Posted: 9/2/2012 3:07:07 PM EDT
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Well I went to the sad event at Camp Jordan today. I cant put into words how much things have changed over the last 5 or 6 years. I remember when the craze was on, gun shows were insane. People were just in a frenzy for anything. Prior to that it was pretty sedate. Flash forward to today. The long slow slide sorta hit the bottom of the barrel for me today. Went out around noon. Didnt have to park down the road or wait in a line to get in - just walked up and in. Same vendors as usual. Why the same guys pay to sit by the front door to the left with the same Garands, etc is beyond me.
First thing I noticed. 4 to 1 every handgun in the place is a small, concealable-style handgun. The days of hand cannons are all but gone. Sure you can get them and sure they still have value but no one was picking up anything large sized. Saw one guy with stripped lowers - Double Star for $99.00. Black guns continue to fade. Still plenty of chinese knock off stuff. Saw more survival bracelet/ necklace/ thingy holders than I ever remember. So what did I buy? 200 rounds of PMC .223. I asked the dealer how things were. He said awful. I asked how it was yesterday. Awful as well. He said he still hadnt covered expenses. His prices were pretty good so it wasnt him. I was curious why he thought that was. He shrugged. I suspect that the holiday weekend had something to do it but this just seems to follow the trend. It being the last show before the election I thought there might be a pop for some stuff. I was wrong. New food bars for my bob and my wife's bob. Good stuff and they were sampling so I liked what I got. Sad to see the state of affairs that local fun shows have become. |
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You should probably base the state of the industry off of one gun show. Makes sense. You just had to be there to fully understand how awful it really was. I went on Sat. I stayed maybe 45 minutes and had enough. There were maybe 3 decent dealers present. Everything else was books, cheap tactical gear, chinese knives, $30 glock mags, etc. |
| Hit and miss, man. BobCole was just saying a week or two ago how good that show was. We get shows periodically in Memphis shows that may not be amazing, but that I could easily blow a few grand in and not feel ripped off completely. Just the luck of the draw sometimes. |
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Hit and miss, man. BobCole was just saying a week or two ago how good that show was. We get shows periodically in Memphis shows that may not be amazing, but that I could easily blow a few grand in and not feel ripped off completely. Just the luck of the draw sometimes. I think Bob was talking about the Knoxville show at the fairgrounds. That is always an excellent show, probably best one in the state as far as pricing and supply goes. The Knox shows are probably the only ones I'll attend from now on. |
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Black guns continue to fade. Obviously you didn't stop by Reese's table. He had/has over 30 BR's, including a Les Baer. No offense to you personally, but I'd like to see some of you bellyachers invest in inventory, take time off from work on Fri, drive a couple hundred miles (sometimes), set-up, pay for a motel for 2 nights & food for all weekend, pay for hired help & then pack it all up Sun afternoon & drive back home & unpack it & set it up. Then do that shit weekend after weekend after weekend. 
Also allow me to throw in the tire kickers who drop/knock over your $3,ooo FN SCAR onto a concrete floor & then walk off as if it wasn't their fault. Or the guys who ask "what's your best price?" & then walk off & say "I'll think about it............" 
And let's don't forget the jerks who loudly proclaim "I can git that thar on the internet for $100 cheaper". Never mind they also have to pay for NDA fees, insurance & transfer fees. Or the idiots who want the SAME price for a used gun that a dealer can buy a NEW one for @ wholesale. 
Yeah, working gun shows is a piece of cake...................
Again, no offense to you personally, but most of you guys who bitch about gun shows have NO clue what it takes to pull them off. It takes people dedicated to the cause to do this weekend after weekend. |
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Black guns continue to fade. Obviously you didn't stop by Reese's table. He had/has over 30 BR's, including a Les Baer. No offense to you personally, but I'd like to see some of you bellyachers invest in inventory, take time off from work on Fri, drive a couple hundred miles (sometimes), set-up, pay for a motel for 2 nights & food for all weekend, pay for hired help & then pack it all up Sun afternoon & drive back home & unpack it & set it up. Then do that shit weekend after weekend after weekend.
Also allow me to throw in the tire kickers who drop/knock over your $3,ooo FN SCAR onto a concrete floor & then walk off as if it wasn't their fault. Or the guys who ask "what's your best price?" & then walk off & say "I'll think about it............"
And let's don't forget the jerks who loudly proclaim "I can git that thar on the internet for $100 cheaper". Never mind they also have to pay for NDA fees, insurance & transfer fees. Or the idiots who want the SAME price for a used gun that a dealer can buy a NEW one for @ wholesale.
Yeah, working gun shows is a piece of cake...................
Again, no offense to you personally, but most of you guys who bitch about gun shows have NO clue what it takes to pull them off. It takes people dedicated to the cause to do this weekend after weekend. You forgot about the clueless parents who let their "little precious" put their sticky fingers all over the merchandise, and then get mad at the vendor(or their duly-appointed employee....  ) when their kids are told not to touch the guns. Nothing like watching a Colt Gold Cup(or an entire row of them) head for the floor because of their inattention to Junior's fidgeting. As a father of five and grandfather of two, I have NO problem telling someone else's crumb-cruncher to keep their paws off of the guns, and I ended up doing just that in Hendersonville last week.
