Posted: 12/15/2010 10:27:35 PM EDT
| Who knows about the gun show in Portland this weekend? I'm guessing it's at the Expo Center? $7.00 to park and $8.00 to get in? What a burn. I put up with it so I'm the dummy. Well, If you know a bit about the show, let me know. I went last year at this time, was not bad. Thanks |
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you can drink beer there. not many other gun shows around where you can do that. bag of buffalo jerky, hang a beanie baby around yo neck and you're pimpin, YO!
BTW, park across the street to save yourself a few bucks. Also, if you have a Bi=Mart card you'll save a few more bucks (or is it you have to get a coupon at BiMart?) |
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Agreed. Not sure why to even go to a gun show anymore, unless you just want to kill a day fondling guns or actually hold and look at something you are considering buying. I've been to several around here, and the thing that strikes me is that I can have the exact sme stuff shipped directly to my house (or the FFL of my choice) for usually around 2/3rds the price of what people are charging at the show. And, yes, I understand its important to support local business and all that, but local business also needs to understand that its a competitive marketplace out there and they might want to do some research on their prices as opposed to simply waiting for some rube to walk by and take their overpriced items home. Seems like a poor business model to me.
As an example, I was hoping to walk out yesterday with a new stripped lower. I found the one I wanted, then looked closely at it. It had been to a LOT of shows, it was obvious. Dinged, rubbed, even a touch of rust on it. They wanted $180 for it, less a $20 "show discount," so $160. I can have the same thing shipped to a local FFL 5 minutes from my house (or my friend who is getting his) for $118 and change. And it will show up in new condition. Unrealistic. People simply price everything at MSRP and hope for the best. If they had even been willing to come down to match the price, considering theirs was essentially "used," I probably would have bought it there and fixed the minor blemishes, just to support the business/show. No deal (I asked). As for Ammo, I didn't find a single deal that matched what Palmetto would ship to my house for. Some were close, though. Don't get me wrong...there were some decent deals there, or so I thought...just not stuff I happened to be in the market for. Its all on the "antique" rifles and such, and some used items, that I am not really interested in. And there were some cool non-related gun items that seemed to be very well priced...belt buckles, knives, clothing, stuff like that. I guess I'm just a cheap bastard, but, money is tight, especially at the holidays. Still, its fun to go and look around, and it makes it easy to see what MSRP actually is when you are shopping around for the best deal. 
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| I have been going to these shows for a long time and they steadily have gone downhill. Now I only hit about two a year. This trip I was simply amazed to see NW Armory there. Not very competitive either. There is also a dealer from Corvallis with a pretty big display of Condor (Chinese) gear and some better than average items. Keith is still the king of the show. All in all a mediocre show. |
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I agree about shows going downhill. I used to look forward to attending every one of them. With the increase in non gun/knife related tables, and really high prices compared to the internet, increases in parking and admission, the shows just didn't hold much for me anymore.
Occasionally, the shows are the place to go for things like ammo because prices ARE competitive (occasionally) and I can save enough on shipping that the end price favors going to the show. Otherwise, I think that many of the vendors fail to take into account that the internet make price comparison much easier for us. Usually, there are more reasons to buy off the internet than there are to justify going to the gun show. Handling the firearm, or getting it immediately are a couple of reasons to go to the shows though. But those needs are pretty rare, so I only go to a show every 15 months or so. |
Well, I was pissed. Miwall said they were going to be there, had it on their website and everything. And guess what, no show. Heard it from another vendor they had a scheduling conflict with another show. Which means they did not have enough drivers and staff to do both shows. Likely picked the more profitable show to attend. All a guess, but I bet I am right. Miwall has the best prices ammo period. Piss me off! 
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The show was a huge disappointment. I usually go and buy primers, 5K each of sm pistol, large pistol, sm rifle and lg rifle, three or four times a year. I didn't see any primers.
