If it's something I want, I figure I can either afford it, or I can't. If I can "no problem." If I can't..."no problem."

If it's something I don't want, it doesn't matter.

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John 3:16 .

i usually check out the marked price of a gun ,if it is stupid high,i figure all his guns are and move on.If they are not marked ,i'll pick one i'm interested in and ask his price,if it is stupid high,then again i figure all are ,and move on.I think bringing something to trade is the best way sometimes to work a deal.

458 is great for hunting Whitetails. You can easily load them down to BP 45-70 levels or anywhere in between. With 250gn cast FN bullets they can be a pleasure to shoot.

Depending on how close it was I would try some light negotiating, if it's way off I'll just put it down or hand it back and walk away. If asked I'll honestly tell them "Not at that price".

I hit most of the local gun shows, including the really small ones. It's not unusual to see the same high-priced guns year after year.

I think in some cases the shows are more a social event for some exhibitors, especially the older ones, and selling is secondary.

Also, I think that some of these folks like being known as "the guy who has the rare (whatever) gun" , and if they ever sold it, their stature would suffer --bragging rights, you see.

There is more going on at these shows than simple commerce.

Tim

Depending on the sellers attitude, if the gun is one that I'm really interested in, I'll write my offer on the back of my business card and leave it with the seller. There have been times I received a call days later accepting my offer.

Raise the front sight post.

Why is this hard? You simply walk off. The market determines the cost. Even if they are asking 3X the going price, thats their business, not mine. I dont bother insulting them.

if my gun is too high I just ride it out.
If it stays too high, I'll send it into rehab

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it just needs more voltage

If the is priced say twice what I feel it is worth I say something like:

Nice gun, I hope you are able to get your the price you are asking.

I just state, very politely, that I would like to know the seller's best price. If it's to my liking - and I can afford it - I'll inspect it then - and, if it is still to my liking, we'll deal. If I get a smart retort, I generally just leave. If he said it was at his best price, I usually politely thank him - and leave. It doesn't cost a thing to be polite. The next potential customer will get a kinder reception.

Now, when I carry a boxed gun for sale around a show, I generally have a for sale sign on it with the pertinent info - inc price - which can be read at 12-15 ft. Of course, this is Alabama - literacy isnn't a given, sad to say. The odd seller who says, "Hey, bub, whatz in da box? Let me see it!" usually gets a better view of the sign - never the gun. You can keep from wasting time by simply asking if they would pay your price, in cash, for your firearm. That usually is your last discourse with them. Of course, my wife often carries them in front of her chest... seems to have better luck selling, too... go figure!

Stainz

510 grain soft points will make them do double backward cartwheels.

I ask if I can make an offer if it is priced at, say, 120% or so of what I am willing to pay. If the guy says yes, I wouldn't offer a guy half of what he is asking, but I'd not be shy at offering 75-80% to see how things go... If he moves to meet me, we can usually close a deal. if not, no harm done either way.

I handle gun shops and gun shows in two different ways. Prices marked at a ridiculous level in a gun shop cause me to just browse and leave. No use saying much if the guy has a $450 gun marked at $800, he's not looking for a savvy buyer, he's fishing for the uneducated masses.

Gun shows are odd places these days. Many dealers bring stock from their stores and mark it up another 20% knowing the heavy duty negotiator types frequent the shows. If I see a gun I like and it is just 20 to 35% higher than I think it should be, I'll say " I'm looking at your .7000 Distlebangenswibe Volumetric cannon there, what is your bottom line on cash, buy it now purchase?" If they ask what I think its worth, I make my offer and we go from there. If he gives me a price and it is reasonable, I may try for a little better price. If he says "The price is the price" I just say "Thanks for letting me look at it." and walk away.

Back in February I was at a show where a gentleman has an S&W 14 no dash .38 SPL on his table for $650. Gun was 95% no box or papers. I looked it over, liked what I saw and asked for a price. "$650 and worth every penny!" was his answer. I politely walked of course. Fast forward to May-same guy has the gun for sale on a local firearms forum for $475. I waited for a while, contacted him and got it for $385. He remembered me from the show. Had I been nasty with him at the show-I couldn't have made the deal with him later when he NEEDED to sell.

