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View Full Version : Gunshows Are Always Full of Surprises



tmark
09-12-2009, 08:24
I attended a local gunshow this weekend. I took along my Winchester M1917 for a potential sale.

One vendor asked to see it. I let him examine it. He asked how much do I want for it. I traded for it originally but it did have an $800 price tag on it. I told him $800. He said he can't do that because he could never sell it for $800 and make $50 which would just cover his table fee.

I DO understand his wanting to make a profit. But the irony is that I looked at what he is listing his USGI Garands and M1 carbines for. They all had an $850 price tag. These arms showed wear on the metal, blemished wood, and mismatched color wood. My M17 was in better shape, in my opinion.

I went to another vendor who advertised an ALL MATCHING Winchester type 1 M1917 SN 477XXX. My W sn is 474XXX. Granted his metal bluing is a little better but his price for it is........hold on to your handguards.......$1800. I examined his M17. The forend of the stock of this ALL MATCHING Winchester had an E stamped on it.

Of course, any guilty feelings I had about possibly selling my W M17 for an overpriced $800 diminished when I saw that $1800 tag.

M1 carbine ammo had a $30 price tag for a box of 50; other high-power rifle ammo had a $25 to $30 price tag for a box of 20.

Gunshows are an education, especially when one gets some education before one attends.

The minority of vendors had some great deals on nonfirearm and nonfirearm related products. Wife scarfed them up! Top Hat is a vendor you can count on for consistent bargains for firearm related material such as solvents, holsters, snap caps, targets, lubricants, etc. His extensive and myriad displays are like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're going to get.

Thomas

dave
09-13-2009, 07:32
Well I went to Novi, MI show yesterday. Came home with a non-import marked, matched, (except bolt which matched itself) eagle L marked K98k. 1938, 243 code. Unmolested in any way and with about 80-85% blue. Excellent condition sling (100 bucks right there). May well be a GI bring back. 570 bucks out the door. Now this may sound like allot to some but it was a good deal, I think it worth a good deal more.
Like you said however, most stuff, ammo & guns, are overpriced. Son picked up a Mossberg M-152 carbine, about 99%, w/original sling and Moss. scope for 165 bucks.also a good deal. So there are deals out there, just few and far between.

John Sukey
09-13-2009, 12:32
Speaking of overpriced trash. Last couple of shows some guy had a No1Mk3.
So far so good? However, the rifle had been re-blued (shiney) Stock highly polished, several parts gold plated, WW2 commemerative disc in stock, and all in a glass fronted case!:eek:

I won't insult folks here with his asking price.(over $1000)

Now this was obviously done by some company, and no doubt there are more of the same at other shows.

limazulu
09-13-2009, 03:39
Sometimes a dealer, in whatever business, will overprice one product to increase sales of his other products. Some customers seeing the overpriced product think they're putting one over on the dealer by buying one of his other underpriced products when the dealer couldn't move those products just because nobody wanted them. It's a marketing ploy. Like asking someone, "What do you want for it?" The dealer ought to know a fair price and tell you what that is but they won't. That's true in many businesses. Not just firearms.

John Sukey
09-13-2009, 08:34
What is on my table are valuable firearms, what you have is JUNK! Let's deal;)

M1Riflenut
09-14-2009, 05:34
With all the high prices you see at gunshows these days it won't be long before they go out of business. It won't take politicians to shut them down,the dealers will accomplish that on their own.

UUURah
09-14-2009, 06:13
The last two Gun Shows I attended in my city I had to stand in line to get in for nearly 30 minutes. When I finally got in, I bought nothing.

Prices were higher than I have ever seen them, even on stuff I was not at all interested in. Granted some Garands and even Carbines were priced average, they were average in quality.

I will continue to make the local Gun Shows because I believe in supporting them. That way they will be around for a long time to come. I don't ever want to be supporting those who want to shut them down.

dave
09-14-2009, 06:23
Here in MI the average price for M1's has reached 1000 and some are priced for over 2000!

John Sukey
09-14-2009, 01:03
Paid $35 for it. Came out of the Phillipines. No stock, No rear sight, barrel was TRASHED, Bolt had a cracked locking lug. Made Feb. 42
bought a replacement stock. A friend got a M1 from the DCM and wanted to make a NM .308 out of it, so I gave him $25 for his NEW barrel and our unit armorer installed it. Also got the parts for the rear sight and buttplate, sling swivel, and a replacement bolt from him (nice to have friends);)

How did I find out the bolt lug was cracked? Went over to the NDI shop and they checked it. Again, nice to have friends.;)

As for the anal retentive collectors who would call it a "bitzer", Sorry, if the rifles saw service, they often had replaced parts. Unit armourers were only concerned with turning out a serviceable rifle, NOT with matching parts.
The one part I would assume to be originasl is the gas plug which only had ONE screw slot instead of a phillips type slot.

dave
09-14-2009, 04:13
John: how "anal retintive" are you when it comes to Enfields?? hehehe! I know what you mean tho.