Lebanon gun show this weekend, anyone planning to skip it?

[seez52]

was pretty weak last time i went, but there's plenty of free parking!

[wileecoyote]

I might go just out of boredom because it's not far, I have a coupon, and parking is free. But I don't expect it to be great.

[lshel]

I'm looking for 44 mag, but can not see going to this show. Let me know how show was.

Edited November 30, 2014 by lshel

[wileecoyote]

Friend went to the show today. He said both buildings were in use, pretty full with dealer tables, but traffic was slow around 2-3 pm, which is typical in my experience. I might try to stop by after church tomorrow morning, as they tend to be busiest right after opening.

[seez52]

crickets..... guess I didn't miss anything by not going

[hipower]

I was so excited about it...I forgot all about it.

[wileecoyote]

I went on Sunday morning around 11am. First building was mostly full, pretty much the regular dealers that are always there. Second building was maybe 2/3 full with the dealers spreading out to take up some of the empty spaces. Traffic was slower than I expected, with most of the customers carrying one or more guns for sale or trade.

I checked every gun and table, didn't see any good deals or special prices. Closest thing to a good deal was the ammo guy selling clean like-new 50 bmg ammo cans for $9 each if you purchased 3 of them. I offered $8 each to buy 6 or more of them, which he declined, so I left empty handed.

A few dealers had 22 lr at $55-$65 per brick, no takers.

My biggest disappointment was that about 20% of the front building and nearly all of the rear building was non-gun items, with lots of cheap knives, wire strippers, flashlights, and even some canoes / kayaks. Since I had no interest in that stuff it only took me 20-30 minutes to see the whole show. Waste of time and $16, but at least I got to spend some time with a friend as we browsed.

I also carried my NIB Taurus revolver which is currently for sale, and had about a dozen inquiries from prospective buyers but no takers.

[seez52]

thanks for taking the bullet for us all...

 

I had hoped with the demise of other shows this one might gain some legs.

[wileecoyote]

Yeah, I never understood why it's not better attended. It's a very convenient location just off I40, an easy quick drive from Lebanon, Mount Juliet, Murfreesboro, Watertown, Carthage, Gallatin, and many areas of east Nashville. Heck, even Cookeville can get here in 35-45 minutes. They have many buildings available so it can be as big as it needs, dealer tables are pretty cheap, and they have good HVAC and reasonably cheap food / drinks, plenty of free close parking on site. And it doesn't cost any more than the other gun shows. Only thing I can figure is that the promoter does a poor job of advertising, but I always see their little orange coupons and signs at the checkout counters of many local stores so I know they are at least doing a good job at spreading the word locally.

I used to help staff tables at various shows for an FFL friend, and we once did a show at Lebanon in the summer that was INSANELY busy. People were packed shoulder to shoulder nearly all day, and we had the lowest prices at the show so we didn't stop selling guns until it closed, we literally sold them faster than the paperwork could be processed. I think we moved 50-75 guns in one day alone, plus some accessories and non-gun sales, and of course hundreds of lookers and questions. And there were only 2 of us working. It was wild, but a lot of fun. Never knew why that particular show was so great, or why the others since have been so poor.

[Omega]

I think the reason is because these shows have been taken over by people trying to screw the unknowing public. I used to attend these to get decent deals on things I needed like parts, powder and ammo etc. But it seems that the prices are much to high on most things there with just a few exceptions. Lately it seems I can get much better pricing via the internet even with shipment and hazmat fees.

[wileecoyote]

I think the reason is because these shows have been taken over by people trying to screw the unknowing public. I used to attend these to get decent deals on things I needed like parts, powder and ammo etc. But it seems that the prices are much to high on most things there with just a few exceptions. Lately it seems I can get much better pricing via the internet even with shipment and hazmat fees.

You raise valid points but these are not unique to the Lebanon show, they apply to all gun shows.

Before the Internet was common, a gun show was one of the few venues that you could shop a large selection of stuff from many dealers that might otherwise be hard to find locally, and those dealers didn't have to compete with high-volume low-overhead Internet sellers, so their prices probably seemed fair. But now there are thousands of online sellers, and nearly all of the gun show guys are small local dealers that need to make a living.

