Scenes from a gunshow, the saga continues

[David LaPell]

This past weekend I was helping a friend out with his couple of tables and stuff. Yesterday's crowd was pretty good, but today had a couple of interesting side adventures. We were pretty busy, the owner was showing someone a gun, I was showing someone a gun, and we both looked over to see that some guy had completely taken my friends Winchester 37 shotgun apart. My friend kind of got mad, and asked "Did you ask me if you could take my gun apart?" The guy responded with "Well, I know how to take these apart." Not realizing that taking the gun apart was not the issue. The potential buyer then asked about the bore, and we shined a bore light down the barrel and all, and even ran a patch down it. Only to have the guy basically walk away with us having to put the gun back together.
Incident number two was a potential buyer looking at a new Henry .22, only to hear the following words, "I can get it for (insert dollar amount here)at Dicks." As we nicely replied, this ain't Dicks Sporting Goods. Other than that, a good crowd here at Saratoga this weekend.

 

[David LaPell]

This past weekend I was helping a friend out with his couple of tables and stuff. Yesterday's crowd was pretty good, but today had a couple of interesting side adventures. We were pretty busy, the owner was showing someone a gun, I was showing someone a gun, and we both looked over to see that some guy had completely taken my friends Winchester 37 shotgun apart. My friend kind of got mad, and asked "Did you ask me if you could take my gun apart?" The guy responded with "Well, I know how to take these apart." Not realizing that taking the gun apart was not the issue. The potential buyer then asked about the bore, and we shined a bore light down the barrel and all, and even ran a patch down it. Only to have the guy basically walk away with us having to put the gun back together.
Incident number two was a potential buyer looking at a new Henry .22, only to hear the following words, "I can get it for (insert dollar amount here)at Dicks." As we nicely replied, this ain't Dicks Sporting Goods. Other than that, a good crowd here at Saratoga this weekend.

 

[zercool]

Originally posted by David LaPell:
Incident number two was a potential buyer looking at a new Henry .22, only to hear the following words, "I can get it for (insert dollar amount here)at Dicks." As we nicely replied, this ain't Dicks Sporting Goods. Other than that, a good crowd here at Saratoga this weekend.

That is one of my pet peeves in ANY retail environment.

I sold cars for about a year and a half (miserable time). I heard over and over, "I can get this in (nearby city) for $500 less."

"Out the driveway, turn right, drive 30 miles. Enjoy."

I don't think any of them ended up not buying from me...

 

[lcdrdanr]

I used to work the flea markets, selling tools and anything I could make a couple of bucks on. I picked up a couple of hundred cheap taiwanese socket sets for a buck each, cheap but handy as a spare in the trunk. I put 'em out on the table for $5.00 and sold them like hotcakes.

One old farmer was looking at the display and said:
"The guy on the other aisle was selling this same brand for $3.50 a set"

I asked him "Why don't you buy them from him?"

He said: "'Cause the guy on the other aisle doesn't have any left"

I told him "Well, sir, if I didn't have any left, I would sell mine for $3.50 each. Until then, I've got 'em and they are $5.00 each"

He laughed, shook his head, and bought 4 sets.

Selling is a game, if you don't enjoy it then it's time to find another game.

Dan R

 

[arkypete]

When I have something to sell, yard sale, at my business, what ever,I don't negoiate.
If I wanted $20.00 I ask $20.00. If the person offers me $15.00 on the $20.00 item my counter offer is $25.00.
Bumfuzzels them every time.

Jim

 

[Jack Flash]

The potential buyer then asked about the bore, and we shined a bore light down the barrel and all, and even ran a patch down it. Only to have the guy basically walk away with us having to put the gun back together.

That guy should have been kicked out of the show. Yeah, I know, they don't do that.

Incident #2 is just par for the course. That's how some people negotiate, or maybe they just don't have anything better to do than waste your time. People were always trying to buy land from my Dad. He would tell them what he wanted, and they would say "Why, it's selling for $1,000 an acre around here."

