Price Gouging at the Gun Show in AL

[shooter_john]

I made it to the Gun Show in Birmingham this afternoon, and the first table I visited is a company that specializes in AR parts and accessories, and a few mil-surp odds and ends. Their prices are usually on the higher end fair, but I just about hit the floor when I saw the first pricetag. They had a stack of the $80 Essential Arms priced at $294 ea. They also had a few complete lowers (DPMS mainly) that were $500+. I wasn't there to buy an AR in the first place, but I was just floored at the fact that they were trying to take advantage of people like that. I know it's their right to price their merchandise at whatever they want, but that is a little rediculous regardless of the fact that demand is over running supply at the moment. Other than that, everyone seemed to have left anything other than SKS's, AK's, and the like at home, since there was not a heavy barreled .223 bolt gun to found, and that was what I was looking for.
Ok... I just had to rant for a minute.

 

[Moerlein]

yea, the gun show in sharonville OH was ridiculus as well. AK's were no where near found less than $1200 and the cheapest AR i saw was $1300. and theese guns looked to me as they were completley stock. nothing special about them. just bare stock models, im no expert...but that is the way they looked to me. the Obama scare is really catching people with their pants down that think, i need to get one of those before i cant anymore. and really have no idea what they are buying.

 

[craig45]

make a list of those businesses and do not patronize them. that's what i do.

i doubt i'll be going to anymore shows, but if i do it'll be to patronize georgia arms only. almost all the shows around here have succumbed to the "get the money now" method of pricing.

if the hysteria dies down, and yomama does nothing about guns, and they bring their prices back into line, i still won't patronize them.

the internet, and the couple of transfer gunsmiths in town will cover my purchasing needs.

 

[dangerclose]

Its going on everywhere. It was the same thing here in Texas. Cheapest AK I saw was a century side folder for $775 and that same AK was normally $475 4 or 5 months ago at the same gun show and vendor. One other vendor had the same rifle century AKs for $1279.

The AR's were jacked up as well. Cheapest one I saw was a used RRA 16" bull barrel for $1029 and that was a individual. Plain R-25s for $1789 or so. Clearly overpriced.

Glocks and other semi auto pistols were price from $75-$250 over msrp. Worst was a used glock for $650 and new ones from $650-$770..Needless to say their tables got a lot of lookers and hardly any buyers and other considerable vendors were actually selling..

Everything else was considerable, or normally priced. Ammo, magazines, etc were are normal great buys.

I understand it is a business, and business is business so raising the price a little is not out of the norm, but not hundreds over MSRP...

 

[shooter_john]

There were probably twice the amount of people I usually see at the shows, and very few seemed to be buying, as others have mentioned. I guess it is pretty obvious why... I told my wife (who ALWAYS goes to gun shows with me ) 'don't these people realize that the internet is still up and running?' The same folks I mentioned earlier were selling a 20" A2 Doublestar AR for $1150. Their booth in particular REALLY got me mad, they'll never have to worry about handling any of money in the future.
On the other hand, there were lots of the Polish Tantal's to be had, and most folks had them at between $500-$600, which I thought was pretty reasonable, other than all of the barrel issues I have read about those.