Went this weekend, the first post election gun show.  Ended up going twice.  Observations in no particular order.

AR.  Tons of them available.  Cheapest I saw was $449.  Didn't seem to be moving.

AK.  Holding steady in the $700 top $800 range.  None seemed to be selling.

Plastic pistols.  Glock, XD, FN, M&P.  All you could choose from.  Some pretty good discounts on Shields.  The SIG 320 seemed to be scarce.  

1911.  Take you pick.  Lots to choose from.  

Modern revolvers.  Smith and Ruger, take your pick.  Most were kind of expensive, but that's the current price structure.

Older revolvers.  This is the world I've been living in for the last couple of years.  Pickings were slim and the price/condition equation was not favorable.  

Reloading supplies seemed about like it's been for the last several months.  Stuff is available tho it may not be your first choice.

Overall a decent show. Crowd Saturday was good but not overwhelming.  Sunday morning was pretty dead, which is normal.  Some stuff was moving but I suspect most dealers weren't real happy with the outcome.

Pretty much the same observations we had at the waterloo gun show before the election. We sold a few ak's, the tommy gun, and a few pistols. But no panic buying at the show before the election.

I forgot what gunshows were like before Obama. Maybe there will be room to walk down the isles.

I thought the turnout yesterday was as high as I remember in the last year. Must be tax return season.

I saw lots of purchases going on. I ended up buying a new SP5K and another can from Dakota Silencer. They sold me with the quick photo/print/trust process they have. That was handy.

Not as many wheel guns as I was hoping to see, but the polymer stuff seemed to be moving well. They did have some theft issues, sadly.

Iowa shows are a waste of time anymore. Same shit in the same spot as the last 10 shows.
Nobody wants to deal. Its down to haggling over a $20 bill.

EE is so much more productive.

We don't deal at our table - the price is the price and it is usually lower than you will find it anywhere else.

Then either I missed yours, or you had nothing of interest to me.

Haggling at a GS over a $20 bill is alot like Craigslist. Only an in person headache.

I hear alot of "I'm only $20-$30 above my cost.
Yeah. I'm sure.

If "my cost" is the total cost of doing business (inventory, time, licensing, rent, travel, taxes, etc) then it certainly could be true. A profit has to be made on top of that, else the country would cease to function.  The winner in business is the one who can cut all of those costs-of-doing-business to the minimum. That's why mail-order no-storefront wins on cost.

Totally understand the economics of gun show sales.

That being said, I bought an XD pistol from a dealer with 8 on his table for cheaper than the dealer table next to him that had 20+. And not by a little either.

Also made a deal on a Rem 1100 slug bbl that had sat in the same dusty rack for the last 12 CR shows guaranteed . Not my first attempt. Collectors? Or sellers?

Not trying to bash dealers here.

It's just in the 27 yrs of gun shows, I miss the old days. Internet killed the show circiut, imo.

I notice a difference in price for sure at the CR show from table to table. I usually hit the same four or five and know where the deals are. Then you have my favorite to visit that wasn't even there this time in Tactical Creations. Great stuff, just priced out of the ceiling for 96% of the attendees. It seems like the stuff that moves are the cheaper black stuff. I would love to find a show in Iowa with more higher end wheel guns, HK's and less glocks.

I was just happy to find a great price on a new SP5K.

Distributors run specials all the time. It's possible one dealer paid $500 for the same pistol another dealer paid $540 for.

There really isn't a lot of margin to be had on new gun sales.

Well I sure wouldn't be in the business of selling guns if my end profit margin was $20-30.

We don't do it for the $, that's for sure.

The money is made on used guns - not new ones.

Same as the car business.

........

Thats why they are called gun shows not gun sales

Agreed.