How to splain Gun Shows?

[JimSupica]

I'm thinking about adding a small section about Gun Shows to the front material in the 2024 Edition of Standard Catalog of Firearms. Being a huge advocate of the Tom-Sawyer-Fence-Painting school of writing, I wanted to ask folks here for input. Any thoughts would be welcome. Some specific topics that might be helpful:

1. Etiquette tips for gun shows.

2. How have gun shows changed in the past few years?

3. Buying & selling tips & techniques.

4. Things to watch out for.

5. What are the best gun shows in the country?

6. Has the emergence of online gun-sale forums impacted gun shows?

7. Odd things you've seen at gun shows.

8. Advantages / disadvantages of renting a table as opposed to just walking through?

Thanks! - Jim

 

[JimSupica]

... and is it odd that I thought this item from the left hand column of the forum was an ad for a ghillie suit?

 

[WR Moore]

Having been both visitor/shopper and table holder I have a few comments from long ago.
1. The real deals/steals get snapped up by other exhibitors during setup. But every once in awhile there might be an unexpected gem sitting undiscovered.

2. There are vast numbers of people who do not understand that what they paid for something does not represent actual value in the here and now.
2A. Used is used, while some items in good condition may increase in
value, not everything does.

3. While there are a great number of honorable people who buy and sell at such shows, you'll do better thinking of every vendor as wearing an invisible mask and holding an invisible gun.

4. When I shop used handguns, I carry a tool kit. If I can't do a thorough inspection, I'm not buying. If you don't know what you're looking at, find someone who does.

5. With a few exceptions, be wary of the food. This might have changed over the decades.

 

[YeshuaIsa53]

I bought a pair of redhead duck decoys at our LGS many years ago. The keels were lead weights attached where the decoys balanced in the water.
The bodies were more rounded from water line to the bottoms. They were sitting up behind their display, so I asked about them. Love some of the conversations had over the years and surprises. My collection of duck decoys is nothing compared to others I've seen, but the redhead drake
holds a place of providence in my care.

 

[DWalt]

The few post-covid gun shows I have attended killed me on gun shows. No longer any fun.

 

[pharmer]

1) Bathe and wear deodorant.
Ask questions politely. Check your attitude.
2) This is an Orlando-Miami thing. A local "gun store chain" owner bought the circuit. He makes the rules which has made gun shows the equivalent of paying $13 to enter the Apopka store. I believe it has killed 50% of interest.
3) Ask "What's the best price?" If seller asks "What's your offer?" Start low and increase to your max in small increments.
4) Way too many variables. Always wonder: "Why is this for sale." Stolen guns are a 100% loss.
5) Seems like Tulsa is still the pinnacle. Some regional shows in "Free States" are worth up to 6 hour drive.
6) Online outlets have most folks knowing prices before leaving the house.
7) Odd things; currently the "Hidey rooms", medieval weapons, Nazi memorabilia, jerky, pockrtbooks etc seem odd, to me.
8) Renting a table allows access to items folks don't see. Table holders see what's available without much walking.
Disadvantages are many, thieves being the worst. Used to be rare but now "urban areas" have organized teams. Tables are $125 each, have 8 plus hotel and it's major investment to make a weekend pay. Weather, political directives, "current events" can make a show a ghost town or a 2 hour line to get in.
Joe

 

[Iggy]

Local and out of state gun stores acquire tables and jack up their retail prices in hopes of catching a sucker here.

All of the vendors I trusted and the friends I used to attend shows with all moved away or died.

I quit going.

 

[Xfuzz]

Guns shows.....

Take cash.

 

[NYlakesider]

IMHO gun shows are dying a sort of prolonged death here! I live in NYS! I have gone to the big ones at the Syracuse (3 hour drive) fair grounds and the one in Albany (1 1/2 hour drive) at the state owned empire state plaza (AKA the South Mall). I see less and less people each year and more and more stuff that in plain English is not gun stuff.

Parking at the Albany show is crazy with the way the state runs it.

I find I now only go to a gun show anywhere/anyplace if I realy do not have anything better to do and hopefully run into a old friend or two I have not seen in a long time. Doubt if we (wife & I) will go to any Albany shows ever again, its not just worth the aggravation.

