Selling at shows - worth the time and money?

Inazone

Inazone

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One of the local outfits that puts on various gun and knife shows in my area usually hosts one at a National Guard armory just a mile or so away from my home, and it crossed my mind that for what I recall being a fairly low rental fee (forget the actual $$ amount) I might have an opportunity to unload the numerous knives, flashlights and various other stuff - often NIB - that I bought for some purpose but now want to be rid of. On one hand, I feel like just a couple of sales would cover the booth/table rental cost and could probably turn a small profit in the process of trimming my collection. On the other hand, turnout could be low, people might not be interested, and frankly, a lot of the sellers I see at these shows look pretty miserable. I'd have to come up with a means of taking credit card payment, as I feel that operating on a cash-only basis turns off a lot of prospective buyers.

Anyone have any words of wisdom, horror stories or other input? It would be several months before there is another show at this particular location, but I'm firmly on the fence at this point.
 
When we got started I worked a couple of gun and knife shows in our area. They were absolutely miserable. They need to just call these things gun shows because very rarely was anyone interested in a knife. We typically sold a few lower price knives but anyone who looked at the price of a ZT or Benchmade would start cussing at us and telling us we were trying to rip them off. This may just be true for my area but after a few different shows, some big and some small, we were done and will never go ever go back!
 
Can't speak for knife shows but I like selling guns at shows because you get instant cash for every sale, you get to look at the other tables before the public, and the other vendors usually give a better price if you have a table there. This is just my experience and it's certainly not true of every show but the majority.

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Actually now that I think of it the only knives I've ever sold at shows were cheap stuff much like whitty I found the nice knives were simply brushed over by the patrons of the show.

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Another consideration is that if you live in a sales tax state, you'll likely have to have a tax certificate or vendor permit to sell. (I suppose some states may not yet tap that resource; but the ones around me figured it out years ago)
 
I use to sell at knife shows and small gun shows. Never profitable - always came home with more knives than I left with; not to mention the table fees were generally high.

The main advantage is getting in on the dealers setup night/morning. You can get first crack at the stuff the other dealers have and that's where you really find the neat stuff. More trading, buying/selling goes on during setup than all the rest of the show. The other thing is that it is really boring; sitting/standing behind your table all day (s) - gets very tiring.

Rich
 
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I tend to agree that generally the less expensive stuff sells better at gun shows. Your average customer is generally not astute in the latest steels or have much knowledge with higher priced factory knives. I have purchased handmade knives a couple times at gun shows as well as SAKs, and some traditional knives. I guess my point is that you can sell knives at gun & knife shows, but it is hit or miss. I think you would be better off selling here at BF as many people cruise the listings.
 
whitty said:
When we got started I worked a couple of gun and knife shows in our area. They were absolutely miserable. They need to just call these things gun shows because very rarely was anyone interested in a knife. We typically sold a few lower price knives but anyone who looked at the price of a ZT or Benchmade would start cussing at us and telling us we were trying to rip them off. This may just be true for my area but after a few different shows, some big and some small, we were done and will never go ever go back!
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I live in NC so I know exactly what you mean. LOL

Would be a waste of time here depending on the area.
 
Mostly bottom feeders looking for a bargain, not knowledgeable collectors.

I prefer the convenience of selling here on the forums. It's not too much of a hassle and the concentration of quality, potential buyers can't be beat. If it's priced right it'll sell quickly, if not it won't.
 
If it's a Gun show most will be wasting their time trying to sell knives from what I have seen over the years, most gun people don't know crap about knives and or won't spend any kind of money on one.

But then that depends on the area.

Sometimes anything near a Military Base is better.

Here in NC from what I have seen over the years the knife knowledge is generally extremely low......

Been here 21 years now.
 
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whitty said:
When we got started I worked a couple of gun and knife shows in our area. They were absolutely miserable. They need to just call these things gun shows because very rarely was anyone interested in a knife. We typically sold a few lower price knives but anyone who looked at the price of a ZT or Benchmade would start cussing at us and telling us we were trying to rip them off. This may just be true for my area but after a few different shows, some big and some small, we were done and will never go ever go back!
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I think you summed up my experience buying tables years ago at shows nicely. BF & BCCI member David Martin does a Buck Knives Display every year in Las Cruces NM. He gives sharpening tips , Buck knife history, and pamphlets.
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As one that visits gun shows I tell you what I see from my view. Most dealers/vendors seem to price items at top dollar, thinking people are coming to the show they must want a gun/knife/ammo/etc. You rarely see antique guns sell...mostly inexpensive Mossbergs, Glocks and AR types. What I think dealers should do when you have an entire building full of gun/knife enthusiasts is lower the price in order to move the items...make a profit sure, but not try to pay for your kids college in one sale. I look at ammo and it's ALWAYS more expensive than the local Walmart or discount sporting goods store. I actually go to look at knives...bought many. But remember, there are bottom feeders on both sides of the table. If you buy something expensive, that dealers could be from miles away and you may never see them again. So, you have to have a lot of faith in these people at the booths. Also, the Internet is a big ingredient in all this. If I look at anything at a show, I look it up to see if I'm getting a good deal...and most of the time I'm not. I'm better off buying online. Many might not like what I'm saying but it's my view when I go to shows.


