Anybody here set up a table at a gunshow recently?

[Streetstar]

A buddy asked me if I wanted to go in on a couple of tables at a show coming up this weekend ---- We are both downsizing and he has actual firearms he wants to off-load, while I have a few pieces of other gear I could off load as well (with what I have heard about gun show crowds - I would almost rather have the security of shipping to an FFL for actual firearms sales myself - but I haven't gone through my inventory yet to see what I am going to part with )

but he told me running a table or 2 at a show is a 2 man operation for sure -- 1 to handle sales, etc. , and another to keep eyes out for sticky fingered d**kheads - as well as to provide relief if one has to take a restroom break or something

I haven't been to a show in years to spectate, much less buy anything , but thought going as a small, private vendor might be entertaining? OR would I get better "entertainment" listing my stuff on ebay and just letting the dollars roll in (i'm not selling beef jerky, prayer beads, T-shirts with coyotes on them, or Pakistani made knives -- LOL )

--- I don't like dealing with people who have a "craigslist" type mindset -- that is, everything they are trying to sell is like it is covered with gold dust, but if I am trying to sell something, I will invariably have some goon offer me 1/3 of my asking price with a straight face --- and I can honestly think of a lot of things i'd rather do with my weekend than sit around a table at my local fairgrounds for 2 days , but if its a legitimate quick way I could turn a few bucks i'll do it

[Sixgun]

Streetstar,
I see what you are getting at. Your personality is close to mine.............we both don't care for dealing with the public...or people for that matter. While I don't set up, I know plenty of guys who do and they all tell me its the way to do it. That's all I would have to see is some guy ripping me off and we both would be in the newspaper.

Whenever I get "gun heavy" or just plain "junk heavy" I find its just as easy to take my unwanted stuff and drop it off at the auction house where there are gun auctions 4 times a year. A week or 2 after the auction, a check arrives in the mail. I don't have to do nothin'.

Guns that are worth serious bucks go to local gunshops on consignment or Guns America.--------6

[Pete44ru]

.

When someone lowballs me, I just laugh inside, smile, & say "Thanks for your offer" - then go onto someone else.

Life's too short, and it's fruitless, to argue with "stupid" (or misers).

Setup day/evening, before the show opens, is when a LOT of sales get done - between dealers - so have your game face/mind in play from the minute you walk in the door.



.

[jnyork]

I think it is great fun to once in a while get a table . If you think going to a gunshow and listening to all the dealer BS is a hoot, just get a table and listen to it coming from the aisle side!! I guarantee every person that walks by knows infinitely more about your sale items than you do, every one of them had an item just like it when they were younger and paid much much less for it back then in the 60's or whenever. Makes selling your item at a good price all the more sweet.

[jdad]

My favorite memory, from a couple of years ago.

I had someone stop, at my table, look only at the rifle's tag and not pick the rifle up, then ask what my "cash" price was. I smiled and politely said, " You've only seen one side of the rifle, you haven't picked it up to see the other side, haven't looked it over close up, haven't tried the action, or looked down the bore. It would be unethical, for me, to sell you this rifle until you at least looked it over." His response, as he walked off, was that he was just "curious".

[vancelw]

My favorite memory, from a couple of years ago.

I had someone stop, at my table, look only at the rifle's tag and not pick the rifle up, then ask what my "cash" price was. I smiled and politely said, " You've only seen one side of the rifle, you haven't picked it up to see the other side, haven't looked it over close up, haven't tried the action, or looked down the bore. It would be unethical, for me, to sell you this rifle until you at least looked it over." His response, as he walked off, was that he was just "curious".

I just tell them I've already priced it, but they are welcome to make an offer.

I had a couple of guys ask me what I wanted for two revolvers if they bought them both and I gave them a good price. Then one of them wanted to offer me an even lesser price for only one of them. I told him if he only wanted one, the starting price was on the tag.

[BenT]

I have a lot of fun razzing people when I run a table. When a young guy comes by with his girlfriend I would say to the girl " you have a great man to put up with you dragging him to a gun show "

I like talking to the old guys about guns and hunting.

I like the doing deals with other vendors before the doors even open.

If someone low balls me I have fun with them, like saying "you must have confused me with somebody who has to sell his gun, I don't have to"

I have fun trying to convince people to buy my stuff. I'll try to sell ammo and if they tell me they don't shoot that caliber , i say thats OK I'm sure someone is selling a gun of that caliber at this show, buy the ammo now and you'll be prepared.

There is some weird people at all shows, but there is also a lot of normal people there to enjoy their day.

Go and enjoy your day!

[FWiedner]

Never had the patience to man a table, but here's an idea:

Spend a couple hours wandering around in your garage.

Pick up a few scraps of wood or an engine part and ask your bench vise or your mitre-saw how much they want for the object in your hand. Take the old M1 carbine mag that you keep in the jar with the odd nuts, washers, and Pete the spider, and put it in your pocket to 'trade'.

When you ask the mitre-saw a question stop and wait for a second or two and then move on. Pretend not to take the fact that it doesn't respond as a personal insult. When you ask the bench vice, find a hammer and hit one of your thumbs. Remember that he's a d*ck and you won't be back. Show each vendor the M1 magazine, and claim that it's 'vintage' or 'collectable'.

Take a break to eat some questionable beef jerky or warm candied nuts from a paper bag. Flush a couple of Franklins down the loo.

Get in your truck and drive to Denny's.

When you get back home, tell us about the great time you had wheeling and dealing at the 'gun show'.

[Lastmohecken]

I had set up a table a couple of months ago. I do it once every couple of years or so to sell a few guns and other stuff that everyone accumulates over time, and realizes they don't need or want as much as they thought they did when they bought it. When I set up I like to have a few guns, maybe some knives, and often times pull off gun parts or scopes I ended up not liking, holsters that didn't work out for me, etc.

I always have a great time, and end up selling usually quite a bit of stuff. It's rare that I don't end up taking home 2 to 4 thousand over a weekend. One thing I do that usually works out pretty good is I am friendly and I don't let anyone offend me over price. And I don't ignore someone standing at my table. That always upsets me when a dealer does that to me, and a lot of them will, they often act like they just want me to go away. I suspect that they don't think I have any money or something so I am a lost cause, when in reality I usually have enough to buy anything on their table but if the dealer acts like a jerk, then they definitely don't get my money.

So, like I said, I usually have a great time, but you do need to be careful because some people do have sticky fingers.

[Streetstar]

Thanks guys'

It sounds like something I should do "at least once"

Might be entertaining --if not, it'll be just another war story my old Army buddy and I got through

I told my bud that this weekend was a bit too short notice for me , after we tried to gather all our inventory together to see how many tables we needed to rent -- there is a show next weekendthat will give me time to prepare better and sell off the "low hanging fruit" so to speak

----- I'll list my actual firearms in the classifieds here first and try to get some on as quick as I can take the pictures--- anything that doesn't generate much interest here I will haul to the show --- mostly just pretty generic hunting stuff that can be replaced fairly easily -- may not have much of an audience here, but who knows --- at least I bought myself another few days to get my bearings together


------my bud is good with that logic and we will take a "Scouting trip" to the show this weekend to perhaps better prep us the following wkends show - I question his reasoning slightly though -- he is a bit of a blabbermouth and I am afraid he is just going to stand around spouting off the same Bosnia stories I've heard dozens of times to complete strangers and that is perhaps his motivation moreso than selling his chit