How to sell a gun at a gun show?

I found that people will ask you if its for sale.

ALWAYS sell your used firearm in the original box it came in and it will scream, FOR SALE! FOR SALE!!

I carried my Ruger Single Six in the original box.I was approached at the gun show by about 10 people and asked, "How much?"

Depending on state laws, you got it. Private face to face transfers are legal in most states. You can take your firearm to a FFL dealer and pay a background check and transfer fee and he can transfer it for you, if you feel the need. The only condition to private sales is that you cannot be aware of the person having a previous felony or be convicted of any type of violent crime.

I have not personally tried to myself. But if I were to, I would print a flyer with a brief description and price, put the gun in a case, affix the flyer to the case and just walk around the show with it. (I think it would be easier to carry around this way.) Or, you can make a sign out of cardboard and hang it around your neck, like those panhandlers on freeway offramps.

3pairs12 said:

I found that people will ask you if its for sale.

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This is very probable. I hand carried my Glock 19 (no case) into a show to have Glockmeister put some night sights on it and check holsters for fit, and was approached at least four times by people asking if it was for sale.

I believe face to face sales are perfectly legal in AL to anyone 18 years old or more and a resident of AL. It's good to ask for ID.

Some people get a bit irked by the request, but it is my gun and I'll sell it the way I'm comfortable doing it.

I often carry a handgun in a plastic case. If I have several for sale, it's a brief case sized case. I tape a sign on the side with asking price. If I have the box, I might carry it in the box or simply go outside to get it from the car if a buyer wants the box.

This saves you from all the dealers asking you to see "what ya got" and then offering a low price or just handing the gun back to you. It saves time if you have a price in mind. You want to sell to an individual who is potentially comparing prices to guns the dealers are selling at their price, not a reduced price that dealers are willing to buy from you. Make a good deal with the knowledge a dealer will offer about 30-40% less than the current selling price.

I sometimes get more dealer interest in the case than I do the gun.

I've only sold one gun at a show. It was an SKS and I just slung it over my shoulder in a soft case with the butt sticking out of the case a little. Every couple minutes, someone would ask "Hey, Whats in the case?" One guy was finally interested and took it off my hands.

I've seen people carry rifles around on the sling with a for-sale sign like a flag on a cleaning rod sticking out of the muzzle.

Most people, and that includes dealers will ask you what you have, and if it's for sale.
I go for the sympathy advertising. The last time I went to a gun show I had a couple of guns I wanted to sell. I took my wife to her first gun show. She is disabled and in a wheelchair. Since I had to push her, She held a for sale sign in front of her, and I sold both of them by the time I got to the third table in the first building we went into.
Check their ID. Make sure they live in the same State as you, and you'll be ok.
Not every time, but on occasions I have printed a Bill of Sale, had the purchaser
sign it. But by Federal law ( check your State and Local regulations) all that is required is you both be citizens of the same State, 21, and legally allowed to purchase a gun.

I see people that have signs on them or taped to a wooden dowel sticking from the muzzle end on the rifle they are lugging around saying what is for sale.

Like esmith said, you can put a sign on a dowel. Or just carry one around. I only carry guns from a dealer to my car and in that short amount of time I will usually have 2 or 3 ask my what I have and how much I want for it.

Print out a sign, it's the easiest way.

If someone breaks out the blue book of gun values just walk away, their wasting your time.

"This is very probable. I hand carried my Glock 19 (no case) into a show to have Glockmeister put some night sights on it and check holsters for fit, and was approached at least four times by people asking if it was for sale."


That's a strange coincidence, i was at the Crosswords show last sunday at the fairgrounds standing at the Glockmiester Booth waiting to buy a tube of grease and watching the owner of glockmiester disassemble and work on a Glock faster than i can unload mine, when a man with a Glock in his hand walked up and ask to have night sights installed, hmm, i wonder....

I wish i had known he would be there doing that i would have brought my G20 for the same installation, i usually drive out to his shop in Mesa to get work done on my Glocks
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I just walk aroubd with it on a sling. If it's a pistol I carry it in my hand in a holster. I have put a card on the barrel before but got about the same response as just carrying.

People will come to you and ask how much. We usually "haggle" a bit etc but its always been a pleasant experience. I have never not sold a gun that I wanted to sell when at a gun show. Also I always get more than if I traded it in. I have only sold one to a vender but he gave me what I wanted.

I usually end up spending the money at the same show for something else so it seems to work both ways.

I've even sold ammo at gun shows. I had an old box of 218 Bees and traded for some "precicion" 308 168s from a vendor. Granted I got 30 rds for 50 but I dont own a 218.

Price is whatever your willing to sell for and whatever they are willling to buy it for.

Oh yea, forgot to mention. I have sold everything within 2 hours of being there.

"...Wear a sign?..." That's exactly what Blake Stevens did with his first FAL books. Had a pile of 'em in his hand and a sign. They didn't sell for over $100 either. Good guy, so he is, too.
Knew a CF guy who had an M1A Supermatch in .243(yes, they did. I was there when he bought it from the shop I worked in. Late 70's/early 80's.) who just walked into a Quebec gun show with it and was nearly trampled by people who wanted it. Any M1A was scarce in Quebec.
"...someone breaks out the blue book of gun values just walk away..." Yep. The Blue Book reflects average prices in your whole country, doesn't consider local supply and demand and is at least two years out of date. Takes that long to put a book together.
Gun shows are daft though. Everybody wants a deal. Know what your firearm is worth and decide what you want for it, before you go. There is a 'Trading Post' here too though.

marklbucla, I have bought and sold to individuals at gun shows several times without any problems. The cop at the door (at the ones in Montgomery, anyway) will check the piece to make sure it is empty, then place a nylon cable tie in such a fashion as to make the gun inoperatable. On the inside, the dealers usually will low-ball you (they do have to resell it for a profit). I treat the other non-vendors inside as I would in a FTF sale. That is what it is, after all. If I don't get my money for it, then it goes home with me. Just ask a reasonable price but expect low offers. These people are usually not newbies to firearms. Good luck!

At a show a few months ago, I was OC with my Taurus PT1911. I was asked if it was for sale before I covered the distance between the entry and the first table. Since the guy asking had the appearance of a young gang member, I politely said no, but thanks for asking, and carried on.

I brought a FeG 9mm to a gunshow to try out the fit of Browning magazines in it. I carried it around in a plain black case and had at least 6 or 7 persons ask me "what's in the case, is it for sale?", this occured in parking lot as well as inside.

"The last time I went to a gun show I had a couple of guns I wanted to sell. I took my wife to her first gun show. She is disabled and in a wheelchair. Since I had to push her, She held a for sale sign in front of her, and I sold both of them by the time I got to the third table in the first building we went into."

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Did you end up selling the guns, too?


(I kid! I kid!)

Sounds like a smart marketing technique, actually

In PA (the state where I was until recently a resident), I believe all sales must go through FFL check, and so must be finalized by an FFL holder, including gun-show-style private purchases. Corrections welcome.

timothy