What a horrid gun show.

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Atla

Atla

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I just got back from the Classic Gun and Knife show in Winston-Salem, NC.

Yugo 24/47's selling for $265 - in good to poor condition.(We're talking rust on the bolt and action).... Wideners has them for $119 in VG condition.

K31's selling for $365 - also in poor condition. Typically sell for around $185 in VG condition, from the usual dealers - Wideners, Samco, IOInc, etc. (One guy was lugging around a K31 and when I asked said he would take $300 for it and a little bit of ammo...sigh)

I saw only one SKS, looked new and unissued for $450!!

There -were- some decent priced AK's and AR's. Maybe half a dozen Ak's in the entire show...from the same guy. Two P90's... with tags saying 'Do not touch'.

Perhaps 20 M1 Carbines, and maybe half a dozen M1 Garands...these weren't badly priced from what I could tell.

There were two Krags in the entire show... the first going for a whooping $1795...the other perhaps a hundred or so less.

It was just...crap - with crap prices.

The only deals I saw in there, was the Glock Dealer...who was selling new G26's(subcompact 9mm) for $455.

I only picked up a rifle case, a cold steel machete, and some 8mm ammo for my mauser.... only to arrive home and find out I got skinned on the ammo. I HAVE a bunch of 8mm 'Yugo Sniper' grade ammo - it came in pretty white boxes with fancy lettering. I wasn't paying attention and the 'Yugo Sniper' ammo I bought at the show(several hundred rounds at Yugo Sniper price) is a completely different box..rough cardboard and old faded label... with the date of 12-1954 on the bottom of it.

This Yugo Sniper 8mm is supposed to be Privi Partizan made in the early '90's.

Upon closer inspection, this 8mm is reallly crappy and old looking compared to the bright and shiny other stuff I have.

Never going back to that show again.
 
I decided to save my 7 OR 8 bucks and GAS

and avoid the Palm beach gun show, usually overpriced crap anyway.
 
Who is this widener?????

I'll take 2 SKSs at 119 in vg condition!

oh yugo mausers, nevermind then
 
It's the price of gas sir, don't you understand. I mean how to do expect us dealers to make anything with the price of gasoline that high and then we don't raise our prices enough to gouge out your eyeballs.
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:fire:
 
With todays gas prices and the fact that shows are just flea markets with guns any more I avoid them and let the internet work for me. shipping is now cheaper in most cases than drivint the 40-80 mile round trip to a show now.
 
Hey all, I shopped at the show mentioned also..not bad for a local show..and I did see some reasonably priced guns. I tend to go to Raleigh or G'sboro for a Bigger selection...and it is a show! Caveat Emptor!!
 
Gunshows. smunshows, auctions, internet, deals. It's all a matter of sensible shopping. I was looking at Sig Mosquitos on Gunbroker. $299 was the lowest price I saw, add to that shipping to my FFL and the transfer fee. Probably $350.

Bought one for $299 at my local sporting goods store - $10 state background check.

Gunshows are like auctions, easy to get carried away.

I do think they are turning into playgrounds for the "tacticool" crowd and ethnic gang-bangers. Saw one young fellow trying to impress his friends. He turned down some pretty nice AKs because, as he loudly said, they had poor wood.
 
I do think they are turning into playgrounds for the "tacticool" crowd and ethnic gang-bangers. Saw one young fellow trying to impress his friends. He turned down some pretty nice AKs because, as he loudly said, they had poor wood.
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Or maybe a collector. A lot of my AKs are bought to collect so things like the wood matter to me. I've been picky on the parts kits I bought for this reason.
 
I was at the Middletown, NY gun show a few weeks back. I was surprised at some of the prices there, as some things were reasonable. I was not at all surprised that things like Mosin Nagant model 91/30 rifles were selling for $250 in very good to excellent condition; not surprised at all even though I can get them online for $69.95, plus shipping. I picked up some ammo cans, strike anywhere matches (impossible to get where I live), and a few other things. I actually had to go to Gander Mountain, and Wally World to look for ammo.

All the best,
Glenn B
 
gun show i went to today wasn't bad for a very local, small town show. i saw good prices and bad.
 
I agree that most gun shows are now just flea markets that happen to carry guns. Usually way overpriced guns, but still... I regard gun shows as a form of entertainment. It costs a few bucks to get in the door, and then I can look at a bunch of silly people trying to impress their friends. I can look at some decent stuff, pass by a bunch of crap, and maybe see something that I want to buy - an impulse buy, usually.

The primary advantage that you have at a gun show is that you can hold what you're looking to buy in your hands, and determine the condition. You don't have to rely on carefully posed pictures that don't show blemishes. You don't have to pay return shipping for something that isn't as described.

For serious shopping for ammo, accessories, reloading components, etc., I usually order online. Even when you add the cost of shipping, it's usually less expensive that buying at a gun show.
 
I found a lot of gunshow dealers especially of mil-surp stuff buy their items from online sources like many of us consumers do but they jack the price up to try and profit from some newbie at a gunshow. I've observed that if you let them know you're on to their online sources they tend to act like you've blown their big secret and are often less friendly to you.
 
at the richmond show last weekend, cheapest surplus p6 i saw was $350. they're online all over the place for $100 less than that.

there were 2 or 3 vendors though with decent prices, and if I had a need for it I would have picked up some ammo from the Georgia Arms booth ($97/500 rounds of 9mm wasn't bad).
 
