Washington gun shows post-i594.

[silicosys4]

I am wondering what gun shows in Washington state are looking like after i594 prohibited private party sales without a background check.

My experiences have not been good.
Today has been the second show I have gone to after the new law went into effect.

Before the law, the venue would have been packed, with more than half the tables being used guns, and plenty of private parties walking around with guns for sale, lots of tables set up by private parties.

These last two?
Not a single table set up by a private party, NOBODY walking around with guns for sale, very small attendance, no used guns whatsoever, no dealers interested in trades. Much smaller than usual because of the lack of used guns and private sales.

In other words, a cabelas sidewalk sale.

If this is the new thing, I don't see gun shows lasting much longer around here.

Beware the backdoor gun control measures!

 

[Old Dog]

This was not a WAC show, I take it? The Puyallup WAC shows have a table set up for $10 transfers for private sales and trades, and that's working pretty well. I would agree that the numbers of private seller tables has severely declined, and possibly attendance. But the WAC still seems pretty healthy. Time will tell.

 

[silicosys4]

The biggest draw for me has always been the used guns. If they aren't there, I can just go to cabelas and see all the same stuff without paying at the door.

I don't think this was a WAC production, but they did have a bank of computers available for transfers...that nobody was using.
I know the puyallup show is much bigger, but it's a shame if it's turning into just a showcase for overpriced new guns as well.

 

[leadcounsel]

I went to shows often before I594. The WAC shows and the independent shows were generally quite good, with a lot of variety. I think I found a deal at every single show I attended.

Then, probably around 2013, WAC changed leadership and instituted new rules that ticked off the regulars, like me. It drove away the private individuals in favor of the businesses. A lot of folks were so mad they stopped. My attendance weened and then I quite going. I haven't been since I594, but have heard they have gotten worse.

Margins are already thin and I594 seems to kill the good deals and trade when you have to add $20 (about 5% ) onto transactions, and go through the paperwork. May as well buy a new gun from an FFL if you're going through that hassle.

I've done a few I594 transfers, but on balance the margin now between buying a used gun and new gun is negligible, generally about 10%, and the convenience factor is gone. May as well buy a new gun from a dealer or order it online and have it sent to my dealer.

The irony is that I594 will shrink the used gun market and grow the new gun market, which will be a net increase of guns into the state! Take that anti-gun jerks!

 

[Jackal]

In my neck of the woods no one complies with 594. The largest gun shop in my county has ran about 15 private transfers since Dec.... All the old timers at flea market's every month selling their wares without worry of compliance. All the "gun guys" still trading with each other. Internet and even private sales listed in the news paper still going on as usual.

Not saying its right or wrong, but everyone in the northwest corner has ignored it. And as for gunshows, I dont know. I quit going to those years ago when I realized I was paying $8 to look at peoples over priced guns.

 

[Coyote3855]

Colorado instituted these controls over gunshows a couple of years ago, I think. As another poster mentioned about WA, the show sponsors set up a booth to do the checks. The guy I bought a Yugo Mauser from didn't bother, just put the sold sticker on the rifle and I walked out with it.

 

[sequins]

Northwest gun shows were already absurdly overpriced. I only ever got one good deal at a WAC show in my life and I went to at least a half dozen shows over an entire year before I quit going (didn't re-up because they stunk). I can only imagine after 594 they're even worse so why would anyone go?

Now, online deals is another matter.... I did a lot of deals that december. Any gun in production prior to Dec 2014 very likely was involved in a deal of mine

 

[Old Dog]

I disagree that they're overpriced. I've gotten many, many good deals at WAC shows over the years.

I suspect that if one's focus is narrow, i.e., only black rifles or modern semi-auto handguns, one probably won't find many deals, but I think the more one actually knows about guns, particularly if one's interests are broad (and include old rifles, shotguns, mil-surps, revolvers and parts) one can usually find a deal.

Gun shows are about the only places left one can go and find hundreds of like-minded folk all in the same spot to commune with and discuss one's sporting interests. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't want to see gun shows going away ...

Lord knows, with the advent of on-line businesses, the brick-and-mortar stores aren't any longer meeting places for gun folk, and gun clubs and ranges, not to mention public land for shooting, are closing up all over the country at an alarming rate.

 

[sequins]

Old Dog I do agree the sense of camaraderie and fellowship was almost worth the price of admission, but the problem was the "almost".

The main attraction of a gunshow is the opportunity to purchase something for a deal in my opinion. Yes there are other things and there are a lot of attractions, but because it's a marketplace type event instead of a convention environment without a deal to be found we're in a pickle. I was seeing SKS magazines for $50 in 2013 much less an SKS itself for $400+. Handguns for more than I'd see 'em for on Armslist and we all know Washington State Armslist is VERY overpriced with un-taxed MSRP being the typical starting used price. $550 for a Glock 17 just a few days ago in fact "like new in box" I'm sure. Maybe I just didn't see the deals but I didn't have a very good buying experience at WAC shows in 2012-13 when I attended nearly every show.

The thing is gun shows are fun. It's fun to look around. We all look around until we've satisfied that lust, but what makes the looking fun is that we know we're gonna go home with one of 'em. It makes looking at all of them more fun, or even fun at all. Once I started to realize I wasn't actually going to buy anything, ever, it wasn't much fun and that's why I stopped going.

I think we need to have a gun convention where people just bring fun stuff and quit trying to sell overpriced guns. I'd gladly pay more in admission if we had a bunch of demonstrations for gear I can't afford to handle otherwise. Had speakers I'd like to see in person and workshops or short-form training sessions. I think a big convention could be a LOT of fun because it would take all the good parts of the WAC shows and just go more strongly in that direction. Someone ought to organize one because now I'm very attracted to that idea.

The WAC shows are marketplace shows though and unless you can beat the internet in selection, or price, I just am not interested from a marketplace standpoint.

 

[commygun]

NW gun shows have been overpriced since the late '90's. Maybe once every couple of years I'll find a good deal but it has become increasingly rare. As has been noted by others, it is not unusual to see well-used guns with MSRP price tags. If anything, 594 should have driven asking prices down as would-be buyers factor taxes and transfer fees into their consideration of prospective purchases. However, I believe prices have actually risen in the last year as if the old guys at the tables think the next panic is going to break out at any moment. Unsurprisingly, they are selling very few guns and the Centralia gunshow, at least, has become truly wretched. A far cry from the wonderland of selection and great prices it was back in the early '90's. Yes, I know I'm becoming a curmudgeon.

 

[Gunnerboy]

Only thing thats changed is theres people that stopped attending other than that there are plenty of normal transfers going on.

 

[David4516]

Almost never see a good deal at a gunshow here even before 594

Last time I went to the Centralia gunshow there was a .308 round fired into the crowd. It was amazing that nobody was killed. I don't think I'm ever going back to that show.

I went to a show at the Thurston County fairgrounds a couple months ago. It was tiny, maybe 15 tables total, but they charged the same admission prices as a full sized show like the WAC shows. Everything was over priced.

You can go to Cableas or Wal Mart and buy new guns for what the used ones go for a shows.

I still go to shows from time to time, but mainly to just look for fun, I never expect to actually buy anything.