Today was also a nice day at the annual Spring Gun Show. Not too many people asking stupid questions, like "Is that for sale?" when the item is clearly marked with what it is and how much we're asking for it. Not too many people wanting to stand around and touch everything we have on the table but not actually interested in buying anything. We did have a few people try to haggle on prices with us, and we actually encourage that (unless the price tag says "FIRM" which means we're probably selling it for someone else). But trying to haggle with us for a lower price, us coming to an agreement on a lower price for the item, and then the customer walking away because they don't have the money to buy it is just silly. I lost count how many times that happened today.
But, we returned home with fewer items than we took which is always a success. We did purchase some .45 ACP pistol parts and a reproduction MP-40 "non-gun" (doesn't work, never did, never will) that we'd planned to add to our collections and/or resell and ALL of them sold within a half an hour of our purchases. We were lucky to get an M1 Garand bayonet in excellent condition at a very reasonable price. We plan to resell it but we bought it so close to the end of the day today that there wasn't time to resell it there. That's okay; that's why we have the website.
My oral surgeon advised me the other day to be careful with what I ate and drank and to not be surprised if by the end of the second or third day my face began to swell and ache worse than it did when I went to his office. That would have been any amount because nothing hurt when I went to see him and now I'm in excruciating pain! I almost wanted to skip posting tonight because earlier I could barely lift my arms or my head long enough to type anything. But, I sat and watched the Oscars and figured if I'm still up this late I can at least post something. So, here it is.
I'm looking forward to the next gun show we'll be able to attend. Not sure when that will be at the moment but it will be fun as will the search for new items to offer at the next show!
Showing posts with label gun show. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gun show. Show all posts
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Spring Gun Show: Day One
I'm surprised. I'm very surprised. I'm actually on the verge of being stunned. Today, I didn't have to yell at anyone in disgust during the gun show. And that's a first for me in a long time!
I don't consider myself a rude person. I try to be friendly and cordial with everyone I meet, especially if they're a customer, until they give me a reason not to be. Then, depending on the amount of stupidity or rudeness received, all bets are off. My business is there to make money, not to please the entire world. I've spent years of my life studying and researching information so that I am as close to being an expert as I can be with regards to the items I sell. And since 99% of all of the items are either from the Vietnam War era or earlier (I deal in military surplus, in case you forgot or are new to my writings), a lot of my information has to come from hands-on experience with the items, talking to veterans who owned or were issued the items, and doing a LOT of reading so that I'll know the little details. Not every helmet is the same. Not every weapon is the same. And just because you watched Band of Brothersor Saving Private Ryan doesn't make you an expert on WWII militaria! You might own the entire DVD set of every Tour of Duty season or you have every M*A*S*H and After M*A*S*H episode memorized, but that doesn't make you an expert on the Vietnam or Korean Wars!
The worst thing to do is to come up to my table (which I have spent a fair amount of money to rent so that I can sell my items) after I've traveled a long distance to be at the show (sometimes I'm lucky and the shows are actually at a center across the street from my house!) and made sure that I've brought a wide variety of items (because one of the biggest complaints at shows is that "there's nothing worth buying") and trying to inform me that the polyester-blend jacket you're holding was passed-down three generations from your relative that served in the American Revolution and because you've seen the latest documentary on History Channel that has one "just like it" that I must purchase it from you for an ungodly amount of money. Or, you bring an item to me and tell me how you watched a television show where someone had one exactly like it except for the color, size, and rust on it and that you demand that I pay the appraised amount from the show. I'll make this simple -- do either of those things, and the answer is going to be, "Not gonna happen in this lifetime, buddy!"
Another one of the top items to not do is to bring your item to my table, stand in front of me and give me a very, very long, very, very detailed "history" of the item and how you came to own it and then ask me what it's worth. It's even worse when you start your diatribe with, "Do you know what this is?" not in a manner of "Can you help me?" but with the attitude of "I'm going to teach you something." What's most irritating is when I've answered your question that I do or don't know what the item is and ask if you want to sell the item to me and you respond with a resounding "Of course not!" or "Depends on what you tell me it's worth! Why should I give you an appraisal for free? You don't get other items appraised for free. Why should I utilize the many years research and knowledge that I have to tell you something that (1) you think you already knew or (2) had no clue about and not get anything out of it? I don't work for Antiques Roadshow so my appraisals aren't free!