I was at the Middletown, NY gun show a few weeks back. I was surprised at some of the prices there, as some things were reasonable. I was not at all surprised that things like Mosin Nagant model 91/30 rifles were selling for $250

Glenn I used to do the middelton show -the Promoters would not let me bring any ammo--THEY are protecting the BIG ammo dealer and protecting his turff,

AS to prices --You are now comparing the prices we dealers USED to pay with the Scab prices the Once wholesalers [NOW retail dealers ] Who are screwwwing us true dealers to death. Thats fine Shop the web and Have fun -when the gun show dealers Finally call it quits Dont think for a NY minute the prices will stay low -The gouging will begin -BIG time .
Gun shows used to be fun -NOW they are turning into A pain dealing with the ATF and The Union thuggs who Run the expo centers.
Ill still do shows I meet lots of great people and Find some unique guns for my collection.
Like I said in a previous post--4 tables @ $75ea=300$ 2 nights motel$175.00, Gas $50.00 and if I go to make $50..00 on an M1A National Match you Pitch a fit because you saw one on some web site 100$ cheeper ! then cry on the THR because the gun you get was a Junker and complain the guy who sold it to you wont back it up !! WWaaaa WWaaaa WWaaa Sniff sniff!!!:neener:
 
HK, sorry that the business end of the internet frustrates you, but that doesn't change the fact that the web is still lower.

right now I'm in the process of shopping around for an XD9. Cheapest I've found it is online. So I plan on printing off the web page, and taking it to the local shop I like and telling them 'hey I'd rather buy local from you guys, can you get within $20-30 of this price?" It'd cost me around that anyways for FFL, so if they can come down a bit in price or throw in another magazine, box of ammo, etc etc I'll buy here in town.

But yeah, I'm not going to spend an extra $100+ on something like a much-used P6 at a gun show or overpriced junk ammo just to help the little guy. Businesses need to be willing to be competitive. If you can't compete on price, compete on service or something. Or do nothing but complain about people who try and get the most out of their hard-earned money, and watch everyone else get the customers.

At the end of the day there will always be the local place to shop at. A lot of people prefer the face to face method and either aren't comfortable shopping online or don't want to deal with the hassles of shipping (like if there is a problem with the product and you want to send it back). The wholesale aspect of the internet has no doubt made it harder for smaller companies, but the ones that are doing it right aren't going to go anywhere anytime soon.
 
In Houston the 3rd or 4th largest city in the country, has some of the worst gun shops I have ever been, with regards to selection and PRICE. Some folks here recommended to me that the large gun shows here are the ticket, so I recently started going and ever since then, I have no desire to ever return to a Houston gun shop.


I have several dealer price catalogs and found that on average , I am able to buy pistols and long guns below dealer cost and truly at wholesale price. Not so at our gun shops.
 
I like the Greensboro gun show, which comes up this summer again. The OP can't be too far from there if Winston Salem is nearby.

Lots of people, and generally you can get a good deal or two. I got a steal on scales and powder last time I went! Not to mention 7.62X39 for three-years-ago prices!

Give that show a try. Occasionally it has an off year, but they have a good selection of parts, magazines, reloading components, new guns, a few (not enough for my taste, but a few) surplus guns, and custom and used stuff.

I did turn the place upside down looking for the choke tube to a friend's Baikal, though... never found it, but that wasn't surprising.

Gun show tricks-

Get there early.

Prepare to haggle.

Don't be afraid to walk away from a mediocre deal.

Get there early.

The thing is, if you get there late, the best deals are already picked over!
 
I've only been to three gun shows in the past year - two small "local" shows and one larger "two-state" show - and all three were a disappointment. I get better deals at the on-line auctions by being patient - I don't bid often and I usually get outbid.

That said, I'm not giving up on gun shows - if nothing else, they are cheap entertainment.........
 
Yugo 24/47's selling for $265 - in good to poor condition.(We're talking rust on the bolt and action).... Wideners has them for $119 in VG condition.

K31's selling for $365 - also in poor condition.
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You say they were selling though so it couldn't be too bad a deal. If ppl are paying your price would you mark 'em down?
The stuff that doesn't sell, no loss to anyone but the dealer who hs to pack them up. Been on both sides of these tables and can say that shows are not a fun thing. Everyone walking through the door has this switch that gets flicked it seems causing them to be instant experts on anything firearms related. It also causes them to have the need to handled all they can without having any inention at all to purchase the item. This syndrome travels also. Moves right to thier wallet which seems to clamp shut allowing only minute amounts to be used.
Prices at shows generally are high. Remember, besides needing to cover thier overhead at the shop and retain a small profit, the dealer now needs to cover his cost of the tables, etc for the show. The customers seem to forget this part and expect everything for a low-ball price. Good deals are gone in the first hour in not even before the show opens in some cases. If the price was so great it would've sold in his shop.
 
Sorry, they weren't selling - that was just the price. I saw a lot of people looking at them, but no one bought one while I was there.
 
I find gunshows provide guns my local retailers don't, and I can examine the gun before buying it. That is something I prefer, that the internet doesn't offer. YMMV
 
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