What happened to gun shows?

[30BR]

I look at the price listed as a starting price. I always make an offer on anything i buy.

Yep. I used to sell at shows a long time ago, and no one ever expected that the prices I had were in fact what I would sell for. Everyone wanted everything free, so I quit selling. ( I still cry over the pair of Pythons I sold for $600 each...and one was hardchomed!)

 

[Randominator]

Most parking at the shows cost $20. That's the same as my dealer charges for a Gunbroker transaction. I can buy new cheaper shipped in.
About the only deals that I've found at the shows in recent years has been with individuals walking around.

 

[ronstone09]

I think It is all about the money nowadays. Time was that if you bought a rifle and paid $500.00 dollars for it, used it for 10 years and decided to sell it to buy a bigger more powerful rifle/cartridge. you would try to sell it for 3 or $400.00 dollars and consider it a good deal considering you got 10 years of good service out of it and you got to use it for 10 to 15 dollars a year. So if anything it was essentially free.

Now People want to make a profit even if they enjoyed it and want more than the original purchase price. Nothing wrong with making profit, but it does seam like most people want more than they paid for it new.

So a person needs/has to know the original price and the deprecation of the used rifle and its condition before buying.

There are very few good/fair deals to be had any more and you just have to resist paying to much and just keep looking. And if you are looking for something very popular at the moment, you probably wont find any good deals.

J E CUSTOM

Another problem is the liberals keep trying to regulate sales at the shows and make it difficult to conduct business

 

[raider1v1]

Eh... I haven't been able to find many deals at the last few I've been to. Things I usually find are:

• $450 mosins
• Overpriced AR kits
• Chinese AR parts
• Beef jerky
• Toy helicopters
• Fake Nazi stuff
• Tactical vests
• Tactical cell phone tasers
• Toy cars
• Knives
• Swords
• Throwing stars
• Backpacks
• Ammo cans
• Tons of UTG crap
• A box of screws
• A sporterized Mosin for $800
• Powder at $45 a pound
• More fake-WWII stuff
• Bad hot dogs
• Surplus M2 ball for $1.20 a round
• Bricks of .22lr for $55
• Prepper stuff
• Cases for guns
• A crate of overpriced mosins
• 8,000 Navy SEALs who personally shot Bin Laden
• Pattons M1
• A crappy GI 1911 that is rusted shut for $5,000
• Beef jerky (again)
• Protein supplements
• 26 lb AR-15s that come equipped with tactical Magic Bullet BlenderTM
• A table with a gun you actually want, but can't buy because the dude who runs it is at lunch and his wife says he will be back in "just minute" after you've already waited half an hour
• Police crap
• SWAT wannabees
• Some guy selling reflective spray crap to put on your license plate so you won't get caught by a speed camera
• Mag loaders because loading an AR magazine 1 round at a time is unacceptable
• Chicom SKS for $550
• Bin 'o parts (random bolts and a rusted to hell Arisaka receiver)
• Holsters
• Holsters
• Holsters
• Some girl standing next to the table of camo shirts
• Political stickers
• NRA booth
• Anti-Obama hats
• Taser booth that keeps making all that dang noise
• People who say that Sig you just bought is absolute crap because its not a 1911
• Ferimone Pheromone spray for deer and those waskly wabbits
• Muskets???
• Fake civil war stuff
• Girls next to ammo cans
• Her dad, upset when you yell to her "Nice cans!"
• Black powder stuff
• Table with fuses and stuff to make explosives
• Are those fireworks?
• ******* taser noises again
• Lock Her Up T-Shirts
  
• Slings
• More overpriced ammo
• BB guns
• Paintball crap
• More fake WWII garbage
  
