Off to the Gun Show....
- Thread starter waldo1324
- Start date
eh.
500 tables... 495 of them 20%-40% overpriced.
the ONLY deal that i found besides a raggedy holster for 5 bucks and a pin oiler for $3 was a 1941 Mosin Nagant in decent shape for $135. but this was from a private collector selling a few rifles.
It seems to my brother and I that shows have become nothing but a place for desperate dealers to congegate and see who can rip off the public more.
i mean, i saw an LCP for $460....460! unbelivable.
SR9's were going near $500.
20 HydraShoks were $31.
Crappy Russian 9mm filth was $14 a box of 50.
Federals which usually go for $9.89 at Wally World was $15 a box of 50.
The only price that was the going rate was for one P3at for $260 (out of the 20 or so other overpriced ones i saw). I could have gone down the street to the shop for that price.
I literally was wondering out loud at tables how prices could jump $5 a box over Wal-Mart when i walk through the doors even though i just paid $9 for a ticket.
I did buy 3 things, though. None of them firearms:
1 box of 20 Speer Gold Dot 127 gr. +P "short barrell" 9mm JHP's @ $21. ( normal price, but I havnt seen them anywhere)
1 pin (needle) oiler w/ med weight gun oil for $3
1 ConstitutionPartyMo.org little color bracelet thing @ $2
...oh and a beer @ $6
so ~$40 bucks.
i had $300 to spend that no dealer there got because of price gouging.
if there had been a bargain price on a .380 i would have bought it.
Gun dealers are milking the market base so much that it will dry up, and force many dealers out of business. People are going to just stop going to shows if this keeps up. My brother, who has been going to shows for like 10 years says it didnt use to be like this. sad.
500 tables... 495 of them 20%-40% overpriced.
the ONLY deal that i found besides a raggedy holster for 5 bucks and a pin oiler for $3 was a 1941 Mosin Nagant in decent shape for $135. but this was from a private collector selling a few rifles.
It seems to my brother and I that shows have become nothing but a place for desperate dealers to congegate and see who can rip off the public more.
i mean, i saw an LCP for $460....460! unbelivable.
SR9's were going near $500.
20 HydraShoks were $31.
Crappy Russian 9mm filth was $14 a box of 50.
Federals which usually go for $9.89 at Wally World was $15 a box of 50.
The only price that was the going rate was for one P3at for $260 (out of the 20 or so other overpriced ones i saw). I could have gone down the street to the shop for that price.
I literally was wondering out loud at tables how prices could jump $5 a box over Wal-Mart when i walk through the doors even though i just paid $9 for a ticket.
I did buy 3 things, though. None of them firearms:
1 box of 20 Speer Gold Dot 127 gr. +P "short barrell" 9mm JHP's @ $21. ( normal price, but I havnt seen them anywhere)
1 pin (needle) oiler w/ med weight gun oil for $3
1 ConstitutionPartyMo.org little color bracelet thing @ $2
...oh and a beer @ $6
so ~$40 bucks.
i had $300 to spend that no dealer there got because of price gouging.
if there had been a bargain price on a .380 i would have bought it.
Gun dealers are milking the market base so much that it will dry up, and force many dealers out of business. People are going to just stop going to shows if this keeps up. My brother, who has been going to shows for like 10 years says it didnt use to be like this. sad.
waynejitsu
Single-Sixer
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2010
- Messages
- 112
I used to go to all the shows and get GREAT DEALS and found everything I was looking for, from a Wildey Magnum to a 44 Auto-Mag to a Marlin 30-30 that was built only one year.
Any and every thing I looked for, I was able to find, AND at a great price.
Fast forward 20 years,
The last show I went to was in Jan. or Feb.
What used to take 2 days to see everything now takes one day, less people, less booths.
One of the main conversations of the day was how high everything was and that you can buy local or on line much cheaper.
To pay to get in, $7 - $10+, then pay a higher price for items, they are slowly putting themselves out of business and out of the public eye.
No one wants to get ripped off.
When I go to a show, I make a list of items I need/want, then price them, so at the show, I know it the prices are good or not. If it is close, I will buy it, but not at super inflated prices, such as the post above, a Ruger SR9 for $499, I bought mine local for $329 plus tax which added $30, but still much less than the show.
