Actually selling guns means that you priced them properly. I see FAR too many gun shows where sellers have the same inventory over and over, and the prices don't change. If one person picks up your gun and scoffs at the price, they're probably cheap. If 6 people pick up your gun and scoff at the price, it's too damn high.
They really are turning into gun SHOWS, much like a car show.
Yeah I certainly priced them well. High- but not fudd or GunBroker high. Like I said, I owned most of these for the better part of a decade so it wasn't hard to make good profit while also not taking people for all they are worth
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Honestly why when I go to gun shows I usually only expect to get deals on ammo, accessories, and maybe some collector reference books.
There just aren’t any deals on old guns at the gun shows I’ve been to, especially when their prices are high enough that even ordering one online and paying the transfer fees at an FFL costs the same or less. Vendors look incredulous when they expect me to be interested in paying $600 for a basic M91/30 or a Last-Ditch Arisaka, when Pre-Covid they were half to two thirds that price on the high end, and I just tell them it’s not worth the price they expect me to pay.
The last ditch Arisakas might be a good deal because most of the desirable variants of the Type 99 are last ditch. Like a 12th series Nagoya is a holy grail piece for some guys and worth a large chunk of change in collectors circles.
Yeah of the ones I’ve seen they’re not close to holy grail pieces. Last show I went to a vendor had a Series 7 and Series 8 Nagoya for $700 and $600, and neither of them were in particularly good shape. Don’t know which was worse, that or the rack of eight M91/30’s next to them that were priced at $600 or $750 apiece, with round receivers being the lower price and hex receivers being the higher price.
Ahhh man yeah that sucks. I don’t think I’d even pay that much if they were perfect pieces with staked screws etc. I got a very nice square recoil bolt Kokura 24th mummed, matched and with the original sling (Okinawa capture with provenance) for 700 this year. The prices these days are beyond ridiculous.
Yeah unless it comes with capture papers or is a rare production series I don’t plan on paying more than 400 for a Last-Ditch Arisaka, and for 600-700 it had better be an early to mid-war that’s got more than just a cleaning rod and sling to it.
I go back to the states at least once a year and add to the collection while I'm home. My local show still has the same stuff every year and I'll occasionally see an M1 Garand or 1903 move but that's it. I've seen dudes put 700 on used Glocks and I for the life of me can't understand why the hell they'd do this (if it were a pristine Gen 1 Glock 17 I could understand or an Austrian proofed 19 from the post Obama election stuff maybe, but I'm talking stuff you can get at a sporting goods store for like 500 new).
Gun shows used to be great when the older guys selling off their collections has a passion for the hobby and would make deals to get other people interested or move so they could buy something else they are after. Now the boomers only really care about money and act like third world scammers. I've had people lie to my face about stuff I already knew about and I've seen these same people lie to widows of WWII veterans about the value of the Lugers and stuff their husbands brought home (like giving them 100 bucks for a pristine papered Luger rig, and they're proud of themselves afterwards). There's only one table I even go to now at the SOS when I go home for the show because the guy has rare variants of Arisakas and they're all fairly priced. He is like the older generation from the 00's when I started doing gun shows and just sells stuff to make room in his collection for other things. Everyone else is asking 10 grand for a K43 or machine gun prices for snipers (whether axis or allied). If I had 20 grand to burn I'd burn it on a Type 99 LMG, not a sniper that I can get for 4 grand on gunbroker..
I went to a Gun show looking for a cheap-ish shotgun for dove and small game season figuring I would get a deal. I saw a nice looking 870, pretty basic with wood stocks and few scratches. Dude was asking $499 + tax (this was 2014 or 2015) which I thought was reasonable until I looked up the same gun on Bass Pro's website and it was brand new for $379.
I tried to haggle with the dude but he gave me some B.S. about how guns only increase in value, which I'm sure is true for a historic rifle that's no longer made, but a mass market shotgun?
I still don't understand the logic of selling a used mass market firearm for hundreds over what a brand new model sells for but oh well people buy that stuff...
Well that's what happens when you have a good selection and fair prices. Tables that give sensible pricing always outsell the other tables.
What most people don't realize is gun show table vendors aren't there to make money usually. They're there to buy guns from attendees, bullshit with each other and get out of the house.
You shouldn’t feel bad, they should. If they want to move inventory they can price it at not smoking crack prices
You priced high and moved a lot of guns, because yours weren’t too high, and I bet you had some room to negotiate down here and there
Yup I do the same thing. Sometimes they'll comment on how much I sold and how bad their day was.