Fewer vendors, wider aisles and more more non-gun related items. I won't be back. |
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Quoted:
Well people had to have been buying guns, because I bought a rifle at a store and was on hold with the ATF for 45 minutes because they were so busy clearing people from the show  Hence my comment about pricing an item at MSRP and waiting for a rube to wander by. Very few people who were actually there struck me as knowing anything about guns, or their pricing. While shopping at the tables, I listened to a lot of what would be considered "n00b" questions about everything you can think of. Theres nothing wrong with that at all...we've all been there, and people have to start somewhere. Its just a shame that so many people care so little about their money that they aren't willing to do a little research before going shopping. I mean, it was pretty easy to save $50 or more on a lot of the firearms by shopping around beforehand (online, auction sites, local gunshops), particularly some of the pistols. But its hard to know that when every example of a given firearm model is priced within $10 of each other, over all the tables at the show. None of this would be at all bad if people were a bit more willing to haggle or price match. But, like you said, people were buying guns, so they really didn't have to. Or, maybe I am just poor compared to all the people who were there, and they don't care if they overpay. I'm a cheap bastard frugal individual though. But I always get what I want in the end, and I always pay a bit less for it. 
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Kagetora,
I don't think of it as being cheap. I look at is that if I save money on one item, I can buy another item, or buy a little higher quality of the second item because of the money I saved on the first item. Maybe it is only a pound of powder worth of savings, but that pound will keep me shooting for a day, or weekend. |
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Not worth it anymore...but I do like to actually see in person guns that interest me like the Springfield Armory 1911 Operator, or a good SKS, just wish they weren't all $350-$400. BTW, who was the guy walking around with the AR15 SBR with Eotech and Gen2 magnifier on Friday at the show?
I actually made a thread about this in the wahtf: http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=8&f=15&t=435328 |
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Hence my comment about pricing an item at MSRP and waiting for a rube to wander by. Very few people who were actually there struck me as knowing anything about guns, or their pricing. While shopping at the tables, I listened to a lot of what would be considered "n00b" questions about everything you can think of. Theres nothing wrong with that at all...we've all been there, and people have to start somewhere. Its just a shame that so many people care so little about their money that they aren't willing to do a little research before going shopping. I mean, it was pretty easy to save $50 or more on a lot of the firearms by shopping around beforehand (online, auction sites, local gunshops), particularly some of the pistols. But its hard to know that when every example of a given firearm model is priced within $10 of each other, over all the tables at the show. None of this would be at all bad if people were a bit more willing to haggle or price match. But, like you said, people were buying guns, so they really didn't have to. Or, maybe I am just poor compared to all the people who were there, and they don't care if they overpay. I'm a cheap bastard frugal individual though. But I always get what I want in the end, and I always pay a bit less for it. yes, you are a poor frugal bastard. People who have money can choose how they use their resources. You feel you must spend your time nickle and diming dealers and informing yourself about firearms you want to purchase, Time is money, you consider your time an investment which pays off and saves you the $XX. Others prefer to pay the $XX to not have to spend all the time doing what you have to. People go to the gun show for all kinds of reasons. people -get this- buy guns at gun shows for all kinds of reasons you are complaining that a lot of the people who go to gun shows are stupid because they are not consumers like you. cool rant bro,
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yes, you are a poor frugal bastard. People who have money can choose how they use their resources. You feel you must spend your time nickle and diming dealers and informing yourself about firearms you want to purchase, Time is money, you consider your time an investment which pays off and saves you the $XX. Others prefer to pay the $XX to not have to spend all the time doing what you have to. People go to the gun show for all kinds of reasons. people -get this- buy guns overpay at gun shows for all kinds of reasons you are complaining that a lot of the people who go to gun shows are stupid because they are not consumers like you. cool rant bro,
I fixed your post for you, just to continue my rant. I don't recall saying anyone was stupid...just inexperienced, less knowledgeable about pricing, uncaring about the same, or some combination of these factors and possibly others. Ignorant, not stupid. There is a vast difference. Eventually, everyone comes to some form of conclusion, concious or not...either they don't really care about saving the cash (they feel their time is better spent at other things than shopping around, as you say), or they do feel like saving some money when they can, and shopping around is worthwhile. What I was getting at was, in the time I spent there, shopping and watching other people, I truly felt that most of the people I saw had NOT made that choice yet, and they simply didn't know any better. Many people I know are similarly uniformed about, say, car shopping as well. The phrase "it doesn't matter what dealership you go to, all the prices are the same" has been said in my presence