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Well nearly all our shows here are $5 to get in and free parking. Other then the sometimes cramped aisles they are pretty decent. There have been times where I have witness what you have all complained about. I can see many of your points but I just relax and deal with it.
What bothers me is people who put their stuff on the table with 2 prices on it OR a 2 prices and a sign that says DO NOT TOUCH. I read that sign to say NOT FOR SALE.
Holy "mierda" I almost went to my first "gun show" in CT a few weeks ago....sure glad I went to the range instead. Sounds like they are worse than a circus side show. Thanks for the heads up gang....forewarned is forearmed
"My post: "Cost of parking, cost of admittance, sellers who act like they are doing you a favor to be there. I quit going to gun shows many years ago.
Cost of doing business is just that, if you aren't making money quit. If I buy something from you I am paying to recover some of your expense and perhaps some profit for you.
In the mean time I have already paid a premium on anything I will purchase by paying parking fees, admission and fuel to attend, not including my time. The only way I can recover my investment is to buy something at a discount low enough to cover these expenses. I will make zero money that day, I can only spend money and I have already paid a premium to do so.
Counting fuel and other expenses I will have already invested more before I even consider buying than shipping cost and transfer fees on this site. I will also invest a lot more time than I would shopping here or at my local gun shops.
If you wish for me to respect your investment then I suggest you respect mine along with the other potential customers who may spend their hard earned money to help you recover expenses and hopefully turn a little profit.
If a gun show isn't full of bargains, there is zero reason to attend. A seller who acts like he is doing me a favor to be there can't sell me a gun at any price.
Now you understand why a working professional like me, who actually buys a few guns a year, does not make the investment needed to be treated with disrespect at a gun show. Give me a good quality show with good quality vendors offering goods at lower than average prices, and I will show up, Until then there is no reason to."
I AGREE 1000% AND ADD:
I have encountered many a seller who has the attitude of " I have been in business over 30 years so I am the KING of guns" Makes me sick. In any other sales the "salesman" tries to actually educate the buyer as to why to buy the item. Some firearms salesmen seem to think they are "God's gift to humankind". I ignore them and merely move on. There are many guys out there who are polite and willing to help the customer understand exactly what it is that they are offering for sale................This "holier than thou", I am better than you" attitude is for the sewer and does the business no good at all. Pleeeeze, don't do ME any favors boss....[:D]
Guys who aren't polite,respectful and eagar to inform, are likely trying to get over on you, which is the main reason to move on from them..
quote:Originally posted by JnRockwall
What bothers me is people who put their stuff on the table with 2 prices on it OR a 2 prices and a sign that says DO NOT TOUCH. I read that sign to say NOT FOR SALE.
I understand that sign 100%. After seeing people grab, drop, cycle, spin the cylinder, etc. etc. etc. of firearms they have no intention of buying, I have no problem with a seller wanting to screen someone as a serious buyer before letting them touch the merchandise.
Freedom and a submissive populace cannot co-exist.
My method of operation has ALWAYS been, to ask if I may hold the weapon. But a DO NOT TOUCH sign just tells me they are more interested in showing it off than selling it.
i work VERY part time for a dealer(i work the two or three local shows he does. his shop is in the other half of the state). he travels two hundred miles to come to these shows and doesnt want to take a single gun home with him. EVERYTHING is negotiable, a phrase that spews froth from my mouth over a hundred times a show. make me an offer. i may not say yes, but i wont hit you and it gives us a starting point.
unless its a consignment gun with zero wiggle room on price(which is rare and we tag them separately than other guns), every single gun on the table can be bargained for.
what annoys me is the 15 minutes i'll spend talking to somebody about a gun(or guns in general) only to have them turn around and walk away without so much as a low ball offer. the tire kickers. ive gotten pretty good at weeding out the buyers from the browsers in the first five minutes. if theres nobody else at the table, i'll kibitz with you until there is, but if theres a possible sale standing next to you, im not going to waste my time on your casual conversation.
when im buying, you know it because i will ask buy in questions right from the get go. when im just there to kill time, i will quite literally tell the dealer immediately that im not buying so s/he wont waste their time. to me, thats just being polite.
I don't count the entry fees as anything more than admission to a museum display. For that fee (usually $5 in this area) I can gawk at pretty guns (everything from old well-preserved Winchesters to custom rifles and fancy trap guns) that I would never be able to afford. I don't pick them up unless the dealer invites me to.
At the last show I went to, a dealer showed me a beautiful .257 he had built on a Swedish Mauser action and had stocked by a friend of his. When I told him I was a stockmaking hobbyist, he let me handle it, with no expectation that I would buy it. Obviously, he had come to the show to show off his stuff as much as to sell it. Much more hands-on and informative than what you could get in a typical museum visit. Worth the entry fee all by itself.
