Are gun shows normally overpriced?

[akodo]

I went to my first gunshow today (i live in south texas) and while i enjoyed walking around and just looking at all the different firearms, i noticed everything was overpriced. Even used guns cost the same or more than what i could get it for at academy.

Is this the norm in gun shows or just unique to my area?

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

#1 Yes, gun shows are overpriced.

Imagine gun dealer Bob. He has a bunch of guns in his store. The price of each gun is x.

Bob is going to go to the gunshow. He has to shut down his gunshop (or hire a replacement worker) for the weekend, pack up all the guns, gas for the trip, stay in a hotel, and pay some sort of table fee.

At the gunshow Bob needs to sell the guns higher to offset his higher expenses.




#2 Back before the internet, gun shows were very important because it allowed you to see guns you'd never see otherwise. It made all the local dealers compete against eachother. It was a way to talk guns with gun people....DIFFERENT people than the ones who hung out at your local gun club or gun shop.

However, with the internet you can browse and pretty much see any gun you want, plus get reviews of it. Internet gun sales push the dealers to keep lower prices (although they generally are slightly more than on-line) and gun forums allow us to talk to gun people from a much wider area.


#3 the only real good deals in gunshows is if you are an absolute expert on guns and can find a used gun that happens to be a desirable collector piece that the other gun dealer didn't uncover on his own and hence it is underpriced (unlikely) OR because some guy walked into the gun show as a ticket buying average guy, and he is bringing a gun he wants to sell. That's where the real bargains are. Heck I know some guys who go to the gunshow a half-hour early just looking for what some average joe is going to walk in and try and sell.

 

[nosmr2]

The short answer, "yes" but most still go.

 

[PRM]

LOL... bout the only thing not overpriced at the shows where I live are the beef jerky, Chinese knives, and WWII reproduction junk. Oh, I forgot, the stuff you bring is always cheap. Your gun is always an obsolete "house gun" that there is no market for until it reaches a vendors table.

 

[C5rider]

I've had good luck there. Went to two this past weekend with my son. We had a great time and spent a good day together walking around guns, talking about guns and looking at allllllll sorts, of guns.

the way I see it, even with the cost of admittance, we're still way further ahead than if I wound up at Disney!

 

[RockyTop]

I've bought most of my guns at the gun shows. There are a lot of overpriced items there and a lot of junk. But I've found there are a couple of dealers that show up at every show in this area who have a large inventory and very competitive prices. I generally buy my guns from them at $40-60 less than I could at any of my LGS'. And these couple of dealers are usually on target or just below the prices I see on places like gunbroker / impactguns / etc.

 

[One_Jackal]

I seldom buy guns at a show. But I do look at a lot of guns. Sometimes I will buy a gun a few weeks later. I always find a better deal by just plain old shopping.

 

[GEM]

The Saxet shows have dealers like AJC that are usually cheaper than the stores for common items. Glocks, SW, Springfield, etc. are better buys.

I got a new SW 432 for $330 a bit ago at a show.

Academy does have good prices for a big box store as compared to Bass Pro or Cabelas. The LGS are more expensive but some are good on used guns.

Gun show ammo is more expensive for standard practice rounds than WMart and Academy.

 

[minutemen1776]

It has been ages (well, maybe 2005) since I bought a firearm at a gun show. Whenever I go to one, I see loads of tactical-craptical stuff and lots of junk. Most of it also comes with an inflated price tag. On the rare occasions when I've found an item of interest, the vendors have no inclination whatsoever to haggle. When I've brought my own guns to sell, most vendors will offer little above scrap metal value. Now that I think of it, I'm not really sure why I continue to go to gun shows.

 

[jmr40]

Want to know why? Read this thread.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=674590

There are 2 types of sellers at gunshows. Some want to sell their guns at any reasonable price. Others are hoping someone is looking for a rare gun that has sentimental value to them that exceeds the actual value of the gun. That does not have to be a expensive or rare gun. It could be a common budget gun, but is just like one grandpa used to own, or just like one we foolishly sold at a younger age and we are willing to pay premium for to replace.

It is just a matter of you finding the perfect gun, being sold by the guy who just wants to get rid of it. There are bargains out there, but you don't find them if you don't go.

 

[newfalguy101]

I try and set my prices fairly, normally within a few bucks one way or the other of online prices ( plus S&H and FFL fees )

I have lost count of the number of guys who see my prices and start quoting me Gunbroker prices.................its amazing how many people do NOT figure in shipping or transfer fees.

Couple years ago I was set up at a show and had some 40S&W brass on my table. couple guys walked up, looked at the price and started to walk away. I heard one comment about an auction on Gunbroker, so I said " By the time you pay shipping, it will cost more than mine.. ", the guy stopped dead in his tracks, turned around and handed me the money for the brass.

While on the subject of Gunshows, I get real tired of guys seeing my prices and offering me HALF, then acting like they are doing me a favor and getting irritated when I say no.

