Gun show rant, early Model 10

[67tempest]

He wanted $400 and you declined and offered him $375. At that point he was free to decline your offer and do whatever he wanted with the pistol. He was under no obligation to sell it to you even though you offered to pay him his original asking price and then some.

My father was always trying to save a buck and he made many an offer that was refused only to go back and find out that what he wanted had been sold to someone else. I offered on many occasions to pay out of my pocket the difference between what the seller wanted and what my father was willing to pay.

If you really want something and the asking price is not outside the realm of reality, BUY IT!

 

[clang444]

I just love it when when someone won't buy a gun unless they dicker the price down. There have been plenty of times I picked up a very good deal because the guy in front of me wouldn't pay the asking price.

One of the most extreme examples was about 5 years ago I was at a show and one of the last tables I stopped at had a 5" blue Model 27-nothing in at least 99% condition for $350. After picking the gun up and looking it over, I asked the seller if he would take $325 for it. The show had been going for a few hours, so I figured he might drop the price to sell it.

The seller informed my that he had been turning down that offer all day and the price was firm. I thanked him and told him I would take the gun for $350 and proceeded to complete the deal. While completing the paperwork, 3 different guys came by to buy the gun for $350. They had all looked at the gun earlier and walked away because the seller would not drop his price. How many other guys walked away over $25 on a gun that was underpriced to begin with?

The gun should have sold for around $550, so $350 was a bargain. It's also appreciated nicely since then.

 

[Big Lou]

Went to a gun show today, and paid my $6 expecting to see the same old stock when I caught a glimps of a short 2" model 10.

I asked to look at it and it was a 5 digit serial on the butt and back side of extractor. It also had correct diamond magnas and MODEL 10 stamped on the yoke. In very nice condition with little wear on the end of the barrel.

I asked the dealer what he wanted? "$400". Being the tight %^& that I am I offer $375. He says "no", a man with a neighboring table saw my interest and talks to the dealer that owns it, they are friends. I walk out to my car and review my SCSW and confirm its a 1952 edit 1957.

I return to the table and its gone, I ask the dealer if it was sold and he says "no, my buddy stuck it in his pocket" I tell the dealer if he wanted to sell it I would give him the $400. He calls his buddy over and the buddy says "not for sale"

I walk around the gun show kicking my butt for not giving him the $400. I then run into a fellow SW forum member and he tells me that he knows the dealer and he will go and ask about the pistol. He tells the dealer that I am willing to pay his asking price. The dealer refers him to the neighbor/buddy. The buddy told him he saw the amount of interest in the pistol so he removed it from his friends table. Said he was going to keep the pistol to take it to the 1500 show in Indy and ask more for it.

I approch the neighbor/buddy later and told him I would give him $425 even though, I was originally was told $400. He tells me "I never priced the pistol to you" I said no you didn't but the guy who owned it did. He then told me it's not for sale and he was going to put it in his collection. He also told me he was just offered $450 for it and turned it down.

Help me out and tell me that I didn't miss out on a good deal, If you price a gun and have it on a table why not sell it? I only wanted it because of the short barrel and being an early model. Was it worth a lot more?

Sorry for the rant but I just had to vent!!!!!

I know I live in crazy California but that gun would have sold for $500 or more, with guys fist fighting in the aisle to buy it.

In this current market, if a gun at a show has caught your interest, you better buy it cause if you don't, someone in the crowd behind you will.

 

[vilhelm]

in Austin I couldn't get into the gun show and the prices (I am told) were through the roof on EVERYTHING.

That said, classic double action revolvers are not as high as anything "tacti-cool".

It sucks that you educated them but hopefully you learned a lesson.



If you want it...buy it.


A couple of months back my daughter went to buy some silly-expensive pecans and came back saying "the table over there has a Model 14 for $425"

I felt sure he was trying to get 4 bills but he was selling it for a friend who obviously was short on cash. I didn't dicker.

 

[Blackcloud2]

As has been repeatedly noted, a seller obviously can ask a certain price and refuse lesser offerings with zero obligation, no question, however, many here counsel/suggest to buy at the listed price simply because it's a desired piece, which I understand as I've done it more than once myself, yet… Not all sellers at shows (even some gun/pawn shops) will allow for the cylinder to be released, timing checked and/or a cylinder/barrel inspection, nope, the only option is to buy at the listed price, which is a BIG gamble in my experience. Generally I walk, but there have been times I've offered a lesser amount, sans inspection on a gamble that I'll score. I'm not a big haggler (hate to do it actually), but in certain shows it's obvious everything has been jacked up in price as a norm and there is an expectation of some bit of negotiation. In this case the guy had a set price and nothing more, which in this crazed market I don't necessarily find odd, but do see as being rare.

