Tampa Gun Show.

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TC6969
Posts: 1037
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:40 pm
Location: Cocoa

Tampa Gun Show.

Post by TC6969 »

Don't bother!

By the time I got in the door, I had already spent $19.00+gas.

There were NO deals anywhere to be found!

Using my patented method to cover and scan every table except stuff like the gummy heat packs and silverware I managed to score an LCP mag for $25.00 and saw a beat up Sig 226 with 3 mags for $350 which might have been OK except it was in Fotay.

Plenty of stupid T shirts and hats, the usual cheap knives and a huge table full of cheap uppers of questionable heritage but in every caliber and barrel length known.

Prices on everything else was INSANE!

I didn't see much money changing hands at all, everyone was either gun guys walking around shaking their heads or total Noobs who didnt know any better.

The 6 or 8 specials that Shoot Straight usually puts out were nowhere to be found and they were doing their share of the ass raping too.

Everything SS offered was outrageously priced at list or above even the used stuff which included an off brand 12 ga single shot with a cracked stock held together with tape which was marked down from a car payment to a "Special" price of ONLY $165.00! :o

All the paperwork seats were full, but the usual mob standing around waiting for a seat and a pen was conspicuously absent so maybe the unwashed masses aren't as stupid as SS thinks they are!

I'm sure GARY will be along to defend them and explain things to all us who dont understand all the complicated intricacies of the gun business, but my takeaway is that it was a total waste of $19.00 and a Saturday morning.

The good news is the guy who usually shows up smelling like he shit himself and the mismatched camo Navy Seals didn't make it and there were only two double wide strollers! :D
N4KVE
Posts: 943
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:59 pm
Location: PALM BEACH

Post by N4KVE »

I’m here. You do realize the price tags are high, because even if they were at actual cost, people would still want a $100 discount. I can honestly tell you most guns I sell are barely 15% over cost, unless it’s a hot item that just came out. Also, are you going by the posted prices, or did you actually ask a sales person what the best price was? Also, Christmas shows from any promoter are usually slow, because most attendees blew their cash on Black Friday. I’ll be at the WPB show in 2 weeks working for Ira, but he already knows the show will suck. But to sell 25 guns is better than staying home, & selling none. GARY
Last edited by N4KVE on Mon Dec 09, 2019 8:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
N4KVE
Posts: 943
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:59 pm
Location: PALM BEACH

Post by N4KVE »

Ok, so I called the manager of my area when I work their shows. 4500 paid attendees. Over 800 tables sold. SS sold over 400 guns just today. A good show is anything over 500 for the weekend. No SS specials? How about the Beretta 92 @ $429. FN 5.7 @ $995. S&W AR Magpul version @ $499. Kel Tec PMR 30 @ $369. And my favorite, the FNX tactical 45 @ $850. Not long ago I was selling them for $950-$1000. LE trade in Glock 40 @ $279, & LE trade in M&P 40 @ $249. So if this was a poor show, please show me a better show in Florida. GARY.
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NorincoKid
Posts: 749
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2018 4:40 pm
Location: Spring Hill, Hernando County

Post by NorincoKid »

Never been to the Tampa gun show.

Actually the only gun show I've ever been to here in FL was in Largo , just south of Ulmerton.

And there was little to no surplus stuff. What was there was 3x more expensive than I could get online , shipped to my door (C&R).