more than once. It makes me cringe, maybe even die a little bit inside each time. Then there are people like my co-worker who saved over $3,000 on a brand new truck by driving 30 miles to a different dealership. Seems like a good use of gas to me. I also am fully aware of how retail pricing is done as well. I am not "nickling and diming" a dealer to death by asking for a competitive price. I understand how much HE paid for the item (from the manufacturer or distrbuter), how much I can get it for from another source, and how much I would be willing to pay for what amounts to instant gratification. If he is unwilling to meet that price, for whatever reason (his overhead/rent/employees are too expensive, he's simply greedy, he doesn't like haggling, he doesn't like me, whatever), then he won't get my business, no hard feelings. His loss, as although I usually shop around for the best price, I also usually buy the higher-quality items. The ones where the profit margin is probably a bit higher anyway. Smarter business people, in such a hyper-competitive market as gun/ammo/gear sales, understand it pays to be flexible...someone will occasionally wander up and buy an item for what you have listed, but you might be able to sell twice the volume if you are willing to bargain a bit with other folks. And in so doing, you may make other sales as well, either to the same person or to those they know, if they feel they got a good deal from you. As I said, except for (often harshly) used items, it did not seem to be the case that dealers were willing to do this at the show. I know for a fact that this cost them sales, both from myself and from those who I came with. But, hey, at least for now, its still a free country. People can pay what they want, sell for what they want, and shop around as much as they like. I seriously doubt I will be attending another gun show, however, as the market there simply didn't appeal to me. And paying parking and entry fees for the privelage of wandering around and staring at overpriced items was simply a waste of money. Lesson learned. Way to be extra judgemental, tho, "bro."
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]Quoted:
Not worth it anymore...but I do like to actually see in person guns that interest me like the Springfield Armory 1911 Operator, or a good SKS, just wish they weren't all $350-$400. BTW, who was the guy walking around with the AR15 SBR with Eotech and Gen2 magnifier on Friday at the show? I actually made a thread about this in the wahtf: [url=http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html? Chairforce, I appreciate your info...but Oregon residents are NOT WELCOME at the Washington HTF. Oregon residents who try to participate are insulted, and told "Now go away". Don't worry though, I don't share that sentiment toward Washington residents...I welcome anyone here. I just thought other Oregon residents should know about the WAHTF so they aren't surprised by the nastiness and bad reception they will likely get. There was a recent thread where a Washington resident told another resident to shove a bayonet up his ass, and jump in a snow drift (refer to thread where a Washington resident was asking for places to shoot in SW Washington)...Not even very hospitable toward their own it appears. That seems far different than a disagreement of opinion. As a result of the above, I have pretty well given up on visiting this site as much as I used to. |
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Chairforce, I appreciate your info...but Oregon residents are NOT WELCOME at the Washington HTF. Oregon residents who try to participate are insulted, and told "Now go away". Don't worry though, I don't share that sentiment toward Washington residents...I welcome anyone here. I just thought other Oregon residents should know about the WAHTF so they aren't surprised by the nastiness and bad reception they will likely get.
I've snuck into the WAHTF a time or two. They are all for the most part pretty good guys. Those guys like to give everybody a hard time, you just have to take the ribbing and give it back a little. Just make sure not to mention to them if you have a fetish for midgets, pepto bismol, and kiddie pools... 1GUNRUNNER or whatever his name is will never stop IMing you... |
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There is good reason behind the way the WAhtf comes off. Its a built in defense to sort out the riff raff they are a good group of guys if you get to know them. Although it is a bit hard to get to know people who tell you to "go away". So it would be difficult for people from other areas to discern whether or not they actually are "a good group of guys". |
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]Quoted: Not worth it anymore...but I do like to actually see in person guns that interest me like the Springfield Armory 1911 Operator, or a good SKS, just wish they weren't all $350-$400. BTW, who was the guy walking around with the AR15 SBR with Eotech and Gen2 magnifier on Friday at the show? I actually made a thread about this in the wahtf: [url=http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html? Chairforce, I appreciate your info...but Oregon residents are NOT WELCOME at the Washington HTF. Oregon residents who try to participate are insulted, and told "Now go away". Don't worry though, I don't share that sentiment toward Washington residents...I welcome anyone here. I just thought other Oregon residents should know about the WAHTF so they aren't surprised by the nastiness and bad reception they will likely get. There was a recent thread where a Washington resident told another resident to shove a bayonet up his ass, and jump in a snow drift (refer to thread where a Washington resident was asking for places to shoot in SW Washington)...Not even very hospitable toward their own it appears. That seems far different than a disagreement of opinion. As a result of the above, I have pretty well given up on visiting this site as much as I used to. That was actually me who made that thread. 