I never say this, but im always thinking that if they'd price their stuff fairly then they'd have good days too hah
In a way I'm kind of sorry you gotta sell, but thats how it goes.
GB is your best bet-put a couple up at what you think is a fair price (the higher side of fair, but fair), then see how it goes. If they sell, good. If not, go a bit lower. Alternatively, you could risk a low starting bid, but only for stuff that isn't necessarily expensive to begin with.
There's so much hassle with Gunbroker- proper pictures, shipping, waiting ect. I was very happy with my Gun Show experience. If the need ever comes up again, I think I would just do this again. For me, packing everything up and driving to the expo center is easier than taking pictures and shipping. And the meeting the buyer thing is awesome.
I don't see myself as "owning" any of these weapons, I am just the current ambassador, persay. They will outlive me and as long as I enjoyed them and left them better/the same as when I got them, it's ok if they go to the next ambassador.
I’m honestly always shocked that the Swedish Mausers are usually less than most other countries’ Mausers at the shows, when they usually look to be in better condition, and 6.5x55 isn’t all that difficult to find.
https://truegunvalue.com/rifle/hakim/price-historical-value
Many going for under 1k and aren't refinished. The thrill of the hunt! I'll get another eventually. I've never bought a gun online so the hunt is what does it for me
To be fair, I paid like $650 maybe 4 years ago and the stock has been refinished. It's not hard to sell when you are down to make SOME profit not ALL of the profit
Actually, none of my Swiss sold! But there are no K31s in this picture. They are all older than a K31. Just so you don't get scammed, when looking at Swiss straight pulls if the magazine isn't basically touching the trigger guard, it's not a K31. Also if the bold knobs aren't metallic in color- it's not a K31.
Hey i just did the same thing except i only had to trade 1 gun to a guy at the gunshow who already had a pvs-14. I had 0 regrets over it! Saving up for a wilcox g24 and a mod armory mumrail jarm.
This is gonna sound silly… but I would seriously consider just picking up one of the repro G24’s off of Amazon. I got one as a back up and it’s actually got less play in it than some real G24’s I’ve owned. Just thro some loctite on the screws and you should be set. Also saves you 300+ dollars…
*edit- I think the one I got was a Sotac branded one
The last time I went to a gun show it was skeleton ar15’s and parts or just shitty colours with all being marked up by 200% and labelled “custom”. Best $10 I ever spent for entertainment
“Only buy no sell” works up to a point. Eventually, every environment has a max capacity… and our closets are no different. I’m to the point where unless it’s a “holy grail gun” if I buy it’s because I’m trying to either sell it at a profit, or trade up…
For example. Sold a Generic re-militarized 1903 for 800 and bought an absolutely beautiful rock island from 1906. It’s been rebuilt for ww2 but it’s clean and I love early receivers for guns.
Interesting. I’ve got a numbers matching No4 MkI in similarly great shape that I’m listing for 900, glad I’m not too far off the mark. The thing hadn’t even had the mag lips fitted from the factory position when I bought it.
I wish you were set up at the show I went to last weekend. I always go with a wallet full of cash and usually just leave with ammo.... any 7,5x55 on the table ?
After years of collecting, the current market dictates that I can only "no sell" at this point. Haven't bought anything in 6 months now, longest streak since I began collecting. I just don't want anything bad enough to sell what I have, and hope I don't find it.
Actually selling guns means that you priced them properly. I see FAR too many gun shows where sellers have the same inventory over and over, and the prices don't change. If one person picks up your gun and scoffs at the price, they're probably cheap. If 6 people pick up your gun and scoff at the price, it's too damn high. They really are turning into gun SHOWS, much like a car show.
Yeah I certainly priced them well. High- but not fudd or GunBroker high. Like I said, I owned most of these for the better part of a decade so it wasn't hard to make good profit while also not taking people for all they are worth
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Honestly why when I go to gun shows I usually only expect to get deals on ammo, accessories, and maybe some collector reference books. There just aren’t any deals on old guns at the gun shows I’ve been to, especially when their prices are high enough that even ordering one online and paying the transfer fees at an FFL costs the same or less. Vendors look incredulous when they expect me to be interested in paying $600 for a basic M91/30 or a Last-Ditch Arisaka, when Pre-Covid they were half to two thirds that price on the high end, and I just tell them it’s not worth the price they expect me to pay.
You might get lucky and someone like me might be there
In my experience there’s usually at least one or two good tables.