• Coins
• Old money
• Bayonets
• Competitively priced ammo cans
• Inclement weather gear
• Tactical things
• That Barrett you will never afford
• Dummy ammo
• Clips clips clips
• A lost child
• A frantic baby mamma
• An unimpressed dad
• CCW badges
• 1911 T-shirts
• A 10/22 that looks like Optimus Prime
• Old paper money
• crappy books with no pictures
• crappy books with some pictures
• That guy trying to sell you .22lr at $70 for a federal 550 value pack telling you to buy it now because the government is creating an artificial shortage
• A dvd bashing the Federal Reserve
• Paper targets that are fairly priced and you actually buy some
• That gun you thought about buying, but aren't going to buy because you can get it on the internet for $200 cheaper
• Tactical sunglasses
• That knife that the man running the table is trying to sell you because "It's the same knife I used when I was in the corps" (stamped - Made in China)
• Is that table really selling fanny packs?
• Cowboy stuff
• WWII stuff
• WWI stuff
• Old military helmets
• New kevlar helmets that your SO would kill you over if you actually bought it
• Body armor that looks pretty neat
• Some can of spray stuff to waterproof your phone
• A guy carrying around a Winchester 69A in pretty decent shape but wants $1500
• Theres that lost kid again
• More holsters
• That nice guy who sold you some clips for you Garand at the last show and cuts you a deal for more since he remembers you, and you both had a nice chat
• Remote controlled cars
• 8mm mauser that you used to be able to get for 25 cents a round
• Cans of X54r for $150 which isn't a horrible deal once you think about it
• That table of over priced AK's
• Pickels
• Machine guns that you want to touch, but theres a sign saying "Do Not Touch!!"
• The magpul area where all of their tables/shelf things are on wheels
• Chinese copies of all the magpul stuff
• Theres that Bersa you were looking for
• A huge line to get in the bathroom
• Someone who **** on the floor in the stall
• No paper towels, after you just washed your hands
• More Nazi stuff
• Fairly priced ammo cans, except this time you actually buy one
• You cave and buy a $50 brick of .22lr because you didn't come all this way and pay $12 for nothing
• A couple $10 AR magazines because "why not?"
• More law enforcement junk
• Some rather unscrupulous looking characters
• Bow and arrow stuff
• A dent in your car after you've decided you've ******* had enough and this ammo can, mags, and brick of .22lr is actually heavy because your *** is out of shape, so you walk back your car to find a ******* dent in the driver side door because the idiot in jeep decided to park in the smallest spot in the entire parking lot, even though there are a ton of open spots 3 cars down

 

[TBell]

I think It is all about the money nowadays. Time was that if you bought a rifle and paid $500.00 dollars for it, used it for 10 years and decided to sell it to buy a bigger more powerful rifle/cartridge. you would try to sell it for 3 or $400.00 dollars and consider it a good deal considering you got 10 years of good service out of it and you got to use it for 10 to 15 dollars a year. So if anything it was essentially free.

Now People want to make a profit even if they enjoyed it and want more than the original purchase price. Nothing wrong with making profit, but it does seam like most people want more than they paid for it new.

So a person needs/has to know the original price and the deprecation of the used rifle and its condition before buying.

There are very few good/fair deals to be had any more and you just have to resist paying to much and just keep looking. And if you are looking for something very popular at the moment, you probably wont find any good deals.

J E CUSTOM

My way of looking at it is, if you shoot one for ten years that should be ample time to save for a new gun, why sale the original. I'm 65 have only sold a three guns two were back to the guys I bought them from. And one for seed money on a new one, and regret doing that.

Like the 444 I got out of the safe a month ago had not shot it in probably 20 years. Scoped it, shot it in, and will probable use on hogs this year. It like shooting a new gun after 20 years but did not have to go out and buy a new one. Kids and son in-laws and grand kids can enjoy in years to come, if dems don't get their way.

 

[firstlight]

Gun Show's have almost become a waste of time, I used to go to them all over here in southern Idaho.
Seem to me prices are extremely high, I think to many people bought guns and ammo during the scare a few years ago at a premium and are still trying to get their money back.
The last show i went to there were a bunch of guys still selling 22lr 500rd bricks for upwards of $50.00, and I mean Remington Golden bullets not high end. The local Sporting Good stores are selling them for $19.99. Prices will adjust but they have been mostly a waste of time for the last few years.

