First Time Selling Guns at a Gun Show Table.

I have been considering downsizing my collection (300+) for a while now and even though gun sales are at an all time high, local shops (including the one I help out at) are low balling me. There is a local gun show this weekend and I just reserved two 8ft. tables for $50 each. The set up is on Friday at noon and I'm sure it will be a busy show as have the last few of them.

Mostly I am selling surplus rifles and pistols, along with ammo for them. I really don't need the money or hassle of selling them individually, but as I have said local shops are low balling me.

I'm off to Office Depot for some hang tags for pricing, but I would appreciate any suggestions you might have for additional items I might need.

 

receipt book

 

Bore lights,wipes,and a good light for inspecting potential swaps. Right now is a great time to have stock for a gun show. Some people already have tax return money in the pocket.

 

will you be required to run the Fed background check/FedGov form?

Locally, the shows now all have to the restrictions as the LGS. Prices are pretty high. As far as being lowballed - the shops goota make a profit to stay open.

 

Running two tables is a lot to keep an eye on, especially if the event is heavily attended. So you don’t have a good bit of your goods walk away, you need lose mitigation strategies. A few ideas:
- A second or third set of eyes to watch when you get preoccupied showing a customer something. There are actual teams where one guy distracts the vendor and gets you to one end of your tables asking lots of questions while his partner pockets a few things from the other end.
- Many guys have display cases. They can be cheap homemade wood with plexiglass on top to keep the hand guns, knives, any small pricey stuff inside. They need not even lock if the hinge is on the customer side and you have to lift the top to access.
- If you don’t have cases, then small cables to run thru trigger guards or actions to lock them to the table leg on your side of the table.

Have chairs, cooler, lunch, etc. so you can stay there all day. Limit coffee, pop, etc. to minimize trips to the head. You can’t ask the guy next to you to watch two tables while you run to the john, maybe one for a few minutes but not two. Have a plan.

 

A wheelbarrow to haul all your cash to your truck when its over. We had a gun show in my AO about 2 yrs ago , in locked up building,, some guys crashed the front door in with a truck , wiped a few tables close to the doors and were gone. The security never even heard it,, they found it when making their rounds. Don't trust their security ,, have your own insurance on your stuff , or carry it home. Good luck.

 

Yeah I was gonna say something about extra eyeballs to watch your stuff, but figured it'd be met with "anyone stupid enough to steal at a gun show gonna go out horizontal".

Thing is, I dated this cop back in the early nineties who was very slick at palming pistols off of the tables and waltzing right out of the building, so I know first hand how easy it is. And in this climate? I bet a LOT are gonna plan to put the sticky finger discount to use.

 

A crooked cop ,, who'd a thunkit ,,,,,
I know they're out there ,, i just hate hearing they're out there ,,,

 

You might even conspicuously park a video camera on a tripod on your side of the table aimed at the tables and customers with a sign “All video be erased after show except for sections capturing a thief. That goes to the police.”

 

Take a couple of good friend to stop the thieves.

 

If'ins you were closer I'd come help you out as long as the chili dogs are good

One thing about chili dogs,You get to eat em twice, Once going down and again when they come back up.

 

Nows the time to do it.

 

Try gunbroker. Pricing is nuts there as people bid in an auction on it

 

Gun broker

Edit SOLD FOR $140

20 gauge 2 3/4 #6
100 rounds

11 min left
$140

100 rounds Remington 20 gauge 6 shot 1220 FPS 20G - Shotgun Shells at GunBroker.com : 890758053

 

Many tables at the gun shows (when I used to frequent them) would use a cable strung through the trigger guards, secured by a lock to prevent just that. Higher value items were kept on display (and very visible) but out of reach.

 

Man, I was thinking a fake severed hand holding a pistol next to a bloody machete...

Real video cameras attached to monitors that people can see themselves in are pretty effective, too.

 

Thanks for the advice. Some I thought of and a few I did not, however things have changed. I stopped by another local pawn/gun shop I frequent and discussed the situation of the other shops low balling me on prices and quoted a few of the prices to him. He told me to bring them in to his shop and we could work something out. Sure enough, he didn't balk at the prices and ended up buying the entire collection I was selling for my asking prices. I came out ahead on all the guns and ammo with prices low enough for him to make some decent money on.

I'll be bringing him more ammo later on for the odd stuff I won't have a use for anymore (6.5 Ital/Jap, 303 Brit, 7.7 Jap, 38 Super, etc...) which means some more money in the bank. Now I in the market for a Form 4 M-16 and have a few feelers out locally.

 

Hmmm, I could freshen up my 20ga stash. Moat of my 20ga is about 20 years old.