ryker411

Went to the gun show today in Coast Mesa. Most everything was full price MSRP. Deals were far and few. I hate to haggle but that was the norm. Something had a price for $69 so I offered $50 (the price you see advertised as "sale" price) and the guy was happy to make the deal. I felt like I was in Tijuana or Bahrain. Why not have a good price to start with? It makes me think if I didn't know any better I would have been taken advantage of and that always bothers me. I went on the second day of the event and it was not as crowded as it usually is, but everything seemed to go through the roof pricewise.
Is this the norm for gunshows in the country or just Southern California?

Charlee37

Went to that same show Saturday here in Phoenix. What a joke.

For example my bf bought me a brabd new 10/22 last week at Walmart. St the show the cheapest we saw it was $190, all others were $230 plus for the same exact model. But by the time you figure in gas, $7 psrking, and $32 for admission there's really no point in going. The cheapest LCP we found was $290.

I saved $5 off a box of ammo, another $5 of a Ruger 25 round clip, and got a 30 round mag for $10.

Overall the show seemed to be a rip off. There was nothing I couldn't find off the internet in 15 minutes for slit cheeper. I planned on buying my sr9c at the next show in January but theres clearly no point. Waste of time and money.

Glad I'm not the only one who noticed.

bnettles

The gun shows have changed over the years. Prices certainly are higher than they used to be.

You'd have to grow up in Orange County, California to remember this but decades ago the first gun "swaps" were held behind Stanley's Gun Room on Main Street in Santa Ana. You'd go behind the store to the parking lot and there would be a few guys with their pick-up trucks, tail gates down, and what they had to sale laid out on a blanket. Prices were very good. And California has much gun laws than any other state....some 650 laws I believe was last count. Times have changed...

Of course prices on new guns were much lower also. I bought my first 10/22 around that time. It was brand new in the box for $52.00.....I think that may have included tax.

fungun

I've been to about 6 gun shows, haggling is the norm. Vendors pay a lot for that 10x10 and need to recoup that expense.

lafflin rand

I go to a gun show to see things that my local gunstore may not stock or to find something odd or different and perhaps to find a new source of reloaded ammo or whatever. Sadly as a NJ gun owner I go to see things I cannot own. Semiauto shotguns with a pisto grip semi auto rifles witha collapsable stock and more things tht make me sad to mention. Check the century arms website and see howmany if not all their products that cannot be sold in nj. No pistols with a mag capacity of over 15. It is fun to go to a gun show in Pennsyklvania or virginia to breath free air.

BW64

Same here in Vegas! We used to have the best shows but not anymore! Prices are high & the used guns are junk!! I tried to sell a 357 & the best offer I got was $250 but he had one for sale for $425!!! Just not worth the admission & parking fees!! I do better at my LGS or online!

JRICKARD81

I went to a gun show in Searcy, Arkansas, once. Rude folks and I can get anything there cheaper and with a good conversation in my LGS.

jlh820

Yep, saw it in Phoenix. No good deals really - not this time.

As far as haggling, I thought that was the norm for gun shows. I asked one dealer about the price on a sling that I was thinking of getting on Amazon. He wants $5 more than Amazon.com. When I asked him if he'd take what Amazon was offering, he snatched the sling from my hand turned his nose skyward and said, "You have to pay shipping."

Well what the little @#$%@# didn't know, apparently, is that Amazon sells most products with Amazon Prime. With that, you get 2-day shipping FREE and unless you live in the state it's coming from, NO SALES TAX! What he may not have realized is that I had just scanned the bar-code with a program on my Droid that showed me exactly what Amazon was charging and it was indeed an Amazon Prime item. In fact, I had just received an item Amazon said was going to take about 4 days to deliver due to the weekend. I received it the next day! No tax, no shipping, no hassles! That's happened twice now. Apparently it's due to the fact that a lot of gun stuff comes from Phoenix and Amazon has a distribution plant right here in town.

So, Amazon.com just got another sale.

I couldn't believe his snotty attitude. I just asked once, very nicely and he gets his panties in a twist. I was actually prepared to pay him the $5 extra bucks to satisfy my instant gratification. But, he didn't even give me a chance.

I can't believe their attitudes. I have traveled to Mexico several times and almost everything there is up for bargaining - it's a way of life.

I hate to criticize the "younger generation" (yeah, I'm getting old), but they should learn to be nice to old people - especially at gun shows, because we often have more disposable cash since we've scrimped and saved our whole lives to accumulate some.

I really hope that "whipper-snapper" either learned his lesson or gets his attitude adjusted by someone not as forgiving as me.

In fairness to the show, everyone else was friendly. I left with 3 small bags of stuff including some outstanding fudge! But no guns this time or other big ticket items.