The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: robheath on July 23, 2011, 07:47:44 PM
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I would like to know how good or bad you would rate your local gun shows. I went to a local show today here in the New Orleans area. I was expecting to see some of the new guns. I could not find a Chiappa rhino anywhere. There were no deals to be found. I was looking for a Magpul UBR stock. I found only one and it was for the same price as I would pay from the Magpul sight. I used to go to gunshows and find good deals. I know this area is a small market but I haven,t foun a deal in a couple of years.
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Many of the gun shows are still suffering under the impression the bho bubble still exists, and charging exorbitant prices - even though the bubble has burst in most areas. One of the reasons I use MidwayUSA sales and discount MO vendors, esp if I cannot get the item locally.
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I gave up for the same reason way over priced and no deals, big crowd but mostly junk. I haven't been to one in over 2 years and now I use a couple of auction sites or local vendors. :'( :-X
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The "deals" are harder to find....However, when factoring in something on the web at a good price,....than the FFL transfer, or freight/shipping just about matches full retail and/or gun show pricing.
I remember gun shows were where the "horse trading took place"......See something for $500, haggle to $435....type scenario.
Now, the dealers in my area tell you to "take a hike", because they believe another "sap" will come along and think a Miculek Compensator for $50 is a deal, when Cheaper Than Dirt has them for $29 and $4 shipping.
It's starting to split hairs with the pricing. Granted some dealers are not making a killing on the products....and willing to move inventory. However, many still don;t get it....
Check the prices of M1 Carbines lately?
During the panic of 09' a fellow shooter paid over $1400 for a DPMS Sportical....Thankfully, he just tweaked it and accepted the fact that demand dictated price at that time.
The lack of customer service is what really irks me....The few good guys who will talk, give advice, be willing to haggle a bit, are getting fewer and fewer.
I did get yelled at by a dealer who told me to leave when I thought he was literally gouging for the price of Stoner AR mags, that Midway had for $11.99 on sale.
:P
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Same here, plenty of selection on new stuff, I did handle a Rhino last time I went, "Collectible arms are mostly rusted out crap, surplus are about 25% over what the go for online, for example Mosin Nagants $150 +.
If you go regularly you can predict what gun will be in what position on what table.
I don't expect to go for another 2 or 3 years.
Oh yeah, No CCW. It's the only place in the state I have seen that.
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These guys actually tour around the country, and hit here a few times a year. It's $7 per person to get in the door, but I've found really good deals each time I've gone. :)
http://cegunshows.com/Default.aspx (http://cegunshows.com/Default.aspx)
I think it's all, or mostly all made up of shops from right around this area. So I guess these guys just organize and advertise for them. :-\
Near anything you can think of buying has been there. How good the deal is varies per booth, but I've been happy. :)
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Thanks for the replies. I am at the point where if I can't get a deal I'll buy local so I have a place to go back to if I'm not happy. My big concern is that gun shows are a big part of our 2nd A rights and always under attack. I love to go and window shop but miss the old days and deals.
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Thanks for the replies. I am at the point where if I can't get a deal I'll buy local so I have a place to go back to if I'm not happy. My big concern is that gun shows are a big part of our 2nd A rights and always under attack. I love to go and window shop but miss the old days and deals.
They are in danger of dying due to greed and lack of personality of the vendors even if the liberals can't kill them off.
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I've not been to a local show (my fav is in Mesquite, TX, at the Big Town locale) for a month or two, but we normally have two or three dealers that have real good prices and almost compete against each other. Their show prices are definitely better than if you walked into their shops on any given day.
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They are in danger of dying due to greed and lack of personality of the vendors even if the liberals can't kill them off.
Agreed. Seeing Moisin rifles for $150+ for what J&G has for the same (with goodies), for less than $100, just kinda makes me ask, who is thinking outside the box?
Move your inventory, get a solid customer base, get repeat customers who will buy local if your not a schmuck.
Jus' sayin....
I was also made the bad guy because a dealer told me " I can't compete with an online dealer that gets 10,000 at a time",.....
Again,...they need to think outside the box...
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I've said it before and I'll say it again( and again and again)
Gun shows are like strip clubs, you get to see alot, touch a little, but nothing every comes home with you.
Now I have bought stuff off guys with signs on thier back saying they have X for sale, but never from a vendor.
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Shows at Gibralter trade center in MI. I used to go to were half decent. And again, these guys http://cegunshows.com/Default.aspx (http://cegunshows.com/Default.aspx) are doing a great job IMO.
The guns I've bought at their shows were well below internet prices. And the number of people buying is mind blowing! Venders had tables to sit at so you could fill out the paperwork and there were lines to get at each chair. The booth I bought my LCP from had one person dedicated just to running credit cards through the machine, three helping with paperwork, and none of them could keep up!
