Nashville Gun Show

[SHbicycle]

It was a great show for me I found the knife I was looking for for the last year at a good price. Then I found all the parts I needed to finish my 3 Fal builds. I was having a good day until Mr. snotty got me mad. The only thing I did not find was a Schofield.

[wileecoyote]

We should not expect to find the lowest prices at gun shows. The dealers have extra overhead since they have to travel, unpack, setup, sit there all weekend, tear down, pack, and drive back home. Plus they pay several fees to get table space, electric hook ups, food, drink, etc. So they are inflating their prices to cover these extra costs, thus their prices are typically higher than you could otherwise get elsewhere. The same is true of gun stores, which have extra overhead to pay for rent, utilities, insurance, employees, permits, local taxes, etc.

This is why I prefer to purchase guns from online auctions or internet / catalog wholesalers. They can deal in high volume with lower operating costs so their prices are generally much better.

The main reason I still like go to gun stores or gun shows is to browse, handle new guns, and maybe find something unique. I don't mind paying a little extra for the convenience, but the gun show prices are already inflated so the extra parking and entry fees just push it over the top. I would much rather buy the occasional accessory or hard to find item from a local gun store and let the money go to them vs. a gun show promoter or city government.

I hope Bill Goodman will consider lowering or removing the entry fee to offset the new parking cost, or moving to a new location which would not require a parking or entry fee. The Nashville show is pretty small so they don't need all the space at the fairgrounds anyway. He makes a good bit of money renting the space to dealers so he shouldn't need to charge an entry fee, or could at least cut the entry fee to $3 or less. If not then he won't be seeing me at the show in the future.