Are some shows "better" for surplus and old military parts etc than others? Or are they all pretty much the same circuit of guys with the same shit on their table every show for the last decade? Just curious.
pharmer
Posts: 127
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2018 12:09 pm
Location: St Cloud Fl

Post by pharmer »

All of the Shoot Straight stores traveling shows are the same. 2/3 junk, 1/3 guns. Khaled has half of the 1/3 guns. I can go to the Apopka store and see everything at the show, save the $11, and shoot anything I might buy. The show is a "social event." Most times I see folks I haven't seen in a long while. I pick up my doctor friend, we S(hoot) the S(hit), look at the overpriced stuff, eat a wad of chili-cheese-fries, get my Rx's for my BP meds. Even with retail +20% prices, Khaled's 4473 chairs were full with folks standing overflow at last Saturday's goat rope. Only 5 weeks till it happens again. At least the Lakeland show happens in January also. The 150 mi R/T is a pain, but it's an "old timey" show, although that bayonet for your Argentine Mauser will be $200. It ain't never gonna be the "way it used to be." Enjoy. Joe
Keep Today Fresh
Allme
Posts: 321
Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2018 11:49 pm

Post by Allme »

TC6969 wrote: Sat Dec 07, 2019 4:48 pm Don't bother!

By the time I got in the door, I had already spent $19.00+gas.

There were NO deals anywhere to be found!

Using my patented method to cover and scan every table except stuff like the gummy heat packs and silverware I managed to score an LCP mag for $25.00 and saw a beat up Sig 226 with 3 mags for $350 which might have been OK except it was in Fotay.

Plenty of stupid T shirts and hats, the usual cheap knives and a huge table full of cheap uppers of questionable heritage but in every caliber and barrel length known.

Prices on everything else was INSANE!

I didn't see much money changing hands at all, everyone was either gun guys walking around shaking their heads or total Noobs who didnt know any better.

The 6 or 8 specials that Shoot Straight usually puts out were nowhere to be found and they were doing their share of the ass raping too.

Everything SS offered was outrageously priced at list or above even the used stuff which included an off brand 12 ga single shot with a cracked stock held together with tape which was marked down from a car payment to a "Special" price of ONLY $165.00! :o

All the paperwork seats were full, but the usual mob standing around waiting for a seat and a pen was conspicuously absent so maybe the unwashed masses aren't as stupid as SS thinks they are!

I'm sure GARY will be along to defend them and explain things to all us who dont understand all the complicated intricacies of the gun business, but my takeaway is that it was a total waste of $19.00 and a Saturday morning.

The good news is the guy who usually shows up smelling like he shit himself and the mismatched camo Navy Seals didn't make it and there were only two double wide strollers! :D
Excellent write up, spot on.... Nice to see nothing has changed in over 2 years, glad I didn't miss anything. There are two shows in the state I go to and I specifically won't mention them here (or anywhere else) as they may start drawing that "crowd"...
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BIG JOE
Posts: 115
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:08 pm
Location: PALM BEACH COUNTY

Post by BIG JOE »

A seller came up to me at a show and said "You have to buy a t-shirt " I said I don't buy t-shirts. He looked surprised and asked me why to which I told him Because for $20 I can buy a least 1 box of ammunition why would I spend it on a shirt. No reply he just moved on to find someone that would.
Some shows suck for everyone. Go have some fun. Stop on the way home for dinner.
BIG JOE
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lakelandman
Posts: 1234
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2018 1:12 am
Location: Lakeland

Post by lakelandman »

I went to both Tampa and Lakeland gun shows a long time ago I have not been in years for the reasons posted above it's just a waste of time and money anymore.
Everybody's got a plan until they get hit.
TC6969
Posts: 1037
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:40 pm
Location: Cocoa

Post by TC6969 »

BIG JOE wrote: Sun Dec 08, 2019 12:13 pm Go have some fun. Stop on the way home for dinner.
That was my original intention.

I got out of the Winnebago for 5 hours, saw a cool dog that looked like a 20lb wolf, laughed at some loud pipe lifesavers in Halloween costumes and even stopped at my gym and cranked off 2 miles on the treadmill.

There was also some kind of cheerleader convention at the fairgrounds.

Cute teen cheerleaders have smoking HOT Moms! :D
TC6969
Posts: 1037
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:40 pm
Location: Cocoa

Post by TC6969 »

I forgot to mention that SS had basic blued steel birch stock 10/22s for a "Clearance" price of "Only" $320.00 :lol:
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