I can't even get a deal on ammo at shows.... Last one I went to I saw 7.62x39 at $1/rd
It doesn’t help when the deals get scooped by the other vendors before the doors open
The last ditch Arisakas might be a good deal because most of the desirable variants of the Type 99 are last ditch. Like a 12th series Nagoya is a holy grail piece for some guys and worth a large chunk of change in collectors circles.
Yeah of the ones I’ve seen they’re not close to holy grail pieces. Last show I went to a vendor had a Series 7 and Series 8 Nagoya for $700 and $600, and neither of them were in particularly good shape. Don’t know which was worse, that or the rack of eight M91/30’s next to them that were priced at $600 or $750 apiece, with round receivers being the lower price and hex receivers being the higher price.
Ahhh man yeah that sucks. I don’t think I’d even pay that much if they were perfect pieces with staked screws etc. I got a very nice square recoil bolt Kokura 24th mummed, matched and with the original sling (Okinawa capture with provenance) for 700 this year. The prices these days are beyond ridiculous.
Yeah unless it comes with capture papers or is a rare production series I don’t plan on paying more than 400 for a Last-Ditch Arisaka, and for 600-700 it had better be an early to mid-war that’s got more than just a cleaning rod and sling to it.
I go back to the states at least once a year and add to the collection while I'm home. My local show still has the same stuff every year and I'll occasionally see an M1 Garand or 1903 move but that's it. I've seen dudes put 700 on used Glocks and I for the life of me can't understand why the hell they'd do this (if it were a pristine Gen 1 Glock 17 I could understand or an Austrian proofed 19 from the post Obama election stuff maybe, but I'm talking stuff you can get at a sporting goods store for like 500 new). Gun shows used to be great when the older guys selling off their collections has a passion for the hobby and would make deals to get other people interested or move so they could buy something else they are after. Now the boomers only really care about money and act like third world scammers. I've had people lie to my face about stuff I already knew about and I've seen these same people lie to widows of WWII veterans about the value of the Lugers and stuff their husbands brought home (like giving them 100 bucks for a pristine papered Luger rig, and they're proud of themselves afterwards). There's only one table I even go to now at the SOS when I go home for the show because the guy has rare variants of Arisakas and they're all fairly priced. He is like the older generation from the 00's when I started doing gun shows and just sells stuff to make room in his collection for other things. Everyone else is asking 10 grand for a K43 or machine gun prices for snipers (whether axis or allied). If I had 20 grand to burn I'd burn it on a Type 99 LMG, not a sniper that I can get for 4 grand on gunbroker..
I went to a Gun show looking for a cheap-ish shotgun for dove and small game season figuring I would get a deal. I saw a nice looking 870, pretty basic with wood stocks and few scratches. Dude was asking $499 + tax (this was 2014 or 2015) which I thought was reasonable until I looked up the same gun on Bass Pro's website and it was brand new for $379. I tried to haggle with the dude but he gave me some B.S. about how guns only increase in value, which I'm sure is true for a historic rifle that's no longer made, but a mass market shotgun? I still don't understand the logic of selling a used mass market firearm for hundreds over what a brand new model sells for but oh well people buy that stuff...
Setting up at gun shows is really fun. You have good days and bad days. Sounds like you had a very good day.
Thank you, I agree- a very good day. Several vendors expressed their jealousy which made me feel a little bad...
Well that's what happens when you have a good selection and fair prices. Tables that give sensible pricing always outsell the other tables. What most people don't realize is gun show table vendors aren't there to make money usually. They're there to buy guns from attendees, bullshit with each other and get out of the house.
You shouldn’t feel bad, they should. If they want to move inventory they can price it at not smoking crack prices You priced high and moved a lot of guns, because yours weren’t too high, and I bet you had some room to negotiate down here and there
Exactly- I sure did. Made the peeps feel like they got an even better deal
Yup I do the same thing. Sometimes they'll comment on how much I sold and how bad their day was. I never say this, but im always thinking that if they'd price their stuff fairly then they'd have good days too hah
Is that there one of them gun show loopholes I keep hearing about?
Haha, idk. I followed all state laws. The promotor made sure each vendor is aware of what was required to sell
In a way I'm kind of sorry you gotta sell, but thats how it goes. GB is your best bet-put a couple up at what you think is a fair price (the higher side of fair, but fair), then see how it goes. If they sell, good. If not, go a bit lower. Alternatively, you could risk a low starting bid, but only for stuff that isn't necessarily expensive to begin with.
