How Much Money Do the Stars of ‘Storage Wars’ Make?
Believe it or not, Storage Wars has been on the air for a decade. The entertaining A&E series is centered around seasoned auctioneers unturning storage units for maximum profits. Since the show’s initial launch, the cast has grown significantly. Dan and Laura Dotson, Dave Hester, Brandon Sheets, Barry Weiss, and Kenny Crossley are just a few of the beloved cast members to take on the screen and auctions over the course of the 12 seasons. Take a moment to recap some of the series most unforgettable moments and find out the details behind how much the cast is actually getting paid.
A look back at some of the most memorable moments on ‘Storage Wars’
An astounding amount of unique and vintage items have turned up over the course of the 269 episodes of Storage Wars. About a year ago A&E put together a video to pay tribute to the most standout moments the series has seen so far.
One of the most uncommon finds to take place on the television series was when they uncovered a classic Fresnel lantern from the golden ages of Hollywood. Another episode showed Sheets finding a German turntable in mint condition that was valued at $1,800. However, some of the discoveries have been stranger than others. Fans and followers of Storage Wars can probably still recall the episode the $6,000 wooden head made an appearance.
Overall, the popular series has covered a lot of content over the years, but fans and followers may still be curious when it comes to the cast and their finances.
How does the cast of ‘Storage Wars’ actually get paid?
The cast and the series have undergone some changes since the show’s premiere. In 2010 when A&E first released the series the cast was making around $2,000 per episode. However, with time, the show’s popularity and success largely expanded. As a result, the cast started bringing in a significant amount of more money.
It is reported that some of the original cast was making upwards of $15,000 per episode as the seasons went on, according to Looper. Other cast members later revealed getting paid even more. One of the stars of the series shared that he was getting paid about $25,000 each episode. Talk about a lot of money. It is no wonder that so much of the cast has such a high valued net worth. Unfortunately, despite the series and the cast’s successes, there are so people who still question the legitimacy of Storage Wars.
Why do so many people think ‘Storage Wars’ is actually fake?
One of the past cast members has generated a lot of conversation when it comes to Storage Wars and the credibility of the series. Hester was considered a fan favorite for many of Storage Wars, and many of his fans and followers were probably disappointed to see the cast member fired from the show in 2012. Much of this seemed to be linked to Hester’s opinions on the behind-the-scenes action as well as the proceeds from the auctions.
When Hester filed a lawsuit with A&E he outlined the many instances and details as to why he believed there were injustices taking place on set. For starters, Hester revealed that producers would often plant valuable and vintage items in the storage units ahead of time. This, of course, not only takes away from the authenticity of the series, but it also makes the financial end of things slightly more complicated. The viewers and audience are led to believe that the big-ticket and highly-valuable items that the auctioneers find are theirs to sell.
However, according to Hester, the reality of the situation is that they would have to return the “salted” items to the producer, which would greatly take away from the “believed” profit. When this information became public many people began to question the authenticity of the show. Nonetheless, it will be curious to see if the series will be making a comeback anytime soon.