My Dad's come-back was always "Tell me where I can get it for that. I'll buy all they've got." Then the shyster would shut up and leave.

 

[ingmansinc]

Originally posted by lcdrdanr:
Selling is a game, if you don't enjoy it then it's time to find another game.

Dan R

+1000 There are enough stories pertaining to this subject to fill volumes. You don't always have to have any skills, a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then.

 

[Guest]

Dave;

About all I can say is Welcome to the Gun Show Circuit!!! Wait tell somebody walks up and decides to do a "Sargent Friday" flip with your highest Dollar$$$ revolvers! You now have proof that there are idiots all over; even in the Gun World!!!

Of course, you haven't yet had somebody spill a hot cup of Coffee or worse yet, a hot cup of Chocolate on your table. Then there are the kids with the Chocolate bar on their hands going along touching every gun and everything else on the table. Maybe, you'd enjoy the "I'll be backs" - they're a breed of their own. And, you haven't yet seen the guy who walks around with a copy of "Shotgun News" and can prove to you he can buy the very same gun or 'whatever' for such and such and you should be willing to sell for that price.

Then there are "The Ones" that take the Grand Prize, in my book, who will 'Wheel and Deal' with you and get you to agree to knock several hundred bucks off a gun and then simply up and walks away from the deal. I hope you have a good memory 'cause you'll likely see that "Guy" again. And, I make it my personal policy to only be willing to sell to someone like that for at least 3 times the posted price!!!

If you hadn't guessed, I spend the weekend at a Gun Show myself. Oh, and I didn't mention being stuck in "Poo Corner" behind the Beanie Babies or whatever. And, then there are those who use a TV and a VCR running in a loop showing and letting you listen to the same line of this is the 'One and Only' "Sham Moos" or whatever!

Ain't "Dealing" with the Public fun???

 

[gunsmith11]

my favorite,,,years ago when I had a gun shop, a guy brought in a new .22 rifle he had bought at another gun shop and a cheap ass scope he bought at a local discount store, wanted me to mount it and bore sight it. I told him what the charge would be and he blew a cork, he thought I should mount it for FREE

 

[jframe]

They do the same for car parts. I work for a Ford parts department. You always have some A hole who claims that XX parts house sells the part for XX dollars. Why are we so high? I tell them what they want to hear: I have a $500,000 home to pay for, a wife, two kids to put through Harvard, a new Harley, a new Chris-Craft, a big game hunt to Africa I have to finish paying off, and my vacation hut in the Bahamas needs a payment as well...

 

[Andy Griffith]

Suggestion for some fun.

Go to a gun show and set up.
Put a "not for sale, shock only" sign on everything.
Also, have a cattle prod in your hand.

It's really fun watching people jump when you shock them.

It's even better when they say "Don't taze me bro!"

 

[rburg]

Watching and dealing with the odd characters is all part of the fun. You've got to understand them, and the only way to do that is to have been upset with them a few times. The worst mindset for a seller/vendor is to get your hopes up of making a sale.

I just don't care these days. My table partner keeps telling me we could lower the prices of the 3 guns I'm currently campaigning, and we could sell them. Maybe. But I keep coming back to the same answer, why? If I sold them, I'd have to find something else to drag along.

I'm very familiar with the guys who negotiate, not in good faith, but with all earnestness. After you've seen them a couple of times, you realize they probably don't have 2 nickels to rub together. When you do get to the point where you don't care, they lose their edge. Its when you can just boost your prices.

Not mentioned so far are the customers who bring along a piece of trash to sell. Then they want you to "allow" them some outrageous amount in trade. I have no idea what they expect you to do with their treasure if you were to accept the deal. I just assume they think we have a huge following who would love to buy some off brand foreign military handgun.

