Gun Show Gack

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PapaG

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I went to my first one in ten years. I used to enjoy them tremendously and even had a table many times.
This time, what an eye opener. Ammo prices, way higher than even in the shops. Gun prices unbelievable. The tub of 1100 golden bullets at $150. Broken down boxes of 12 ga slugs at $5/each.
I need to sweep the floor in the shop, bag up the crap and get a table at the next show, but at $45/table, even that isn't going to happen.
A few collector guns, a few priced at "fair" values but most just tactical and wannabe tactical stuff, poor leather, and, yes really, a ton of overpriced jerkey and nuts.
All that said, I'm glad I went. Got a few laughs, realized that I'm sitting on a million dollars worth of stuff and I don't live in a commie country (yet).
Back to mom and pop.
 
A buddy of mine does the shows with his dad. Been doing it for a couple of years now. Sold some spare parts, traded a bunch, kept his show money separate. Ended up with a "free" precision Howa rig. I wouldn't go to a show to buy, but they seem to be a good place to trade. Alsoif you rent a table, apparently the deals are better between "dealers".
 
No more than I get to enjoy the hobby these days I have considered basically getting a table and selling out. Problem is I keep finding reasons to want to keep what I have. I could imagine trading, but can’t really imagine coming home with less stuff and more cash.
 
1KPerDay said:
Sounds like nothing has changed in the past 20 years. Last gun show I went do I almost laughed so hard at the prices I hurt myself. Just about as funny as pawn shop gun prices around here i.e., 40% more than you would pay for a new one across the street at a gun shop
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some of those Pawn Shops are asking $5 below full blown Retail. and then you find the GOLDEN pawn shop that has everything for dirt cheap ( And you tell no one)
 
In my experience, there are two types of gun shows; the ones that forbid or heavily restrict the jerky and candle sellers and those that don’t. Prices are high at both, but at least the one you don’t have to walk by miles of t-shirts and trinkets. I started noticing this trend about 25 years ago and it’s just got worse. I’ve also heard the excuse that promoters allow non-firearm merchandise to “give the ladies something to do”. I call BS on that. Don’t people expect to see guns at a gun show? Who goes to a ‘gun show’ to hear about time shares and the new miracle health supplement?
</rant>
 
PapaG said:
$45/table
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$80-$85 here in DFW . . .

twarr1 said:
Who goes to a ‘gun show’ to hear about time shares and the new miracle health supplement?
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It's a legit rant.
Mind, the promoter has to get back his cost to rent the hall, and his only way to do that is to rent tables at the show. By renting his tables, the vendor expects that the promoter would have spent some time in marketing ("exploitation" being the term-of-art in the industry) to bring in customers.
Promoters, like all things human, run the gamut from good to bad.
As a result, the gun shows they put on also run from good to bad.

It's a lot harder to find the good in a 100 table show in the Podunk VFW. But, it can be equally difficult in the 500 table in the big city venue if a less-good promoter is running the thing.
 
At their best, gun shows were a social event that brought together people with a shared interest, encouraged cleaning out the surplus which tends to accumulate, and were usually learning experiences. I used to sell a few guns and more knives, ammo and sports optics, and pick up dies, bullets and surplus stuff. Not as much fun now that everything is driven by maximum profit.
 
WestKentucky said:
No more than I get to enjoy the hobby these days I have considered basically getting a table and selling out. Problem is I keep finding reasons to want to keep what I have. I could imagine trading, but can’t really imagine coming home with less stuff and more cash.
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Ammo may be the new "cash" if Putin doesn't back down.

Dont sell anything gun related right now, no way.

As far as gun shows go, ya the golden days may be over, but what else are ya gunna do on a weekend.....yard work? :p
 
My dad, brother and I had tables at the Mississippi Valley Gun and etc in Aledo, IL for fifteen years. It was an old fairgrounds barn and the wheeling about dealing were fantastic. People were there to sell, trade and buy and not get rich doing it, and still have fun. Some of my best deals were done there. Almost no junk, good food, and fair deals. Those were the good old days. If I couldn't find it there I probably didn't need it anyway.
The fun and fellowship mentality went the way of bipartisanship, I guess. Sad.
 
You can still find a good deal at shows, that high end hunting rifle some figured was cheap or an original Chinese ak someone thought was still considered cheap junk. Just got find the right seller is the issue.
 
Don't overlook events that may not be labeled "gun shows," but that in fact serve the same purpose. In fact, you might even find better deals there, because of the "arbitrage effect" (different prices for the same item in different markets).

I'm thinking about North-South Skirmish Association meets, Civil War (and other war) reenactments, military vehicle conventions, 18th Century market fairs, etc. All these events have "sutlers" that have original and reproduction weapons.

Rural Pennsylvania estate sales used to be great places to find bring-back guns at giveaway prices. Sadly, the WW1 and WW2 veteran generations have died off years ago.

