[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Gunshow etiquette Question (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 1/24/2011 7:04:13 AM EDT
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As someone who has spent all of his life on both sides of the tables at shows, I find myself trying constantly to "teach" etiquette to show-goers and showing dealers.
To keep this kinda specific, as of the last year, I have gone "full retard" as some would say on the whole, "If you are not going to buy, and we both know this, why are you handling/messing with my expensive ________ ?" In that blank may be scope, pistol, rifle, you get the idea. To me, expensive is $1000 and above. On the same note, an unfired, un-screwed with anything should not be scratched, moved, clicked, etc. Last show I had a guy inquire about a rifle I was carrying. This rifle is worth $3k or so, and priced below this. Current "moving money" is well over $3k. I told him the price, and he replies with "Hmmm, ok lets take a look". I hand it over, he begins, tapping, racking, banging, selecting, etc. Hands it back, totally mum. I ask "Interested?" He replies with a shrug. I say "At any price?" he replies with a no. I then ask "Then why did you ask me to come over here, and then ask me to handle the rifle, knowing full well the price and that you are not interested?" He gets pissed! Amazing Am I wrong here? I do not handle things, or ask to see things I in no way intend to buy. I especially do not move levers and such until we are getting close to doing business... |
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I dont know how you do it. It takes a special mindset dealing with people at shows.
Love the ones who dress up in the newest military look stuff they can find an go to every table/booth and say the same stupid things over and over. Its like they figure its a fashion show and dressing like ranger Bob makes it better. |
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I think that the word, "show" has something to do with it. Some folks go with the expectation of seeing a firearms exhibition. They expect to be able to see what's new. I think that a happy balance is in order. A person ought to be able to handle a firearm at a gunshow in a respectful way. No dry-firing, no racking the action, etc. But if you go to the "show" as a vendor, you ought to expect that people might want to handle your firearms. |
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Strollers, and hoverrounds (Fatbody Choppers) and the huge BugOutBags are some of my favorite make-me-want-to-club-seals Isle Blocking Devices.
I also like the Waddler with his Mod 12 Winchester, with the big white posterboard sign detailing all the reasons its worth 50% more than all the rest. I also like the Tacti-Coolness in urban BDUs crusing around, looking for the best deal on the latest BUIS. This is the guy who picks up my Mk23, points to the suppressor, and goes, if I buy this now, I can take it home today, right? You'd take $800 for it, CASH, I KNOW how you guys are...Yep! Nailed me. Ugh |
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Quoted:
I think that the word, "show" has something to do with it. Some folks go with the expectation of seeing a firearms exhibition. They expect to be able to see what's new. I think that a happy balance is in order. A person ought to be able to handle a firearm at a gunshow in a respectful way. No dry-firing, no racking the action, etc. But if you go to the "show" as a vendor, you ought to expect that people might want to handle your firearms. Hey, its a show, but I went to this one as an individual carrying a rifle. I was walking the isles, he yells for me to come over, he knows the price up-front. No need to handle my stuff. They have been available in this country for 20 years. Also like the ones who tell you your Chinese SKS is a Yugo, or your HK rifle has been rebarrelled, since he can "Tell the taper is non-HK, and the proof marks have been replicated poorly by some dumbass" |
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Quoted: I then ask "Then why did you ask me to come over here, and then ask me to handle the rifle, knowing full well the price and that you are not interested?" He gets pissed! Amazing Am I wrong here? I do not handle things, or ask to see things I in no way intend to buy. I especially do not move levers and such until we are getting close to doing business... maybe he decided that he wasn't interested after handling it?  |
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I just don't go to gun shows. It's just time that could be spent shooting. But when I was younger and went to gun shows the whole damn thing was about checking out guns that I didn't have the money or intention to buy anyway. If they didn't want their stuff pawed, why would they put it on a table in front of Joe Six Pack anyway???
Anyway, if you want to sell a gun why wouldn't you just put it on Gunbroker? It's like 10000 times the potential market, with less hassle. |
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Quoted: No, I can't find a reason to think you're wrong.Am I wrong here? I do not handle things, or ask to see things I in no way intend to buy. I especially do not move levers and such until we are getting close to doing business... ETA: I'll admit I fingerfuck a new Magpul stock or I'll check out a scope reticle, butI've seen too many bozoids field stripping a weapon for finger time and it's just lame. |
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I just went to one this weekend after about a 12 year haitus.