There was one series of deals that kind of got to me. My old partner, John Walters, somehow made a purchase of 4 of the Don Nicholson specials. They were 3 1/2" SAAs in different configurations. When he got them, I fell in love with the best of them. It had a case color frame and ivory grips. All were priced the same, so I bought the best of the lot. Just the ivories were about $550 extra. Then over the intervening 5 years I managed to sell the other 3 for him. He was out walking the show, leaving me behind to tend the store. Each purchaser would look at my gun, and for some unknown reason decided he wanted one of John's lesser guns. Things like 44 Special, or blue frame and rubber grips, etc. These days I don't care.

If they won't buy my gun, they can do without. Last month I made a comment here on the forum about it "I'd rather shoot you with it than sell it for less than I paid." The sentiment still holds.

 

[Andy Griffith]

Originally posted by rburg:
Last month I made a comment here on the forum about it "I'd rather shoot you with it than sell it for less than I paid." The sentiment still holds.

The Latin motto of gun traders everywhere, translated:

"I've got more than that in it!"

I have to admit, the best of the gunshow crowd is an individual that we haven't mentioned yet...

The guy that brings around some piece (could be nice or a piece of junk) but he states that he has 2x times more than it worth in it. Reasoning he has "that much" in it because he's traded for different guns several times over and "lost money" on every one of them, and so thinks its worth more simply because he has that much in it.

I usually start laughing at this point.

 

[dave b]

On the other hand, why would I want to pay new retail price for a used gun, or whatever, when I can get the same thing new from a store that will at least answer the phone when I have a problem. Some gun show merchants must be looking for suckers. I think a lot of guys get a table just to hang around and sell little.

 

[zercool]

Originally posted by dave b:
I think a lot of guys get a table just to hang around and sell little.

Well, when you think about it ...

$50-80 for two and a half days wife-free, chatting with like-minded folks, occasionally ogling a booth babe, more often ogling some of the hardware going by ... and beef jerky!

 

[David LaPell]

My favorite line when hanging out helping my friend. "He's the owner, I'm just here for atmosphere." Followed by, "He does the selling, I'm here for crowd control."

 

[rburg]

Originally posted by dave b:
O why would I want to pay new retail price for a used gun, or whatever, when I can get the same thing new from a store

Good luck with that. When was the last time you've seen the kind of guns we buy, sell, and collect as brand new? Hope you're pretty old. The 2 ratty old S&Ws and the Colt I carry along I've never seen new in a store. Don't expect to, either. But I would like to know where you can get brand new pre-war K22s and HDs. So would the rest of our members!

 

[Andy Griffith]

Originally posted by rburg:
But I would like to know where you can get brand new pre-war K22s and HDs. So would the rest of our members!

China.

Just send them a sample...they'll copy it.

 

[roarindan]

I visited that gun show saturday,I was at a table close to the door,guy (long stringy hair,camo pants,plaid shirt,lookin like he just got outta the mountains) came in with a Browning rifle vendor asked what he had, guy says it's a "model blah blah, grade triple A,only made 150 of 'em, never been shot,bought it to hunt with but its too nice of a gun and I dont want to ruin it in the woods,and if I shoot it it looses its value" I thought to my self he's not gonna get what he's askin cause nobody wants a wall hanger. I saw him at several other tables thru out the day repeating his speel.

 

[50 target]

Worked a few shows with my brother. Have the usual 'Price too high" yada, yada, yada. When he is gone, and someone askes me what I want for something that is on his table, I usually respond with a fourth of what it is worth. They ask what's wrong? Nothing. Why so cheap? I reply it's all profit , cause it ain't mine !
Smile disappears and they realize their dream deal just evaporated. I really like that. Worked the Montgomery, Al. show one time and one guy replied to every price I quoted him on the reloading stuff, " I can buy that from so and so for X amount". Finally told him that was why I live in America, so I can sell to whoever I wanted to. At that point, his wife starts moving away from the table. He took her que and moved on. The only problem I have with those guys is there is usually proof with them that they're breeding. That's bothersome.