antique archeology

It's kind of been turned into a tourist trap. There is a second building only for souvenirs yet the main building is also half gift shop. One cool thing is you get to see some stuff that was on the show. You will recognize some of the items. However, of course, none of the people that are on the show actually work there. Would not necessarily recommend unless your in the area or your a fan of the show American Pickers.

If you love the show this place is for you. Lots of things that you'll remember from prior picks, and every kind of tshirt and doodad you could ever want. Prices for something seemed high, but most of the antiques (there weren't all that many) seemed like they were priced like at other antique malls. Smaller than you expect - you don't need much time.

Not just a TON to see, but we still enjoyed it. Saw several things we recognized from the show, including the albino raccoon! There were some very expensive things, some T-shirts and some cheap nick nacks. It was mostly fun to see items from the show.

I like antiques and appreciate seeing the vision of pickers, so was looking forward to seeing this place. I figured there would be a lot that you didn't see on the show. Unfortunately Antique Archaeology is nothing more than a prop for the television show. Very little in the way of anitques and vintage for sale. Large shelving areas of the store marked "NFS". No legitimate retailer would take up large amounts of floor space with things that weren't for sale. This "store" is nothing more than a made up TV set like you see if you went on the Universal Studios back stage tour.The irony here is that legitimate dealers have a hard time making it these days because everyone thinks they are "American Pickers" while the reality is that the stars of the show aren't making any sort of living picking. They are making their living at being reality TV stars and selling t-shirts. When Frank says in the opening of the show that he'll buy "anything he can make a buck on" he means cheap t-shirts from China, not antiques. And if you're one of the fools that thinks these "pickers" are going to buy anything from you, get over it. That's not their business. They get hundreds of emails and phone calls a day. They aren't going to buy anything from you unless they can make an episode out of it.The building is cute and the store is styled nicely. Your dream brick loft come true. Which makes sense. I'm sure the network put a lot of work in to the store and gets a percentage of everything sold. I appreciate that the store brought me into Le Claire which I probably never would have visited otherwise. There are a lot of legitimate dealers in the area and it's a nice place to walk around. The store is staffed with cute steam punk looking girls with Betty Paige bangs working in the store who enjoy interacting with the public-all probably under the age of 25-who seem to be there to satisfy the minions of men who are lusting after Danielle but can't see her. If you're one of the idiots that is going in here just so you can see people who are on TV, you won't find the shows stars here. Why would you? They don't have a business to run. I actually didn't know people were so enamored with D list TV stars, but there were plenty of people pulling up who were there to see the shows stars and had no interest in antiques at all.I guess I should have known better. All reality TV is fake. I don't know what I was thinking. I was always skeptical that these guys could make any sort of living driving around the country buying things and reselling them. if the show is any indication, they couldn't even cover the cost of gas and hotels for what they are making. But duh, that's because they aren't. But still, I really just thought the TV show was a side business that was bringing business to the store. I thought these guys had been in business a long time and had a large selection of stock. Things they had bought long ago. I thought the store would be chock full. But no. I wouldn't be surprised to find out these three had never been dealers at all before the show started. If I needed any more proof that the store wasn't legitimate, I called about an hour after leaving and inquired about a bike I saw. I could only leave a message. No one picks up the phone here. The bike's price tag had fallen off and I had forgotten to ask about it when I was inside. I figured if the price was right I'd pick the bike up on the trip home. But no one ever called me back. More proof they aren't really trying to sell any of the very few antiques in this place.I've lost all respect for Mike, Frank and Danielle after seeing the "store". Shame on them for what they're doing to the business while not running a legitimate antique business themselves.If you're driving along the highway and need a pit stop, this is a good place to walk around for a few minutes. The bathrooms are clean and the staff is friendly. I guess you can take pictures and perpetuate the myth of "American Pickers" on Facebook for your friends if you visit. But it is the last place anyone with an interest in antique or vintage should bother with.**** Caveat**** I am not a dealer. However, I am a person that collects and talks to a lot of dealers and flea markets, stores, etc.Delete review

If you are coming to go antique shopping you wont find much. Most things are not for sale. If you want t-shirts, books written by the owners, can koozies and that sort of souvenir chachkis than by all means this is your go to place. I was not impressed.