Dude, I am more than willing to negotiate, all I ask is that you make a FAIR initial offer........is that too much to ask???


Yea, I know, not exactly on topic........

 

[bigdogpete]

I went to my first gunshow today (i live in south texas) and while i enjoyed walking around and just looking at all the different firearms, i noticed everything was overpriced. Even used guns cost the same or more than what i could get it for at academy.

Is this the norm in gun shows or just unique to my area?

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

I find them usually overpriced.

 

[Owen Sparks]

The market always sets the price. If an item is really overpriced it simply will not sell. Especially if the guy at the next table has one like it and is willing to sacrifice and let it go for a few dollars less to get the sale. In a free market competition rules and you have to be better, faster or cheaper than the competitors. In the end the consumer is the real winner. If you think prices are too high at the gun show then don't buy anything. Let the dealers haul it all back home. If enough people feel the same way you do, prices will drop.

No, I am NOT a gun dealer but I am a business man and often have to submit bids in order to secure contracts. I am also an ardent proponent of the Austrian school of economics and free market capitalism.

 

[St8LineGunsmith]

thing about gun shows you throw out the cash you are willing to pay for a gun you are looking to buy two things will happen the dealer will either sell it or he will not. gun shows are alll about haggling.
cash talks

 

[skywalkrNCSU]

The market always sets the price. If an item is really overpriced it simply will not sell. Especially if the guy at the next table has one like it and is willing to sacrifice and let it go for a few dollars less to get the sale. In a free market competition rules and you have to be better, faster or cheaper than the competitors. In the end the consumer is the real winner. If you think prices are too high at the gun show then don't buy anything. Let the dealers haul it all back home. If enough people feel the same way you do, prices will drop.

No, I am NOT a gun dealer but I am a business man and often have to submit bids in order to secure contracts. I am also an ardent proponent of the Austrian school of economics and free market capitalism.

I think you have made your love of the free market crystal clear...

Let me know when we actually have a free market

 

[oneounceload]

When you are buying guns at a gun show, you DO have a free market - not "free" as in no cost to you, but free as in you are free to do business or not

 

[oneounceload]

Price fixing can happen at gun shows when a promoter sets up his own tables and makes other vendors agree to not sell certain items below a specific price point so they can't under cut the promoters prices. It also happens when a large vendor who takes up two aisles of tables uses his clout to get a much smaller vendor undercutting his prices thrown out of the gun show. It also happens when there is a buying panic and gun show vendors buy up all of Walmarts lower priced ammo so no one else can get any there and then sell it at a much higher price at gun shows.

It also happens when........in 30 years of gun shows in many different states, I have never seen ANY of those instances happen - the promoter wants to sell more tables, not get vendors kicked out, and he wants those sellers to come back in a few months for the next one......as well as the customers

 

[skywalkrNCSU]

When you are buying guns at a gun show, you DO have a free market - not "free" as in no cost to you, but free as in you are free to do business or not

That is not the only factor in determining if something is a free market or not.

 

[Owen Sparks]

As long as trades are voluntarily without fraud or coercion it is a free market.

A “fair price” is arrived at when the figure is mutually agreeable to both the buyer and seller.

 

[skywalkrNCSU]

As long as trades are voluntarily without fraud or coercion it is a free market. *
*
A “fair price” is arrived at when the figure is mutually agreeable to both the buyer and seller.

Not exactly, there are plenty of other factors that determine if something is a free market or not. One example is barrier to entry. It is very very rare to find a true free market in our society

 

[jim243]

For purchasing guns they are, I go looking for deals on brass cases and primers. It is fun to see the stuff people are trying to unload. I like looking at the WWII stuff, not that I would buy.

Jim

 

[Owen Sparks]

Not exactly, there are plenty of other factors that determine if something is a free market or not. One example is barrier to entry. It is very very rare to find a true free market in our society

What barrier to entry is there at a gun show? In my town admission is $5 and tables are $40 each. You don't even have to have a FFL as long as you are not selling new guns.
Anyone with a little cash can perticipate in a gun show.

 

[22-rimfire]

Gun shows and other shows are a good example of capitalism. There are no controls on price other than what the buyer and seller agree upon.

 

[Owen Sparks]

A buddy once helped an elderly aunt sell her late husbands gun collection. She needed cash but did not know much about guns. He did so he rented a couple of tables at the local gun show and liquidated the entire collection except for one piece. A Colt Python that he was his allowed to keep as a reward for helping his aunt!

 

[EddieNFL]

The owner of an LGS once told me his best days are Saturday afternoon when gunshows are in town. Unlike other dealers in the area, he doesn't attend.

 

[Deaf Smith]

Sometimes there are deals to be had... Most of the time tere is not.

About right. Best time is early on the first day (kind of like garage sales!)

But alot of the stuff is very much overpriced not to mention you have to pay to get in.

Deaf