Went
to the gun show in Conway, AR today. A guy waiting on line near me asked the
guy in front of us what he wanted for Glock 43 with a robin's egg blue frame and what looked like a stainless slide. It came in the case with all accessories and papers and looked to be in excellent condition. The guy
asked $350, the other guy offered $300, the guy with the pistol
accepted immediately. Less than 5 minutes later, I saw the guy who
bought that pistol sell it for a very nice $100 profit - to a dealer. I was right behind him as I went in and saw a dealer stop him right away to ask if he was selling it - so I watched. You cannot beat a deal like that by much - a 25% cash profit in a few minutes is excellent!
I
also saw guy (you can figure out who in my next post) buy 1,200 rounds of crated 7.62x39mm steel cased ammo for
about half of what it usually sells for nowadays, he paid $300.00 for
the 1,200 rds. That works out to 25 cents per round! The least expensive amount for the same caliber of steel cased ammo on Ammoseek (as I type) is 36.6 cents per round with a very high shipping cost that would make it much more per round (and of course there was no shipping or tax on this stuff at the gun show). It was almost definitely Norinco ammo judging by the case. I have seen other such wooden cases before that were exactly the same construction, those were all made by Norinco; I have never seen a case like those manufactured by anyone else. Norinco ammo was banned by Clinton in the 1990s - it usually brings a premium from collectors or just from fools folks who are impressed and willing to pay more because it was banned. That was one of the best ammo deals I have seen in
a long while regardless of what brand. The guy bought the ammo from a show attendee (not one of the dealers)
who was walking around with a cart full of ammo he was trying to sell. The guy who bought was in the right place at the right time and jumped right on it - he should be proud of his deal finding skills.
I wish I had seen the pistol being sold before the other guy saw it - timing is everything.
Me, I sold a revolver, I did not buy a thing (corrected to say the following) and yes I did buy something - three 1911 mags marked Colt; although, I am 99.9% certain they are knockoffs being they were 3 or $25.00. As for my revolver, the dealer who bought it paid
me $25.00 less than I wanted but that was okay by me, I needed the
money. He got a great deal and I lost money on that gun. The thing is, any attendee who would have bought it could have had the same great deal but now someone will pay through their arse if buying it because a dealer will be selling it and you can bet the dealer will add at least 25% if not more to his selling price. I plan to go back tomorrow and will see if he offers it on his table and for what price.
I could not believe some of the prices there today - I thought a dealer asking $800.00 for a takedown Ruger 10/22 was bad. That was until, and I kid you not, one dealer was selling a regular 10/22 with a price tag of $1,000.00. I mean come on - that was plain crazy!!! You'd have to be an outright idiot to buy it, well to buy either one as I see it. Of course there were the $750.00+ Mosin Nagant 91/30 rifles as well and plenty of other overpriced guns & ammo - but the deals were there. You just had to know how to find them and jump om them ASAP. Speaking of idiots, my son saw a guy badly admonishing another guy he was with for having paid way too much for an AR pistol that looked hoopty (one of my son's favorite words that he applies to anything old & in crappy condition).
I probably am going back to the same show tomorrow and am going to watch the line - the line of folks outside of the show to see what they bring to sell. That
should be a much better form of linewatch than the linewatch I used to
do in the Border Patrol. Watching for & grabbing some good gun deals has got be more enjoyable for me than grabbing a bunch of illegal aliens.
Now truly, I don't know why folks on a Gun Forum I use often bitch & moan that you cannot find
good deals at a gun show. Maybe you cannot find them from a dealer at
his table but you certainly can sometimes find them from attendees who
bring guns & ammo with them to sell at the shows and you do not even
have to pay the entry fee if you just wait next to the line outside. Maybe I am giving away a great secret, to find some great deals, but maybe that's just because I am an idiot a nice guy now and again!
All the best,
Glenn B