BTW, were I working a table directly next to a guy that I'm friends with, I would have already picked his stuff well before he put it out to the public, but that's just me. That whole buddy-taking the gun thing sounds off-kilter to me, but I have a 1950 2" K-frame, so my concern meter is on low at the moment!

 

[Smithhound]

A few years back I was at a show in Chattanooga, I found a pristine M24-3 with 6 1/2" barrel in the original box, with tools etc. I picked it up looking at it and noticed the guy next to me just about vibrating with interest in it. I asked the dealer 'How much' and was told '$400', at that i thought the other guy was going to try to grab it away! I didn't even chance setting it down to get the money out.
The advice given that there are way more guns than money is very good advice, be patient and they will come, just don't get stuck on a number, you only live one time, get the things you want.
RD

 

[rwsmith]

Since you turned it down

Since you turned it down and left I can't say they did anything wrong, but rather than a buyer/customer haggle this was more of a conspiracy.

 

[casey521]

Last month at a gun show I picked up an LC smith double barrel shotgun that had been sitting most of the day for $340. LC smith shotguns are collector items. This one dates to 1902. Apparently guys had been turning it down all day because the dealer wouldn't deal. Not sure of the value but guessing at least $800

 

[KEN L]

"Everything happens for a reason, and everything happens for the best." Advice that my mother passed on to me many years ago. I always look at it as I wasn't meant to have it because something MUCH better is coming my way.
And, you know what? It generally does!

 

[Jack Flash]

I am not good at negotiating a price. Probably because I only want to buy top quality. I've missed a lot of good deals and , alternately, paid too much for some others. If someone has some sure-fire negotiating techniques that always work, please PM me ASAP.

My general rule is not to walk away unless I am willing to accept that it may be gone if I come back. I may have second thoughts and even kick myself for missing out on a good gun, but I sure couldn't rant about the dealer. Or his friend for that matter.

What difference does it make who wound up with it? It's gone, forget about it, end of story.

 

[SPEEDGUNNER]

When it comes to gun show etiquette, the norm seems to be that you (the buyer) are in control of the transaction as long as you have the item in your hand. Once you put it down, it then becomes fair game again - to other buyers, adjacent dealers who now have taken notice, or the dealer themselves rethinking their pricing strategy.

Tough deal to lose, but as mentioned, there are plenty more of that variation floating around.

If luck travels with you (as it sounds like it does) you will probably find a nicer one at a lower price point.

Happy Hunting!

 

[k22fan]

When it comes to gun show etiquette, the norm seems to be that you (the buyer) are in control of the transaction as long as you have the item in your hand. [...]

Not always, and certainly not legally. You actually have no exclusive right to be the first to accept the table holder's price even if you are handling the goods.

Some years ago at a small show I turned around from the table to ask my friends how foolish they thought I'd be paying the $70 asking price for the French Lebel rifle I was holding. Because they had no interest in foreign military stuff I knew they'd say I'd be a complete fool. Actually I was the fool for not buying the thing right away, but I didn't perceive there to be any competition. The Lebel was in unusually good condition, and I would have been delighted to pay $100 and might have gone $150. Someone stepped in between my back and the table and handed the table holder $80.

 

[00Buck2]

"Everything happens for a reason, and everything happens for the best." Advice that my mother passed on to me many years ago. I always look at it as I wasn't meant to have it because something MUCH better is coming my way.
And, you know what? It generally does!

So I went to another gun show today paid my $6 and walked to the back of the show. The entrance was cram packed with people carrying black rifles. First case I came to I saw one that would put me on the path to healing from the early Mod 10 . I asked to see it, he handed it to me and I drooled all over it. He allowed me to remove the grips and the ugly Pac t-grip that was on it, all the numbers matched.

This time I kept a firm grip on the gun and asked him the price and then asked if he had any room to move on it . He said "no, but I will throw in an old S&W holster". First 5 min of show, first case I looked at couldn't turn it down or let it out of my hands, I paid the man.

Today was the best gun show I had been to in a long time! I walked around for another 3 hrs with a big grin and for a moment, I forgot all about the early Mod 10.

Here is a couple pic's. I know it's not the right thread but I sure am happy and seems like a fitting end. at least until I see that early Mod 10 again

Excellent condition blued 15-3 2" from 1973

 

[DCWilson]

That's really nice. The two-inch 15s have a special appeal that is all their own. I hope to find one of those some day in a condition like the one you just bought. Congratulations!

 

[SPEEDGUNNER]

"Happy Hunting!"

See how it all worked out? Nice score.

 

[RussellD]

!

That is redemption in fine fashion...Love the model 15! Very nice