OAKS WINTER SHOW FEB 7, 8, 9, 2020

[bogey1]

If a guy was smart …. there'd be no wife in the first place...…………………

Insert a picture of al bundy here_____________.

[ItchyTick]

It sounds like you need my financial advice. 1) Have your own bank account into which your retirement funds are directly deposited. 2) Have your own credit cards in your own name, not both of yinz's. 3) Tell her to mind her money and you'll mind yours.

The she who must not be named.

Sort of like Voldemort.

Very familiar with that.

[mokoitis]

Annoying to me is the sign DO NOT HANDLE WITHOUT PERMISSION. What is the difference between my asking and handling it and my handling it while you are watching me?



I have to defend this practice ...

I set up at shows a half dozen times per year ... not selling guns, but similarly valued vintage items.
You would not believe how common it is for people to "have to touch" items they have absolutely no intention of buying ... especially high ticket items.
Nostalgia, a day's entertainment .. whatever the reason, lots of people attend shows for something to do, not necessarily to buy.

Every time an item gets handled, the chance for damage/deterioration increases.
People, in general, do NOT treat items owned by others in the same way they treat something of their own.
Countless times I have watched people manhandle boxes, bending/folding/ripping them ... diminishing the value of my goods without regard.

Nobody wants to buy any product that has been handled by the masses!

Very quickly, I invested in showcases for my booths, so nothing could be handled without my control.
This cut back on damage considerably and I have only 2 known instances of theft at shows .. both times, items were not in a case.

Now my biggest annoyance is fingerprints on the glass - HA!
I carry windex and usually clean the glass tops of the cases 2 or 3 times each show.
Small price to pay to protect my offerings.

I have a good friend who attends gun shows to see what is out there.
He handles lots of guns.
He seldom buys guns at shows though ... he goes & buys online .. doesn't want "guns that a million people have handled".
It is annoying, but it is the reality of today's market - I'm sure many people do the same.

So, in closing, I cannot fault vendors who have signs "Do Not Touch without Permission".

My 2 cents, coming from both sides of the table ... to each his own.

[abner13]

Insert a picture of al bundy here_____________.

al bundy2.jpg

[abner13]

Annoying to me is the sign DO NOT HANDLE WITHOUT PERMISSION. What is the difference between my asking and handling it and my handling it while you are watching me?

\

Because some people just don't know how to handle things without damaging them. Back when I did shows , people would take rifles out of racks clumsily and roughly as they could , denting and scratching the wood. Rings scratch stocks too. They'd try to cock actions that were zip-tied. And some would just walk off with it. Or distract you while a partner did.

[Marines55]

I factor in no shipping costs in a FTF price. I also consider the travel time, tolls if any, and the $12 admission I paid to get in.

But, most importantly, if it is a cash purchase, it doesn't show up on the credit card report, which she-who-must-be-obeyed OCD-scans. That is definitely worth a premium! (evil smirk here- X)

Annoying to me is the sign DO NOT HANDLE WITHOUT PERMISSION. What is the difference between my asking and handling it and my handling it while you are watching me?

Here is the deal with "do not handle without permission signs". over 16 years of doing shows I have found that the vast majority of the public have very little manners, little care about what belongs to other folks, and very little knowledge about what is sitting in front of them. I have had fat fingered guys pick up my "please ask to handle" signs and move it to the side so they could pick up a gun that the sign was sitting on top of! Few people can read signs for some reason.....maybe they are just too excited or they just have to pick something up to make that entrance fee worth it to them. Yes, I have had some meatballs pick up $5000 WWII sniper rifles and start aiming down the sights and flipping it around. then they ask "is this an SKS? What caliber is this? Man this will get a deer real good! and when you tell them to please be careful with it, they look at you like you are the asshole. meanwhile their hotdog greased fingers are dirtying up your guns and they have absolutely no intentions of ever buying that gun. Yes, I have had tons of meatballs pick up guns without asking, and as they flip it around, they smack it into 3 or 4 other mint condition guns in the rack. then they look at you and if you don't say anything to them, they just put it back with no care in the world and walk away. the last Oaks show I was at in December, I had two different occasions where guys picked up guns without asking and took them apart at the table! then when I stopped the first guy, he said sorry and pout it back together. the second guy we didn't catch and only found the gun left in pieces on my table! im telling you...those signs are there for a reason!

