Thinking of stopping gun show attendance

"Kinda funny but my LGS travels & sells at gun shows all over Texas. His in-store prices are higher than his gun show prices"

Is that AJC sports shop you are speaking of? I bet it is.
 
Just FWIW, I use the Marlin Model 60 as a price barometer. I've always liked these rifles so I stop and look at them regularly. Decent used examples are bringing roughly $80-90 in gun shops, for about half of what it would cost you to get a new one out the door at WalMart.
 
Here in West Palm Beach we have eleven gun shows per year at the Florida Fair Grounds, yes we have one this weekend. Do they have any good deals to be found after you navigate through the pots and pans, jewelry and other none gun junk tables? IMO, No!
 
Another reason I like gun shows is that they provide some price validation. For example, I've been looking for an early 1911 - 2nd & 3rd year production (mfg-1912 is just to expensive for me). So, at the last gun shows I saw several ranging from 1914 - 1918. One guy was asking $2,300 for a year-1918 Commercial; very little bluing left. I asked him "how much" he said his price and explained that he knew it was quite high, but asked me to make a counter. Given the condition I might have offered in the $1,000 range, but that wouldn't have been perceived well by the seller, and I'm not looking to get into a haggling war of make someone feel bad about their gun, so I said "I'll think about it" and just walked away.

What this did, however, is tell me what folks are wanting to get to part with these early 1911's. Sure, I've been scouring gunbroker and other sites checking prices. But, seeing one in person while talking to the owner, getting his thoughts and impressions on where he might be willing to part with the gun, was valuable to me. So, when I found a 1911 mfg-1913 in fairly decent condition (still waiting delivery) for $1,200, I snapped it up. It's probably a fair price for what it is in today's market, but next year it will be a 100 year old 1911, and I will appreciate it that much more. Yes, I'm a bit of a freak about manufacturing dates and 1st production runs - it's just my thing.
 
All you people who don't go to gun shows anymore, good on you. Helps thin the crowd out at the ones I go to.

I can walk around a gun show for hours and not spend a dime unless I buy a bottle of water, or a hot dog. Big deal. Prices are too high. No problem. I don't buy it. I don't want/need any jerky or T-shirts. No problem. I walk on by. I might buy my wife a necklace or a pair of earrings if she wants them.

But if nothing else I get to see all kinds of neat stuff, talk to interesting people, get some good laughs at some of the others. All for a few bucks to get in the door. Win-Win.

Once in a while, I might even buy a gun. Not often, but it has happened.

One more thing. Why would you expect to find a real "deal" on something, anything at a show? You just PAID to get in the door to buy something. You WANT to buy something. Why should the seller cut his price? :confused:
 
I usually do a little research online the night before for prices on ammo and accessories I'm interested in. If the vendors at the gun show will match the price, I buy. Many will negotiate. If not, I spent time with a few good friends and got to see a whole lot of interesting people.
 
Just went to a TX gun show and it was just fine. There was a wide selection of new guns and quite a few used. Gun prices can be better than the local best priced big box stores by a few tens of dollars.

Ammo isn't that hot a deal. Saw some new fun things like a Chiappa revolver and the Keltec double magazine shotgun and 30 round 22 mag semi pistol. Lots of ARs to look at and compare.

Best was that I took a Colt revolver that I bought a few years ago for 350 and got offers of 600. Back into the safe for a bit. No need to sell that nice profit yet.

I've seen crappy gun shows in FL though.
 
Between Norfolk, Hampton, Virginia Beach and Richmond theres a gun show every other month. There was one today at the Convention Center in Hampton and, as usual, I didn't see anything that I wanted to spend my money on. I spent more time looking at price tags and shaking my head at how over priced certain guns were. Its been a while since I purchased something at one of the shows. I go just to have something to do for a few minutes to an hour :)
 
The only ammo I buy at shows is a vintage box of cartridges for display. I look for bayonets to fit the milsurps, and spare magazines for what needs 'em. A good milsurp or bargain handgun is going to get looked at pretty carefully, the run of the mill stuff is going to sit there forever. You can find a quality bargain and tuck it away, just can't find it at every show.
 
That's it, I'm done with gun shows!

Went yesterday and bought 1000 ss109 pull downs, I inspected several bags of 250 that all looked good. I should have bought those. the box of 1000 has a percentage of bullets that are unusable.

I have bought pulled bullets before, they were all usable.
 
