Ridiculous table at Gun Show

[9mm+]

Wow, that is weird. If the table is small, then there is no reason to expect a higher-than-normal threat of theft or any other malfeasance. I've never heard of a "browsing fee" at a gun show and I go to the Dixie Gun and Knife show every time it's held in Raleigh. If anything, most of the vendors WANT you to hold the firearm to help close the sale.

Of course, there are some vendors who don't want you to touch anything they have, as if they're carrying some ultra-rare firearm (which they're not). Those booths have little to no traffic and are usually staffed by some grumpy man who acts like he would rather be somewhere else (which begs the question, why ISN'T he somewhere else??).

 

[BADUNAME37]

I agree with everyone, however, in the end, it is his table and his wares and he can charge whatever he pleases. Just because those here reading this say they wouldn't pay a cent to look at such things at a gun show means nothing.

He may have made more profit than anyone else at the whole show, as he may have had $5 bills coming in right and left yet still had all his stuff to take back to his store and/or to the next gun show.

My wife is an artist. She runs booths at numerous shows. People are constantly handling things. Just two shows ago, someone made off with a small piece that was in the $295 range. She was apparently busy with one customer (the decoy?) while someone else apparently pocketed something as when she took inventory after she got home, MISSING PIECE!

 

[MattTheHat]

The guy certainly has the right to charge $5 to "look" at a gun. And I certainly have the right to stand there, look him in the eye and laugh hysterically.

I understand the problems/issues/annoyances of being on the back side of the table, but like a previous poster mentioned, it comes with the territory.


-Matt

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I'm betting he didn't sell much that day.

I would wager you are right sir.
For anyone who is justifying the reasons behind this stupidity, if you don't want certain guns handled at a show, put them behind glass. I see it at every show I go to. The run of the mill stuff is out in the open and stuff like Pythons and 1st generation SAAs are behind glass.
You can defend him all you want, but me and about 99% of others are going to laugh and keep walking. If the 1% that doesn't keep walking buys something, then good for him. But he's cut out the vast majority of potential buyers. And I'm aware that most people go to shows and don't buy a gun, but that's the nature of the game. You know that going in.

 

[fallout mike]

Friendly do you really think he went home with a stash of $5 bills? He's the only person at the show doing this and by a poll of our peers here on this site they are 0 fer.

 

[zoom6zoom]

Get the table next to him at the next show, and charge people two bucks to point at him and laugh.

 

[BADUNAME37]

Friendly do you really think he went home with a stash of $5 bills? He's the only person at the show doing this and by a poll of our peers here on this site they are 0 fer.

I don't know if he did or not.
He certainly knows if it worked or didn't work.
Perhaps he got blindsided like my wife did and just figured, in order to keep many people from asking to see this and see that, this is what he would try. Perhaps he never did it before and this was his trial to see how it would work.

It very well may be that he went home not selling a thing with either no $5 bills or one or two. Or, maybe he went home with enough bills to cover the cost of the table space (whatever that is).

Believe me, I am in no way sticking up for him as I also would walk by and shake my head, and most likely say something rude - loud enough for him to hear me.

I guess the proof is in the pudding. If this begins to be common at shows, then you know someone is doing something right.

I also agree that people at gun shows are there to see what is for sale, and with guns, much like cars, you really need to have a hands-on experience in order to tell just what it is you are about to sink hundreds or thousands into!

 

[Glock20]

If the guy didn't sell a thing at the show, he has no one to blame but himself for his "marketing efforts"....

 

[BADUNAME37]

Get the table next to him at the next show, and charge people two bucks to point at him and laugh.

Good one!

 

[Vyacheslav]

Not every small town exhibitor has cable locks to chain down his goods, the cost would blow any chance of profit.

LOL where do you buy your cable locks

 

[BADUNAME37]

LOL where do you buy your cable locks

Certainly not CHINA!~


LOL!

 

[Bubbles]

LOL where do you buy your cable locks

No need to buy them, many PD's give them away thanks to Project Gun Safe.

Unless a vendor has a lot of high-$$$ items on the table (as in, transferrable machine-guns) I can't see charging a handling fee.

 

[9mm+]

Unless a vendor has a lot of high-$$$ items on the table (as in, transferrable machine-guns) I can't see charging a handling fee.

I see lots of those at every gun show I attend. The vendors will usually let you hold them if you ask first, but they have never asked for a fee to do so.

 

[bikemutt]

If he has largely mainstream guns for sale and his prices are posted, I suppose I can see why he's trying to cull the "fondlers" (I confess to being a serial gun fondler myself, lol); I really don't need to handle a Glock 21 "one more time".

Maybe he just wants to deal with buyers who know what they want and recognize his offering as a good, or great deal. Who knows, maybe it's working for him.

My wife's physician started something along these lines last year, pay him $700 per year just for the privilege of being a patient, or $2400 per year for "concierge" service whatever the heck that is. This year he sent a letter saying he still had too many patients so now its $900 and $3000 per year respectively. None of this is for services, it does not go towards paying her bill, it's gravy in the doc's pocket. She looked it over and decided to find a new doctor this year, he got his wish, one less patient. I never met the guy but I sure know he's got a big pair of brass ones

 

[MaddSkillz]

Sometimes other pro-gunners are our own worst enemies.

 

[Hendiadys]

This is right up there with a local gun shop here that won't give out prices over the phone. They want you to be there in person to know how much something costs. Which for me, is a 45 minute drive one way....

So not much gets bought there by me.