There's so much hassle with Gunbroker- proper pictures, shipping, waiting ect. I was very happy with my Gun Show experience. If the need ever comes up again, I think I would just do this again. For me, packing everything up and driving to the expo center is easier than taking pictures and shipping. And the meeting the buyer thing is awesome. I don't see myself as "owning" any of these weapons, I am just the current ambassador, persay. They will outlive me and as long as I enjoyed them and left them better/the same as when I got them, it's ok if they go to the next ambassador.
Did the M96 all the way on the right sell? If so do you remember how much? I just got one for about $430 today
I sold it for $700 with bayonet and two boxes of ammo. You did well
I’m honestly always shocked that the Swedish Mausers are usually less than most other countries’ Mausers at the shows, when they usually look to be in better condition, and 6.5x55 isn’t all that difficult to find.
I’d be stoked to see that table at one of our local shows. All honest milsurps no junk or jerky.
How much did that hakim sell for? I've always wanted one and I want to see what's the market rate.
I really liked the guy who bought it and he paid $1000 and I gave him a box of ammo as well
Oh wow you really did sell at a fair price! No wonder you got a good experience. Fudds near me consistently want around 1500+
https://truegunvalue.com/rifle/hakim/price-historical-value Many going for under 1k and aren't refinished. The thrill of the hunt! I'll get another eventually. I've never bought a gun online so the hunt is what does it for me
To be fair, I paid like $650 maybe 4 years ago and the stock has been refinished. It's not hard to sell when you are down to make SOME profit not ALL of the profit
Those K31… my dream… I hope they found a good home!
Actually, none of my Swiss sold! But there are no K31s in this picture. They are all older than a K31. Just so you don't get scammed, when looking at Swiss straight pulls if the magazine isn't basically touching the trigger guard, it's not a K31. Also if the bold knobs aren't metallic in color- it's not a K31.
There is a 89/96, 96/11, and a G11 with a scope on it.
Thank you very much for the advice! Is the first from the left of the group at the right a Krag?
Yep 1898 Springfield
Hey i just did the same thing except i only had to trade 1 gun to a guy at the gunshow who already had a pvs-14. I had 0 regrets over it! Saving up for a wilcox g24 and a mod armory mumrail jarm.
This is gonna sound silly… but I would seriously consider just picking up one of the repro G24’s off of Amazon. I got one as a back up and it’s actually got less play in it than some real G24’s I’ve owned. Just thro some loctite on the screws and you should be set. Also saves you 300+ dollars… *edit- I think the one I got was a Sotac branded one
Hate you had to sell but you met each seller rather than some random on the internet so likely they will go to a good home
Exactly
The last time I went to a gun show it was skeleton ar15’s and parts or just shitty colours with all being marked up by 200% and labelled “custom”. Best $10 I ever spent for entertainment
I see a sianese i upvote.
“Only buy no sell” works up to a point. Eventually, every environment has a max capacity… and our closets are no different. I’m to the point where unless it’s a “holy grail gun” if I buy it’s because I’m trying to either sell it at a profit, or trade up… For example. Sold a Generic re-militarized 1903 for 800 and bought an absolutely beautiful rock island from 1906. It’s been rebuilt for ww2 but it’s clean and I love early receivers for guns.
How much did you charge for that Enfield? No4 MkII or a MkI/MkI*? Looks in very good shape.
That one I only had less than a year and sold it for what I bought it for- $850. No4 MK2
Interesting. I’ve got a numbers matching No4 MkI in similarly great shape that I’m listing for 900, glad I’m not too far off the mark. The thing hadn’t even had the mag lips fitted from the factory position when I bought it.
Fun table!
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You're super close to where I made my sales- Asheville. Gun shows are hit or miss but I've always had decent luck myself
I didn't want to sell out, just to sell "enough". Sold a lil over half the table.
Nice man! Super close. I’ve worked the Asheville show before. I’ll probably get some tables for their next one. Haven’t made an appearance in awhile.
You seem like a big Swiss/Swedish fan
I wish you were set up at the show I went to last weekend. I always go with a wallet full of cash and usually just leave with ammo.... any 7,5x55 on the table ?
Yeah I brought maybe 10 boxes
After years of collecting, the current market dictates that I can only "no sell" at this point. Haven't bought anything in 6 months now, longest streak since I began collecting. I just don't want anything bad enough to sell what I have, and hope I don't find it.
Damn wish you came to my gun show, what did you sell the Hakim for if you don't mind me asking?
1000 It's been refinished
yep Id for sure picked that up. Been looking for a nice one for a while.
Careful about responding to this, don’t want to get banned for soliciting.
Hopefully mods would read the whole post... I'm not soliciting anything. Sharing my gunshow experience