Gun Shows aren't what the used to be

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Jbabbler

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Well, I wasted $8.00 getting in to the gun show this morning. To say I was surprised at the prices is an understatement. Since I have been shopping a lot lately I know what these guns should go for and the prices at the show were 10-20% higher than the local gun shops. Used guns were just as bad. Heck, there was a $40 difference between two tables on the same gun. You apparently aren't allowed to ask about that or the higher priced seller gets pissed and rude.

Here are some examples that I found to be WAAAAY out of line for a gun show.
XD-40 sub compact $550
XD-9 service $550
XDM-9 service $650
Mosin Nagant $179
Taurus PT111 $389
Kel-Tec P11 $325
Kel-Tec P32 $299
Rossi .357 $389
S&W Sigma $369

Used guns were just as bad
1st gen Kel-Tec p32 $279
1st gen Glock 23 $450

Hell, even the Highpoints were in the $160+ range.

Reloaded ammo was higher than new at Walmart.

There was one table that was getting the most business. When I went over there the prices were lower than the rest but still higher than the Army Navy Store.

What a waste of time. Gun Shows were once the greatest place to find awesome deals. Now it's just a gimmick.
 
will agree,but,every once in a while you can find a treasure.I have a C&R FFL,so mil-surp rifles can be had pretty cheap,but at a local gun show,found a Mosin Nagant 91/30 that looked brand new,perfect everything,guy ask only $10.00 more than I could have ordered it for. so,yes,the shows have gone to pot,but the "surprise" every once in a while still makes them worth it. jwr
 
I went to one near ft worth, on dec 28 and I saw a glock, used, old police weapon, beat to ****, that cost 450. a new one i saw cost 599. My father in law was looking at old bolt action rifles and hunting shotguns and said that they were 200-300 more expensive than they should have been. He said he saw 3 that were fair priced. all at the same station too. lol oh yea, one of the vendors left a bullet in a chamber and a customer picked it up and fired a shot. the vendor was kicked out by the police. It was crap.
 
The thing that really killed me was that one of the local dealers that I commonly do business with actually had a cw9 for $40 more than the sell it for in their store everyday.
 
I went to a gun show 2 weeks ago They had ruger 380s for $385 be for taw I waited and went to my local gun dealer and bought the 380, 2 boxes of ammo and tax was just 350. Moral of the story support youre local gun shop so they stay in bussiness
 
Went to one today. A basic SKS was going for $459:scrutiny: Blued Taurus PT1911's for $649.

Then the idiot Shaw-Wow salesman.


:rolleyes:
 
In the last 6 months or so all guns have gone up, especially after the election. Most of the prices you quoted are about average around here. Six months ago they would have been considered too high. Two years ago I paid $700 for my Stag AR-15, a local shop I was in the other day had 2-3 priced at $1300 and said they were selling them faster than they could get them in.
 
I think I went to two gun shows last year. Neither was worth my time or gas. The last one I attended I bought about $170 worth of books and that was it.

Sort of makes you appreciate what you have and make do. Which is probably all to the good.
 
I agree... I once went with my father in law, and he found a really nice 44 spl revolver in great condition for a fair price. Now its all new guns marked up higher than at a store. I went for reloading supplies last time and had to make a stop at sportsmans warehouse on the way home.
 
I am a licensed dealer found a Springfield that been out of stock everywhere NIB from another dealer I was not setup just browsing the show. He wanted $250 over cost. I heard him tell another guy 1st day no sales and after food and lodging he is loosing money. I talked to him he found out I was a dealer asked if I was in the market for any guns. We worked a deal $10 over cost on the springfield so I came out ok since if I was to find it in stock im looking at $20-$25 shipping . He did start towards end of show selling more prices on his table was going down....
 
I avoided going to a show this weekend for many of the above reasons. 99% of the "good deals" are sold to other dealers before the doors ever open to the public. I decided a few years ago not to be in a hurry to buy any gun, if I was patient one would eventually become available at a fair price.
 
I usually just go to the shows for supplies/ammo etc and to handle guns I don't normally find around here. Deals are rare but I can get the small stuff for normal cost and save the shipping at worst.
 
I guess what I find so entertaining about gun shows are the threads they inspire. its almost as if some people believe they HAVE to buy guns at the prices marked. Heres a hint-- the only reason most guns are marked so highly is that some sucker will pay it. Don't want to be the sucker, then don't be! I've never went to a gun show expecting a bargin, and I've yet to be let down. Gun shows have always beejn somewhat notorious for high prices...why on earth does anyone think that today's political climate would work to change that? Its a seller's market out there, and I can find little fault for people making some money. Good deals can still be had on firearms, but you actually have to do your homework, shop judiciously, and a little good luck never hurts. I enjoy gun shows for what they are to me-- a chance to inspect and handle hundreds of firearms in a comprably short amount of time, to get an idea of whats out there and to formulate my "wishlist". Filling that wishlist, however, is something I rountinely do elsewhere, after lots of comparison shopping, dealing, and research. Gun shows, to me, are the starting point of many gun purchases, but rarely the end pont or poiint of sale. Its up to the buyer to recognize a fair price and to refuse to pay more. Maybe that means not getting your dream gun today...so be it. Is it worth it to have it "today" when waiting a few days or weeks could potentially save you hundreds of dollars? It all depends on your expectations of gun shows. Those most copmmonly disppointed are those expecting guns to be given away at every table. Thats not a relistic expectation. those with some gun show esperience typically have more relaistic expectations.
 
