Another Gun Show Thread - THIS Time I've Seen It All!

I never had much use for Texas gun shows but now that I'm spending some time in Florida I've learned to appreciate what I've (temporarily) left.

How about a 300.00 Jimenez .25?

Don't know (or really much care) if it was NIB or not.

That gives new meaning to the term "Mossturd".

wow great deals

I might have that one beat: Raleigh NC gunshow earlier this year, a Russian SKS in good condition for ... $1,000 .

If any of you see someone actually buying that type of stuff please send them to me after they buy the item. I also have some "deals" for them.

if anyones interested i have the glock that columbus carried on the boat while looking for the west indies...... ill let it go for the awsome price of 2k

Gee, next I'll here that the golden boy uses real gold in it's receiver and that the Accutrigger is so great, I mean it has be to great don't you see it's gold. I tend not to get quite so suckered, I guess I don't have the I'm here to pay what you want vibe, but I did see some awesome rifles, two of the local shows are put on by the collectors club, they had a great display of WWI and WWII rifles, and the other is by the MG club...

Isn't this somewhat like a walmart thread?

I mean, yeah, some people offer to sell things for more than you/I may think those things are worth. Earth orbits Sol, water wets, 2+2<5. These things should not be surprising to any reasonably aware person today.

Sorry, I just don't see the issue. People offer products for what they think will get them the highest reward. They are betting the table fee on their ability to set prices people will pay. If they set their prices too high they won't sell anything and they'll be out their table fee. They probably won't show up at the next gun show. Problem solved. If they set prices too low they'll sell everything on their table without covering expenses and they won't show up at the next gun show. Problem solved that way too.

Some people are so dysfunctional. Their POS Arms, Inc. .25acp is the best Self Defense gun since the 1911 but your Glock is an overpriced piece of junk. It would be funny but a small percentage actually believe there own BS.

jad0110 said:

I might have that one beat: Raleigh NC gunshow earlier this year, a Russian SKS in good condition for ... $1,000 .

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I have always thought the prices at the Raleigh show were pretty high. I have seen a few good deals there but alot of the stuff is overpriced.

I recently bought an SKS in Raleigh (probably the same one at that gun show) for far, far, far less than $1000. I think Ed Ames made some very vaild points -- the market will only charge what people are willing to bear. If there is no demand at a certain price point, the issue usually resolves itself.

As I have said for many months, the gun shows and their dealers are their worst enemy. I am retired and really enjoyed going to the shows from Key West to Orlandor and from Tampa to Coco beach. Because of their out rageous weapons prices and ticket prices I now shop on line and find better deals. Hey, look at the gas and motel savings.

http //www youtube com/watch?v=gqsbAVxGp5s

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Jame.zhan is a spammer.

Sorry, I just don't see the issue.

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Personally I enjoy these threads for the humor value, not shock value. A good laugh is good for my health.

I mean, yeah, some people offer to sell things for more than you/I may think those things are worth. Earth orbits Sol, water wets, 2+2<5. These things should not be surprising to any reasonably aware person today.

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I good a good laugh out of that too, so thank you!

Thats as good as a local FFL I saw at a show who offered to sell me a Norinco SKS that he had "personally went through and boresighted" (it diddnt have a scope ??) for the low low price of $500, cash only. He would throw in 50 rounds of armor piercing ammo to, better grab it now before it gets banned guys.

While we all seem to get a bit of a morbid laugh out of the gun show prices, and always seem to comment on how we'd never pay them, I think we have to acknowledge that some people do pay these prices!

Unfortunately I believe that new shooters are the ones who usually support these gun shows, at least when it comes to paying the way for dealers who are slinging lies while asking for prices that are far above market average. I feel bad for the new shooters who fall into this trap, because I hate to see someone taken for a ride by a seller who is essentially bargaining in bad faith. I know that we live by a philosophy of "buyer beware" in our society, but it is certainly harder for people who are new to a sport to understand where prices should be on any given product!

