Gun Show, why do they do this?

[barbarossa]

Today I paid $8.00 admission to attend a "gun show" that was at least half women's handbags, jewellery, essential oils, topical pain relief creams, jerky, posters and other stuff that has absolutely zero to do with guns.

Why do they include all this crap? Seriously?

If it was free, I wouldn't care, but you're gonna make me pay to look at women's purses?

I'm sorry, but that makes me feel ripped off and unlikely to come back. How does this business model work?

 

[US Infidel]

Something to keep the women interested ?? I stopped going to gunshows a long time ago. Mostly a rip off IMO.

 

[rcm192]

You could have went to your local gun store and put $8 towards ammo or something else worth while. They should give personal lubricant at the door to gunshows...cuz dey rapin er'ey body out hea!

 

[Rhandhali]

Today I paid $8.00 admission to attend a "gun show" that was at least half women's handbags, jewellery, essential oils, topical pain relief creams, jerky, posters and other stuff that has absolutely zero to do with guns.

Why do they include all this crap? Seriously?

If it was free, I wouldn't care, but you're gonna make me pay to look at women's purses?

I'm sorry, but that makes me feel ripped off and unlikely to come back. How does this business model work?

Basically because they want to fill tables and collect the fees. You have enough from for 100 tables, you want to have as close to 100 if you can get. If you can't fill them with guns you start to reach out to whoever will show up. Most every kind of trade show does this to some extent, it's just part of the business model. I've been to medical conferences where there's a guy selling silk scarves sandwiched in between a publisher of medical texts and a company that makes a device to let you see veins to start IVs, for example. The urology conference I went to had someone selling timeshares in Florida at the end of an aisle of catheter companies.

The better shows will either overtly disallow or at the very least limit the number of tangential booths. National Gun Day in Louisville does this and they're actually a show worth going to if nothing else to just gawk at all the weird collectible stuff they have. Most community gun shows just aren't worth it unless you're hanging out in the parking lot trying to make deals.

 

[dk.easterly]

Gun shows have been a joke for years.

Every once in a while you come across something decent. But I would rather just support my local guys.

 

[dad-e-o]

This is the fella you have to ask. His name is Wade Hanks.

Jean LaFitte Promotions
Contact: Wade Hanks
Phone: (337) 302-5535
Email: baldwade@att.net

I feel pretty confident you are talking about the gun show in Ponchatoula today and tomorrow. I was there this afternoon and felt like I was at the last Mandeville gun show at the Castine. Hanks does that one also. If you were there today, you may find it kind of humorous that on the left side of the building, towards the middle of the floor, there was a row of very high end Browning O/U's, some Winchesters, I think a high end Italian and maybe a couple of Berettas. There was also a Win model 24 SxS in 20ga for $1100. On the other side of this, were some very professional jewelry display cases. That was Wade, he takes half of an island for guns and his wife takes the other half for jewelry. Quite the setup!

Anyway, the few vendors I talked to were not too happy with the traffic. Many of these same guys were at the Ponchatoula Lions Club last week and felt the attendance was better there. I don't know, didn't find anything at either show and on a bad day the Lion's Club is crowded!

Just my 2 cents.

That Rec center is a nice venue for a gun show though, I would like to see more and better shows there.

Go to Tulsa if you want to see a REAL gun show!!!

 

[LACamper]

More than once I've heard guys leaving the show say " I got a good deal on a new (AR/AK/Glock/1911, etc) and a good deal on a pallet of ammo! oh, and I picked up something for the wife so she wouldn't complain too much (holding up a $25 piece of jewelry that was guaranteed to turn her skin green)!"

I will admit to bringing my daughter w/ me to a gun show and letting her spend a few dollars on a trinket when she was little.

 

[kengel2]

If attendance was better at the lions club, these shows will be done with in no time. I think it took me less than 20 minutes to walk through the show at the lions club. Not very many people there at all.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[Pas Tout La]

Jerky will always hold a well deserved place at gun shows. What else besides guns is more manly than jerky?! The rest of the junk mentioned can be done away with.