So I don't really go to a gun show looking for the lowest prices, I would be content with fair or average prices as long as there was a wide selection of stuff to browse. The Nashville show costs too much after parking and is not worth the drive, and the Murfreesboro show has generally been good but the facility is getting worse. And I just don't see any clear reason why the Lebanon show isn't bigger or better. Edited December 2, 2014 by wileecoyote

[Omega]

You raise valid points but these are not unique to the Lebanon show, they apply to all gun shows.
Before the Internet was common, a gun show was one of the few venues that you could shop a large selection of stuff from many dealers that might otherwise be hard to find locally, and those dealers didn't have to compete with high-volume low-overhead Internet sellers, so their prices probably seemed fair. But now there are thousands of online sellers, and nearly all of the gun show guys are small local dealers that need to make a living.
So I don't really go to a gun show lookin for the lowest prices, I would be content with fair or average prices as long as there was a wide selection of stuff to browse. The Nashville show costs too much after parking and is not worth the drive, and the Murfreesboro show has generally been good but the facility is getting worse. And I just don't see any clear reason why the Lebanon show isn't bigger or better.

Yes, I did mean all gun shows in general. I also make allowances for local guys selling at their normal prices. But it seems to me that some raise their prices at gun shows or at least bring things not moving at their place. At the last show I went to in Hopkinsville powder was $10 a lb more, .22 was outrageous, 300blk reloaded ammo in baggies for almost $1 a round etc, etc. The only thing I found which was cheap (to me) was some plastic .308 german training ammo I got for s&g.

I don't know, maybe I have just been jaded by all the old shows which I gage these new ones by and it just hasn't sunk in that this is just the way it is now.

[wileecoyote]

Yes, I did mean all gun shows in general. I also make allowances for local guys selling at their normal prices. But it seems to me that some raise their prices at gun shows or at least bring things not moving at their place. At the last show I went to in Hopkinsville powder was $10 a lb more, .22 was outrageous, 300blk reloaded ammo in baggies for almost $1 a round etc, etc. The only thing I found which was cheap (to me) was some plastic .308 german training ammo I got for s&g.

I don't know, maybe I have just been jaded by all the old shows which I gage these new ones by and it just hasn't sunk in that this is just the way it is now.

Yeah, I can understand that. I remember when I was younger and lived up in PA. Gun shows up there were much, much larger and had nearly anything and everything you could ever wish for. Prices seemed good or at least fair, but then again I didn't have many local retailers and no internet dealers to compare them to. But at least the selection was huge, and they were either free or only $2 to get in, and it could take you 4-8 hours to see everything. It was always crowded and was a lot of fun just walking around seeing the sights and talking to so many gun friends.

 

After having assisted several FFL dealers with their businesses, and seeing what they have to go through to sell at a gun show, I can understand why most of them have higher prices and many don't even do the gun shows at all.

 

To start with, they have to give up at least 3 full days of their time to do a show, and this is usually on their only weekend off from their normal day jobs. Often a good part of the week prior to the show is spent gathering and packing inventory, forms, chairs, extension cords, price tags, table cloths, signs, receipts, cash for change, etc. for the show. Then they have to drive to the show and spend all day Friday setting up their tables, usually carrying everything in and out by themselves, and hoping none of it gets stolen when unattended. If they are not close to home then they have to sleep in their car or a local motel or drive far back to home and get back to the show early Saturday morning. And staff the show all day on Saturday and Sunday, and tear everything down and go back home and unpack on Sunday night and Monday. Even assisting with this process is a real pain in the a$$, so I usually showed up to help late Friday or on Saturday morning when the doors opened.  :)

 

Then they have to sit in those comfy metal chairs or stand on hard concrete all day, answering lots of dumb questions and watching people abuse their NIB inventory and point guns at them, and they have to eat gun show food because they are lucky to get 5 minutes free to hit the bathroom. And they have to pay at least $30-$50 per day for their tables, maybe a lot more if they take up a lot of space or they need to use electricity. And then there is gas and lodging and other meals. So when you add up all their extra effort, time, and expense it makes sense to me why they have to mark up their prices to do the shows. Heck, many of the shows that I staffed (for free just as a favor to help my friends), they were lucky just to break even let alone make any profit for all their effort and time. And even when they had a good show, if you added up their total profits, subtracted their expenses, and divided that by their total hours it often came out far below a fair or minimum wage.