I used to enjoy going to gun shows just for the sake of looking around. I never felt bad about not buying anything, because I had paid my admission fee, and was getting my enjoyment out of just simply hanging out with gun people while looking at a lot of guns. Still, I used to run across some shady dealers at these shows, and I was always amazed at how they tried to take advantage of the unsuspecting consumers.

I once had a dealer approach me saying that he had a "perfect" Enfield that he just had to show me. Admittedly, I'm not entirely familiar with the Enfields, and have never owned one. I've heard that it is hard to find one in good condition, but this dealer claimed that the one he had was "pristine". The guy even went as far as handing me a bore light, and telling me to check out how "perfect" the barrel was... This thing was a joke, with the barrel showing obvious severe corrosion, and very little discernable rifling left. As I handed the rifle back to the dealer (figuring it was probably better to just walk, rather than complain), he stated: "unfortunately you'll notice that this rifle is priced a couple of hundred dollars above what the other dealers are asking, but I have to ask a higher price due to this item being in such great condition! Anyway, feel free to look around, and I'll look forward to seeing you back here when you realize what a deal this is". Just another gun show scam!

the gun shows are worsethan/just an oversized flea market these days.

Sorry, I just don't see the issue. People offer products for what they think will get them the highest reward. They are betting the table fee on their ability to set prices people will pay. If they set their prices too high they won't sell anything and they'll be out their table fee. They probably won't show up at the next gun show. Problem solved. If they set prices too low they'll sell everything on their table without covering expenses and they won't show up at the next gun show. Problem solved that way too.

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The problem with turning a gun show thread into a classroom on "Capitalism in Economics 101" with or without footnotes to an Adam Smith text is that a classroom isn't real life.

In real life a real dad bought a real Jimenez for 300.00 for a real daughter that was moving out on her own. He's not a firearms hobbyist and, evidently, not much for research. Adam Smith would hold that if she's found strangled with a jammed zamak gun in her hand it's her and her father's fault for not researching the issue.

Being rather of a capitalist myself I really don't have any ideas on what might be done and I'm generally opposed to doing much of anything through legislation so I'm without a viable idea - doesn't mean I like what happened.

I do however intuit that, should a cop be found killed in his home with a S&W revolver exhibiting a "hammer back / flag up" engagement, that the entire firearms community would rise in righteous fury against S&W. There may be a few lonely voices saying it brought it on himself through lack of research but overall we'll be indignant.

Whereas the fault for the Jimenez lies 100% with the girl who brought it on herself with lack of research while the gun show dealer is totally shielded from our scorn by the ghost of Adam Smith.

Hopefully I'm wrong about how our community would react to the two hypothetical events. If I'm right I would find it rather sick and twisted, my status as a capitalism cheerleader notwithstanding.

Sometimes stuff I find appealing in a classroom or laboratory setting takes on an odor when moved to real life. Sometimes that odor is pretty rank - the 300.00 zamak is one such.

The last show for me wasn't all that bad i got some free beef jerky!
I think we as gun owners need to be aware, there are some who feel the need to charge their high fee's and others who will give you a fair price just be smart and move on to the next table.

I usually only pick up bulk ammo there, if the price is reasonable. I kinda try to gauge how the prices are falling for arms and who seems more on the up and up. At the Las Vegas gun show there were a couple of decent guys with fair prices. These one guys had DPMS AR complete with BCG and CH A3 uppers brand new for the $450 straight up, including tax. Nice guys, while others were *******-ish once they figured out that you knew what they were up to with their gouging.

Ours started back up this past weekend. I went hoping the prices had started to decline but was shocked at some of the prices.

It all came to a head when I saw a guy with a Ruger LCP and I asked how much. The guy said they wanted $400.00!

It did not have any lasers or any accessories with it, it was just a plain Jane LCP.

I had to speak up, I told the guy: Just so you know these are in stock locally and go for $295.00!

He said: You better get one then.

I told him: I've already got one!

I also saw a guy there who works at a local sporting goods store where I sometimes buy ammo.