But I try to remember that most of the dealers are there to make sales, and don't take up their time unnecessarily. Considering their labor preparing for the show, traveling, paying table fees, and so on, it is hard to see how they could make a profit on gun shows.
As a gunshow seller for 4 decades here are my pet peeves. <br> #1-customers that complain to me about why items cost more at shows now. <br> #2-people that have to play with items they have zero interest in buying or constantly snaping the snaps on ww1 ww2 cartridge belts or pulling out exspensive bayonets from scabbards. <br> #3-morons walking around eating and drinking then touching my items with greasy fingers or leaning over with dripping drinks or putting the sweaty cup on my web/canvas gear..<br> #4-people that have to untie unfold or unroll items like slings or uniforms then leave them messy on my table. <br> #5-customers asking/haggling for better/lower price then saying they will "think about it" and walk away. <br> #6-morons that walk around trying to sell items at a higher or equal price then whats on your table.
Comments
"My post: "Cost of parking, cost of admittance, sellers who act like they are doing you a favor to be there. I quit going to gun shows many years ago.
Cost of doing business is just that, if you aren't making money quit. If I buy something from you I am paying to recover some of your expense and perhaps some profit for you.
In the mean time I have already paid a premium on anything I will purchase by paying parking fees, admission and fuel to attend, not including my time. The only way I can recover my investment is to buy something at a discount low enough to cover these expenses. I will make zero money that day, I can only spend money and I have already paid a premium to do so.
Counting fuel and other expenses I will have already invested more before I even consider buying than shipping cost and transfer fees on this site. I will also invest a lot more time than I would shopping here or at my local gun shops.
If you wish for me to respect your investment then I suggest you respect mine along with the other potential customers who may spend their hard earned money to help you recover expenses and hopefully turn a little profit.
If a gun show isn't full of bargains, there is zero reason to attend. A seller who acts like he is doing me a favor to be there can't sell me a gun at any price.
Now you understand why a working professional like me, who actually buys a few guns a year, does not make the investment needed to be treated with disrespect at a gun show. Give me a good quality show with good quality vendors offering goods at lower than average prices, and I will show up, Until then there is no reason to."
I AGREE 1000% AND ADD:
I have encountered many a seller who has the attitude of " I have been in business over 30 years so I am the KING of guns" Makes me sick. In any other sales the "salesman" tries to actually educate the buyer as to why to buy the item. Some firearms salesmen seem to think they are "God's gift to humankind". I ignore them and merely move on. There are many guys out there who are polite and willing to help the customer understand exactly what it is that they are offering for sale................This "holier than thou", I am better than you" attitude is for the sewer and does the business no good at all. Pleeeeze, don't do ME any favors boss....[:D]
Guys who aren't polite,respectful and eagar to inform, are likely trying to get over on you, which is the main reason to move on from them..
What bothers me is people who put their stuff on the table with 2 prices on it OR a 2 prices and a sign that says DO NOT TOUCH. I read that sign to say NOT FOR SALE.
I understand that sign 100%. After seeing people grab, drop, cycle, spin the cylinder, etc. etc. etc. of firearms they have no intention of buying, I have no problem with a seller wanting to screen someone as a serious buyer before letting them touch the merchandise.
Brad Steele
i work VERY part time for a dealer(i work the two or three local shows he does. his shop is in the other half of the state). he travels two hundred miles to come to these shows and doesnt want to take a single gun home with him. EVERYTHING is negotiable, a phrase that spews froth from my mouth over a hundred times a show. make me an offer. i may not say yes, but i wont hit you and it gives us a starting point.
unless its a consignment gun with zero wiggle room on price(which is rare and we tag them separately than other guns), every single gun on the table can be bargained for.
what annoys me is the 15 minutes i'll spend talking to somebody about a gun(or guns in general) only to have them turn around and walk away without so much as a low ball offer. the tire kickers. ive gotten pretty good at weeding out the buyers from the browsers in the first five minutes. if theres nobody else at the table, i'll kibitz with you until there is, but if theres a possible sale standing next to you, im not going to waste my time on your casual conversation.
when im buying, you know it because i will ask buy in questions right from the get go. when im just there to kill time, i will quite literally tell the dealer immediately that im not buying so s/he wont waste their time. to me, thats just being polite.
At the last show I went to, a dealer showed me a beautiful .257 he had built on a Swedish Mauser action and had stocked by a friend of his. When I told him I was a stockmaking hobbyist, he let me handle it, with no expectation that I would buy it. Obviously, he had come to the show to show off his stuff as much as to sell it. Much more hands-on and informative than what you could get in a typical museum visit. Worth the entry fee all by itself.
But I try to remember that most of the dealers are there to make sales, and don't take up their time unnecessarily. Considering their labor preparing for the show, traveling, paying table fees, and so on, it is hard to see how they could make a profit on gun shows.