I'm a relatively new to the hobby of shooting although I've been shooting off and on since I was 9 or 10 but I have only owned guns for about two years. I live in Clark County WA, so Oregon is right across the river, I guess I could look for good places to shoot in Oregon too (where I could actually use a supressor). I was a bit shocked at the reception, and made the comment about a lack of common courtesy, but in the end it's just the internet and there were some good people that responded and gave me good information I needed. Having gone back and checked it, looks like it got locked. Someone took offense to "city boy coasties" what ever the hell that's supposed to mean...(Coast Guardsmen from the city?) |
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Chairforce,
You are welcome to shoot here in Oregon. If you wish, you can shoot as my guest at Tri-county gun club. Most of us down here try to be hospitable...we don't always succeed, but we do try. I haven't figured out what the Coastie stuff in WAHTF is about either. Maybe there is some animosity between people who live on the coast, near the sound vs those from the eastern part of the state. That makes me wonder where the arbitrary line between being a "Coastie" and the "other people" is located. |
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Powder Valley has a deal going through the end of the year where if you buy 10,000 Tula brand primers, you get free shipping and no hazmat fees. You can add (i think) up to 40lbs more "haz mat" stuff like more primers and powder for no extra fee.
If you were gonna buy them anyways, that is a SMOKIN deal. here's the thread in the reloading section: http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=6&f=42&t=329796&light= I wanna do it myself, but we just did Christmas... So the budget doesn't really allow for it right now. Oh well. Hopefully you guys can enjoy it. |
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Quoted:Maybe there is some animosity between people who live on the coast, near the sound vs those from the eastern part of the state. That makes me wonder where the arbitrary line between being a "Coastie" and the "other people" is located.
Snoqualmie Pass? Anywhere East of I-5? 
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Quoted:Maybe there is some animosity between people who live on the coast, near the sound vs those from the eastern part of the state. That makes me wonder where the arbitrary line between being a "Coastie" and the "other people" is located.
Snoqualmie Pass? Anywhere East of I-5?
Who knows? They aren't sayin'. |
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Powder Valley has a deal going through the end of the year where if you buy 10,000 Tula brand primers, you get free shipping and no hazmat fees. You can add (i think) up to 40lbs more "haz mat" stuff like more primers and powder for no extra fee. If you were gonna buy them anyways, that is a SMOKIN deal. here's the thread in the reloading section: http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=6&f=42&t=329796&light= I wanna do it myself, but we just did Christmas... So the budget doesn't really allow for it right now. Oh well. Hopefully you guys can enjoy it. I just looked at the Powder valley web site. Primers run about $20-24 per 1000. They are out of 7.62 nato, but still have large rifle primers. |
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Yeah, going to the Portland Gun Show is a rip off! That is not why I support the show! I go every month vowing never to go agian; but buy the next month I am ready to go again! I love the hunt for a great buy! I have made some of my best buys at the Portland Show. I have picked up haed to find items like the December 2010 show my wite and I found a Kel-Tec PRM-30, as you know very hard to find! It came with 7 30-round mags, it was my Christmas present! You just never know what you will find next!
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Debating hitting up the hillsboro show tomorrow unless my dates are off. Is the hillsboro show at least a bit better than the expo one? The Burrito shows aren't terrible. Its like 1/4 the size of the expo shows, but there is a lot less non-gun crap. Last one I went to had some good prices on stuff and deals could be had. But there wasn't a huge amount of stuff there. No 2 rows of keiths sporting goods. Overall though its not terrible. Parking is free and its like $5 to get in. If you got nothing better to do its a great way to kill some time. |