Gun Show Prices

Haggling?
Starting price would need to be higher; then bargain down to what is acceptable.

Where does it say that they have to sell it to you at what you think it's worth??
Realize that most of these table holders are wanna-be dealers and feel they need to make a profit on everything, even if they overpaid in the first place.

"...prices at gun shows..." It's why you must know what stuff is worth. Too many people think they can get the same money as a dealer on an Internet auction. Said dealer selling stuff in much better condition. Up here, it's guys thinking that and that U.S./Blue Book values apply here. (Blue Book numbers don't apply anywhere. They're averages from all over the States with no regard for local supply and demand.). Applies to milsurps mostly. Guy at a local show, years ago, carried his junker, bad condition, M1 Rifles back and forth for I don't know how long. Had $775 on most of 'em. Same guy thought M1 clips in poor condition were worth $4 each.
"...the old timers haul their crap..." Gets 'em out of going to church.

I rarely go anymore. I find the same thing you do. Guns priced crazy high. The only deals I found were people walking around selling their guns
I normally do flea markets anymore. There are some great deals

I am a dealer and have quit going to shows. I can make as much or more online and not have to kill a weekend. I usually had 3 or 4 tables at $45 a pop. I would mark my guns up 10% over cost and would still get low-balled. A customer would walk up and pull out his phone to check prices online. At the last show there were 40 or 50 dealer's with probably 200 tables. Out of all of those there was maybe 3 or 4 that had their guns priced right. I saw arms that wouldn't rate 50% that had over 100% blue book prices. Ridiculous!

I’ve seen lots of crazy prices on all sorts of stuff. But I’ve also seen deals on stripped AR lowers, primers, powder, brass, knives, pistols, etc.

I look at a show as basically a specialized flea market. There are deals and there are rip off. There are some things priced right and some things so far out of wack all you can do is laugh or cry.

In all cases the old adage Let The Buyer Beware are words to live by.

I set a budget, know what I want to buy and know what prices I’m willing to pay. I’ll make a lap, see who has what I want and at what prices and then go buy from who has the best price at or below my mark.

I usually score some deals and usually come home with some money left as I’m good about staying in my budget.

I also look at a show as a place to get away for a few hours and enjoy “the show”, so if I don’t buy anything what I pay to get in is the admission for that.

I believe that gun shows tanked after they made table holders do a background check on gun sales. It squeezed out the small time collector trying to thin the herd. The last gun I bought at a gun show was twenty five or more years ago. Sometimes I go to see what I cannot see anywhere else. Without the little guys you pay at least gun shop prices and sometimes more.

Rshooter said:

I believe that gun shows tanked after they made table holders do a background check on gun sales. It squeezed out the small time collector trying to thin the herd.

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Background checks at a gun show? Is that a local ordinance or state law? It was my understanding that the seller only had to do the check if he was a licensed dealer but I could be wrong.
In the last three years I've bought 5 firearms at different Texas gun shows. Two of the sellers just wanted my identification for a ledger they kept, one owned a pawn shop so he had do the background check and the other two were cash and a handshake.

Alte Schule said:

Background checks at a gun show? Is that a local ordinance or state law? It was my understanding that the seller only had to do the check if he was a licensed dealer but I could be wrong.
In the last three years I've bought 5 firearms at different Texas gun shows. Two of the sellers just wanted my identification for a ledger they kept, one owned a pawn shop so he had do the background check and the other two were cash and a handshake.

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It depends on the state. There are 9 states that require background checks for ALL private sales to be legal by state law. And there are a handful of others that require checks for handgun purchases.

The real issue is expecting people to show up selling at a loss as if they don't care about the travel costs, tables, motel, gas, food, and working Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 12 hour days for what little they get. So, no, you aren't going to find dirt cheap bargains there. Most of the time. Why you go is to find the one deal for you at that show. You Have To Shop It. Deals are not going to fall into your lap down every aisle of the show. It doesn't happen in a gun store every time you visit, why expect the same guys with even more overhead to travel 100 miles away to price it cheaper?

The legend that the old gun shows were filled with bargains at dirt cheap rates is just that, urban myth. When you make $1.50 an hour, bread is 24c and gas pumped for 24.9, no, things weren't relatively cheap. It still was a matter of disposable income and even then shows weren't sold out by noon Saturday. Not even. Plenty of folks packed up Sunday night with 95% of their merchandise wondering just why the other guy had the hot items.

Gun shows have always been a hagglers paradise, which for guys like me mean I just snicker and move on. High prices, yes. Actually valid and the seller won't go lower, not hardly. I see people dealing all the time, it's my loss if I won't engage and get a better deal. While legendary it's still not impossible to walk in with one cartridge and leave with a box of the same and the gun that shoots it. It's really up to the each of us, and a personal inability to make it happen isn't the fault of the vendors.

If gun shows were that bad, they would have collapsed during the AWB and be relegated to fond memory. Didn't happen.

KansasSasquatch said:

It depends on the state. There are 9 states that require background checks for ALL private sales to be legal by state law. And there are a handful of others that require checks for handgun purchases.

