Gun Shows, cash only?

[real_name]

I've never bought at a Gun Show before, planning on visiting one here this weekend and hopefully picking up my G34.
Is it usually cash only?
Is there usually a premium for paying by debit/credit card?
(Incidently, I don't use checks).

Is there usually a slight discount for cash?
One of my local gun shops offers a discount on the ticket price on the used guns. Should I expect something like this?

 

[nswtex]

Generally I have found that in my part of the country the cash price is not a discount, but an un-gouged price. The premium being used for the extra hassle credit cards cause the retailer. Last I checked I paid the same price cash or other tender for everything else I purchased.

 

[Ala Dan]

I don't think anyone who sells at our gun shows is set-up on any other
type of transaction, other than "the mean green"~!

 

[Leanwolf]

I've been attending gun shows, and had a table at several, for many, many years. It is extremely rare that a person who is selling from his table will take a check, especially for a gun, or anything valuable. I've taken a check only once, for $375.00, but that was from a guy I knew well and knew that check was okay. (Plus, if it'd been made of rubber, I knew where he lived! )

Of course, some dealers take credit cards, but many don't and virtually no one who is not a FFL dealer takes credit cards.

So, I suggest if you're going with the idea in mind to buy something, hit your bank on Friday and pick up some cash.

L.W.

 

[dakotasin]

there are/can be some very high-end guns at a show. dealers can't expect all their customers to carry wads and wads of cash... maybe you aren't after a high end gun, but 3-4 'everyday' guns...

anyway, at the shows here, cash, credit card, checks are all usually accepted. the dealer who doesn't accept something is generally the exception.

discounts here are whatever you negotiate. some dealers will tack on 3% or so for cc, some don't tack anything on. negotiate your best price, whip out your payment form, and roll from there.

since you'll be carrying your english accent, why not sweeten the deal w/ some amex travelers checques? lol!

 

[real_name]

Thanks.
I assumed as much but wanted to be sure.

So, the prices aren't very negotiable then if they only take cash?
Is bargaining expected, tolerated, or plain ignored?

 

[Lennyjoe]

Most dealers have the ability to take credit cards but like anything else, cash is king. Private sellers will pretty much take cash only but you never know.

Price negotiation is possible but remember, they are there to make money too. They have to pay for booth rentals and such so don't expect too much give on the prices. Also, there will be plenty of people walking around with stuff for sale so don't just hone in on the tables. If you see someone walking around with a Colt (or whatever manufacture your looking for) gun case and your shopping for a Colt then by all means ask them if they are selling or trading. Never know what deal you can find.

Enjoy.

 

[Chipperman]

Yeah and be ready for the ATF agent to offer you $50 more for the gun you just bought, then bust you for dealing without a license.

 

[Ala Dan]

In Our Store

"Cash" is a dirty word (Laughing Loudly) as we offer free 90 day lay-a-way,
or one year interest free financing~!

But, for the rest- "IN GOD WE TRUST" everyone please pay cash~!

 

[BullfrogKen]

In any retail transaction . . . Cash is KING.

I usually don't attend a show unless I need some hard to find accessory or part I want to see in person before I buy. Some things I just want to handle before purchasing, and paying twice for shipping to return an item worth less than $100 seems wasteful. So, I haven't been to a show in a while.

Most vendors at shows these days have brink and mortar establishments, and will take plastic, but there is a fee added, either tacked onto a cash price, or the price shown can be haggled down a few points for cash. The margin on firearms really is slim. Some will take a check if you buy at their shop, but might refrain at a show. Some accept regardless, some deny totally, some offer layaway terms. It just depends. . . Just politely ask.

Remember most banks set a limit on daily ATMs cash withdrawls. So, plan ahead if must deal in cash.

 

[Fire4Effect]

At gunshows some dealers will take credit/ debit cards, some will not... One of the gun show dealers that I buy from regularly, and who also takes cards, pointed something out to me that I had overlooked. If I paid cash then I paid the price as marked or agreed upon. If I paid with a card then I was charged sales tax. When I got home I looked through all of my reciepts at the amount of sales tax I had paid for my "charged" guns and nearly cried at thought of the extra ammo I could have bought with all that money. Now when I buy at a gunshow I only pay cash, and if I don't have enough many dealers will take a deposit to hold the gun while you go to the ATM.

 

[hoghunting]

real name,
I take cash and most dealers know that some people will haggle for a cheaper price. Don't expect to get the gun for 50% less. Don't insult the man. Offer a reasonable price and expect him to counter-offer. Then it's off to the races. Keep haggling until you agree on a price. It also helps to pull out the cash before the haggling begins.

Here in TX, we can buy guns from individuals without any form for a transfer. If you can do that in TN, look at what people are carrying, and you can usually make a better deal through an individual.

 

[Ivy Mike]

Cash prices aren't discounted, it costs the dealer to accept a credit card. The processing company takes a little bit from every sale. The dealer (who isn't usually making a big profit from a gun sale) doesn't want to eat this, so they pass it to you.

They don't have to do this when dealing in cash.
I almost always carry $100 or so. That way, if I see something I want, I can give a deposit and book it to an ATM for the balance.

 

[Leanwolf]

Speaking of "cash," and "high end guns," and "collectors," when I lived in Los Angeles and attended the big L.A. gun shows -- before the communist politicians virtually destroyed California's good gun shows -- I knew two collectors who were always looking for very high end guns.

Both of these guys carried $75,000.00 cash with them, and told me that they knew several other collectors there who did the same. All hundreds. I saw one of them buy a very elaborate, beautifully engraved with gold inlays, cased, Holland & Holland double rifle with two sets of different caliber barrels, H&H tools and accessories, etc. for $45,000.00 cash.