The link has a schedule of upcoming shows in a bunch of states. Go check one out! How good the deals are is ultimately up to your local vendors... Next time you visit their shops ask them what they think of the shows. May find out why your not seeing good deals from them (crappy promoter?).
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Hi;
On many of the prices for firearms, I have to agree with the complaints about them. When I go to the local gun shows - it is for ammo and accessories. These items are within and maybe cheaper than ordering w/shipping involved. For the ammo I alsways walk the entire show area and get prices, then go to the cheapest guy. The prices can vary up to $25.00 per 440 rd spam can.
Taking into account is if I had ordered online and had to pay the added shipping charges. Accessories are my main item purchase lately. Stripper clips can be had cheaper at the gun shows than online. 25 year lifespan on foodstuffs are the same as online but cheaper at the shows because of the savings on shipping.
Buying used magazines at the gun shows are better than online - you get to see and play with the mags prior to buying and no dissapointments so far, again saving on shipping and the dissapointment on getting leftover junk to clear out the warehouse or item.
After going to and chatting with a vendor, I can find out if they have more in stock back home, If and when they will be back at the next gun show, and preordering items with them at a specified price. I always try to joke around with vendors because they are stuck there and have to listen to "war stories" from some cheap SOB that wants something for nothing. Doing this at times get me accessories free or at a reduced price. You have to consider the vendors view of what totally goes on. If YOU talk nice and get to the point - vendors tend to want to do business. I have never been a vendor but know from seeing some of the people attending that it is not all milk and honey for the vendor.
For the $8.00 admission and $8.00 dollar parking, I get my monies worth. I get what I want then and there and actually save at the gun shows than online.
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The last show I attended was the one, several months ago, at which I met up with m58 in southwestern Minnesota. We had a good time, but more due to the company than the deals. With VERY few exceptions, the folks there were REALLY proud of their inventory. Made me reconsider my estimate of the value of the contents of my safes here at home, in fact.
It was addressed earlier in this thread that some of the vendors don't seem to realize that the post-election price bubble has burst. I have to wonder if that's the problem, or if it's more that the vendors are trying to avoid losing their shirts on stuff they bought BEFORE the bubble burst. Either way, nothing followed me home from that show.
On the upside, Mikey introduced me to a REALLY nice couple that make VERY nice custom leather holsters for an amazing price!! Soon, my favorite 1911 will be nestled inside one of their IWB holsters on my ample right hip on a daily basis. ;D
BTW, if you wish contact info for these folks, just send me a pm.
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I was at a show about three weeks ago, mainly to sell a couple of pieces. The new firearm dealers were, for the most part, very proud of the products. Although I did find some good deals on some rifles of intrest. The milsurp dealers had some excellent rifles and prices, but the pistols were ridiculous.
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Here in Phoenix the only one worth going to is the Small Arms Review Show at the beginning of December. The rest are all the same. Same vendors at the same tables in the same areas, selling the same stuff. Usually overpriced for what you can get it locally for, or on the Internet. At the SAR Show there is usually some interesting stuff, but when you find it, you'll find prices out of this world attached to it. Some theme stuff as well. Hot babes in camo passing out flyer's and such.
I think last year they had 6 buildings. But when you subtract all of the jewelery, tee shirts, John Wayne "autographed" posters, beanie babies, "real" WW II German Nazi helmets, yelping puppy dogs for sale in cardboard boxes, "Bag-O-Bullet" ammo vendors, it comes down to about 4 buildings total. I don't think I'll be going this year because I work weekends, and the whole place is such a zoo. The older I get, the less I can tolerate crowds, along with the "free" $8.00 parking. Bill T.
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We have free parking at this show down here but 8 bucks to get in. I always seem to buy from the same three guys. I used to go and do some trading and bartering. Not anymore. They seem to stick to there prices a little too hard. That takes some of the fun out of it. I found a few things and picked them up but not much. Years ago I picked up a S&W mod 59 I think. after 4 years of trading at the shows I had thrown in about $200 bucks and had a colt AR H-Bar just by trading up a little each show. I guess those day are gone for good. :-[
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The small routine shows (same vendors, same tables) do have their ups and downs. Some of the dealers do have good deals. Like car dealers they need to move a certain amount of merchandise to stay in good stead with their wholesaler. You have to know what you're after and know the market. Pass on the $150 91/30 (unless it was US made). Snap up the S&W66 no-dash for $500. (I actually tried to help a dealer sell that one. I knew more about it than the dealer. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't raise the price at the next show.)
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<snip> My big concern is that gun shows are a big part of our 2nd A rights and always under attack...........
I've posted this before, but the threat to gun shows is an attack on the 1st amendment as well as the 2nd. "Free assembly" is threatened anytime they start talking about regulating gun shows, and what they're really after, regulating sales between individuals. Some anti-gun groups will sacrifice the rest of the constitution to nullify the 2nd.