Barn burner of a Phoenix gun show!

Status
Not open for further replies.
ApacheCoTodd

ApacheCoTodd

member
Joined
Jun 30, 2011
Messages
8,609
Location
Arizona
Just did the Phoenix fairgrounds show this past weekend.

A most outstanding turn of profit for me and I scored two excellent books and a Micro-9 all on the cheap as well.

Couple of notes.

Any ammo that was remotely reasonably priced seemed to get scooped up on Friday leaving sellers complaining Saturday and Sunday about the lack of sales for their protectionist-priced ammo. Too bad... so sad.:evil:

Guns were generally stooopid-high with far more remaining untouched than sold. See my above sentiment on that.;)

The show was entirely out doors in exceptional weather. This is a good-bad/covidiocy scenario.

It had to be outside to accommodate an informal *distancing* but masks were not mandated. So, the spacing between the tables was huge. I found the crowd to be the single nicest, friendliest and polite that I have EVER experienced at the fairgrounds in over 20 years of attending. I tend to think it was due to the lack of crowding even with a very high attendance.

Man, were we lucky on the weather!

I sold so much that I packed up my tables halfway through Saturday and then Sunday was dedicated to looking around.

Altogether, a very pleasant experience. You could not take beer out of the *beer court* but we had cigars, Genfiddich and blackberry mead at the tables. You know, to go with the sammiches & stuff.:D

Went a long way to mitigating missing the recent Tulsa show.

fullsizeoutput_98.jpeg

Todd.
 
I have stopped going to gun shows because it's just people gouging at every level for everything.
I was turned off to start with because of the rummage sale type shows where the same people had the same guns & the same layout as the had the last 10 shows. But now with the panic going on the prices have gone through the roof for the same junk they have had all along.
 
So, the spacing between the tables was huge. I found the crowd to be the single nicest, friendliest and polite that I have EVER experienced at the fairgrounds in over 20 years of attending. I tend to think it was due to the lack of crowding even with a very high attendance.
Click to expand...

While the shows I go to have never struck me as having other than an occasional rude person the *space* to move around without the constant, intricate dance of everyone trying to get out of each other's way would have been mighty nice!

I like the idea of an outdoors gun show, but here in Florida it would be courting disaster at any time of year.
 
I haven’t been inside the grounds of a gun show since CoVid reared it’s ugly head. There have only been 3 here in SoCal. I skipped the first one due to distance, 70 miles and I just knew they would be crowded. It was.
The second on Orange County had a line of a mile to get in to park so we skirted that but headed down the road past the show to see how the line was to actually get in the show and that line of people was literally 300 or more yards 15 minutes before the doors opened.
I didn’t bother with the last one 3 weeks ago.

I would love to go to a show but not here. To crowded. I will say that the gun stores were a pleasure to go to during the last show. :cool:
 
Congrats, looks like you had a great weekend . To pack up on saturday must be a great feeling , I have never had that good fortune , usually there until closing on sunday . Still a lot of fun and meet some great folks .
 
ApacheCoTodd said:
The show was entirely out doors in exceptional weather. This is a good-bad/covidiocy scenario.
Click to expand...

I'm in Tulsa and passed on the show for all the reasons you enumerated. Everybody knew it would be packed and some thought it might turn into a "super spreader" event. And some of our Oklahoma gun forum attendees said maybe 1% wore masks. But there's no mention in the news of any appreciable number of new cases in Tulsa, so I guess that particular fear was overblown? And, the entire thing was indoors.
 
Dale Alan said:
Congrats, looks like you had a great weekend . To pack up on saturday must be a great feeling , I have never had that good fortune , usually there until closing on sunday . Still a lot of fun and meet some great folks .
Click to expand...
Started out with 3 tables at noon Friday. By noon Saturday - I felt rather goofy trying to justify one table so - pack 'em up and off to buying!

My items were obviously buyer-priced.:thumbup:


Todd.
 
There are like 6 piles of gun books probably totaling over 6ft tall combined, of wonderful books, digests and reloaders manual at one of my LGS's. The problem is, there is an entire corner dedicated to used stuff, holsters, slings, storage boxes, reloading stuff, magazines, etc... a ton of stuff can't even list it all. It used to be my favorite corner because when the guy ran the shop it was all priced to move, and they always had new stuff and I always found a lil something for a deal. Now the woman runs it and all the used stuff seems to be priced at what it would be new MSRP and none of it moves, no turnover....

I was particularly interested in the books but I'm not interested in paying $40 for a 2007 gun digest, etc...
 
DustyGmt said:
There are like 6 piles of gun books probably totaling over 6ft tall combined, of wonderful books, digests and reloaders manual at one of my LGS's. The problem is, there is an entire corner dedicated to used stuff, holsters, slings, storage boxes, reloading stuff, magazines, etc... a ton of stuff can't even list it all. It used to be my favorite corner because when the guy ran the shop it was all priced to move, and they always had new stuff and I always found a lil something for a deal. Now the woman runs it and all the used stuff seems to be priced at what it would be new MSRP and none of it moves, no turnover....