If a marked price is way out of line, just walk on by. The ones that make me crazy are the guys that have a table full of guns, no price on any of them. I assume that the price they want is so high that they're ashamed to show them. Once in a while if I see something I'm really interested in, I'll ask - most of the time my premise is correct.

I tend to keep it very simple at the shows:
"Cash remains KING" I decide the, "Can I afford it or not" way before I pay the $7-8 to get in a show. I'm rarely in the market for any one thing in particular, but know what I like and what those are usually going for.

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"You're messin' up my Zen"

Exactly! That's why I haven't bought a gun at a gun show for years. There are about a half a dozen stores within 75 miles of where I live, all who I've been doing business with for years, and all of whom I trust. I find some outstanding deals at these stores. I go to gun shows for old cartridges or shot shells for the collection, or an old book, or just to browse. I most often find myself laughing at the sellers I overhear dispensing their wisdom.

I have seen a lot of guns lay on the same table year after year unsold with ridiculous prices on them. I just assume the fellow doesn't really want to sell them, except to a fool, and just likes to attend gun shows.

I know a dealer that sell his gun for a song he places a sign DISPLAY ONLY NOT FOR SALE some nut will buy it for a 1/3 more that what the gun is worth. I have watch his table at sereval shows it work like a charm for him.

I look at some prices here on the for sale forum and wonder a lot of the things I wonder about at a show.
1) You don't have a mona Lisa
2) There are others of these
3) If it is a decent price but high I will offer a price---if the guy wants to tell me why his is a rare such and such--I just walk away.
4) I figger everbody thinks they have something everbody else has got to have.
Folks,Gun Shows are filled with mona lisa's that you can find for a more reasonable price.
Blessings

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TEXAS, by GOD

when the price is too high......................i walk on by.

Dad-burn it!

This thread hasn't died yet??!?

I'll just leave the high priced guns for the hunchbacks.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

Very good thread. Every gun show I go to there is nothing there I am looking for. What's the deal on that I don't whether to start another thread or not but here goes..........

How about internet sales? There is such a bigger market and more potential for abuse. I am currently looking for a 25-2 45 acp or a 5 in 625 45 acp. I have bid on a couple that kept getting run up at the end of the bidding process. I just got the feeling that their buddy is running up the price. I top bid 700 for a pretty decent 25-2. The winning bidder got it for 701 after bidding a few times trying to get past my top bid. I guess just put in the most you are willing to pay and let the chips fall. Any brilliant ideas?

On a side note if any members have a 25-2 or 625 they want to part with let me know. I promise to shoot he heck out of it.

I think some people price them that way bacause they don't really care if they sell anything, others want their price even if they hold onto it for years without selling.
I just politely pass on it and keep looking. Often they are doing you a favor like the dealer at a Columbus Ohio show that had a ( then just brought out ) Browning Mod 52 sporter I wanted. Asked on Saturday and the price was $600 ( $100 over list ) as they were supposedly making only so many after thinking it over went back on Sunday to get it. On Sunday it was $650 and when I reminded him it was $600 the day before I was told if I wanted it yesterday I should have bought it and today it was $650. I politely declined and gave it back and within 1/2 hour had bought what I thought was a hi grade Kimber for the same money. The Kimber turned out to be an early S-Series supergrade and only 535 were made.
So the dealer did me a big favor as today that Browning is worth about $750 if in really nice used condition while the Kimber has more than doubled in value.

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

I handle it about the same way you do. No need to be a butt hole about it.

I encountered one seller who was particularly obnoxious and I may have been a bit sarcastic with him. He had a model 19 I was looking at that didn't have a price tag on it. The conversation went something like this.

Dealer: "Son, that there is a magnum, they only made about 50 of them so I got to get nineteen hundred for it"

Me: "50 a day for 50 years"

I really need to work on my image a lot. I am not as stupid as I look