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Quoted:
Black guns continue to fade. Obviously you didn't stop by Reese's table. He had/has over 30 BR's, including a Les Baer. No offense to you personally, but I'd like to see some of you bellyachers invest in inventory, take time off from work on Fri, drive a couple hundred miles (sometimes), set-up, pay for a motel for 2 nights & food for all weekend, pay for hired help & then pack it all up Sun afternoon & drive back home & unpack it & set it up. Then do that shit weekend after weekend after weekend.
Also allow me to throw in the tire kickers who drop/knock over your $3,ooo FN SCAR onto a concrete floor & then walk off as if it wasn't their fault. Or the guys who ask "what's your best price?" & then walk off & say "I'll think about it............"
And let's don't forget the jerks who loudly proclaim "I can git that thar on the internet for $100 cheaper". Never mind they also have to pay for NDA fees, insurance & transfer fees. Or the idiots who want the SAME price for a used gun that a dealer can buy a NEW one for @ wholesale.
Yeah, working gun shows is a piece of cake...................
Again, no offense to you personally, but most of you guys who bitch about gun shows have NO clue what it takes to pull them off. It takes people dedicated to the cause to do this weekend after weekend. Take a deep breath and relax. Nashville Gun Company was one of the 3 decent dealers at the show that I was referring to. Volunteer Ordnance Works had some nice stuff as well. Other than that, most of the stuff at the show was junk. |
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Take a deep breath and relax. I AM relaxed. You should see me when I'm worked up..............
Chatt doesn't have a rep for good shows from what I've heard for years in working shows across TN (+20 now). On the flip side, there's also the rep the crowd earns as well. There's many shows dealers won't attend due to weak sales. |
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Quoted:
Black guns continue to fade. Obviously you didn't stop by Reese's table. He had/has over 30 BR's, including a Les Baer. No offense to you personally, but I'd like to see some of you bellyachers invest in inventory, take time off from work on Fri, drive a couple hundred miles (sometimes), set-up, pay for a motel for 2 nights & food for all weekend, pay for hired help & then pack it all up Sun afternoon & drive back home & unpack it & set it up. Then do that shit weekend after weekend after weekend.
Also allow me to throw in the tire kickers who drop/knock over your $3,ooo FN SCAR onto a concrete floor & then walk off as if it wasn't their fault. Or the guys who ask "what's your best price?" & then walk off & say "I'll think about it............"
And let's don't forget the jerks who loudly proclaim "I can git that thar on the internet for $100 cheaper". Never mind they also have to pay for NDA fees, insurance & transfer fees. Or the idiots who want the SAME price for a used gun that a dealer can buy a NEW one for @ wholesale.
Yeah, working gun shows is a piece of cake...................
Again, no offense to you personally, but most of you guys who bitch about gun shows have NO clue what it takes to pull them off. It takes people dedicated to the cause to do this weekend after weekend. No offense taken. Sounds like you do this for a job. Also sounds like you dont like it very much. I dont complain about choosing an occupation where I have to deal with the public and then complain about them. Seems like a way to be frustrated. No offense to you personally. You know how I know that I went by Reese's table? Even though I dont know Reese? Because I went up and down every aisle in the building. One good table stocked with lots of EBR's does not a show or a trend make in my opinion. And thats really what my original post was. My opinion on what I saw when I went to the same building that I go to when i go to gun shows in Chattanooga. To try and convince me that what I saw wasnt what I saw is a fool's errand. Just some random thoughts. Again, no offense to you personally. |
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No offense taken. Sounds like you do this for a job. Also sounds like you dont like it very much. I dont complain about choosing an occupation where I have to deal with the public and then complain about them. Seems like a way to be frustrated. No offense to you personally. You know how I know that I went by Reese's table? Even though I dont know Reese? Because I went up and down every aisle in the building. One good table stocked with lots of EBR's does not a show or a trend make in my opinion. And thats really what my original post was. My opinion on what I saw when I went to the same building that I go to when i go to gun shows in Chattanooga. To try and convince me that what I saw wasnt what I saw is a fool's errand. Just some random thoughts. Again, no offense to you personally. I've worked gun shows for over 20 years part-time, off & on. I've been on both sides of the table & know what it's like to be both buyer & seller. My point was that when someone blasts a show, you also include the "good" dealers in your blast, which I think is unfair to them. I also know how unknown it is for the general public to know how much hard assed work it is to work these shows. All the public does is show up, go in & presto! Everything is set-up & ready to look at. I'm not trying to convince you it was in fact a good show as I wasn't even there. I also repeat the rep Chatt shows have as being not very good when compared to the over Big 4 cities, for whatever reason. All I'm asking is to clarify that not all dealers were shitty with nothing worth buying nor looking at, Fair enough? |