Gun Shows...what's the point anymore?

Why I go ???

1) Most of the time, I get in free.
2) There has never been the time I did not find a good to great deal.
3) I usually clear about a $150.00 profit on what I take.
4) The spring shows are like an old fashion rendezvous. We meet up with old friends and remember the ones that did not make it through the winter.

5) Yes, we still have the buffalo stick and various jerky but I sure with that Asian family that was making fresh Won-Ton and Spring rolls, would come back..

6) Later we stop at the local watering hole for a bowl of "Red" and glass of Fat-Tire.

7) I have never been to a bad gun-show and it's mostly a social even. Then again, I'm easily entertained. Better than T.V.

Life is good and;
Be Safe !!!
 
Back in the 90s, when I was a poor college student trying to find my footing in life, I went to gun shows to save money. The gun shows were like flea markets for guns. The sellers had less overhead than a B&M retailer, so their items were always cheaper than the local LGS or B&M stores. That's how I was able to afford reloading components and the shooting sports, in general.

About two years ago, I went to a couple of gun shows in central Texas. It seemed like the mainstream items, like guns and reloading components, were way overpriced.

It was like a hoarders bazaar. Pistol power? $50 per pound. 9mm ammo? $30 per 50 round box. 22LR? $200 for a brick (and no negotiating). AR15? Trade a black market kidney.

I suspect many were just flippers, not really gun people. I asked one seller why his 8 pound jug of rifle powder was $500. I was expecting an answer like it was rare or in high demand, etc. The answer I got was, 'rifle powder is more expensive because rifle powders can be used in both pistol and rifle, so you get both'. I just walked away.
 
The gun shows were like flea markets for guns.
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Flea markets and gun shows have pretty much fallen out of favor for the same reasons.

They used to both be primarily individuals liquidating what they no longer wanted to keep. Both have been ramped up by their promoters, with table pricing, and minimums to where the average Joe doing a little spring cleaning loses money for the privilege of selling his stuff, unless he has a truckload of it.

Both are primarily occupied by tables of dealers with new merchandise wearing the same prices as they do in their store fronts, with very little in the way of used items at yard sale prices. They used to be a great place to trade the stuff you didn't want for somebody else's stuff they didn't want. Now their main attraction is its easy to find what you are looking for a with a 100 different dealers present at the same location, but when you find it, chances are it will be similarly priced at retail from all of them. Your best deals will be what average attendees happen to carry in with them.
 
The Saxet shows in San Antonio and Austin usually have one or two dealers that have prices on new standard items that beat most of the gun stores.

For example, the 4th Gen G17s or G42s are cheaper than Academy and way cheaper than Cabela's or Bass Pro.

Same with SW J frames.
 
About 15 minutes ago, I got a call from a guy who runs a table at gun shows offer to sell me the elusive Glock 43 for $470.

Every frikkin dealer in Austin and San Antonio has a long wait list for the G43.

This G43 is like the greatest gun to have ever been invented, apparently.

I'm so excited!

The gun show gods must be watching.
 
I love the local LGS that are at the shows with "sale" prices that are often above their in store prices. I traded a troublesome finicky carbon 15 pistol for a new lc9s with holster and belt. So got a nice new carry and got rid of a gun I did not want anymore. Lc9s was listed at just about typical retail price. So I feel I got the best of the trade for sure.
 
I never go to gun shows to buy new guns. In todays world there are just to many places to find a good deal and they are never at gun shows. I go to gun shows to buy used guns and reloading components. Most of the used guns are purchased from other people walking around the show. They do not have the overhead of a store front and they are usually trying to sell their gun because they need the money for one reason or another. Usually because they are trying to fund another purchase.

Another thing to keep in mind about guns shows. Never go to a gun show with the mind set that you have to buy something. It will always end badly.

Jim
 
Nowadays, it's almost all businesses that have anywhere from "normal" prices, to outright outlandish prices. The point being, I can go to any gun store, Cabela's, Academy, etc... any day of the week and find these same guns for the same price...or better, without paying a $5 to $10 entry fee. I think at this point gun shows are really for people that don't know what they are doing, or don't know a thing about the prices for certain firearms.
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Just remember something - those small stores have their selling price in their store determined - for them to set up at a gun show is going to run them some serious money - table prices aren't cheap, plus hotels, meals, possibly closing their store, time and money taking their stuff and then back again - all of that costs extra beyond what it costs them to just sell from their store.

Where I live, besides the $9 to get in, they want an additional $6 to park - and for me it is also 3/4 tank of gas at about $25, so I am $40 in the hole before I go inside, which is why I haven't been to a show in a decade.

I do not blame the show promoter or the sellers - they're just trying to make some money. But as in any sale, the buyer sets the price and I refuse to play.
 
The last gun show was actually a "win" for me. I sold one of my .22 rifles at a fair price. I picked up a couple boxes of 20ga shells and a used skeet/trap shell pouch for $20 total. Best deal of all was the old guy who does leather work. I bought a SERIOUSLY thick hand made leather belt for $33.