20 years ago EVERYTHING at a gun show was a good deal, now NOTHING is a good deal
Any and every thing I looked for, I was able to find, AND at a great price.
Fast forward 20 years,
The last show I went to was in Jan. or Feb.
What used to take 2 days to see everything now takes one day, less people, less booths.
One of the main conversations of the day was how high everything was and that you can buy local or on line much cheaper.
To pay to get in, $7 - $10+, then pay a higher price for items, they are slowly putting themselves out of business and out of the public eye.
No one wants to get ripped off.
When I go to a show, I make a list of items I need/want, then price them, so at the show, I know it the prices are good or not. If it is close, I will buy it, but not at super inflated prices, such as the post above, a Ruger SR9 for $499, I bought mine local for $329 plus tax which added $30, but still much less than the show.
20 years ago EVERYTHING at a gun show was a good deal, now NOTHING is a good deal
Bigfoot62
Bearcat
That's been my experience as well. Never bought anything at a gun show.
ps , dealer price gouging being said,,,,
my brother and i worked out a gun show theory..
eventually the dealers will drive THEMSELVES out of business and the private collector will inherit the gun show.
which is just fine by me.
get rid of the vultures and let the show ge back to its roots.
table upon table of genuinely invested brethren trading/selling and making an HONEST profit.
i feel that somthing has been taken from me in that i should be able to go to a show and not have to mind meld with the dealer to know if hes trying to take me on a deal.
can you tell im a bit disenfranchised??
oh well CAVEAT EMPTOR!!!
my brother and i worked out a gun show theory..
eventually the dealers will drive THEMSELVES out of business and the private collector will inherit the gun show.
which is just fine by me.
get rid of the vultures and let the show ge back to its roots.
table upon table of genuinely invested brethren trading/selling and making an HONEST profit.
i feel that somthing has been taken from me in that i should be able to go to a show and not have to mind meld with the dealer to know if hes trying to take me on a deal.
can you tell im a bit disenfranchised??
oh well CAVEAT EMPTOR!!!
welldoya
Single-Sixer
I've attended gunshows for probably 30 years until the last year. I got tired of paying $7 and leaving with absolutely nothing. Also tired of listening to dealers gripe about how nobody is buying anything. The only people making out at gunshows are the ones that are putting it on. Between the too-high admission, the renting of tables and the $100 2-hour Concealed Weapons class, they are making a killing. I've probably gone to my last one.
ArmedinAZ
Buckeye
One GOOD thing about the bigger gun shows is you can probably put your hands around most any weapon you'd like to try. The last show I went to I had money burning in my pocket and I left empty-handed too, but I got to handle some weapons I never see locally.
sebtool
Blackhawk
Ain't the St. Charles shows great? I started going about 20 yrs ago, and quit after 3-4 shows up there. I've been told that alot of the larger, out of area dealers quit coming because of the sh***y attitudes of a good portion of the local sellers. Not too hard to believe. I can never seem to spend much there, even when I got a wad of bills burning a hole in my pocket... :?
I went to a couple in the last 6-8 months, didn't let the weasels get under my skin, and had a good time.
But back then, there were more small shows around, not to mention the big 1 downtown, at the convention center, IIRC? Been a few years.
The smaller shows at the Machinist's Hall are normally pretty decent. What's sad, is the the Belleville show seems to be a more friendly show than St Charles, at least as far as vendors go. The laws, well, that's another story. :roll:
I haven't been to any of the shows in Collinsville, and I know the Pacific Eagles was putting on a couple a year, don't knows if they still are or not.
But it's still a good place to check out a lot of different stuff, all at 1 time, get a lot of different opinions on a variety of pieces. Kinda hard to do in most gun shops.
Just gotta let the stupid, obnoxious, overbearing a-holes load their stuff up and take it home! :lol: They've had lots of practice, seem to be pretty good at it! :twisted:
I went to a couple in the last 6-8 months, didn't let the weasels get under my skin, and had a good time.
But back then, there were more small shows around, not to mention the big 1 downtown, at the convention center, IIRC? Been a few years.
The smaller shows at the Machinist's Hall are normally pretty decent. What's sad, is the the Belleville show seems to be a more friendly show than St Charles, at least as far as vendors go. The laws, well, that's another story. :roll:
I haven't been to any of the shows in Collinsville, and I know the Pacific Eagles was putting on a couple a year, don't knows if they still are or not.