It was hard to find anything worth buying. Lots of cheap chinese stuff for sale. Although one table had two of the new 1911 Colt Rail Guns in 2-tone for a large that I'm kind of regretting passing up now. |
| I'm not saying this is what that particular guy was doing, but I have gone to shows because I was interested in buying something new. I might stop at one stand ask to see something and handle it a little. Then then go to a different stand and handle something different that I might be interested in. Then after I have looked around at everthing I take a few minutes to decide what I liked the most and go back to the stand and buy whatever it was I liked. Had one of those guys chewed me out because I didn't buy it the first time I sure as hell wouldn't do buisness with him later when I made a decision to buy. The whole point of shows is so you can see things in person that you normally don't. If I know exactly what I want to buy I'll just have a local shop order it and pick it up. I don't need to wait for a show. |
| I sell ammo at shows in the Florida area. In 11 tables I have 1 item that we ask people not to touch. Linked can of 50 BMG ap w tracer. 50 bmg ball is next to it with a sign that says OK to touch. Oil from hands tarnishes cases. What do people always grab? Reply is generally a nice explanation of why. Unless it is the SECOND TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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I've adopted a new "rule" recently at shows.......and it seems to work for me,
If anyone has to ask "what it is that" or "what ya got there" about what you are either carrying, or selling, there is a really good chance they will not buy it .....they don't know what it's worth since they don't know what it is ....and they don't get the opportunity to finger-fuck my goods..... |
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Quoted:
I'm not saying this is what that particular guy was doing, but I have gone to shows because I was interested in buying something new. I might stop at one stand ask to see something and handle it a little. Then then go to a different stand and handle something different that I might be interested in. Then after I have looked around at everthing I take a few minutes to decide what I liked the most and go back to the stand and buy whatever it was I liked. Had one of those guys chewed me out because I didn't buy it the first time I sure as hell wouldn't do buisness with him later when I made a decision to buy. The whole point of shows is so you can see things in person that you normally don't. If I know exactly what I want to buy I'll just have a local shop order it and pick it up. I don't need to wait for a show. Didnt you just say what I said, in a different way? You said you were shopping items you 1) Like and want to own 2) Have the money to buy. Doesnt matter that you cant buy all of them, but you can buy one of them. This is very normal and very much the point of shows. Im talking about the guy who has a $20 in his pocket to get into the show, and no money to get from an ATM. He is just there to grab stuff and move levers and make things click. "Too rich for my Blood" is the line they spout as they walk off. Thats great, not everyone can afford everything. I dont buy every truck I look at before I buy one, but I dont drive the ones that arent even near my price range. |
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so he handled your rifle and decided he didnt want to buy it........ ???
who buys a 1000+ item without making sure all is in order first ? im not going to decide to buy something that pricy BEFORE i have any idea what condition its in. I think your alittle touchy...they are firearms, not fine china.... |
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I think if you put it out there on the table, with no sign that says "DO NOT TOUCH" then its fair game. You are a vendor selling an item, much like WalMart. They dont yell at you for picking up a shirt do they? Guys guys guys. My tables always have signs to "Not touch" certain things. I was not set-up at this show. I was walking around. As for the losing ppls attention, sorry. SQUIRREL |
| People are ignorant and rude. Gun show, automotive swap meets, people answering your "for sale" ads, customers walking in your shop. They act like they just got off the boat from some third world country sometimes. You buy or sell stuff, you deal with assholes sometimes. You set your own guidelines for dealing with them. Thankfully, there are some folks out there who are polite and possess some class if you are particular about where you deal. |
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Meh, it comes with the territory. A gun show isn't just a buyer/seller situation, it's also a place for enthusiasts to meet up and check things out. I have no problem with someone handling the merchandise in a respectful way.
This falls under the "don't be a dick rule", and it applies to the seller just as much as the buyer. We've had plenty of threads on this forum decrying the jerk gun store owners that turn new shooters off of guns...well, same can go for the guy at the gun show table that thinks his 91/30 is God's own dick and won't let you touch it til you make a down payment. |
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so he handled your rifle and decided he didnt want to buy it........ ??? who buys a 1000+ item without making sure all is in order first ? im not going to decide to buy something that pricy BEFORE i have any idea what condition its in. I think your alittle touchy...they are firearms, not fine china.... This. If your goods are so fragile that they're gonna be damaged by a function check, maybe they should be behind glass..... If it taps and racks, it's probably built for that. 