 

[Flatbow]

Original post also aplys to pawn shops I think!

 

[jlw1974]

Many Sellers at gunshows are still in the mindset of 'using the political climate to maximize profits'.

There are other places to work out great deals than going to gunshows.

 

[KyCarl]

I really wish that 60% of new was right! I'm looking for a Winchester M-21 in 28 gauge
and they tend to run about 1750% or more over new in 1940? Or even nice M-12's
are way up? It seems more what you buy as to holding value. Some things never go down!

 

[nmbsniper]

I agree, everything is over priced now at shows. I made a good deal in the early 90's on a Ruger M77 MK2 in 30-06, SS with the "paddle oar" stock. $300 with some cheap glass. It was a SOB on recoil, maybe that's why it was traded-in, I couldn't shoot 10 rounds. Local gunsmith threaded and installed a muzzle brake for me, soft recoil.

I stopped going; $$ for parking and to get inside. I live in S.FL. I actually found better deals on used guns in gun stores in rural Georgia where I started hunting with friends.

 

[kolob10]

Gun shows still have some merit:
-socializing.
-handling newly introduced products
-finding a good deal on the last day
of the show (dealer didn't want to
drag it home one more time).
-avoiding the hazmat charges on
powder or primers.
-buying small parts without paying
minimum postage on 50 cent part
-seeing old shooting buddies you
lost track of.

The problem with pricing is most newbies in the sport do not yet have a handle on where to access wholesale pricing thus dealers sell many guns at retail. New or hard to find items are sold there as well by those who can not be patient for inventory to catch demand.
That being said, I rarely go to shows anymore. Local gunshiops and online cruising fills my needs.

 

[rcwinkel]

Yeah I'm from SW Washington but I've lived in Idaho for the last 6 years. It was supposed to be temp move for work move but couldn't stomach moving back there once I got here. The Rose City Gun show was always pretty good though.

Rose City Gun Show ran last weekend in PDX; it was a pathetic ghost of the past! Poorly attended by both vendors and visitors alike. Haven't checked out their Chehalis or Spokane shows lately.

 

[reloaderlen]

Oh I remember the gun shows of old
Walking around as a kid eyeing all the fine rifles and such as if it was a candy store . The first few years of legal age to buy one I purchased a few and sold or traded a few as well at gun shows when prices were low and much more important was people were friendly and acted like I was their friend.
Nowadays prices are high and no one could careless who you are .
They could take a lesson from one of the old national chain stores that started off small , sell cheep equals more sales which equals more money in the long run vs sell high and very few sales . You can have some of the Business or all of the all of the Business but you can't have both with high prices and being rude .
That local chain store I mentioned
Well I remember when it started and it was just one store in Arkansas
And had the best prices on everything and the people were friendly!
The store is now nation wide and has shut down most mom and pop stores.
It's ashame that the founders fundamentals weren't carried out just as he had envisioned. Sam had a plan and it worked but the kids and family messed it up !
I could be wrong but I believe that the same principal can be carried out in the firearms world.
Heck I will pay just a tad more if the
Employees or owners took time and smiled at me when talking.
Sure makes a difference when I leave a tip at the local restaurants .

 

[Zep]

In my neck of the woods it is cheaper and easier to buy new.

---

And private sellers are crazy around here.

I knew one man who tried to sell two Browning shotguns to a big name box store. He insisted on what he paid for them. Of course no sale. He's a hoarder.

I know several shooters in their 70s who are hoarders. They have multiple safes. I am surprised they don't fall thru the floor. They will never shoot these guns again. They don't even oil them. They think they are leaving their kids fortunes. Idiots.

I know one dealer who went into a house to buy a mixed collection while owner was still alive. Dealer offers 30K for 120 guns. Owner wanted 125K. His wife said if they don't get 125K she would throw them in the river. Owner died a week later. Can't help but wonder what happened.