An Open Letter to Some of You...

[psycosteve]

I like grits! I can take them plain! But if you are offering - just a bit of syrup please! Not much, just enough for some flavor!

Gosh darn heathens . WTF people Grits are not to be sweet. To grits correctly you need butter, salt, pepper and preferably a pork fat like bacon grease to do it right. If you want sweet then eat a GD bowl of cream of wheat and leave my beloved grits alone. Ok I can end this rant now.

 

[Hit and Run]

Displaced Maine Yankee, at least the Redneck country variety. I like grits, but brought the maple syrup with me.

 

[Docster]

And as long as folks continue to stay away from the Maryland Shows... The Maryland Shows will continue to get smaller and smaller and smaller until they disappear... At that point the ruling class will hit us with laws that are the same as the alcohol laws are now... No buying out of state... All purchases from in state brick and mortar stores ONLY. And THEN...

Q: What will those folks bitch about?
A: The LGSs that are forced to sell jerky and knives to stay in business.

Really doubt it since there would be no need for the ruling class to do any such thing, especially with all the other issues MD has on their plate now.

Maryland gun shows need to up their game to stay competitive.

 

[Mr H]

Really doubt it since there would be no need for the ruling class to do any such thing, especially with all the other issues MD has on their plate now.

Maryland gun shows need to up their game to stay competitive.

Again, I will say that I don't believe this to be possible, in and of itself.

The promoters are limited in who they can attract, because of the overall deterioration in the circumstances of putting on a show.

Better vendors attract better crowds, yes. But those vendors cannot sell many of the wares people are looking for due to the legal constraints in MD.

 

[dogbone]

Just go.... Even if it's just to piss off the grabbers. . That's worth the $10 all by itself.

I like gun shows. Even severely mediocre gun shows are more interesting than no gun show. I go to find the interesting , unusual , and obscure. Just spending a cpl hours in the company of fellow gun people is a good thing.

The best part for me is seeing a full parking lot and not a single Obama bumper sticker. I've found some good deals and walked away from some serious temptation. I find the overpriced items worthy of either a head shake or a belly laugh. Are there better shows out of state? Of course there are, but I still enjoy and will support local shows and shops.

 

[Time4change]

My kid goes to school in Tucson Az. Im out there several times a year. I don't buy guns out there but I get all of my supplies. Why waste my time at Md. Shows.

 

[Mr H]

My kid goes to school in Tucson Az. Im out there several times a year. I don't buy guns out there but I get all of my supplies. Why waste my time at Md. Shows.

No offense, but...

Are you working to make the [legal] environment in MD better so that shows (and firearms ownership in general) can improve???

 

[Blaster229]

My kid goes to school in Tucson Az. Im out there several times a year. I don't buy guns out there but I get all of my supplies. Why waste my time at Md. Shows.

Seems to me that anything (supplies) can be had here in md, other than the banned firearms. And you can't get banned firearms or there anyway.

 

[offthepaper]

Better vendors attract better crowds, yes. But those vendors cannot sell many of the wares people are looking for due to the legal constraints in MD.

Thus, the nail has been struck.

 

[jpo183]

Or the vendors could start supplying items that people want at fair value. Heck I rarely see good reloading items there. I always see the bullet guy and that one dude that sells 10 year old powder. The ammo is almost always overpriced and even some of the C&R stuff (unless Lou is selling it).


Here is my rule of thumb for ammo pricing , gun pricing and accessory pricing:

Take online pricing add the shipping and add the FFL fee (when appropriate) add a couple bucks = fair price.


Unfortunately they DO NOT DO THIS.

The vendors need to adjust to the Maryland Environment if they want to keep the gun shows going.

But as you said "Better vendors attract better crowds, yes. But those vendors cannot sell many of the wares people are looking for due to the legal constraints in MD. "

 

[Blaster229]

I think a better start is having more space between tables. There's just no room for Larry the talking loiterer standing there trying to get his chat on trying to impress the vendor assistant with his lack knowledge. And said assistant just entertaining away. Traffic flow is frustrating as all hell.

 

[Robert]

Again, I will say that I don't believe this to be possible, in and of itself.

The promoters are limited in who they can attract, because of the overall deterioration in the circumstances of putting on a show.

Better vendors attract better crowds, yes. But those vendors cannot sell many of the wares people are looking for due to the legal constraints in MD.

Again, that makes no sense to me. We are talking about MD gun shows with I presume MD business. Explain to me which items, with the exception of MAGS would this be relevant to MD residence and Business'?

Thus, the nail has been struck.

Not IMO, I think Blaster229 hit the nail on the head.. A point I tried to convey to RoadDawg in far to many words..