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Coastiekevink said:
As one that visits gun shows I tell you what I see from my view. Most dealers/vendors seem to price items at top dollar, thinking people are coming to the show they must want a gun/knife/ammo/etc. You rarely see antique guns sell...mostly inexpensive Mossbergs, Glocks and AR types. What I think dealers should do when you have an entire building full of gun/knife enthusiasts is lower the price in order to move the items...make a profit sure, but not try to pay for your kids college in one sale. I look at ammo and it's ALWAYS more expensive than the local Walmart or discount sporting goods store. I actually go to look at knives...bought many. But remember, there are bottom feeders on both sides of the table. If you buy something expensive, that dealers could be from miles away and you may never see them again. So, you have to have a lot of faith in these people at the booths. Also, the Internet is a big ingredient in all this. If I look at anything at a show, I look it up to see if I'm getting a good deal...and most of the time I'm not. I'm better off buying online. Many might not like what I'm saying but it's my view when I go to shows.


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If I go to a show I am looking at customs, evaluating the makers knives.

The production blades can be had cheaper online so I never bother even looking at those.

And even at the shows I normally don't buy, I take notes and if a maker looks good I write down their info and contact them later.
 
Sounds like you have plenty of time to see if you can get any other friends, co-workers, local knife enthusiasts, etc to go in with you on a table to help cut costs. If stuff doesn't sell or you are getting lowball offers, the biggest loss is probably only your time (and some $ for the table + tax certificate if applicable). Maybe try posting in the regional community thread and see if any other MN BF members will join you?
 
I used to do the local gun and knife show which was a 3 day event (Friday thru Sunday). Here is how my time was summed up.

A couple days before the show getting things ready and loaded up.
$24 for 3 days parking.
$160 for 2 tables.
$45 gas back and forth from my place to the show.
3 days sitting at the show
A day or two unloading everything, wiping down and cleaning all the knives from being handled and back in their boxes and back where I kept them.

I would sell approx $2000 worth of knives with a gross profit of around $500 and a net profit of around $250. Everyone wanted a deal on the knives and it was very hard to sell anything for a fair price.

Comments were made to me by buyers that I could sell for less than on the online auction sites because I was saving the sellers fees. I guess they were not thinking about my costs to do the show and take up 5 or so days of my time.

After about 4 shows I quit selling at them as a general rule.

I now only do the Oregon Knife Collectors show and that is mainly because I also display there and help out at the Buck Collectors Club table. I am not there to make money. Just have fun.
 
^ eek that's not even minimum wage. The effort + risk isn't worth the time for the $ returned.

I was amazed at the few garage sales I had. Besides the bottom feeders- they steel stuff. I once told a guy- I'll give you a dollar if you go away.
 
Most of the gun shows I have been to are either gone, or they've turned into flea markets. Lots of junk marked high and a few good deals sprinkled throughout. There is only one knife show left in the state, the Mason Dixon knife show in Hagerstown, and they are small but worth going to. At the few gun shows left, the dealers had some good prices on name brand knives, like Benchmade for instance, and they were mainly interested in getting rid of the knives. I see the guys peddling the fake Damascus/crapmascus, and the $5 junkers. Five dollar junk knives? Okay, I can see someone spending that, but how are these junk Damascus knives selling so much?

The dealers would show me the guns they had gotten that day from other dealers. Awesome deals. One year I sold a ton of knives at a show in York PA, held the weekend before Christmas, to dealers that had literally sold out of everything gun related you could think of, and they had cash to burn. One guy bought a ton of Case knives from me, and I was able to finish up some last minute Christmas shopping. Those days are long gone. I went to the same show, same date, same venue, and the show was dead. I saw one dealer, a member here I think, with a few ESEEs amongst some junk. Old overpriced broken junk mainly, both knives and guns related.
 
Gun shows can be a great place to find some higher end production knives for under MAP. I was really tempted to buy a 940-1 when they first came out because I found a guy who was selling all his Benchmades for 20% off MAP.
 
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