Not a bad day.
 
Well, silly me...I ended up making a run into town to get some things, and guess what was right on the way? Couldn't help myself. The gun was still there, so I just asked the guy if he really wasn't going to come down on it at all. Cash in pocket and CHL. He didn't like it, but he asked what I wanted, I told him, he couldn't quite do it, but he came down enough that I thought it was worth going ahead and buying. I guess Hell does freeze over on occasions. :rolleyes:

I ended up buying that new SIG P238 Equinox for what I felt was a fair enough price to justify. It was at least $30 to $50 cheaper than anything I had seen on Bud's, and that didn't include the FFL fee of $25 I would have to pay. Same on Gunbroker, but you have the FFL fee plus the shipping...and the Equinox is not very easy to find at a decent price.

I still don't plan on going to any more shows anytime soon. Maybe drop by once every year or so. What everyone has been complaining about here is still the irritant. Hell, I'd rather go into the LGS's around here anyway.

Oh well, I suppose I got somewhat lucky today. Here is my new baby...





She makes me smile :D
 
Smokehouse, I think you're viewing gun shows in a wrong light.

Gun shows, esp the large ones give you the opportunity to look and handle countless guns and gear in one place without having to drive to 10 different stores. If you drove around, you can bet you will pay more than the price of an entry fee.

Vendors are there to make a profit, just like any business. If you are after the cheapest price, then you already know not to go there. Why are you upset about that? Buy online or go to your favorite LGS for the best pricing. I think that is not that difficult to understand.

Most deals I find at shows are in accessories and gear--holsters, bags, cases, flashlights, cleaning supplies, etc. Although if you are lucky you can find some great deals on firearms from private sellers.

For example, I found a Glock 9mm for $360 like new, and a Chinese SKS-M for $350. The best advantage is not having to go through a background check and pay taxes.
 
After staying out of gun shows for several years, I went to a big one a couple weeks ago and scored a nice mid-70's Winchester 94-22 with a scope for $500. He wanted $550 and I passed, but as I was leaving the show I stopped by his table again & made a deal. I thought it was a fair price, compared to Gunbroker prices. He was a private seller at his buddy's table and it was getting late in the day.

I was also on the lookout for some 303 Savage ammo. One guy had some but wanted almost $40 / box so I passed on that.

But the rifle renewed my faith and I'll probably start going again.

Oh, I also scored a couple cans of oyster stew. I like oyster stew.
 
what I don't like about the gun shows is the gougers sitting there with bricks of CCI standard velocity 22's for any where between 75.00 to 125.00 per brick. Guns priced too high and nothing else there that I want or need.
 
how else can people clean out grandpa's attic if they don't have a gunshow to display the stuff.

today's gun shows = wooden indian carvings, cheap switch blades, lady tasers, and o.c. spray. suspect hand loads in zip lock baggies, grandpa's war medals, M.R.E.s, used guns selling for more than new guns, new guns selling for gander mountain prices, nylon holsters, pot metal guns selling for $200+.....
 
I haven't been to a show since 1978, but have a few guns Id like to sell/trade. I tried selling/trading a Kahr K40 on a local gun trading site, but got too many "would you trade your Kahr for a Mossberg 500"?

My question is, how do you take guns for sale/trade into a show(as a private individual)?
 
My question is, how do you take guns for sale/trade into a show(as a private individual)?
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Long guns are easy. You simply write what the gun is and what you want for it on BOTH sides of an index card. Tape that card to a dowel and insert the dowel into the bore. Walk around with the long-gun shouldered and the card sticks up proudly like a flag.

Handguns are tougher. For those, I'll sometimes make up a similar card and pin it to my back.

I've made many deals on guns (both buying and selling) just by meeting people on the show room floor.
 
Usually, they will check your gun in, and put some type of colored zip tie on it to distinguish it from the other colored zip tie that dealers use.

Make a sign to wear around your neck or on a dowel if carrying a long arm over your shoulder and start wandering around. Folks will ask you about it.
 
Around here, they don't let you sell guns inside the doors of the show unless you have paid for a table. Private sellers without a table, sell out in the parking lot, generally by parking close to the door and showing their wares on folding card tables, the tailgate of their truck, or just holding them in their hands. Sometimes they have a handwritten sign, but more often they are barking them to folks as they walk by.

I've come to look at gun shows like estate auctions. If you go there with the idea of buying something in particular for a good price, odds are you will be disappointed. If you go with an open mind and consider any item that goes for a good price, you may come home with a prize.
 
Pursing these posts about gun shows, it seems to be the consensus that guns and ammo, et. al., are way too expensive (Prices based on greed, not need.). Not attending (boycotting) the gun shows I suspect, would not effect a lowering in prices, but may convince the venders to just not do gun shows. Therefore, a better solution logically, would to be to continue to attend but not buy anything and mention to the vendors why you are not buying ("Your stuff is just too expensive...I'll pass.). That way they may be induced to lower their prices. Just a thought...
 
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