Seems to me that anything (supplies) can be had here in md, other than the banned firearms. And you can't get banned firearms or there anyway.

 

[Mr H]

Again, that makes no sense to me. We are talking about MD gun shows with I presume MD business. Explain to me which items, with the exception of MAGS would this be relevant to MD residence and Business'?

A couple things...

Many vendors at the MD shows come in from out of state. With MD laws as they are, these vendors--who generally carry all sorts of things which are readily marketable in their home states--are limited in what they can bring.

Mags, yes... but also the whole swath of newly banned rifles are now left home, and the dealer loses the chance for those sales.

Add to that, the current restricted sales potential for handguns, and it's no wonder that dealers--both MD and otherwise--choose not to take a table at our shows.

 

[Robert]

A couple things...

Many vendors at the MD shows come in from out of state. With MD laws as they are, these vendors--who generally carry all sorts of things which are readily marketable in their home states--are limited in what they can bring.

Mags, yes... but also the whole swath of newly banned rifles are now left home, and the dealer loses the chance for those sales.

Add to that, the current restricted sales potential for handguns, and it's no wonder that dealers--both MD and otherwise--choose not to take a table at our shows.

Ok so this is more about the 'guns show' then MD shops.

Then I contend, until the laws are changed (you know what I think of the chances of that happening in my lifetime are) we will forever have problems bringing out-of-state vendors in to MD.

But Its really a mute point because:

We don't need ANY out-of-state vendor(s) to have a great gun show here in MD. That goal (of putting on a great show) of course falls squarely on the shoulders of the promoter(s) and the MD shops.

 

[Mr H]

The conversation is primarily about the shows, yes. But the problem originates in Annapolis.

This is a broad-effect issue which also crimps MD vendors, because their potential income streams have suffered as a result of the laws.

 

[jjones88]

Or the vendors could start supplying items that people want at fair value. Heck I rarely see good reloading items there. I always see the bullet guy and that one dude that sells 10 year old powder. The ammo is almost always overpriced and even some of the C&R stuff (unless Lou is selling it).


Here is my rule of thumb for ammo pricing , gun pricing and accessory pricing:

Take online pricing add the shipping and add the FFL fee (when appropriate) add a couple bucks = fair price.


Unfortunately they DO NOT DO THIS.

The vendors need to adjust to the Maryland Environment if they want to keep the gun shows going.

But as you said "Better vendors attract better crowds, yes. But those vendors cannot sell many of the wares people are looking for due to the legal constraints in MD. "

I agree with this 100%. I refuse to get the HQL which limits me to buying ammo, cleaning supplies, and reloading supplies. The last Frederick show just seemed so overpriced with regards to ammo and cleaning supplies. If I were a vendor, I'd look at gunbot, ammoseek, whatever-site-you-want, get the price per round, add shipping + FFL fee and sell at that point. I think you'd clean up!

 

[Fox123]

They don't want to clean up. They want to overcharge; customer rich environment who already paid to get in, most are not interested in leaving empty handed.

 

[jcbvh]

The shows in Louisiana are the same. For the most part they suck for the buyer.

Not because of the selections...its the gouging that goes on. Before people flame my about the free market BS. I agree! which is why I buy online.

I goto to gun shows to around the people to be honest. Im around people who I agree with for most part on alot of issues.

 

[Mike OTDP]

The biggest headache I have is that the vast majority of dealers are from the Baltimore area. If you're from Deep Southern Maryland, which I am, this means that any purchase of a pistol means 4 hours of driving to pick it up. Quite aside from the prices...and I can do better buying online and transferring through a local dealer.

The one exception is the big Antique Arms show in Timonium. That show is worth the money.

 

[iH8DemLibz]

Not to blow a ray of sunshine up Lou's A$$, but he and only a (((few))) others have tables worth looking at in the way of quality, quantity, and fair prices. I remember a time, albeit 25 years ago, when there wasn't enough time in the day to see all the great stuff at local shows. Crates of all matching 98/22s for 60 bucks a pop and enough U.S service rifles from Krags to Garands to make your head swim comes to mind. There were guys with tables with nothing, but old gun parts so a person could find that one of kind, much needed item for a repair or a project gun. It used to be a C&R cornucopia utopia. In my opinion, gun shows used to be put on by gun guys. Now they're being put on by greed guys. They are now over priced, and so packed with people that you can't get through an aisle sideways. That said, if they want to continue to sell tube socks, t-shirts, dried meat products, and bumper stickers, I know where to go.

There used to a special kind of gun culture and atmosphere attached to the old shows and until that is found and revisited, I don't see these shows getting any better.

And last, but not least, the "Buy it now before it's too late" BULL$HIT needs to end. Capitalism is all well and good, but fear mongering is not the way to do it.

Just my .025