One more thing. Why would you expect to find a real "deal" on something, anything at a show? You just PAID to get in the door to buy something. You WANT to buy something. Why should the seller cut his price?
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I still like going to gun shows too. I arrive at 10 to 11:00 on Sunday, see everything first, and then by 1 or 2, go back to see things I was interested in. You can find good deals at gun shows at 7:00 Saturday (while everyone is setting up) and Sunday afternoon. I don't have anything to sell, early Saturday is out. If you are a private person who has been sitting at a gun show table for 2 days, without selling anything, and along comes someone with enough money to actually buy something, and is reasonable in what he offers, there's a good likelihood that seller is going to want to sell.
 
Good point, Skans. The vendors are paying to sell something, as well.

I never buy anything on my first trip around a show, unless it's a steal. Saves me from impulse buys I might regret later.

I don't take any trading stock along on the first round. Saves me time dealing with the 'Wachu got/Whachu want?/Giveu hunnerd bucks' goobers.

I don't act particularly interested in guns I'd otherwise drool over. The first round is a recon mission, pure and simple. I compile a mental list of items and locations and I decide what I'll give/trade for them. Then I get after it.

Word to the wise- an awful lot of junk gets unloaded at gun shows. Look over your prospective purchases real hard. Some vendors won't like this much. Don't argue, just set it down and move on.
 
'Wachu got/Whachu want?/Giveu hunnerd bucks' goobers.
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I love those guys! I can linger around a table pretending to look at something, while the "wachu got goober" gets the run down from the guy looking to sell something I might be interested in!! The Wachu got Goober never buys anything, so if I'm interested, I'll approach as the seller is walking away, dejected. In fact, at the last gun show I attended, someone was trying to sell a nice Imbel FAL for $700 - the Wachu got Goober let the guy walk away - I really didn't need another FAL (unless an original sear-cut FAL), so I let it go.

What I really hate are the "Ooglers". These are the gun show attendees that hover over you as you are looking at a gun you actually want to buy. Now, they wouldn't know a nice gun if it bit them, until you happen to be holding it, considering purchasing it. Then, the Oogler ooohhs and ahhhhs about the gun as you are checking it out, making the seller feel pretty bold about their price.
 
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I've had success selling guns at a few shows and have bought a fair share but the last few times I've been have been "Why did I bother?" events.


There is often not much variety at gunshows so if you go wanting something specific that's not glock/sig/AR you you are likely to be disappointed. If you have your eyes open you can occasionally find deals - or at least prices close to internet+FFL fees. For me it's about knowing the prices of anything I might be interested in before hand.
 
I attend as many gun shows as possible to look for specific S&W revolvers, but don't like to see good space wasted to accommodate vendors selling those cheap gaudy knives, jewelry, candles, candy, etc. Those vendors would quit showing up if people would simply quit buying the junk they sell. But i'll tolerate them just to look over some fine guns... and I've recently gotten some very sweet deals on S&W wheel guns at gun shows.
 
My experiences at gun shows lately have been that most of the space is taken up by a dozen vendors selling the same Chinese made accessories and knives as the other booths, with a bunch of Magpul stuff on the side. Other booths tend to be the guys selling anti Obama tshirts, Nazi memorabilia, more Chinese made 40lumen "tactical lights", crazy knives of no utility value, beef jerky, and some leather holsters here and there. there are usually about 4 or 5 gun vendors, which sell beatup old rifles, and the standard assortmentof AR's. The two or three handgun tables have about 12 1911's, and a thousand guns from Taurus, Glock, and some Springfield XD's. Prices are the same if not more than the local shops. Their nylon gear selection has been crap, the quality of the merchandise in general has been crap. Ended up buying the pistol light I was looking for from a local shop in the end.

IDO occasionally find good ammo deals. last one I went to I ended up with 200 .308rounds for 90bucks (old as dirt but still shoot nice), and 500 .40 rounds for 115.

The ammo prices though really haven't warranted a burning desire for me to return to this upcoming gun show. The shop I buy ammo at sells at or below gunshow prices anyway.
 
Those vendors would quit showing up if people would simply quit buying the junk they sell. But i'll tolerate them just to look over some fine guns...
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If you only had private sellers selling firearms buying tables at gun shows, you wouldn't have gun shows.
 
I use gun shows to stock up on ammo. They have better prices (not including sale prices, of course) than the local shops and Wal-Mart for the most part, and they're about even when it comes to online prices. Mainly, it's an excuse for me to get out and look at guns and stuff. If I can get a thousand rounds or two for a good deal, well, all the better. :)
 
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