Fox Mike, like you, I also live in Maryland. Dealers in Maryland are not anywhere as prolific as what you will see in the neighboring states of Pennsylvania and Virginia. I often go to gun shows in Maryland, and sometimes see about as many gun dealers as I have fingers on one hand. Maryland dealers, as you probably already know, often sell new guns at MSRP. I rarely see a bargain with used guns in this state, and just chalk it up to the fact that the dealers have a smaller audience and therefore, just have fewer sales, so for them, every sale counts.
I often go to shows in Virginia, and on occasion, even Pennsylvania. In Virginia there is one show that advertises 1200+ tables. Many of the dealers at that show do a high volume of sales. Unlike Maryland, VA buyers can go home with their handguns (after a background check) on the same day, as opposed to having to wait up to two weeks (and sometimes even longer) in MD. The high volume dealers in VA will often have dozens of the same gun at a show, especially if it a hot new item. That is something I don't think I've ever seen at a MD show. You also must realize that the high volume dealers are probably getting a better price from the gun distributors. When the Kel-Tec P380 first came out, I was at a Virginia show and saw a guy purchase one for himself, and one for his wife. When the dealer saw that he needed two guns, he went under a table to retrieve the guns. The box must have had twenty-five more in it.
Another killer (pun intended) is the fact that you might go to a MD show in Frederick, MD and fall in love with a gun that a dealer is selling. Do you want to wait two weeks for that gun, then have to drive over one hundred miles (one way)to the dealer's shop on the other side of the state to pick it up?
I have often seen great deals (new and used) at VA shows that I would gladly have purchased at a MD show, but by the time I paid the transfer fee, and maybe shipping (if there is no MD FFL at that show), plus having to drive to the FFL "TWICE," it just isn't worth it .... unless it was a once in a lifetime find.
I guess that the way I see it is that since Maryland is a small state that requires all transfers involve an FFL, it will simply cost us more. Buying outside of the state might bring you a bargain, but do you want to pay fifty to one hundred dollars to an FFL plus shipping? On the other hand, if you find a FFL that charges a lot less, it may be worth all the trouble, but one close to me is now charging one hundred ten dollars.
Gumby
