Done it all 3 ways in the last year...
The Gun Shows are the biggest Pain in the A$$ = overpriced overrated and add admissions and parking fees to the transfer and background check charges before you get to the dealers infleted prices (and egos) = you've got to be ready to bargin the price down a long way to get a deal. Feeding Frenzy Mentality, too many guys paying too much $ for whaat they are getting and driving the asking prices way too high.
The online auctions are good sometimes, if you find something you really like/need and the Reserve price isn't insanely high, and you don't get into a bidding war with some 'Sport Bidder' and watch the price go up past all reason, and the seller isn't masking the open bidding by having a buddy bid the price up to the Blue Book value and leave it there for someone unwary to 'jump' the last bid by 10 or 15% in the last few minutes of the auction.
Items auctioned off under the "Buddy Bid" ploy tend to reappear under the same seller in the same auction at a later date, sometimes with the notation that the seller was stiffed by a bidder so it's back for sale.
Interesting the tricks you learn if you check the major auctions frequently
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The best source I've found is shopping the webpages of dealers I've delt with before, especially those with hi resolution pics and good backup when you call for more info. There _are_some good ones out there !
The local shops are a crapshoot, but you at least get a hands-on check of the goods and some "on consignment" bargins do crop up often enough to make regular checks worthwhile.
I've added to my collection from all of the sources listed above in the last year...Got what I wanted and was willing to pay for, but it took effort, experience, cunning and guile and the luck of the right find at the right price. In a couple of cases it took walking away from something that didn't 'smell' right...It's fun, but it isn't easy
The Gun Shows are the biggest Pain in the A$$ = overpriced overrated and add admissions and parking fees to the transfer and background check charges before you get to the dealers infleted prices (and egos) = you've got to be ready to bargin the price down a long way to get a deal. Feeding Frenzy Mentality, too many guys paying too much $ for whaat they are getting and driving the asking prices way too high.
The online auctions are good sometimes, if you find something you really like/need and the Reserve price isn't insanely high, and you don't get into a bidding war with some 'Sport Bidder' and watch the price go up past all reason, and the seller isn't masking the open bidding by having a buddy bid the price up to the Blue Book value and leave it there for someone unwary to 'jump' the last bid by 10 or 15% in the last few minutes of the auction.
Items auctioned off under the "Buddy Bid" ploy tend to reappear under the same seller in the same auction at a later date, sometimes with the notation that the seller was stiffed by a bidder so it's back for sale.
Interesting the tricks you learn if you check the major auctions frequently
.The best source I've found is shopping the webpages of dealers I've delt with before, especially those with hi resolution pics and good backup when you call for more info. There _are_some good ones out there
!The local shops are a crapshoot, but you at least get a hands-on check of the goods and some "on consignment" bargins do crop up often enough to make regular checks worthwhile.
I've added to my collection from all of the sources listed above in the last year...Got what I wanted and was willing to pay for, but it took effort, experience, cunning and guile and the luck of the right find at the right price. In a couple of cases it took walking away from something that didn't 'smell' right...It's fun, but it isn't easy