[Walleye Hunter]

All of that advice is closing the barn door AFTER the horses got out

If a guy was smart …. there'd be no wife in the first place...…………………

Mine came with health insurance.

[carrguy1]

I have no problem with the “please ask to handle” signs. I used to have some classic show cars and as much as I liked bringing them to shows I was in constant fear that careless show goers would touch, scratch, ding, etc. my car. I have seen careless parents (I have small kids myself) pushing strollers, parking/leaning them up against cars, bumpers, letting them accidentally roll into a car while not paying attention. My favorite was the guy who let his little kid bang and drag a golf ball all over a beautiful hot rod model T that probably had a $5-10k paint job. And then there were the kids whose frisbee landed on my engine air cleaner.

The thing I hate about the firearm cases though is the glare of the lights, how some are so scratched up you can’t see what’s inside, or when the price tags are flipped over or hidden under the guns.

[Boondox]

Mine came with health insurance.

So what I am hearing is ….. you'll live longer while married?
Is that your idea of a win?
Got to admire the fellow who looks at the glass as half full.


Before I come across as a sexist pig ….. I'd give the same advice to a woman about marriage.
Because lets be honest ….. guys are hardly some special great to have prize either.

But I understand the signs about no touche' and I'm not a vendor.
People suck ….. some vendors …. some customers.
And the vendor does not know the difference between "Bang" who is an upstanding firearm owner and handler who with deep pockets will buy all that he touches and if he does not buy will often drop a c-note in the barrel as a tip and leaves a firearm in better shape than he finds it
and "...bubba joe".....now bubba joe isn't like Bang , bubba joe is the booger picking ham fisted knuckle draggin 3rd cousin we all have who has to lick and touch and tell you all he knows or thinks he knows about guns..... and bubba joe have no money …… cept for that dollar he found in the aisle at wallmart which he is saving for gun show coffee ……. and he will get the coffee for free anyhow by telling the staff it was the bottom of the pot.
And of course you have all kinds of folks in between …….. and the vendor don't know one from another so they protect their stuff by the most common denominator.

You wanna see an awesome display of bubba joe ,,,,,, go to Grices during their anniversary sale …. and hang out near the handguns.
I'm Pro 2nd A and a gun guy as much as anyone here ….. and even I sometimes hate you gun touching , drooling , mind numbing , stupid looking , mouth breathing , sunsabitches

[Marines55]

So what I am hearing is ….. you'll live longer while married?
Is that your idea of a win?
Got to admire the fellow who looks at the glass as half full.


Before I come across as a sexist pig ….. I'd give the same advice to a woman about marriage.
Because lets be honest ….. guys are hardly some special great to have prize either.

But I understand the signs about no touche' and I'm not a vendor.
People suck ….. some vendors …. some customers.
And the vendor does not know the difference between "Bang" who is an upstanding firearm owner and handler who with deep pockets will buy all that he touches and if he does not buy will often drop a c-note in the barrel as a tip and leaves a firearm in better shape than he finds it
and "...bubba joe".....now bubba joe isn't like Bang , bubba joe is the booger picking ham fisted knuckle draggin 3rd cousin we all have who has to lick and touch and tell you all he knows or thinks he knows about guns..... and bubba joe have no money …… cept for that dollar he found in the aisle at wallmart which he is saving for gun show coffee ……. and he will get the coffee for free anyhow by telling the staff it was the bottom of the pot.
And of course you have all kinds of folks in between …….. and the vendor don't know one from another so they protect their stuff by the most common denominator.

You wanna see an awesome display of bubba joe ,,,,,, go to Grices during their anniversary sale …. and hang out near the handguns.
I'm Pro 2nd A and a gun guy as much as anyone here ….. and even I sometimes hate you gun touching , drooling , mind numbing , stupid looking , mouth breathing , sunsabitches

this is the funniest thing I have read all day! quite an accurate description of the gun show crowd. I have seen them all...the guys who think they know more than you about the items you sell and they feel the need to tell you about it. the guys who are very respectful and are well spoken and well mannered. the guys who are just passionate about firearms in general. and of course the bubba Joe's of the world. its all fun though at the end of the day. the only thing that bothers me are the guys who price check every damn thing they see on a table and then ask to get $2 off because they can get it on the internet for that price.