 

[DWalt]

IMHO gun shows are dying a sort of prolonged death here! I live in NYS! I have gone to the big ones at the Syracuse (3 hour drive) fair grounds and the one in Albany (1 1/2 hour drive) at the state owned empire state plaza (AKA the South Mall). I see less and less people each year and more and more stuff that in plain English is not gun stuff.

Parking at the Albany show is crazy with the way the state runs it.

I find I now only go to a gun show anywhere/anyplace if I realy do not have anything better to do and hopefully run into a old friend or two I have not seen in a long time. Doubt if we (wife & I) will go to any Albany shows ever again, its not just worth the aggravation.

I can say much the same about the local shows. The promoters raised the gate admission tremendously, up to $20. And for that, very little of interest is to be found inside. Lots of tactical and non-gun stuff, very little in the way of guns worthy of serious interest and at extreme prices. I have not seen any gun shows advertised nearby since early this year. Good riddance insofar as I am concerned. I suspect the same negative conditions exist all over the country.

 

[Sevens]

1. Etiquette tips for gun shows.

So many that I think it would blow up this discussion if I did a deep dive. At the very base, be friendly. If you need to punch on your phone or have a phone call, do NOT do it in front of a dealer's table or in the middle of a crowded aisle, do it out of the way. Remember how karma works and if you've ever come home with a new treat only to soon find that someone passed a lemon off on you with no disclosure, this only happens because folks can justify doing this -- don't be one of them.

2. How have gun shows changed in the past few years?

There are less absolute steals as information regarding rarity and demand are traveling more freely than ever before. Maybe a decade ago if you walked to a table and the old guy was thumbing through Fjestand's big book trying to price a gun he was selling, you had a chance to make a score because it took YEARS for his book to "catch up."

3. Buying & selling tips & techniques.

Be friendly! Be open to moving a bit in price towards the other guy and handle his gun with the utmost care if it's in your hands. -ASK- before touching, -ASK- if it's okay to remove the zip tie or to turn the cylinder or cock the hammer or whatever. If you're the potential buyer, there's a fine chance you may know more about the gun than the guy selling and that's okay. And the opposite can be true also.

4. Things to watch out for.

Anyone who wants to bring someone else in to buy it or sell it. "I'm just visiting but my brother has the correct driver's license and he can sell it to you." No way, they haven't yet made a gun that's worth a Federal felony.

5. What are the best gun shows in the country?

I could toss out the names of the shows that folks on here share but I can only truly tell you about the shows I know that are fantastic from first-hand experience. OGCA, Ohio Gun Collectors Association in Wilmington, OH must be amongst the top in the country. There is also a show at the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, OH through the fall and winter that is pretty darn good for a medium sized show.

6. Has the emergence of online gun-sale forums impacted gun shows?

For sure, but this isn't breaking news, this happened years ago. It's made SOME of the dealers at shows work a little harder on their pricing.

7. Odd things you've seen at gun shows.

Again, too much to list and don't want to blow up the thread.

8. Advantages / disadvantages of renting a table as opposed to just walking through?

WR Moore nailed it on post #3, point #1 -- if a table holder has no clue and prices something too far under market, it's a safe bet that no attendee will ever see that deal because hawk dealers snarf it up on Friday night during setup before the public arrives on Saturday. And in the last 5 years, the easiest example has been primers for handloaders. If some casual table holder shows up with a slew of primers from the estate of a deceased friend and figures he will price them at $50 per thousand, some other dealer will buy the entirety of them and at 9:01 am they will be priced at $100 per thousand just like every other table. And by 3:45pm on Sunday the price will be $80 per thousand as most disgusted patrons will walk past the $100 tag muttering about the market.

 

[rockquarry]

I can't agree with the skeptics and cynics on not being able to find good guns (not accesssories, gadgets, or junk items, I don't know anything about that stuff).

I don't go to a gun show unless I have table space. I've been selling off items for some time now and there is very little that I want anymore. I haven't bought any gun in almost ten years. With a table, you not only
have a place to display your sale items, but it sometimes becomes a stopping off point for traders and sellers to show you what they have.