I gave up trying to find a gun to buy at our local gun shows. I understand the buy low and sell high idea, but the dealers here take it to the extreme and when you seem to hesitate, they do get rude. Like they're doing you a favor just to talk to you.

This weekend I went to the gun show here with the idea of getting some reloading stuff and found the primers were anywhere from $37 to $40 per K and the guns shops are selling $26-$30 for the same ones.

Naw, that's ok. I'm not going to waste my money at these rip offs any more.
 
I tend to go to gun shows for the stock, not deals. The shows have so much more stock sitting around than any of the local gun stores that I can pretty much see and handle anything other than whatever the "in" gun of the moment happens to be.

When I was looking for a Glock 34, no on actually had one in stock. Went the the gun show and several dealers had them. I also purchased new for slightly less than it would have cost at the local gun shops (just cheap enough to compensate for gas and door charge).
 
I went Saturday to my local gun show and walked away very disappointed.

Not only are the gun prices out of line but the guy I was buying Wolf 9mm ammo from at a reasonable price sold his last box as I walked up to his station.

He informed me that he can't find it and when he does it's being sold to him for what he sells it for. :scrutiny:

I walked 4 different buildings to check different vendors and was very disappointed at the prices.

In many cases it looked as if they went to Walmart to purchase it and brought it in at a higher price just to gouge the unaware cust. :eek:

I left the show and went Next door to Wally World and found that they only had 2-50rd. boxes of 380 and 150 rds. of 9mm. I purchased all they had along with a 500ct. bulk pack of Winchestser 22 LR.

I don't believe I could have gotten 3/4's of the ammo at the gun show that I purchased for the $80.00 I spent at Walmart.
 
Some of those prices arent that far out of line. I mean the dealer has to make some money too. The internet has spoiled people. When you can go to places like buds or impact that deal in volume, the smaller guys can't compete. The thing that has really gone down at gun show is non dealers. Those are the guys you will get a deal with. I don't even fool with dealers. If I have to sell something I just walk around gun shows with a for sale sign on my chest and back and don't even talk to the dealers. I have made some dealers mad because they asked to see what I was selling and I told them I don't fool with dealers. I usually always sell what I need to sell. I don't even go to the show here is Austin anymore it sucks. I am more in the market for reloading stuff more than anything and I can go to the Sportsmans Warehouse and get better deals. I have been thinking about going to the San Antonio gun show it is suppose to be better.
 
People are gouging these days. I saw a rough looking; used Glock 17 for $595 at a store that usually has fair prices. When I bought my brand new Glock 21sf the other day I had to remind the seller that the gun was over priced and he knocked the $40 off that he was trying to gouge me for.
 
I talked to a nice gent at the Houston Geo R Brown show two Sundays ago. His prices were high but not outrageous. It was 1:15 in the afternoon and he'd just hit the break even point. He was from the area, so all he was out was his time, the gas, the cost of his single table ($75). He only had 3 hours to go before he started packing up. He admitted he would like to do better, but was there as much for the experience as for making money.

There was lots of money changing hands, but I didn't see anything I couldn't get locally for as good a price.

I remember the "Good Old Days" when 3-4 of us would pool our pennies and get a couple of tables at the big Astrohall show, $25 a table, take everything we owned with fair prices marked, and sell a bunch of guns we were tired of or had taken in swapping and buy some more. We might take 30 guns, sell 6, and buy that many again. That wasn't that many years ago, either, about 25.

The idea of trying it again keeps recurring.
 
people have always been gouging. when i bought my first rifle, it was listed at $325. thinking i was being barter-savvy i offered him $300 becuase i had seen the same gun cheaper at another table. he smiled and then asked me if i knew what i was talking about. i said of course, and then he told me his actual price was $285 and he only is telling me that beacuse i seem like a nice kid.

bottom line, any listed price is going to be substantially higher than they actually expect to get.
 
I go to gun shows once in awhile mainly to look at examples of guns I can't seem to find at local shops. I never buy guns at shows anymore. I don't like to go through all of the bargaining games. I'm getting too old and I don't have the time to waste on that. I buy when a dealer offers a gun at a fair price that allows for reasonable profit without me getting really taken. I prefer to deal with an established dealer who is in my area and has a place of business and will stand behind what they sell.

As others have noted, I rarely if ever see any good deals these days at gun shows. I think they are like talk radio. Its just entertainment and taking it seriously is asking for disappointment. I have all the guns I really need if it came to that. I vote with my feet and wallet. Just because a ridiculous price is asked doesn't mean I have to care. I just don't buy. If dealers are too greedy they will eventually go under as they should.
 
I have an idea for all of us... don't patronize the gun industry right now. They are gouging us from every angle because of this little feeding frenzy. If you keep walking through the door, they will keep hiking prices.

Remember, if you didn't need that redundant new gun before Obama, you don't need it now. Believe me, your credit status and your wife will thank you.
 
You can find some good deals from people bringing stuff in. Deals from the dealers set up in the show are getting harder to find.
 
Gun Shows

Usually when i go to the shows, its to stock up on Jerky and to have a laugh at some of the prices, and to look at all the RAMBOS there!!!!
 
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