How much money do you take to a gun show with you?

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Last time I went to a gunshow I brought $60. I ended up paying $5 for parking, $10 to get in, and not spending a dime there. It was a joke, completely worthless time.

Of course, that was four years ago and in Massachusetts!
 
I've found the prices rising on the items that really interest me of late, so I'm toting less and less to the shows. I know that I am in trouble when something whispers to me, and I just have to pick it up. There is one dealer that takes an additional 20% off of his used firearms for the shows. I've picked up a couple of great deals from that vendor, even felt like I'd stolen one of them. At another show recently, a CZ97B whispered to me, and I just had to have it, the seller was amenable to taking a personal check on that one. Ninety percent of the time cash is king.
 
I leave the Visa at home and only take cash enough for what I project I need. Sometimes I just need that good ol' American instant gratification and will pay more for something I want NOW, dammit!

I now use mainly the internet; I get better prices and can find what I want. But I pay cash (MO) for those items too.

Here in south Florida gunshows the military style rifles are out of sight! 1200 for a simple M4A2 is too much and so many of the models I see are so loaded with techno-krap that you can barely lift and aim these things.

We have become a society that is overly dependent on high technology and we cannot even imagine a day without our ACOGs, ECOs, IPods, GPS, XM, PDAs, and so on.

Buy up now while the $$ is still worth something.

streakr
 
Gun Show

I used to go to them all the time and take a few hundred. I almost always take some thing that Im bored with to trade if I can. You never know what you might find, I aways ask the guy carrying a pistol case what in the box for sale? Found a few gems as the dealers want it for free and I will pay close to what hes asking and do the transfer and a friends table.. I was in West virgina at a show I live in Pa. i see a guy with a brown paper bag showing dealers whats in the bag. So I ask him what you got in the bag. A used glock G-20 10MM No box One mag. $325.00!!! Its in nice shape a little surface rust on the extractor. no big deal.. He says no paper work just give me the cash! Man I was so temped but thought it may be a B.A.T.F. sting or some thing and walked away a free man!!!!
 
I always take $200 in twenty dollar bills.
My local gun shops usually have better prices than the shows, always have a good selection of used guns, offer layaway and have a 30-day warranty.
I go to shows to see guns I might not see otherwise. But I sometimes come home with a little pocket pistol bargain. If for some reason I find that need more than $200, there is an ATM 100 feet from the door.
 
If you are going to a gunshow to BUY, you must take money or have access to cash. Many (actually most) dealers do not accept credit cards.

If you are going for fun, then you can go with just enough money to get in the door. But shows are a bit boring if you can't buy something. In which case, I don't go.

I keep a cash fund specifically for gunshows. It also serves for emergencies that crop up.

Carry a mix of small bills (5, 10's, and 20's) and a stash of larger bills for more significant purchases. I carry two wallets so I don't show my money. Small bills go in regular wallet. Larger bills (50's and 100's) go in separate wallet.
 
Usually one-thousand dollars is my standard loadout. If I've sold a couple cows or a gun recently, that can sometimes climb to two thousand dollars, but the more or less than a thousand I bring the less I usually spend.

Typically only spend $250 at a show, though. But always good to be prepared.
 
I take around $50.00 in cash. After that it's plastic.
A dealer that doesn't take plastic doesn't get my money. I'm not in a porn store on 42nd street in New York.
And no, you're not adding 3% to the price. You already figured that in when we talked price and I told you plastic.
Bubba it's the 21st century. WE use plastic.

AFS
 
I take around $50.00 in cash. After that it's plastic.
A dealer that doesn't take plastic doesn't get my money. I'm not in a porn store on 42nd street in New York.
And no, you're not adding 3% to the price. You already figured that in when we talked price and I told you plastic.
Bubba it's the 21st century. WE use plastic.

AFS
Click to expand...

I'm with ya there. Here in Orlando we've actually had armed robberies occur in the parking lot, targeting people leaving. One guy driving his car got carjacked, pistol-whipped, and all of his (unloaded) guns stolen. I don't feel comfortable carrying much cash (less than $200), so if I'm buying a gun it's going to be plastic (not to mention the ripoff protection you get from almost any credit card).

I'm with most people who have shifted to buying guns from internet dealers and shipping to local FFL, or just ordering and buying through the local guys. I'm convinced that the gun show vendors charge outrageous prices knowing that many people who wander in to buy a gun won't have the faintest idea of what fair market value is for guns or the accessories (like I was when I got back into shooting, at first). $800 for a WASR-10? $170 for a Mosin-Nagant? Don't think so, scooter. I don't let that ruin the experience for me, as I still enjoy the shows for what they have to offer me and I still go 2-3 times a year. I look at gun shows as a chance to see and handle a wide variety of different guns and accessories. If I need a bunch of extra magazines, or $2 chinese pocket knives, or some .50 cal ammo cans for storage, or stuff like that, then I'll go to a show. I reload, cast my own boolits, and buy my components online (absolutely LOVE Powder Valley and their selection/prices), so I don't NEED to go to the shows very often anymore.
 
I don't bother with dealers at gun shows, thus, I don't need a credit card. I ignore all dealers. If I want to buy from a dealer, I will seek them out. Gun shows are a private sale-only event to me.
 
I've bought nothing, more often than not. But I have bought several guns. The time I brought my wife was when I bought several guns and she wanted me to buy another that I couldn't justify buying.

I bring my checkbook and buy what I want.
 
Depends on if I am looking to buy, or just looking.

500 - 1500

Got to admit I have not bought a gun at a show in years. I have sold a few, and wanted to buy. But could not find what I wanted at the right price.

I think I am bringing cash for "just in case".
 
I object to the idea of plastic, it makes negotiating harder and I've yet to see a walk-in with their uncles' Jap rifle take Discover.
 
usually $1k for goodies and a pistol. I bring the check book if I"m shopping for something bigger. Having the cash really help me keep track of what I'm spending.
 
Seems like all the venues have ATM's set up. Gotta think long and hard about pulling money out of one though.

Rule of thumb is about 500.00, some times it's too little sometimes too much.

Most of the genuine good deals I come across are between 500 and 800.
 
...oh man, somehow i´m glad there´s restrictive laws around here
and no gunshowshopping for me - here.

Right now i´d take like 1.500$ with me and come back
with trunk full of guns..... Saigas, SKS, Mosins, TT33s
Nagants.... ah well :rolleyes:

(i´d definitely go craaazy.)
 
I take enough just to buy ammo or the like. If there is a firearm or expensive accessory I simply can't live without, I'll give the proprietor enough to hold it till I get more. (ATMs on site) They'll usually cooperate when they see you really want it.
 
I just take a checkbook, a credit card, and a picture of my wife, so I remember what I'm getting myself into if I go nuts. :D
 
$300-400 cash. That will at least be enough to hold most things I'd be buying.while I warm up the ATM .
Plastic when that's too thin.
 
Enough for parking and entry fee. $10-$20. There are usually enough interesting characters in there to justify the entry price. :rolleyes:
 
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