But it's still a good place to check out a lot of different stuff, all at 1 time, get a lot of different opinions on a variety of pieces. Kinda hard to do in most gun shops.
Just gotta let the stupid, obnoxious, overbearing a-holes load their stuff up and take it home! :lol: They've had lots of practice, seem to be pretty good at it! :twisted:
waynejitsu
Single-Sixer
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2010
- Messages
- 112
waldo1324":153bbqxm said:
LOL!!
Honestly, I got lucky.
It was (I guess) a promotion or something.
When I saw $329, I immediately jumped on it.
When I went in the store, my "plan" was to buy a Walther PPS.
Not only did I like the SR9 better, at that time, it was also about 1/2 price.
SR9- $329
PPS- $599 (or somewhere close don't remember exactly)
The same store now is selling the SR9's for $399+,
So..., I am a very happy camper
Gun shows are just like you said a place for dealers to rip off honest hard working people. I have went a couple times this year and only found one deal if you could even call it that it was a new 3.8 XDM 40 S&W for $570 I paid $599 for mine. I too am tired of paying $10 to get in per head and leaving with nothing.
LightningMan
Bearcat
Sometimes the best place to find a good deal on all stuff related to firearms, is at small gunshows. I went to a small show over this past weekend, and this is what I got; 500 once fired .380 brass-$25, A box of .380, 20 rds. Fed Hydra-Shoks-$5, 300 9mm 115 gr. Hornady JHP bullets-$20 and 500 95 gr. .380 cast bullets from Missouri Bullet Co. for $26. I thought I did pretty good, LM.
bigfanofsr9
Bearcat
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2010
- Messages
- 18
I was at the most recent gun show in Raleigh, C&E, and a few of the tables had decent prices. Mostly what I saw seemed high too. I as there specifically for a black SR9, and found 3...one was $455 OTD (I bought that one), and the other two had tags of $469 and $489....so, with tax they would have been $500+. I was very disappointed when I could buy that gun at the auction sites for less. I found the same story with ammo...wallyworld has better prices, if they have it in stock. In fact, I bought 200 rounds of Federal there today, tax and all was about $41.
As observed, a small show that does not attract the "biggies" is your best bet for deals. I went to a tiny local show a couple of years ago and bought an OM .45 Blackhawk for $350.
They are still out there.
They are still out there.
i did see some weapons i have never seen before:
a wwii sten
a load of garands
a whole tablefull of original wwii .45's
i took a pic of a casefull of collector lugers, and i wish i knew how to post it.
a slew of pistola .223 ar type beauties.
a gorgeous SAW machine gun
and a variety of collector grade Mosin's i drooled over...
for someone looking for a rare piece or a part thats hard to find, its the place. but you are going to have to pay for it.
that being said, in going to the belleville show come may 2nd or the like, and im looking to find a better deal on a concealable unit, ( p3at, LCP, slim kel tec 9mm)
hopefully i find some of the aforementioned ammo deals ( hydra's for $5..nice!)
a wwii sten
a load of garands
a whole tablefull of original wwii .45's
i took a pic of a casefull of collector lugers, and i wish i knew how to post it.
a slew of pistola .223 ar type beauties.
a gorgeous SAW machine gun
and a variety of collector grade Mosin's i drooled over...
for someone looking for a rare piece or a part thats hard to find, its the place. but you are going to have to pay for it.
that being said, in going to the belleville show come may 2nd or the like, and im looking to find a better deal on a concealable unit, ( p3at, LCP, slim kel tec 9mm)
hopefully i find some of the aforementioned ammo deals ( hydra's for $5..nice!)
libbylibbylibby
Bearcat
I also went to the St. Charles show this weekend, and I have to agree that prices are between high and crazy! In the last year I've made a couple purchases (1 on-line, the other local) and saw those same guns yesterday with as high as 25% additional markup over what I paid!
waynejitsu
Single-Sixer
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2010
- Messages
- 112
LightningMan":mk2w3dye said:
I quit the small shows loooong ago because they never had anything.
I think I will go to the next local show and see how it is.
If I find nothing, at least I didn't have to pay $7 or $10 to not buy anything, LOL!!
Thanks for the "tip"
