it's designed to get a reaction from the Seller and to test how committed they are to their position.

Do the Pawn Stars really know so much?

Pawn Stars fans were caught by surprise when series star Austin Lee "Chumlee" Russell was arrested for drug and weapon possession as part of an ongoing sexual assault investigation. The truth is, we never really know the people we like seeing on TV.

Do pawnshops lowball?

If you walk into a pawn shop and try to sell an item without knowing its value, then you're asking to be ripped off. Much of what we own has no market value. ... They likely work for the shop, which means they're going to low-ball the item so their employer can acquire the item for much less than the true market value.