Just over a week ago, went to a gun show that had folks selling cotton candy, candy bars, hot tubs, tires, hot dogs and one fella was selling "Navaho Jewelry" seriously, that's how the sign was spelled, cracked me up.
I thought about taking a card from each of the folks that was there and writing on it "DO NOT BUY FROM" in sharpie right in front of them. There didn't seem to be many folks gathering around those 'booths' but it was unavoidable for the hot tub dealer as they had the center of the arena, which would have been a great place for long guns.
The place smelled like the food court of the mall rather than a gun show. When these events come up, they're about $5 to enter....and I spend all afternoon there in discussion with a vendor or on more than one occasion a fella who's new to guns. I was so disgusted by the spilled nacho cheese on the concrete floor, the smell and the overcrowdedness of the whole thing (from too many booths and not enough walking space, they had display hot tubs that took up a lot more space than i think they expected) that I left after only 30 minutes of browsing, I did not buy a single thing ....not even so much as a magazine.
I am disappointed with the group who hosted this event and have sent them a letter last monday sharing my opinion that when they advertise the event they should call it a swap meet or a discount sale or flea market rather than a gun show in order to keep everything legitimate. I got a reply today in the form of a form letter that stated "We are not able to comply with everyone's requests...and do not issue refunds" I never even asked for a refund of my $5.
I hate to see gun shows being overwhelmed with other garbage, but I guess it adds up to the bottom line for whoever's selling the booth space, hot tubs do take up more room than pistols I guess. I, for one, have made it a goal to never buy anything, ever, from a gun show except for firearms and firearm accessories because I think that a hobby/sport/RIGHT that is firearms related should be seperate from anything corporate like overcrowding an arena with cheesy pretzels, hot tubs and astroturf.
I thought about taking a card from each of the folks that was there and writing on it "DO NOT BUY FROM" in sharpie right in front of them. There didn't seem to be many folks gathering around those 'booths' but it was unavoidable for the hot tub dealer as they had the center of the arena, which would have been a great place for long guns.
The place smelled like the food court of the mall rather than a gun show. When these events come up, they're about $5 to enter....and I spend all afternoon there in discussion with a vendor or on more than one occasion a fella who's new to guns. I was so disgusted by the spilled nacho cheese on the concrete floor, the smell and the overcrowdedness of the whole thing (from too many booths and not enough walking space, they had display hot tubs that took up a lot more space than i think they expected) that I left after only 30 minutes of browsing, I did not buy a single thing ....not even so much as a magazine.
I am disappointed with the group who hosted this event and have sent them a letter last monday sharing my opinion that when they advertise the event they should call it a swap meet or a discount sale or flea market rather than a gun show in order to keep everything legitimate. I got a reply today in the form of a form letter that stated "We are not able to comply with everyone's requests...and do not issue refunds" I never even asked for a refund of my $5.
I hate to see gun shows being overwhelmed with other garbage, but I guess it adds up to the bottom line for whoever's selling the booth space, hot tubs do take up more room than pistols I guess. I, for one, have made it a goal to never buy anything, ever, from a gun show except for firearms and firearm accessories because I think that a hobby/sport/RIGHT that is firearms related should be seperate from anything corporate like overcrowding an arena with cheesy pretzels, hot tubs and astroturf.