 

When you consider all of the above, and then factor in that most smaller dealers have to pay a much higher cost to get guns than the higher-volume internet competitors, it is a miracle that they can even stay in business at all.

 

So all that to say that I gave up on going to a gun show to save money or score a low price deal. It occasionally does still happen, and is really a cause for celebration if so, but I am content with just seeing a large selection of guns and gun-related items at fair prices, even if fair means slightly higher than the other guys, as there is some benefit to instant gratification and I like to do my part to keep these guys in business. The only time I get irked is if I spend $8-$10 to get in and there is very little to browse, or when I see a dealer trying to gouge folks selling 22 LR at $60-$80+ per brick.

[seez52]

While we're walking down memory lane my favorite times of the year around here was the two times per year the Tennessee Gun Collectors association put on their show at the fairgrounds. If you were a member you got in for free and just a couple bucks if you were not. There were lots of private tables, and dealer tables. And you'd better not bring any knives to display or you'd be told to pick them up. It was a gun show only, militarila was ok. no jerky, gutters or any thing else. There often were two completely full buildings with good crowds both days. And if you were an exhibitor there was always the Saturday after show open bar. Of course there were no black guns, no plastic guns, no tactical gear and there for a while if you were a dealer you couldn't transfer a gun at the show they had to come to your shop for pickup. It did take all day to peruse the selection.

Edited December 2, 2014 by seez52

[bersaguy]

I think the reason is because these shows have been taken over by people trying to screw the unknowing public. I used to attend these to get decent deals on things I needed like parts, powder and ammo etc. But it seems that the prices are much to high on most things there with just a few exceptions. Lately it seems I can get much better pricing via the internet even with shipment and hazmat fees.

 

 

Gun shows and Fishing took dumps about the same time. Fishing shows maybe a couple years earlier but not to far behind Gun Shows followed. For many years I would attend the fishing shows every year and that is where I would purchase 80% of the tackle I would use for the year. When greed set in and most of the good dealers left the promoters began letting folks selling Home Siding, Windows, Gutters and anything else that would buy booth space. When I went that first year and saw thet all the dealers I traded with every year were not there I left empty handed and never attended another. Last gun show I went to was the one in Lebanon and it reminded me of why I quit going to fishing shows about 5 years ago so not been to any of those since either..........................jmho

[kieefer]

One of the things that turned me off was all the novelty items for sale but I haven't been in 3 yrs or more so I don't know if its any better.

 

I agree it's a prime location but it lacked quality vendors from what I remember.

[tnhawk]

You raise valid points but these are not unique to the Lebanon show, they apply to all gun shows.

Before the Internet was common, a gun show was one of the few venues that you could shop a large selection of stuff from many dealers that might otherwise be hard to find locally, and those dealers didn't have to compete with high-volume low-overhead Internet sellers, so their prices probably seemed fair. But now there are thousands of online sellers, and nearly all of the gun show guys are small local dealers that need to make a living.

So I don't really go to a gun show looking for the lowest prices, I would be content with fair or average prices as long as there was a wide selection of stuff to browse. The Nashville show costs too much after parking and is not worth the drive, and the Murfreesboro show has generally been good but the facility is getting worse. And I just don't see any clear reason why the Lebanon show isn't bigger or better.

I was driving from Knoxville to Memphis on Sunday and decided to take a break from driving by stopping at the Nashville Gun Show.  It wasn't crowded like the Memphis shows have been the last few times I went to them.  I found a few Ruger magazines for my 6.8 Mini-14.

[wileecoyote]

I was driving from Knoxville to Memphis on Sunday and decided to take a break from driving by stopping at the Nashville Gun Show. It wasn't crowded like the Memphis shows have been the last few times I went to them. I found a few Ruger magazines for my 6.8 Mini-14.

Was it still $8 to get in and $5 to park? If so then you likely could have purchased another mag online for the same total spent, but I guess a good way to kill time

[tnhawk]

Was it still $8 to get in and $5 to park? If so then you likely could have purchased another mag online for the same total spent, but I guess a good way to kill time

Prices were the same.  Ruger magazines for the 6.8 Ranch Rifle have been impossible to find since I got the rifle in 2008. 

The 10 and 20 round magazines from ProMag were the only other option to the 5 round Ruger magazines.

That alone made the $13 worth it.  Otherwise this show was normal with one or two new vendors.

Edited December 8, 2014 by tnhawk