Gun Show Prices are absurd!!!

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The local show I go to might be the exception. There is a fall show (next weekend) and a spring show. I have never seen flea market stuff there, nor anyone selling jerky. Some prices are higher than I would pay, but a couple of tables down might be more reasonable.

I do my research before hand, and I have usually been able to find what I am looking for within the price I am willing to pay. If not, well it beats shoe shopping with the wife and daughters....
 
The last gun show I attended was a few years ago. It looked morelike an overpriced swapmeet than actual gun show. I went through the entire place and only found four guns that were properly priced (WASR, Henry Golden Boy, Hi-Point and MPA Defender). I did find the main item (Kahr 9mm 7rd mags) I was looking for at time but the guy wanted more than MSRP and I took a pass on them.

Honestly, I feel that online stores and auction sites have changed our expectations for
firearm prices quite alot over the past several years. Large retail stores still sell alot of firearms to hunters and casual shooter. Smaller independently owned shops have managed to stay relevent either through good customer service, selling used/consignment, doing FFL transfers and/or narrowing their margins enough to be competitve in their area.

Gun shows have declined in popularity for similar reasons. In the past, people would attend gun shows to search for things their LGS or Big Box store didn't carry or charged too much because they were the only option. People would wait for months and then attend the shows. You had higher attendance, more vendors and it was a bigger event with more competive prices. Nowadays, the Internet has made it easier for people to connect to each other and there is simply less of a need/desire for ordinary gun shows. In a way, it's similar to the effect mail-order catalogs and travelling salesmen had on general stores of the old days. Convience and lower prices are hard factors to overcome.
 
I go for the handling of firearms I can't get locally and a relaxing stroll with buds that have common interest........and NO MALL NO SCENTED CANDLES AND NO BAD MOVIE TO WATCH if you guys get my drift.

Plus USUALLY theres a guy with decent prices on cheaper ammo that I don't have available nearby......and the overpriced jerky..LOL
 
Gun shows = RIP OFF's~!
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not sure what your talking about if its over priced then dont buy it :banghead: ive got some of the best deals at gunshows like a Remington berthier all it needs is a stock for $70, and a 1941 6.5 mdl 38 carcano for $50 its in 85% or better, or my favorite i traded a yugo sks which i bought at a gun show for $150 for 1 1917 no1 mk3 enfield with bayonet and 1 no4 mk1 with bayonet and 50rnds of 303 with 200 reloadable pieces of brass. so im unsure what people are whining about i love gun shows i alway come home with a new deal.
 
Same as with a car dealership, a gun show can't be a rip-off if you go in with foreknowledge of what things should cost and resolve to not overpay.

Go to a show knowing what you're after and what you're willing to pay. My experience is that there are usually some good deals to be had, mostly in finished ammo (though you have to be careful, and again, know what the price should be), components (esp. powder and primers given you save the hazmat charge), and gunsmithing/cleaning supplies/tools.

The best things about gun shows, as somebody said, are that you can get hands on some pretty unusual firearms and that, if you're looking for gun nobody carries locally, you can possibly find an example to handle and examine first hand. If handling an actual 602 BRNO teaches you that it's just too heavy for you, and that keeps you from buying one on line and then being dissatisfied, that's worth the entry fee.
 
jmr40 said:
I have never once found a gun online that I couldn't buy cheaper at a local store or at a gunshow. The asking price may be less, but with shipping and transfer fees it has always been cheaper for me to buy locally even after paying sales tax.

The only time I've bought a gun online was because that particular model was not available locally. If the LGS could have gotten the gun for me they would have matched the online price.
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Same here. As for gun shows, they are what they are. They have become a glorified Flea Market around here.
 
The only "deals" I ever find are from other folks that attend that want to buy something I've got or sell something they've brought.

The tables are generally absurd...
 
Sometimes you find deals. There are some shops in Florida that go to the shows and sell ammo they've manufactured at good prices, especially if you want .44 Special and .44-40 or .38-40.

I mostly go to fondle and get and idea of what's out there. Buy some paper targets if the price is right. Buy up someone's stash of ammo at 50% the price of brand new(must be in original boxes). Get a nice old S&W at better than Gunbroker or pawnshop prices (I got a S&W Model 15-3 85% in great working order with a clean bore for $240 cash from a private seller) from a private seller. I know guys that go and never go inside, they just hang out out front with their guns looking to make trades and deals. I'm leaning more and more that way. I'm socking money away for the February Gunshow in Central Florida(Orlando). Sit there with $2,000 in my pocket and make some purchases off the private sellers. Maybe finally get a nice used Colt 1911 for $500 and see what else I can get. Perhaps take my SIG 228 and see what trades I can get.
 
@ Leadcoucil, I attend the same shows in Washington State, and it amazes me how some vendors either think, or worse, have learned, that you can charge more at shows than in an shop or on the internet. I guess its the price of convenience.

The only deals I see at these Western Wash gun shows are the occasional guy who is "cleaning out his garage" and just prices the stuff to sell. But this is generally only for things like reloading suppliers, ammo, books, parts. Have had some incredible deals as of late. Last week walked about with $150 of Garand food for less than $50! And $80 of Nosler projectiles for $10.