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Aside from the gun store (and in this state...good luck) the only place to see some stuff is at a gun show. I dont buy something without picking it up and handling it first. If its a scope, I want to look through it. If its a pistol, I want to see how it fits my hand.
Something like a SCAR or ACR here would be one of those guns everyone would want to handle. Would someone buy it? Of course! But would every person that touched it buy it...of course not. There are some things you should pick up and mess with and some things you shouldnt. And like most of you have said...it all goes back to common courtesy. If you know you arent going to get one...then you probably shouldnt be fooling with it. Honestly...Im just glad if I can go to a gun show and not get swept by 5+ people that want to "look down the sights"... 
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if i go to a gun shop... i fully expect them to let me touch anything i want, except maybe his daughter. even if i dont have the $$ to buy it. i have many times finger fucked a nice rifle $1000 and up, fell in love and then returned a time later, next day, weeks months and the bought it. i DEFINATELY will NEVER buy a expensive gun i cannot touch and play with... would you buy a car you could not test drive?i have also played with $3500 and up rifles, and decided i didnt want it.... now i understand if its a persons private property, thats different.
i once went to a atv dealership and asked to test drive a brand new polaris sportsman. the atv salesman told me " no", i could not test drive one, because he didnt want it to get dirty. i was fully prepared to buy at the time. i said fine. left, drove a hour to the next dealer. i asked them the same question. SURE, we will roll one out for you. i test drove it for 30 minutes, then went inside and paid for it and did the paperwork. $6500.00 . on the way home, i stopped at the same dealer that told me no, went inside and asked for a oil change kit, from a different salesman. salesman ran to get it. i pointed out the showroom window @ my new atv, said i was there a few hours ago, and the other sales guy refused to let me ride one, so i bought it at their biggest compeditor. ( salesman actually was the owner, and was pissed off)......  ..
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everyone should shower before attending the gunshow.
weekends are not an excuse for public displays of bad hygiene. i once caught up to a guy at Market Hall in Dallas to discuss his M1A; before i could get to him ( i was right behind him), I smelled a wave of BO coming from him. I lost interest in the M1A very quickly. |
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I was at a gun show and i saw a pair of binos that looked interesting. I asked the guy how much they were. His dick answer was" do you really want to know"? My first thought was "fuck you", you don't think i have money or something? I just replied" I'm no longer interested".
I've been going to gun shows for a long time. Unless I am really interested,all i need to know can be seen without touching it. |
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It's one thing to cycle the bolt and look in the chamber of a common 270 deer rifle . . . it's an entire other matter to .... say.... clumsily dropping the breach without half-cocking a minty, engraved Shiloh Sharps.
I dont get barked at much for mauling the items at a gun show as I usually dont really touch anything unless Im interested in buying it.....and then I generally ask first. Trouble is , the slags that wont keep their booger-hooks in their pockets wont listen to friendly advice either
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I try to follow 3 rules:
1) If it's in a rack or flat on a table, ask permission to handle. Touching without asking is OK if it is only to see a price tag or some other minor thing that should otherwise be apparent. 2) If it's in a rack or on the table, handling (after asking permission) should be limited to looking at detail, brief shouldering (while pointed WAY up), and cycling the action. IF I am really intersted in purchasing, ask permission to remove the bolt/disassemble. Don't do this unless you are willing to talk money/make an offer. 3) If it's a cased/display piece, or patently out of my market, DO NOT TOUCH unless there is some other connection with the seller. My experience is that sellers will gladly allow enthusiasts, collectors, or simply very polite and excited admirers to (gently) handle their wares. The smart ones know that when I say "I wish I could afford it" today, that means one day when I can afford it, I'll remember the courtesy. The rest just enjoy the well intentioned jealosy. |
| Best bet it to display primo items so they're not easily accessible for people to grab. I don't mind wasting my time showing things to people because you never know when some disheveled old guy is going to whip out a wad and buy something nice. But when someones kid or barn-raised adult grabs up a $1500 rifle without asking, it annoys the shit out of me. There's a thin line between taking care of your merchandise and coming across as a dickhead though... |
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I try to follow 3 rules: 1) If it's in a rack or flat on a table, ask permission to handle. Touching without asking is OK if it is only to see a price tag or some other minor thing that should otherwise be apparent. 2) If it's in a rack or on the table, handling (after asking permission) should be limited to looking at detail, brief shouldering (while pointed WAY up), and cycling the action. IF I am really intersted in purchasing, ask permission to remove the bolt/disassemble. Don't do this unless you are willing to talk money/make an offer. 3) If it's a cased/display piece, or patently out of my market, DO NOT TOUCH unless there is some other connection with the seller. My experience is that sellers will gladly allow enthusiasts, collectors, or simply very polite and excited admirers to (gently) handle their wares. The smart ones know that when I say "I wish I could afford it" today, that means one day when I can afford it, I'll remember the courtesy. The rest just enjoy the well intentioned jealosy. You are the person I like to meet at a show. |