Years ago, it was not at all unusual to see the very high end guns such as that at the L.A. show.

The most high end rifle on a table I've seen here in Boise at a gun show was $28,000.00. Don't know if the man sold it or not. Saw an absolutely pristine Colt's Single Action Frontier .44-40 still in the original box with Colt's letter, 1881 mfg., for $12,500.00. Colt's letter stated that revolver had been shipped directly to a Deputy U.S. Marshal in Colorado. The dealer had got it from the man's great great granddaughter. Story was the Deputy Marshall didn't carry it but put it away. The dealer would not "deal" on it at all. A couple hours afterward, I walked by the table and it was gone.

There is a custom gunmaker here who occasionally has a table. His "el cheapo, starter" rifles start at $20,000.00. He has a waiting list.

As said above, "Cash is King" at a gun show.

Have fun.

L.W.

 

[rangerruck]

at the houston shows, cash is king and you will get a discount, they will also take checks, but usually no discount. For c.c.'s they usually add 3%.

 

[evan price]

Best way to begin negotiations is to know what you want and what it is really worth with options, extra mags, night sights, condition/grade, etc. then pull a wad of cash out of your pocket and ask, "So, would you take (asking price - 15%) for it?" Obviously if the seller has 10 of them at start of show and two hours later has one left, the answer will be NO... but can't hurt to ask.


FYI, according to the terms of use with all major credit issuers (Visa, MC & Discover) it is prohibited for a vendor who accepts the card to charge extra for taking it. That cost is to be absorbed and not passed on by the vendor, not the consumer since the convenience of accepting credit cards helps generate sales for the vendor... Hence, most people give a cash "discount" rather than a credit "surcharge".
I have in the past complained about credit surcharges where they were dmeanded and pointed this fact out to the vendor and about 75% of the time they immediately dropped the surcharge. I guess a lot of vendors know this is illegal but if you don't complain you don't get anywhere. If they don't drop the surcharge I don't buy.

 

[WeedWhacker]

Credit cards have transaction fees which they charge to merchants. Merchants are not allowed to pass this cost directly on to their customers due to the agreement they've signed as a requirement to become a merchant (Visa, MC at least).
This gets worked around by listing the price they want to sell at at an increased rate to cover the cost of the charge... but offer "cash discounts" so that those with cash do not get hit with the CC transaction fee.

I used to think the whole cash discount thing stunk until I learned how heavily the deck is stacked against the merchants.

 

[real_name]

Regarding the haggling advice, I am pretty good at that and polite with it.
I learned haggling when I lived in Israel, and perfected it in places like Egypt, Morocco, India, Nepal etc. Places where you have to haggle to determine the price as none is posted. I realise a gun show in Nashville isn't a souk in Marrakesh but the principle is the same, the price is reached when you meet in the middle after a brief and respectful banter. I know some people might not budge, if they have the gun I want at the price I want to pay then I will happily pay the sticker price.
I'm not looking to strip anyones profits, but I'm also not looking to pay $595 without at least asking if that's the best price for cash.
I would be more than happy with just having the sales tax (9.25%) dropped, anything else is purely a bonus.

I won't be using the ATM onsite however, they may not have one from my bank and then I would have to pay the 'convenience tax'. I'd rather walk into my bank on Friday and get the cash.

 

[George S.]

The gun show in my area has a number of gun shops that attend and they typically have two prices, one for cash and one for credit cards. When they take a credit card, they use a wireless card reader (cell phone connection) as they have no hard-wire phone connections available on site. There is usually a $30 difference between the cash and credit price regardless of the cost of the gun!

There are some vendors who sell accessories or used stuff that have the same wireless card reader and some just use the old-style paper imprinter but don't charge anything extra. Go figure.

 

[nswtex]

A lot of people talk about the "deck" being stacked against gun merchants. My question is how is that the customers fault. If you cant seem to make money at what you do, then do something else.

Of course what the heck do I know anyway, right!

 

[Aguila Blanca]

One of the gun show dealers that I buy from regularly, and who also takes cards, pointed something out to me that I had overlooked. If I paid cash then I paid the price as marked or agreed upon. If I paid with a card then I was charged sales tax.

The laws pertaining to sales tax don't change depending on whether the payment is rendered in cash or by credit card. What your dealer pointed out to you is that he cheats by hiding or fudging the numbers on cash sales, which he can't do on a credit card transaction because there's a paper trail.

Apparently a majority of gun people (based on a previous thread I started regarding the impropriety of the surcharge on use of credit cards) don't seem to find anything wrong with dealers breaking the law if it saves them a few bucks. Personally, I have a problem with it.

 

[Firethorn]

Hawkmoon, I noticed this as well, but I don't check thehighroad while at work, so it had to wait for me to get home. I've heard about this happening with contractors as well. If you pay cash, they won't report the work(hard to audit a sole ownership for it), you won't pay sales tax, he won't report it as income. Materials are either padded onto other work as 'waste', or bought using individual resources(personal use).

 

[mrmeval]

CC card companies charge the vendor a percentage. Dealers pass it along. Blame the CC company.

American distress gouged the vendor up to 10 percent and stick it to the vendor if a stolen card was used even if they'd approved the card's use.

 

[f4t9r]

Cash seems to get the best deal some charge 2 or 3 % for credit cards

 

[rkba_net]

Many dealers will charge extra if you pay by credit card or give you a discount if you do not... note that it is against the agreement signed by the dealer with the credit card companies to do this.... if you complain to the cc company they can loose the ability to accept cc's....