They have a limit of 2 bxs. per day. He was sitting there with an assortment of ammo. He had .380 ammo for $24.99 bx or 2 for $40.00.

This is the same ammo they sell (when it's in stock) for $13.99 bx. It seems, he is able to get it by the case but if I want more I have to go every day or take someone with me so they can get 2 boxes.

There are some bargains out there but I've found out that they usually aren't at the gun shows unless it's from a private individual who brought it in. Even then, some of those guys are looking to make an extra dollar on someone who doesn't know better!

The phrase, Buyer beware comes to mind whenever I go to one of these shows.

On a side note, the attendance was WAAY down form last year. I could walk to almost any table without fighting through a crowd of people.

Maybe the lack of attendance will cause some of these guys to rethink their pricing strategies!

Whereas the fault for the Jimenez lies 100% with the girl who brought it on herself with lack of research while the gun show dealer is totally shielded from our scorn by the ghost of Adam Smith.

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I have a hard time getting worked up about that, and it has nothing to do with the ghost of Adam Smith.

Why didn't that father go to the local gun store, or Academy sporting goods store, and buy from the gun counter? Simple: They thought they knew better. They thought they were knowledgeable enough to skip the standard retail channels and get a better deal from a show. Rather than just walking into a store and walking out with a gun, they waited for a show, paid an entrance fee, wandered the floor, and finally chose a deal they thought was worthy. Who are you to say they were wrong?

What sort of arrogance does it take for you to disrespect their judgment? Just because you don't like the gun they bought??? You don't know them, you don't know what problems they are facing, you don't know why they made their choices, and you have no right to criticize just because you dislike Jimenez.

It has nothing to do with Adam Smith. It has little to do with capitalism. It has everything to do with respecting the individual's right to make choices for themselves without being second guessed by a bunch of paternalistic gun snobs...or anyone else.

Ok, I know, especially at gun shows, it's the buyer beware. I saw this segment on the History Channel show called "Pawn Stars" where is guy is wanting to sell his 18th century flint lock pistol for $1,000.00 to the pawn broker. Check out the link to see what happens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OutJLu6VlwU

What sort of arrogance does it take for you to disrespect their judgment? Just because you don't like the gun they bought??? You don't know them, you don't know what problems they are facing, you don't know why they made their choices, and you have no right to criticize just because you dislike Jimenez.

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In actual point of fact I do know - and now you've joined me in world class conclusion jumping by assuming that I don't.

The father was in and out of the hospital at the time. And out of work. Internet connections at the local hospital are sparse. The young lady has yet to get a full magazine to feed. And irrespective of what I think of Jimenez, it was massively overpriced. My issue isn't with Jimenez it's with the joker that hosed his customer.

In many, perhaps most, other fields one can short cut a product education course by simply comparing prices. In most cases, equivalent prices mean roughly equivalent product.

People aren't taking this sort of chance at car shows or boat shows or even electronics shows. What makes gun shows so sacrosanct that people can charge double or triple an MSRP and it's just fine?

I'd like to delude myself into thinking that gun dealers are at least the moral and ethical equals of bass boat and auto salesmen but I find threads like this consistently slapping a dose of unpleasant reality down my throat - and, before we start with more speculating, it was, in fact, a dealer table, not some random highway robber.

And the ghost of Adam Smith is most assuredly involved - he's what keeps me civil in these threads. Adam Smith is also behind my belief that if it bothers me enough I should deal with it personally rather than whine to some authority - which is why I'm trading a SIG P225 / P6 even-up for the .25. After all, they were purchased for the same amount and I always wanted a "project gun" to try a "fluff and buff" on. The young lady having something reliable is something I've come to care about - hiring new assistants is a PITA.

Fortunately, though this sort of nonsense goes on all the time, this was the only time it happened to people I cared about.

IMHO, people that sell stuff a double MSRP were probably ejected from the ranks of used car salesmen for ethics violations. YMMV, yadda.