I was particularly interested in the books but I'm not interested in paying $40 for a 2007 gun digest, etc...
Click to expand...
Such is the turn of things in the age of the internets.:cuss:

I won't even let a dealer - of any kind - finish this or any version of this sentence; ".... on ebay, these are going for..." I just turn and walk away silently.

Todd.
 
It always amazes me what some booths ask for things. Then they complain that people are tightwads or stingy. No. We aren’t. It’s already cost us $20 to get into the show. And now you want $48 for a box of 30-06 150gr Core-Lokt and $55/lb for 3031 (this wasn’t even during a panic). It’s easy to spot the booths that aren’t charging crazy prices. Because their tables don’t have much on them after about the first 3-4 hours of the show. Good on you for being one of the latter.
 
BigBore44 said:
It always amazes me what some booths ask for things. Then they complain that people are tightwads or stingy. No. We aren’t. It’s already cost us $20 to get into the show. And now you want $48 for a box of 30-06 150gr Core-Lokt and $55/lb for 3031 (this wasn’t even during a panic). It’s easy to spot the booths that aren’t charging crazy prices. Because their tables don’t have much on them after about the first 3-4 hours of the show. Good on you for being one of the latter.
Click to expand...
If I am behind a table, my goal is to bring nothing back home. Unlikely but the goal is always the same.


Todd.
 
ApacheCoTodd said:
If I am behind a table, my goal is to bring nothing back home. Unlikely but the goal is always the same.


Todd.
Click to expand...
That mindset is why you likely don’t bring much back very often. As a buyer, I would love if all booths took a loss on every item I inquired about. But as a realist, I don’t expect them to sell anything that won’t make them some degree of profit. Even a large profit if they happened into some really good deals themselves. Most know my friend has a pawnshop. And he gets some crazy good trade or purchase deals. Never gouges on resale. Ever. If he can’t make a profit and keep the price reasonable, he won’t buy. It’s his business model and for a shop so small, he’s making a killing. He’d rather sell 50 items at 5-10% profit than wait for that one person to give him a 50-60% profit.

Booth space isn’t cheap. Plus gas, lodging, food, and other expenses. And you have to make up that cost before you can put a penny in your profit box. But when you’re asking literally double what I can get 2 miles down the road at Walmart, or even cheaper, if I’m willing to take a few minutes to search online, and then you complain about me? Nah. I’m good.
 
BigBore44 said:
That mindset is why you likely don’t bring much back very often. As a buyer, I would love if all booths took a loss on every item I inquired about. But as a realist, I don’t expect them to sell anything that won’t make them some degree of profit. Even a large profit if they happened into some really good deals themselves.
Click to expand...
I guess I didn't make my point clear. I made and make DAMN good money. I just make it relative to what I have into an item that I n longer want and not what I *might* get for it at top-dollar-perceived value. Even at selling well below current pricing, I way more than doubled my money on everything.

I know that true, day-in, day-out dealers with wholesale re-stocked merchandise have certain parameters but the guys selling used items listed at the highest number they found in a 30 second search on their smart-phones are not what I grew to know gunshots to be.

It's certainly not some hippie co-op but doggone it.... it's not ebay either.

As far as pawn shops around here? I don't even step foot in them. Most everything I am interested in is already marked to sell on the internet.

Todd.
 
1KPerDay said:
What do you sell, ApacheTodd?
Click to expand...
I'll try to find a picture. *Guy-Stuff* that I like, used to like or am up-grading through.

This weekend I sold off most of my .32 autos that weren't Czech or U.S. and most of my military carbine collection. I'm completely over both lines of collection. Also shotguns too pretty to field and old accessories that I was over or in some cases had never used in the first place.

A lot of stuff was bought in lots to get what I wanted at estate sales and was in that case, surplus to me on day-one.

Todd.
 
old lady new shooter said:
How much does it cost to get a table?
Click to expand...
It was supposed to be 140 per table - Crossroads is generally highest in the country.

I got three tables in my own six table tent for MUCH less than that and the other tables were never used so while I didn't use all of them, I had access to all six and the extra shade afforded by a 10x20 tent rather than the 10x10 most had.

When I left, I turned my tent over to the dealer-family next to me. I've known them wince the 90's.... good folk.

Todd.
 
I have stopped going to gun shows because it's just people gouging at every level for everything.
Click to expand...

I used to go to them regularly, up until 1994 and stopped for the same reason. They became a place to find great fish for the vendors but very few deals for the people that came to find them.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

G
  • Locked
How are gun shows in Alabama (vs Maryland)?
Replies
2
Views
400
greyhound
G
J-Bar
  • Locked
I miss gun shows in this time of virus
2 3
Replies
55
Views
2K
GEM
G
potmetal
Christmas gun show
Replies
0
Views
350
potmetal
potmetal
B
  • Locked
more bad rep for gun shows
Replies
15
Views
893
R.W.Dale
R
D
  • Locked
ND at the Tanner Gun Show in Colorado
Replies
12
Views
693
TimboKhan
TimboKhan
Back
Top