 

[CraigC]

Though obviously unpopular, I have to agree with Tirod. Next time you guys are at a gun show, just take the time to observe how your fellow shooters handle guns that don't belong to them. Not only has the behavior and manners of the general populace deteriorated to such an extreme that such measures are necessary, lots of folks are handling at the gun shows and buying off the internet. Nickel and diming every seller at every turn on every purchase. While I generally know what I'm looking at, try not to waste people's time just fondling everything shiny, treat my own property very gently and the property of others even more gently, most people are not like that. Guns and shooting are my passion and what gets 99% of my disposable income. My life is centered around this stuff but after working in a gun shop when I was young and enthusiastic and a lifetime of going in and out of them, selling guns to the general public is that last thing I'd ever want to have to do to earn a living. Forget the ATF, my fellow shooters would take the fun out of the whole thing long before the government thugs had a chance to.

 

[Hanzo581]

I don't really care how he conducts his business as it is my right to just pass on by. That being said, a simple sign stating "Do not handle firearms without permission" would suffice in most instances, I've seen it countless times, of course it's not 100% but it does help.

As others have said, if you really want to keep the gun out of the hands of customers get yourself a glass case, they can be had for cheap, especially used.

And to Tirod and others that agree with him, if you don't want your guns touched by people perhaps you shouldn't be peddling your wares at a gun show where thousands of people pass by your table. A little common sense here guys.

 

[Deanimator]

"Forget it Jake. It's Illinois..."

 

[Wishoot]

This is right up there with a local gun shop here that won't give out prices over the phone. They want you to be there in person to know how much something costs.

This is not terribly uncommon around here.

 

[Hoppes Love Potion]

If he wants to sell guns, he should do it the other way - PAY people $1 to handle his guns. Or better yet, lower the price of a gun $1 each time somebody handles it. At least he'd have an interested crowd, he would sell guns, and he'd probably even get a fair price.

 

[Hamilton Felix]

Crazy! Not just the FOID crap, but charging to touch??? I understand "don't touch" signs on a shotgun with five figure price. I understand always asking before you touch.

Not every small town exhibitor has cable locks to chain down his goods, the cost would blow any chance of profit.

I recently went to a small show - made one private purchase and one from an FFL Dealer. That dealer had just strung inexpensive paracord through the trigger guards, then tied the ends to the end guns on the display. There was enough slack to pick up a gun and examine it, but nobody was going to run off with one. (Well, I supposed you COULD run off with the entire table of guns dragging behind you, but some VERY ticked off people would tackle you.) Plastic covered metal cable would be a bit more expensive and harder to cut, but the paracord served the purpose.

BTW, at that same show I saw an occasional "gun show friend" I hadn't seen for a couple of years, a true war hero who KNOWS 1911's like nobody and has an incredible collection. I was explaining wartime production to my stepson, pointing at a Union Switch & Signal 1911, when I mentioned that even Singer Sewing Machine made a few. John reached into a drawer and handed me a MINT blued 1911. As I turned it over in my hand and pointed out the "S. Mfg." to Jared, John said "I've been offered $70,000 for that gun." No he did not charge me, he simply handed it to me to examine and show my boy. Your "charge just to examine" dealer has a lot to learn.

 

[Ledgehammer]

I've seen black mesh over the guns. It doesn't look to bad and you just ask to handle one.

 

[CraigC]

Your "charge just to examine" dealer has a lot to learn.

And if you owned a 1911 purportedly worth more than $70,000, would you let just anyone handle it? I know I wouldn't. I had a similar gun shop acquaintance that let me handle their $60,000 Browning shotguns but he wouldn't do that with just anybody. That's the problem, gun shows are full of people from every walk of life, of every socio-economic status, varying levels of education, experience, knowledge and upbringing. It only takes one ignoramous to drop a $2000 Colt to ruin it for everybody. Maybe I'm getting cynical in my old age (36???) but there's a very good reason why USFA removes bolts and hands from their guns at trade shows. Even licensed dealers can't be counted on not to mishandle their guns.

 

[oldbear]

Of course nobody even tries to understand where he's coming from. Have any of you been behind the table?

What usually happens is 95% are hummers and thumbers with no real desire to purchase. It's as if it was the mall and you get to mess with any of the merchandise as you please, and whether you take the time to put it back exactly as you found it doesn't even come to mind.

Add in the thieves who team play distracting the table vendor while the innocent looking sidekick walks off with a Colt SAA, Walther PPK, or Benchmade - which happened at the last local show. Not every small town exhibitor has cable locks to chain down his goods, the cost would blow any chance of profit.

It's a known characteristic of human juveniles to pick things up, and if extremely young, put them in their mouth. ADULTS don't need to handle a firearm because they have enough experience to know 1) if it's metal, it's cold and heavy 2) wooden parts smell like wood, 3) it belongs to somebody else, ASK.

Unfortunately, today's generation has to suffer with over 50 years of vendor experience at gunshows, which means Ryker mounts to hide all the pilferable stuff under glass, show cases, cable locks, and signs that are telling customers their behavior has gone from bad to worse.

Cash talks, BS walks, is another sign I've seen displayed prominently at shows since the '70s, if 21 year old+ undisciplined children unaccompanied by a responsible adult keep coming to shows, you'll see even more of it.

LOOK, DON'T TOUCH. IF YOU'RE REALLY INTERESTED, YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT. You just need to check condition and negotiate.

"Wow, that's cool, what the heck is that!" while dragging it off the table isn't a good thing. Does the car lot leave the keys in and the door open?

It's not all about you.

+1

These events are titled gun shows but as we all know they are gun sales events.Tire kickers take up a lot of time and spend very little money.

As another poster suggested handle a weapon only to determine condition so you can make a decent offer, not an insulting offer.