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Thank you for that information. I forgot that some states tightened up after the uproar over the evil gun show "loopholes". The only laws I check when I go to another state is for reciprocal concealed carry agreements and plan accordingly.

The vast majority of gun show prices have been HIGH since I started going to gun shows...FORTY FIVE years ago.
But...If You know your prices and can scan what's on EVERY table..........You will eventually find some real bargains.
Dealers offer few bargains. Look for the folks selling Family estate items after a relative passed. Or tables manned by guys like us...Gun enthusiasts. Many of these guys are not trying to make a huge profit, simply looking to MOVE items, So they can buy DIFFERENT items. The guy who has to sell or trade in order to buy that next gun.

You have to be in the game to make that goal. Meaning...You have to attend to find that gem. I have gone to four or five local shows in a row, without finding anything of note. Then walk into the next one and find some REAL gem of a deal.

The guy who has to sell or trade in order to buy that next gun.

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AMEN! Now if I could just find someone to trade with that we both worked off of the same book as to what our guns are worth.
(Usually his is at full "new" book value and mine is priced at wholesale in a 10 year old book.)

I don't go to gun shows to find bargains. I go to find things that are not on the rack at Cabelas etc. I'll always have an idea a what is a reasonable price and if it's what I want, OK.
I also find that shows are a good place to see what the asking prices are for unusual guns I already own and might want to sell someday.

Minnesota passed a law some years back that in order to sell at gun , antique, Toy , and other like shows you must have a sales tax license. I'm uncertain of the present status of that law, but it effected negatively on most all shows.

The neighbor state ( S. Dakota) would allow a seller to buy a 2 day tax collection permit. They would then have to collect the sales tax and send it in to the state. Minnesota had no such ability.

That stopped a lot of folks from setting up to sell their left overs and unwanted guns. Now shows are generally dealers who have small shops, or who sell out of their home which still requires a tax permit as well as an FFL.

Present shows in this state are dealer set ups. (or setting up using their friends FFL)

The guns shows of the 50's and 60's, and early 70's were always a great place to be. Plenty of 1/2 boxes of ammo, cheap muzzle loaders as they were not popular, reloading stuff, and other gear. And tables with 3 or 4 of old grandpa's guns the family wanted to clear out after grandpa passed away.

Of course prices were cheap in comparison to today, but wages were also very low. Back then I bought police department surplus and well used revolvers for $15 cash and carry. In 1966 I bought a brand new still in original grease for $25, British 303 carbines for $10 - you get point. You also worked for $1 an hour or not much more than that

FN in MT said:

You have to be in the game to make that goal. ...

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Ayup ... and that is why I stopped attending gunshows 16-17 years ago; too much (elbow-to-elbow) shopping required to find a deal.

Well, that and the easy-chair convenience of GunBroker & AuctionArms.

I've been going to gun shows for many years. Over the years I've bought several guns and have always been happy with the negotiated price I paid. Of course, I've seem many over-priced firearms, but have never bought one of them. I usually just ignore them or have fun looking at a really nice gun, then move on. On one occasion, the over-priced rifle was one I really wanted so asked the guy if he would consider a lower offer. I made a fair offer and after a bit of back and forth, I walked away with a fine rifle. Same with 2 shotguns I bought last year.

You have to wheel and deal , If you can`t , then the may seem high. J s/n.

Anyone else think that prices at gun shows aren't really that great.

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It varies, you really have to know the market before you go. For every great deal there are many bad ones. Have Gun Watcher, Buds, etc. bookmarked in your cell phone

Got anyplace else to pick up a SIG P320-RX for $700 out the door?
Admittedly this was the week before the "fire when dropped" issue hit the fan, and this dealer may have heard about it first and decided to dump his instead of dealing with the potential issues, but I've had my "voluntary recall" done, and I think its actually an improvement. So I'm a happy SIG P320 camper.

The deals at gun shows are not with dealers. They are with other individuals walking around.

montess85 said:

Anyone else think that prices at gun shows aren't really that great.

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We're okay up here. Our Washington Arms Collectors shows have a mix of dealers and private sellers. Most (not all) of the dealers are trying to sell guns, so prices are very competitive. Private sellers will normally dicker, and I've scored some great deals (although, let's face it, as far as good deals on older S&W revolvers, that ship has long since sailed).

Don't know about most here, but I don't normally go to the shows expecting to find good deals (though I often do). I simply like to mingle with a few hundred or a couple thousand like-minded sportsment and supporters of the 2nd Amendment and the Right to Keep and Bear Arms ...

I'll probably miss the gun shows when they're gone.

A customer would walk up and pull out his phone to check prices online.

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It is the information age afterall.....

Depends on what you are looking for. The best thing about gun shows, is that they are competitive. If you are shopping for something common- like a S&W AR, or some 9mm ball ammo- there may be a dozen dealers trying to undercut each other under the same roof. The used and surplus markets, as far as guns go, add new dimensions to the shopping experience. The best part is going to the show on Sunday afternoon- that's when dealers who didn't do so well will start letting things go at cost or even take losses to pay their expenses.