Have you ever been to a meager gun show?

[cobber]

As long as there's fresh fudge and beef jerky, it's worth the price of admission.

 

[Double T]

I've never been to a gun show, but have been to several crappy gun stores...

5 crappy pistols,4 rifles, to shotguns. No 45 ammo.

And no reloading equipment.

At least their FFL transfer is cheap

 

[mrortega]

I went to one somewhere around Washington, IN a couple years ago. It was so bad (maybe 15 tables) that I just stood inside the door then told the guy at the money table it wasn't worth coming in. He apologized as I was leaving. At least I had a pleasant drive with my wife and we ate at the Amish place in Montgomery.

 

[Bradsknives]

I think the problem is just plain too many promoters and too many shows. Also, no one denys that there just is not a lot of loose cash in the pockets of most of the attendees. In Indiana there are 3 or 4 shows every month within driving distance. That really spreads the cash thin. Many people just kind of go for a cheap event, looking around and meeting friends. The promoters get their money from the vendors up front, I don't know if they make any money, maybe one will chime in. The cost of setting up at a gun show is getting crazy. That has to be absorbed some how. Now add these factors up, thin crowds, thin wallets, high expenses. By the time that totals, it is a pretty hard game for a vendor to play. Vendors that cannot pay the expenses, and maybe eek out a little money for their time, cannot keep coming back. That makes higher prices which the customers will not/cannot pay and less variety. I predict that 10 years from now we'll look back at 2011 as "the good old days" when there were lots of gun shows" and brag to out kids how cheap everything was in the "good old days"

You have pretty much hit the nail on the head. On any given weekend you can find 2 to 3 shows just in Indiana. There are at least 5 to 6 different promoters doing gun shows in Indiana and one of the promoters has a show just about every weekend somewhere in Indiana. Is the gun show market over saturated?....Probably. The amount of shows that are taking place thins things out and it is very hard for a vendor to make money.
Example: When I do a show, my average expense is $250 to $350, this includes gas, hotel expenses, and table fees. This does not include the food cost (Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner). Also, the mileage that you put on a vehicle traveling to these shows adds up quickly...I have a 2011 Chevy truck that I bought in Sept. 2010 (1 year old) and it is now approaching 25,000 miles on it. Now the price of an average knife that is bought from me at a show is probably in the $50 to $100 range and I'm lucky if I can make $10 to $15 on it....I have to sell a lot of knives just to break even (cover expenses). I have 2 1/2 to 3 days of my time invested every weekend I do a show.....there are a lot of weekends that I would do better if i would have had a job working at McDonald's or Walmart.

 

[Jay]

On the other hand, you could have a meager job, with a meager income that would've only provided for a meager car that may not get you to that meager gun show. Many things could be lots worse than a disappointing gun show. I s'pose it's a point of view thing. I wish that was the worst problem I have.

 

[MrsGungho]

Brad has hit it just right. expenses for vendors has gotten higher, yet I know we haven't raised prices at shows. People aren't buying like they were. To many shows have saturated the area. we quit doing shows. When you lose money every show you do, it is raise prices or step away. rather than be "one of those guys" we chose to step away from all but two promoters.

 

[schafe]

The one advantage, I suspect, that meager (read small) gunshows have is that there is truly time to see everything that each vendor is offering. It seems that when I attend the 1500, there is sensory overload, and it becomes nigh impossible to take it all in during the time I have available. Heck, several times I totally missed the INGO booth.

 

[sgreen3]

Sounds about like the one I went to on Saturday, There was a used HP 995 for $325, hardley no ammo an what was there was expensive. I dont know as ill go to another.

 

[dcolip]

Small Gun Shows

I think with the high cost of setting up and working a gun show a lot of these small shows would be much better off to combine with others. If you go to the small gun shows in each county you see the same thing over and over.

 

[Thomas Carey]

or shall I say an EXTREMELY meager gun show?

My Uncle and I went to the Bedford gun show today. WOW!! it wasn't even worth the $5 we each paid to get in!!!

There was 15 or 16 vendors there. One vendor had what I call his private collection maybe? a 1911 dated in 1913 for $10,000 a couple S&W 6in 357mag ranging from $900-1700.

One vendor was doing Arizona t-shirts and stickers only. Another was doing custom vinyl window clings only.

Shotguns galore, geez I have never seen so many shotguns!!!! one vendor had Wolf .223 for $5/20rd box Another vendor had a couple boxes of Hydro shock ammo.

One vendor had 1 parts kit for ar15, the rest of the place was filled with shot guns, over priced .22 rifles. cheapest I saw was a ak47 in a .22 for $450 even the ruger .22's I saw were running around $449

No other ammo, or reloading equipment, which is why we went, wanted to get 40sw dies, powder, primers and a 10mm mold. There were several vendors selling hand guns as well, however, I could save at least $35+ by driving an extra 2-3miles and going to Cosner's gun shop. $485 for an SR9C, $470 for a used and dirty SR40



One vendor my Uncle spoke to said he hadn't seen very many sales at all from the entire place the whole day the food stand was the only thing making money that he could see, And was really tempted to just pack up and go home.

I will definitely put this gun show on my list of gun shows NOT to go to...

My father had us setting up at some meager shows like this to help out a fellow dealer who was trying to build up some shows as a promoter. Talk about a waste of time.