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What are you the Soup Nazi of Gun Shows? You're at a "GUN SHOW" so you are there to show guns. Just because someone may not have the money to purchase a $3K item that day of the Show or may need to take some time to think about it since that's a BIG purchase doesn't mean they will not give it serious consideration and come back the next day or at a later show if it is still for sale or take a business card to consider it. I was at a SHOW and I'm an attorney who makes decent money when I saw a rifle selling for $7K. The prick dealer wouldn't so much as let me touch it unless I had the cash on hand to show him....#$%& him. I will never even consider buying anything from that prick dealer so long as I live. Like I'm going to walk around a gun show with $7,000 in cash on me...come on. What I would have done was take his business card and think it over, because I was pretty interested in the rifle. As luck would have it though I found the same rifle for much less money in much better condition from another dealer who wasn't an ass and purchased it from him. Right now it's a BUYERS Market. High end rifles aren't flying out the door and yes in tough economic times people like to consider large sticker items for awhile before they form any opinion. If you don't want to SHOW them the rifle then don't bring it just have a picture of it or something or a sign below it that says "nobody gets to hold this thing unless I see money" then people like me will know to just avoid your table completely so we don't have to deal with comments from a dealer who thinks he's entitled to my money. |
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I don't finger fuck other people's property that I have no intention of buying, even if they say, pick it up and check it out. I'm the same way. If its on a table at a show, then it should be out for display. List it on gunbroker if you don't want people to ask to touch it. |
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I've adopted a new "rule" recently at shows.......and it seems to work for me, If anyone has to ask "what it is that" or "what ya got there" about what you are either carrying, or selling, there is a really good chance they will not buy it .....they don't know what it's worth since they don't know what it is ....and they don't get the opportunity to finger-fuck my goods..... Pretty dumb "rule" if you ask me. I don't know the number of times I have seen someone start a conversation with "what ya got there" when they know full well what you got and are really more curious if YOU know what you got. The first rule of negotiation is to never let the other guy know what you know. Many, many sales are made when the conversation starts with "what ya got there". |
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I've adopted a new "rule" recently at shows.......and it seems to work for me, If anyone has to ask "what it is that" or "what ya got there" about what you are either carrying, or selling, there is a really good chance they will not buy it .....they don't know what it's worth since they don't know what it is ....and they don't get the opportunity to finger-fuck my goods..... Pretty dumb "rule" if you ask me. I don't know the number of times I have seen someone start a conversation with "what ya got there" when they know full well what you got and are really more curious if YOU know what you got. The first rule of negotiation is to never let the other guy know what you know. Many, many sales are made when the conversation starts with "what ya got there". No shit. MANY times I play ignorant at first, especially if I want to know what the seller knows. Once I find we both know what it is, I drop the BS and we can discuss the firearm intelligently. If I find the guy doesn't know what he has, I don't let him know I know, either. Part of the negotiation. |
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Quoted: Quoted: I've adopted a new "rule" recently at shows.......and it seems to work for me, If anyone has to ask "what it is that" or "what ya got there" about what you are either carrying, or selling, there is a really good chance they will not buy it .....they don't know what it's worth since they don't know what it is ....and they don't get the opportunity to finger-fuck my goods..... Pretty dumb "rule" if you ask me. I don't know the number of times I have seen someone start a conversation with "what ya got there" when they know full well what you got and are really more curious if YOU know what you got. The first rule of negotiation is to never let the other guy know what you know. Many, many sales are made when the conversation starts with "what ya got there". Absolutely. I let the dealer tell me what he has and let him give me his sale's pitch. You can tell a lot about a dealer by doing that. If they start to say things like "oh this thing is danger of being banned" or "there are only XXX amount of these available" and you know damn well he's lying then I know the price he's asking is probably bullshit or he might be lying to me about the condition or something else. Also if a dealer is really informed about the rifle he knows what it's selling for not just what the MSRP is and might be willing to come down in price a little bit. |