F-burg gun show this past weekend

[wiredgeorge]

My sis and bil were going to go to Fredericksburg to the gun show. I have been to that show in the past and told them not to bother. Was little to nothing of interest a couple years ago and prices were pretty high.

 

[MikePotts]

I enjoyed it, bought a P365 Macro, not much else to do on a Sunday morning before the bar opened

 

[Glenn B]

I am kind of, sort of, almost an optimist when it comes to gun show attendance both as a buyer and seller. I have found that repeatedly going to gun shows looking for that deal that is just too good to pass by is a fairly consistent way to find just that which I was looking for - that being just that kind of a deal. I would guess that I go to 8-10 gun shows per year on average. I can find at least six and up to eight deals that make me feel compelled to reach for the green in my pocket and then shell it out; sometimes I find a couple or few compelling deals at a single show. Wyen I say deals, I am mean with regard to firearms related products such as: guns, accessories, ammo, tools, books and such. I am not talking about jerky, jewelry, toys, knives, or military collectibles other than firearms related items.

On the other hand, if I'm selling, then someone else can find such a deal with me and that person shells out the cash. That is because most things I sell at shows have very good prices on them or wind up with a very good price if someone asks: 'Can you do any better' or if they make a reasonable offer other than my asking price. If I sell at 6 shows per year, I sell at least several items at each show at a good price, some at a much better than merely a good price, for the buyer. I do not make a lot of profit, in fact I often sell at a gross loss simply because I am selling not so much to profit but because I need money and will settle for break even or if in acute need will settle for a bit under what the item(s) cost was to me. I often have dealers at shows offering me my asking price on firearms without haggling and others that unsuccessfully try to haggle & low ball me often come back later willing to pay my asking price but that usually is a bust for them because someone else will have already purchased it.

This is not to say I never make money while selling at a gun show. Some things have gone up so much since I bought them that even though I would make a tidy profit at my selling price, that price is still a great deal for the buyer as compared to what others currently ask for the same items at gun shows. There also are the sales where I make a small profit now and then but still sell below any other dealer at the show. It all goes toward me buying another gun or something along those lines and keeps my hobby active in more ways than just shooting. It especially lends to collecting. I keep my collection limited instead of constantly growing. Some of the items in it change with some frequency; that is usually when something I do not have catches my eye and I need to sell something I already have to be able to afford it (or I buy it regardless of finances, and later I have to replensih the bank account after spending too much on a gun I could not afford right then. In the end, after state sales taxes and federal income tax it (hobby income) it would not be worth the effort to almost anyone other than me to bother with selling at gun shows. I do it mainly because I like doing it - started doing it with my son and enjoyed it as a way to spend time together, enjoying what we were doing that was firearms themed in ways other than merely shooting.

Gun Shop Buyer Tips: One of the best ways to find a very good price at a gun show is to arrive early, then instead of going inside to look around - stay outside to see who in the cue has brought something nice to sell and try to get a deal on it. Then to go inside and look around but to return outside now and again to check the line for a bargain. Of course, this precludes merely going to a show as a buyer and plopping down your ten bucks for admission, then going inside and walking around once or twice and leaving after a half hour or an hour because you did not find a great deal with a price from 15 years ago. You need to work at finding a good dealost times at gun shows. I work at it and I try to stay at least a few hours and sometimes have stayed all day, as a buyer, at a show or leave for lunch and then go back. If I see something I really want that is still on a dealer's table on Saturday just before closing I might try to haggle a bit. If I want it badly, but do not get it on Saturday, I'll go back on Sunday and wait until at least half the day is gone and then make my offer to the dealer. Sundays are slow with relatively few items sold for just about every dealer as compared to Saturday sales. It is amazing how that will make some guys come down in price on Sunday.