This weekend was the Gunshow From Hell ’08. If you read my earlier post, Gun Sales Up Ten Billion Percent, or you don’t live in a cave, you may be aware that guns sales are up a smidgen. As in, sell your kidney and you might be able to get a stripped lower receiver made in Pakistan.
The FBMG crew was in our regular spot. Unlike most of the other dealers, our prices were the same as usual. We decided not to sexually violate our customers with a Garden Weasel just because we could. Basically if somebody had an AR15 in stock, it was because they were charging too much. We saw basic Bushhamsters for $1,500, WASRs for $1,000, and my personal favorite, a stripped Stag lower receiver for $499. (One of my Minions had to take a picture of that one and ask the dealer how he could sleep at night)
Our prices are basically the same as before the election. Worst case scenario on guns we were getting on backorder was MSRP. We took orders for hot items, like AR15s, and had people put 1/3 down to get in line. That means 15-20 weeks right now, but that beats getting violated with aforementioned Garden Weasel.
We did an absurd amount of business. Saturday was the biggest single sales day that FBMG has ever had, and after Election Week, that’s saying a lot. I went to rock concert Saturday night. The gunshow was more crowded. My booth was standing room only for most of the day.
The mood was kind of panicky. Some people were cranky, bossy, pushy, and obnoxious, and at gunshows, that’s usually just the dealers. I’ve never had so many people rudely interrupt me while I’ve been helping another customer as I did on Saturday. “HEY! Ya gots any Rock Rivers!” No, douchebag, and get your ass back in line while I help this other person that was ahead of you.
A market like this brings out the worst in some people. We have a bunch of belt fed machine guns in 7.62x54R. One ammo wholesaler had a ton of that in stock, so we went over first thing in the morning and bought it all. Hey, belt feds suck up the ammo! Well, some guys standing in line behind us actually got angry with us for DARING to buy up that much ammo. Hey, welcome to the party dude. I’m sorry you waited until after the election of an America hating socialist to stock up, but that’s how it is. Buddy, if you want strict rationing… well, wait until Barack destroys the economy and everything gets rationed… never mind. That’s just too depressing.
Overall, fear of what the Democrats are going to do has driven the gun buying public into a frenzy. We got so sick of people asking what Barack is going to do that on Sunday we brought in a Magic 8 Ball to answer the question. Every time somebody asked us that same question, we would just whip out the ball. “Is Obama going to ban guns?” “Answer is unclear…” “Is ammo going to get taxed?” “Definitely yes.” So on and so forth.
Ironically though, the first time we used Magic 8 Ball, somebody asked if we were going to lose the 2nd Amendment and Magic 8 Ball said “You’re F*****!” I didn’t even know that was an option on there, scary prophetic little ball.
If anybody has a big poster of Barack Obama you want to mail me, I’m going to put it on the wall of my shop with a sign that says Salesman Of The Year. But then again, if you read this blog, I’m assuming that if you’ve got a picture of Barack on hand it is either taped to the bottom of a urinal or is serving as your dart board. I probably couldn’t put up such a poster because my customers would deface my wall, and probably burn the store down in the process.
I was exhausted by the time we got done Sunday night. Luckily, it took us literally 1/3rd of the time to unload compared to loading because we’d moved so much product. We had left a couple of guys at the shop, one to teach a class, and one to answer phones. We’d cleaned the store out of inventory and iNick still managed to sell like $4,000 worth of stuff. I was like “What did you sell?” and he was like “I don’t know!”
It was a remarkable gunshow. I’m interested to see how the January Pre-Inauguration Day Gunshow goes. I’m hoping to get a picture of a $5,000 Olympic Arms or something. I don’t care how desperate you guys might be to stock up, just avoid that Garden Weasel.
Actually, I can ask my liberal friends and see if they have an Obama cutout. I seem to recall seeing one at someone’s house.
Take a Garden Weasel to it!
Now, why can’t gunowners take all of that energy, and put it into sending “sixty second” letters to Reid, Pelosi, Obama, etc. (the “leadership”). How long does it take to send a postcard that says “No gun control!” about once a month?
“Now, why can’t gunowners take all of that energy, and put it into sending “sixty second” letters to Reid, Pelosi, Obama, etc. (the “leadership”). How long does it take to send a postcard that says “No gun control!” about once a month?”
I’d rather send them a garden weasel.
They. Don’t. Care. about letters. They’ll never see them…their aids will toss them…
You can prolly find a BHO photo on one of the news magazine covers … they all worship the clod.
“If anybody has a big poster of Barack Obama you want to mail me, I’m going to put it on the wall of my shop with a sign that says Salesman Of The Year. But then again, if you read this blog, I’m assuming that if you’ve got a picture of Barack on hand it is either taped to the bottom of a urinal or is serving as your dart board. ”
Replacing your W poster I see. Are you just papering over?
Hurts to have the OTHER guy worshiped, doesn’t it. Gosh, remember those days in 2000…
Scott, I’m guessing you’re new around here…
I’m not exactly a big fan of George Bush, but for opposite reasons of the media.
Why not send a postcard AND go buy more bullets?
http://www.posterpage.ch/exhib/ex216oba/ex216oba.htm
Should find a poster there that’ll suit ye. 😀
Larry:
a. YOU are a good man, in the business to provide. Not to take advantage of the customer.
b. Unfortunately, too many others are only in it for the money. My local Merchant of Death is the same as you, and he gets ALL my business. He just wants to see the people armed, not make exorbitant profit.
Mind you, even at his standard mark-up, this has been an extremely profitable exercise in provision!
Is it only at the gun shows that this excessive marking up is happening? With the exception of one store that is somewhat, but not exorbitantly, more expensive than it was before, prices seem about the same. I can still get a stripped DPMS lower for $150 and complete it with a DPMS parts kit for about $70 more. Dealers seem to be largely out of stock on many things, but there’s not too much gouging from what I’ve seen.
I applaud those that are keeping their prices reasonable, and I definitely am remembering those who are jacking up their prices, but the major gouging seems to be going on elsewhere.
Larry, you NEED to sell some of these bumper stickers… I’ve been shipping a hundred every two weeks to a guy who travels for gun shows…
Damn. Well, I’m glad business is booming. Hopefully, 45% of that stuff will be available for discount prices in another year, after Barry decides to leave the crazy gun owners alone…
I think you missed the unseen benefit of raising prices in times of shortage: increased availability.
Take your bullet example for instance. If the price had been twice as much, would you have stocked up quite so much? Perhaps you would have decided you didn’t really need that much, or that you could reload more. However, it is more likely that the fellow behind you would have found ammo to buy.
Likewise, as you said the only folks who had any guns or bits available were those charging high prices. To put it another way, the only people who could provide the guns and parts people wanted were those who charged higher prices for them, so if you really needed or wanted those parts, the only folks who could help you are those with higher prices.
For more on the economics behind this, and a nice little read, check out Russ Robert’s book “The Price of Everything”. It is a story about a very similar sort of event, which is a vehicle for a whole lot of economic goodness, Russ being a professor at GMU.