The site for the popular television series "The Pickers" is located on a hill along an alley behind the Amoco Station. When the series began, several large objects from the television program were on display. The rest of the material was not for sale and only used for backdrop. Since the two "pickers" have relocated, this site is little more than a place to purchase "I Picked the Pickers" magnets and similar items.

Mike and Frank are on the road most of the Time and Danielle is in Memphis. Butt still a Fun Stop! Lots of old stuff to See.

I traveled to Le Claire hoping to shop in their store and maybe get a glimpse or talk to the cast. Alas, they had filmed that morning and no one was around. A lot of tourists were there but the store was closed so only photo ops were available. When you have traveled a long way it would have been nice to do something besides look in the windows. I still love the show, someone said that when they were there that morning during filming the cast was very stand offish. From his truck, across the street to the site Frank wouldn't even look up or acknowledge people in the crowd. Oh well, I won't go back since it was out of my way anyway. Nice town, very quaint but nothing else to do in town.

If you are a fan of the show you will enjoy seeing this - They do have a lot of souveniers for sale but that is to be expected. LeClaire is a quaint town with a nice feel. Worth an afternoon.

I enjoyed seeing the shop that we see so frequently on the show. I just wish there was "something else" for you to do while you're there. I like walking around and seeing some of the "finds." It'd be cool if you could have some sorta game...like, guess which one has the highest value or like I said, something "to do." We stopped for about 20 minutes. Just walked around to see things and then left. Not sure if we would have stopped if it wasn't a nice day.

I am an avid fan of the American Pickers TV show so when fate brought us within an hour of LeClaire when we picked up a puppy visiting from the Twin Cities, I humbly requested of my wife a slight detour. I read posts good and bad prior to my visit. I visited because I enjoy the show and the idea behind it. Like many, I'm the nostalgic type and this show just hits the right key with me. Many of the show's picks are on site and many thankfully are not for sale so you can reminisce as you walk thru the shops. I did not go with any preconceptions of buying antiques nor did I leave with any. The staff was extremely friendly and invited our dogs into visit as well. As luck would have it, Mike Wolfe was on site. He cordially agreed to take a photo and we agreed that unearthing the Indian motorcycle buried for years and the story behind it was our favorite episode! We truly enjoyed our visit!

My wife and I were on our way home and have always wanted to stop here having watched and enjoyed the show since it started. We're also MCM nuts who dabble in the business and thought they would have some really interesting pieces we could possibly purchase. We were expecting lots of items from their picks for sale. This is nothing but two gift shops. Very disappointing. If you want a souvenir you can probably buy one online instead of stopping here.

If you find yourself driving on I-80 near the Iowa / Illinois state line on the Mississippi River and can spare a little time in your travels take Iowa exit 306, at the bottom of the off ramp turn left on US 67 and go north about a mile and a half and on your left located just behind the A&W restaurant and across the street from the police station you'll find Antique Archeology.As seen on "The History Channel" the American Pickers have their museum and resale shop filled with several nostalgic and antique items including several of Mike and Franks vintage motorcycles purchased on some of their episodes.This was our second stop in two years and since our last visit they have constructed a new building out front filled with several more items which appears to be built with repurposed building materials and very fitting for the historic town of LeClaire, Iowa.US 67 runs along the western edge of the Mississippi River through historic LeClaire, there are several other nice antique shops in the area as well as Buffalo Bills museum and beautiful views of the Mississippi River as well.Our stop was on Sunday December 28th around 230pm on our way home from Omaha.

Real nice place. If you watch the show they have a lot of the stuff that they have picked in their 2 stores. I was there last year and went back again this year. Since last year the have built a new building. Real nice. Have shirts, coffee mugs and other souvenirs you can buy, plus some of the things they pick are for sale too. We then ate lunch at a restaurant/pub, went down to Buffalo Bills Museum along the river there. We did some shopping at a thrift store. This store had lots of stuff. Had a great day in LeClaire.

Although we did not get to meet Danielle, Mike or Frank, we still very much enjoyed picking the pickers!!