I'm sure I've passed up a number of great deals, but again, there is little I want anymore. The large well-attended north Texas gun shows (Ft. Worth for instance) are the only ones I do.

Tables are just short of $100 nowadays, but even combined with other attendant costs, that's incredibly cheap entertainment for a weekend, at least to those who aren't incredibly cheap.

Granted, gun shows aren't what they once were, but I certainly wouldn't consider them a wasted effort unless you've truly found one that's a complete dud. I hope there aren't many of those.

 

[YeshuaIsa53]

Don't expect to get what you think a gun is worth from a vendor, if you are trying to sell your gun.

Most gun shows are not the way they used to be. Still, if you like guns, a nice place to spend half a day.

 

[rockquarry]

Cell phone calls or texts and taking cell phone photos right in front of a table is now so commonplace no one seems to be bothered by it. I'm not promoting the practice; I don't do text messages and I have a good camera should I need to take photos (but I never take a camera to a gun show).

However, all this seems to be accepted gun show etiquette nowadays regardless of how many of us might feel about it.

 

[LVSteve]

I'll play.

1. Etiquette tips for gun shows.

Don't sneer openly at a vendor's price. Yes, they may be smoking crack to come up with that price, but trying to re-educate them is a futile exercise.

2. How have gun shows changed in the past few years?

Far fewer older Smiths, and everybody wants to get the same money as the maddest price they have seen online, regardless of condition.

3. Buying & selling tips & techniques.

Research well before going. Set yourself limits. Buy the gun, not the story.

4. Things to watch out for.

BATFE agents trailing their coats. Stolen guns.

5. What are the best gun shows in the country?

Dunno, but I'm fairly certain they are not in the Vegas area.

6. Has the emergence of online gun-sale forums impacted gun shows?

Yes. More guns are sold online because they fetch generally more money with a country wide audience. Also, some show vendors set their prices based on the latest auction price created by two stupid bidders.

7. Odd things you've seen at gun shows.

You don't want to know. Besides, this is a family friendly forum.

8. Advantages / disadvantages of renting a table as opposed to just walking through?

As stated by others.

 

[deadin]

It seems to me that everyone wants to be dealer (without a license).
Example is a guy I know that will admit if he can't buy a gun for less 30% he will sell it for, he doesn't want it. (He is not a dealer)
I miss the days when you could work a trade of two $50 cats for a $100 dog. The last trade I managed was for a bayonet, and it was on-line,

I'm starting to thin out my accumulation and know that the best way would be to get a table. The problem is the closest shows are about 100 miles one way and I just can't handle hours table watching and finding somewhere to spend the night for multi-day shows.

 

[Golddollar]

I find I now only go to a gun show anywhere/anyplace if I realy do not have anything better to do and hopefully run into a old friend or two I have not seen in a long time.
/QUOTE]

I've literally been going to gun shows since I was a little boy. I used to go to about any gun show within a 4 hour drive. And now when I go to visit my brother in Ohio one of our things to do together is go to the Ohio gun shows. But for the combinations of a bunch of reasons I've been sticking a lot closer to home.

Yes, there is a lot of truth to what has been said here. I remember going to one show where the seller was asking $300 for a brick of primers that because of the packaging I knew were over 30 years old (some of my useless knowledge I carry around). Happily I can say that I still enjoy relationships with long time vendors, and it paid off when a vendor who knew me pulled out a Russian Nagant revolver with Finnish capture marks. And a decent show is still like having 50 gun shops within walking distance.

 

[oldman10mm]

OGCA, Ohio Gun Collectors Association in Wilmington, OH must be amongst the top in the country. There is also a show at the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, OH through the fall and winter that is pretty darn good for a medium sized show.

Yep, Ohio shows. The 'Ohio Gun, Knife & Military Shows' have good shows in Berea, Akron, and Warren. The Berea show in warm weather is the big one.

 

[peterGun]

My only gun show observation, far too many view it a social event instead of an opportunity to purchase.


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[rockquarry]

My only gun show observation, far too many view it a social event instead of an opportunity to purchase.


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You might consider trying out some large shows. Lots of buyers if you and others have desirable items priced right; at least that's been my experience pretty consistently. The social aspect has always been rather secondary.