The lesson here: if you're a serious collector, you have to broaden your horizons.
 
Yeah, Dad and I got an FFL in January 2021 and we have seen that same BS over and over again... $80 boxes of 30-06 that look like they were in grandpas attic for 20 years and stuff like that... Remington Tac14s for $995 when Gunbroker has them for like $450-500! Honestly, we haven't been able to actually make any real money as we cant get anything from distributors and wholesalers since we don't have a brick and mortar store and super deep pockets to order thousands of dollars worth of inventory each month... I'm honestly concerned we are going to have to give up and quit doing it... And the Local Shops are outrageous as they have racks full of Mosin Nagants and SKSs for $800-900, never want to trade or buy used guns, never have reasonable priced ammo in stock and reloading supplies are unobtanium... Academy and Atwood's have been gaining my business a lot over the past two years...
 
I just spent last weekend at our local gun show. I've had a table there for the last 32 years. I enjoy the company and we do get "deals" between vendors. Being retired it gets me back with a lot of people with the same interests.

The cost for a table, $75 for a wall or $65 and admission has gone up to $10, but the parking is free. The Fairgrounds have doubled the rent for the hall, first gun show since Covid. They also required the promoter to get outside insurance because they would not sell him any this time around and dropped his 225 tables to no more than 130 tables with 17 feet wide aisles. I still enjoy them inspire of the hassles.
 
I just saw that the Aledo show is on again and at the same venue. I might drive up to a look. Doubt any of the old crowd will be there as we quit in 1980.
 
I've resigned in terms of going to gun shows anymore. I'd like to remember them for how they used to be. I went to some great ones, hot a few great deals. Things were priced to move and it was great. I know I would just be disappointed if I went now, so why even bother. That and I used to go because I liked to look at private tables, gear, knives, optics, ammo, etc.... Going for a gun is pretty much a pointless endeavor for me since I get delayed transfer 9/10 times....
 
I think the last gun show I went to was in the late 2000s, that was the "Nations Gun Show" in Chantilly VA. It was huge with lots of competition, I assume that's one reason prices weren't that bad. You could tell the ones who were making the deals cause their tables had large groups of people around them. The ones that wouldn't wheel and deal sat there alone hoping some sucker would stop by.
 
Basically, the world has changed with the internet. Used to be going to shows let you check the inventory and pricing of dozens or hundreds of dealers at a time. Now, you’ll see every potential buyer on their cell phone checking prices. Nationwide.

I used to work at the LGS. Everyone expected the dealer to rent a booth, pay for all the labor to move the inventory and man the show, then be pissed off because the prices weren’t cheaper than the shop
 
PapaG said:
My dad, brother and I had tables at the Mississippi Valley Gun and etc in Aledo, IL for fifteen years. It was an old fairgrounds barn and the wheeling about dealing were fantastic. People were there to sell, trade and buy and not get rich doing it, and still have fun. Some of my best deals were done there. Almost no junk, good food, and fair deals. Those were the good old days. If I couldn't find it there I probably didn't need it anyway.
The fun and fellowship mentality went the way of bipartisanship, I guess. Sad.
Click to expand...
Good Ole’ days! I remember my 1st gun show! Everyone had a rifle slung on their back, everyone had a nice cup of coffee and a pack of smokes in the shirt pocket! Mosin was $80 and if you bought a crate, you get a spam can of ammo!

HK P7’s $350- mabey

Good Times!
 
redneck2 said:
Everyone expected the dealer to rent a booth, pay for all the labor to move the inventory and man the show, then be pissed off because the prices weren’t cheaper than the shop
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Exactly. Those are the same reasons our friend, Sam told my wife and me why he quit going to gun shows. Sam had (he's retired now) a regular brick and mortar gun shop in town, and he gave up trying to make sense of closing his shop, hauling his inventory a couple of hundred miles, and spreading it out on tables that he had to rent, when he seldom sold more than one or two more guns than he would have if he would have just stayed home and manned his shop.
 
The shop where I worked did the local show, same prices as in the shop. We made good bucks off doing the transfers for out of state dealers and individuals,
 
AlexanderA said:
Don't overlook events that may not be labeled "gun shows," but that in fact serve the same purpose. In fact, you might even find better deals there, because of the "arbitrage effect" (different prices for the same item in different markets).

I'm thinking about North-South Skirmish Association meets, Civil War (and other war) reenactments, military vehicle conventions, 18th Century market fairs, etc. All these events have "sutlers" that have original and reproduction weapons.

Rural Pennsylvania estate sales used to be great places to find bring-back guns at giveaway prices. Sadly, the WW1 and WW2 veteran generations have died off years ago.

The lesson here: if you're a serious collector, you have to broaden your horizons.
Click to expand...
This. Estate sales, swap meets and the like can also have good finds and prices if you look around. Doesn't hurt look at different places, might just find a good deal.
 
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