Aargh! Gun Show dealers leaving early!

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Yoda

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Just got back from a gun show in central Florida. Took me almost 90 minutes to get there, and I arrived about two hours before closing. I looked over each table, then went back to make two purchases. Problem was, those dealers had already closed up and left more than 30 minutes berfore the show was supposed to end for the day. Not only did they miss sales, but it seems to me that they did not fulfill an informal contract to stay in business until the advertised end of the show. So, I paid full price to get into the show, but I did not get full service. At some shows, as many as a quarter of the dealers have closed up more than 30 minutes before closing, and during the last 15 minutes, most just shut down. By "closing," some gun shows are already ghost towns.

Grumble, grumble, grumble...

- - - Yoda
 
I had a similar experience recently and was kind of miffed about it, but then it occured to me: maybe the stated "closing time" was the time everyone had to vacate the hall, so people started leaving early to be packed up in time.

Of course, if this is true, it's stupid to publish the show being "open" after people are known to be leaving...:mad:
 
Was that the show in Arcadia? I find "dealers" usually leaving early on Sundays. There must have a lot of tire kickers at the show and not much buying going on. I would complain to the show operator even if it does nothing more than let you vent.
 
its like that around here too. the nearest one is about 40 min away and only happens once or twice a year. i make sure to take the day off and get there 30min before opening on saturday. ive gone on fridays and sundays. friday not everyone in there yet (they call it a "preview day"), sunday everyone scoots off early. saturday seems to be the only day worth going.
 
Only contractual obligation I have ever had while doing a gun show was that you pays your money and you gets your tables.

The show is open from 9-5 or whatever.
As an independent businessman you are under no obligation to stay there until they decide to close.

You say the dealers missed sales and you are right. They missed sales that weren't happening at the brunt of the show or had more lucrative shows to attend the following day so they boggied early.
 
Yup. No sales I'll GTHO right quick and proper.

A lot of the guys that say they will buy the last minute, never do.

When I see the vendors walk around scouting last hour specials, time to start packing as the show is over.
 
Went to the Big Reno Show, looking for a double action 4-6" .38 for the wife. It was Sunday, the dealers had all been there since early Friday or even late Thursday. We sped around every table in the place (touted as being 1 1/2 acres) and found three candidates.

We went back to the one we had liked best, a beautiful S&W, and the booth was packed up and gone, two hours before closing.

Our next favorite was a beatup old Security Six. I have an almost NIB 6" stainless with factory rubber grip. Wife hates the grip, too big, so, instead of spending $400 on the S&W, we ended up spending $25 on a pair of stock grips, and I'm out my favorite .357. Oh, well, I still get to shoot it.

Stupid dealers...

ed
 
I don't think the root of the problem is them leaving early. I think the true cause of the problem is you arriving late.:)
 
You think that's bad, try showing up ten minuted before close...( I have actually done that, too...)


Seriously though, absolutely, on the last day of a Show, many dealers pack up and leave early...noon even...if you see something you are thinking you might want to come back on, make sure and ask the dealer how long they plan on staying.

Often last minute 'deals' can be favorable to a buyer, if a dealer IS about ready to pack up and leave, too...especially if one phrase the pitch in a common sense friendly way.
 
Back in the day when I worked boat shows we did the same thing. By the time the show closed we were pretty well sick of standing around looking at each other. Our feet hurt from standing on concrete floors. We were getting hungry. There was a ball game or a race on that we wanted to watch. We got all these boats we need to get back to the shop, covered, and locked up. Most of the people who were here have left. Time to start moving 'em out and hooking 'em up boys. We'll get 'em next time.
 
When you aren't making sales you start thinking about how much your feet hurt, about how much stuff you have to pack up, about the long drive home, the fun of unloading it all, restocking the shelves, etc. If you're still making sales, you don't have time to think about those things.


-Matt
 
I wouldn't show up at a gun show later than noon or 1:00PM on the last day. It is usually a Sunday, so that means pretty much you're there close to when the doors open. Some show promoters insist that the table owners not close up earlier than an hour before the end of a show or they will not allow them to purchase tables the next time.

I try to attend shows on the first day unless I live close by and the trip is not a big deal. Occasionally, there are some good buys on the last day, but it is hit or miss.
 
I used to do the Crossroads show every time it would come into town. I stayed to the end at almost every one. I may have been packing up prior to the event closing time, but by then, I had seen enough "be-backs" that I knew I wouldn't be making any more sales that day. I will say that one show I did in Phoenix, I sold a 75rd Romy drum magazine and an AMD 65 parts kit in the last 15 minutes. It actually made it partially worth doing the show. It only happened once though. Lots of dealers have to drive hundreds of miles and I suppose they either want to get a jump on the travel or they just want to get back to their hotel room. I never have gone to a show as a buyer in the last two hours only because if there were any deals to be had, they are most likely gone at that point and looking for desperate sellers not wanting to take something back with them is a crap shoot at best.
 
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Coin shows are the same way. Or you go to a restaurant 15 minutes before closing and they get out a pail of ammonia and starting cleaning the floor next to you.
 
Been that way forever.

I don't even bother going on Sunday if I can't get there before noon at least.

rc
 
Best deals seam to happen on Friday night as they setup. Sundays late in the day are a drag unless there is a steddy stream of buyer droping mony on your table. But then its been ten years or so sence I did a show.

WB
 
I've been burned by this fact a lot, and it is the reason I almost entirely stopped going to gun shows.

The last time I went was out of boredom, and a friend wanted me too go with him. I made a point to ask the man running the event if the vendors are going to pack it away early, and he made several announcements encouraging them not too.

If I can't shop around and see everything before I make a $700 purchase, and come back to make my deal in the time the paper said I would have, I would have a better experience shopping at the local gun shops instead.

And not have to pay just to look around at the same stuff that was there last time.
 
If I go to a gun show I want a good deal if their is one to be had, so I always go the first day when it first opens.
 
If I can't shop around and see everything before I make a $700 purchase, and come back to make my deal in the time the paper said I would have....
Click to expand...

Shopping around can be a problem at shows.... sometimes you need to make up your mind immediately or loose the opportunity to purchase that particular item. Procrastinators loose, but they tend to go home with more money in their pockets.
 
If I'm going to a gun show, I go on Saturday, as soon as the doors open.

I only go on Sunday if I'm looking to kill some time (think I've done it twice). Honestly, at my age, time kills itself all too quickly. :)
 
if you are ever in this position agin i would ask for a business card so you can contact them the next day or later that week. this way if their already gone when you get back you still have a way of contacting them. i agree that if this is how you normally make your purchases at gun shows, it would help to get there earlier.
 
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