 

[dk.easterly]

If attendance was better at the lions club, these shows will be done with in no time. I think it took me less than 20 minutes to walk through the show at the lions club. Not very many people there at all.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

In Ponchatoula?

 

[kengel2]

Ya, when I went there was hardly anyone there. Middle of the day.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[dk.easterly]

Ya, when I went there was hardly anyone there. Middle of the day.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

I drove out to that show once.

Was highly disappointed.

 

[BillnLA]

Went to both of them. There were more at the Lions Club show when I went (both Sat morn) than at this one. While there were more tables at this weekend's, there was all of that stuff listed above. So actual dealers with guns/parts/etc were about the same. At least at the Lions Club they had all of that outside. I can never find anything priced reasonable at any of them, mostly looking at the older stuff. Was really only looking for an original Hi-Standard Sport King mag or two. Guess i'll have to bite the ebay bullet.

 

[Jmfox3]

Caitlyn Jenner was planning to make a guest appearance and they wanted her to feel at home. ;-)

 

[machinedrummer]

It's the best place in town to buy some homemade sauce and canned veggies. Well the one in Spring, Tx. 2 weeks ago. Gun shows have become flea markets.

 

[Saintsfan6]

I stopped going to gun shows in 2012-2013 after SH and all the vendors jacked up the prices and never really came down from them (as least since the last time I attended a show). It got to the point where I would spend the money to get into one and I wouldn't even buy a box of ammo due to unreasonable prices, thats when I decided it was time to call it quits on gun shows.

 

[SVTFreak]

I still like to go about once a year as a people watching exercise. It's well worth the admission for the laughs usually. Especially to try to figure out who is on here

 

[El Rubio]

I stopped going to gun shows in 2012-2013 after SH and all the vendors jacked up the prices and never really came down from them (as least since the last time I attended a show). It got to the point where I would spend the money to get into one and I wouldn't even buy a box of ammo due to unreasonable prices, thats when I decided it was time to call it quits on gun shows.

This. I went to the one in Mandeville about a year ago. My wife and I were taking the dog to the dog park there and I decided to go through the gun show while she took the dog to the park. I was not really in the market for anything but could use some small pistol primers. They weren't very hard to find at stores and the highest price I had previously paid was $44 for a thousand Remington primers. I could usually find them around $35 per k. I found one table that had two 1k boxes. I asked how much, he said $48 plus tax. No thanks. I still like the show at the Pontchartrain Center, but haven't purchased a firearm at any of them since the 90's.

 

[petingrass]

Today I paid $8.00 admission to attend a "gun show" that was at least half women's handbags, jewellery, essential oils, topical pain relief creams, jerky, posters and other stuff that has absolutely zero to do with guns.

Why do they include all this crap? Seriously?

If it was free, I wouldn't care, but you're gonna make me pay to look at women's purses?

I'm sorry, but that makes me feel ripped off and unlikely to come back. How does this business model work?

Let's see, they charge the people selling stuff to get in, they charge the people buying stuff to get in...that's pretty much it.

Sent from my SGH-T399 using Tapatalk

 

[DAVE_M]

I still like to go about once a year as a people watching exercise. It's well worth the admission for the laughs usually. Especially to try to figure out who is on here

I've only been to the Gonzales gun show twice in my lifetime. Once, when Bayoushooter was first starting and I met Spanky and Mel. Then another time a few months ago. It was waaaaaayyyy different back then, as compared to a few months ago. I saw lots of fake knives (especially some fake Emersons, which drove me crazy), hardly any ammo (regardless of price, all ammo was scarce), and a ton of crap... and by crap, I mean Fantasy Swords, Ninja Stars, really crappy knives from Pakistan, and over priced everything.

The people watching was hilarious though, we stopped and stood by the only Sig Brace in the building and I listened to what people would say when they walked by.
"Look at that stock! It's got a hole in it! It must be lightweight."
"I wonder if that's registered? I think that's an Es-Bee-ARRR"