One exception to the above is the Surplus Ammo booth. Generally their prices at the show (including tax) are as good as or better than the best prices on the net, but they add 3% for plastic.
 
Something is only worth what another will pay for it. I always keep this in mind when buying or selling something.
There are books you can get that will guide to the value of a gun, and even give examples of their descriptions and why the price is list as it is given the condition of the firearm.
 
For all of those who think prices are absurd at gun shoes and that they are now just glorified flea markets, or that there never "deals" available,

got a question for you all.

Why do you continue to go?
Is it you just can't help yourself?
Do you feel a need to help the promoter?

Just wondering.
 
jcwit said:
For all of those who think prices are absurd at gun shoes and that they are now just glorified flea markets, or that there never "deals" available,

got a question for you all.

Why do you continue to go?
Is it you just can't help yourself?
Do you feel a need to help the promoter?

Just wondering.
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The last one I went to was in Sharonville OH (North of Cincinnati) over two ..more like three years ago. In addition there have been no gun shows south of the river in KY unless one drives to Louisville or Lexington. There used to be gun shows in Covington KY, but that was maybe nine or ten years ago. If there are any gun shows at all in the immediate area...they are in Ohio.
 
jcwit said:
For all of those who think prices are absurd at gun shoes and that they are now just glorified flea markets, or that there never "deals" available,

got a question for you all.

Why do you continue to go?
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It's simple.......I don't, and I don't need to. My LGS sells new guns, powder, primers and other components along with scopes and other accessories @ internet prices. They also have a large selection of used guns @ good prices and they call and let me know if they get somethin' in that I might like. My local Wal-mart sells Jerky and the Good-Will store has all the used paperback books I'd ever want.....and I don't have to pay $10 @ the door.

Why do you continue to go?
 
I go for the camaraderie of being with fellow gun enthusiasts, handling and getting information on the guns I’m interested in. No one said that you have to buy anything. Like the man said, it's better than going shopping with your wife!

Sure there’s an outside chance that you can get a good deal. Hell, in 2008 I bought a Winchester 94AE carbine in pristine condition from a private seller for $250 - very, very hard to beat. I wasn’t even looking for a lever gun, but at that price it was coming home with me.

However, that is the exception and not the rule.
 
I don't bother going to gun shows anymore. At least not with any intent to buy anything. Prices are always too high, in the last couple of years there have also been negligent discharges at the shows, and I no longer have any patience for gun show commandos.
 
i remeber the day when you could build a ar15 at a show for 600 or so dollars depending on your taste. now however, its closer to 900 dollars for bottom rung! the last show i went to i had a guy tell me that 45 acp ammo was getting rare these days and that why he had it for 29.99 a box for blazer,meenwhile across the show i met another guy whom had it for 12.99 a box for pmc!! i bought a 1000 rounds :). simple answer some of the salesmen are getting a little to gready.

ps. i to agree the beef jerky price is getting out of hand!!! this is a outrage! ;)
 
My Gunshow rules.

See something you want. Set a high limit. Negotiate.

The best time to do this is close to the end of the show when the dealers want to make some $$$ to improve their bottom line.

Better idea: I know a guy that runs a feed store. He has an FFL and sells guns at cost just to keep his customers coming back for feed and such, and he will order anything you want.
 
Mah wife brings up a good point. These people have to pay for their space and by the end of the day they're hoping you help.
 
I go to look at all the cool guns, maybe buy something if I actually see a good deal. I saw a FN PS90 for around $2,300! That gun usually goes for $800 less! :eek:
 
I am a capitalist, so I can't complain that there are merchants who will try to get as much as they can for any given product. If they are just being ridiculous, call them on it. If their tag price is way high, they are probably ready for you to haggle with them a little. If they play hard, plar hard back. I don't remember if I have ever bought a gun at a show, I doubt it. When I want a gun, I'm not usually in the mood to wait for a gun show to get it. I would do my homework, know what the market was. Then when I go, and the dealer is hitting me high, I know what I am talking about. I would be willing to walk away and buy it at a local dealer. (Maybe I live in a place where I know this is always an option, and it isn't in other places.)
 
$395 for a Yugo SKS
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That's actually not a bad price for my area, where they typically go for $375.

In January '08 I saw a plain jane Russian SKS at a gun show for ... $1,000!!! :eek: Yep, a grand for an SKS. The same show had a badly bubba'd SKS for $800 (spray painted synthetic stock), lots of $700 Glocks, WASR 10s for $700.

Then again, there are deals hiding among the ripoffs. I usually get very good deals on ammo components, cleaning supplies and other accessories. I get great deals on ammo too sometimes (like 50 round boxes of Federal .38 +P LSCWHP for $20 each).

I also got this mint S&W 15-3 for $309 a couple of years ago. The next pictured gun is a 3" Taurus 431 .44 special, also in mint condition that I picked up at a show earlier this year for $268. And a couple of months ago I picked up a mixmaster (but very nice) Inland M-1 Carbine (Jan '44) for $530. Wonderful shooting little rifle.


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