Also, when I give a "value" on an item, it's going to be one of three things -- (1) the current market value of the item based on others I've seen sell at retail or auction, (2) an estimated insurance value if it's something that I've already been informed is going to stay within the family (and my appraisal fee is paid), or (3) what I think it's worth to me or what I'm willing to pay because I am going to resell it and need to be able to make a profit. I'm not buying your memories or appraising your family's history -- I'm in this game to make money and just because you saw someone else told that their item is worth $30,000 doesn't mean that your's is as well! Not every World War II uniform was worn by Eisenhower or Patton and not every German pistol was carried by Goering or Hitler. And trust me on this, there are a LOT of faked items out there! Collectors and reenactors have demanded reproduction items and manufacturers have been more than happy to provide them, especially if they're Nazi items! They first started reproducing the uniforms but used actual WWII-era materials and thread which made detecting a fake almost impossible. Then they reproduced weapons with old parts found in defunct factories. The parts are "original" but the build of the weapon didn't happen until the 1980s -- so saying it's "real" is kind of hard to do. Now, there are companies that not only fake the medals (and not just the high honor ones but even the ones that EVERYONE got) but they even fake the presentation boxes the things came in from the 1940s!! It's getting so you can't trust anything as "authentic" anymore!
Oh, and when I said "real" above, that word drives me insane. People come up to me when I'm wearing my WWII-era authentic uniform and ask, "Is that real?" I tell them, "Why, yes, it is -- in the sense that it takes up time and space." That usually baffles them for a few moments until they decide to ask, "Is it really your uniform?" I reply, "Yes, it is mine because I bought and paid for it myself and am the only person who wears it." Again, I'll get some blank stares because they're not sure of what to say. What they should have asked is, "Is that an authentic WWII uniform?" or "Is that uniform original to the WWII-era?" or "Was that uniform made during WWII and possibly used by a soldier then?" Then I could answer them whether or not my uniform is "authentic," "genuine" or "vintage." "Real" is a word that has way too many meanings. And asking if it is "mine" implies that I am the person who wore the uniform during World War II and earned the medals pinned to the dress jacket and actually obtained the rank worn from the United States Government. I may be starting to look older, but I'm not THAT old yet!!
So today wasn't filled with as many questions or issues like those. It was nice to have intelligent and humorous conversations with prospective customers. And when some would ask me for my "expert" opinion or for clarification with regards to an item or type of items I've spent a lot of time researching, I was happy to oblige. True, there were a number of people who tapped on the helmets to make sure they were really made out of metal and others who tried to "inform" us that we couldn't own or sell our wares because "it's illegal to own government property" even though the items are edging 70 years old and no one in the government has been searching for them (especially since they discontinued them and threw away what was left-over ages ago).
Hopefully tomorrow will go well. And if not, at least I'm still on my painkillers from yesterday and they help mellow me out for short periods of time.
I don't consider myself a rude person. I try to be friendly and cordial with everyone I meet, especially if they're a customer, until they give me a reason not to be. Then, depending on the amount of stupidity or rudeness received, all bets are off. My business is there to make money, not to please the entire world. I've spent years of my life studying and researching information so that I am as close to being an expert as I can be with regards to the items I sell. And since 99% of all of the items are either from the Vietnam War era or earlier (I deal in military surplus, in case you forgot or are new to my writings), a lot of my information has to come from hands-on experience with the items, talking to veterans who owned or were issued the items, and doing a LOT of reading so that I'll know the little details. Not every helmet is the same. Not every weapon is the same. And just because you watched Band of Brothersor Saving Private Ryan doesn't make you an expert on WWII militaria! You might own the entire DVD set of every Tour of Duty season or you have every M*A*S*H and After M*A*S*H episode memorized, but that doesn't make you an expert on the Vietnam or Korean Wars!
The worst thing to do is to come up to my table (which I have spent a fair amount of money to rent so that I can sell my items) after I've traveled a long distance to be at the show (sometimes I'm lucky and the shows are actually at a center across the street from my house!) and made sure that I've brought a wide variety of items (because one of the biggest complaints at shows is that "there's nothing worth buying") and trying to inform me that the polyester-blend jacket you're holding was passed-down three generations from your relative that served in the American Revolution and because you've seen the latest documentary on History Channel that has one "just like it" that I must purchase it from you for an ungodly amount of money. Or, you bring an item to me and tell me how you watched a television show where someone had one exactly like it except for the color, size, and rust on it and that you demand that I pay the appraised amount from the show. I'll make this simple -- do either of those things, and the answer is going to be, "Not gonna happen in this lifetime, buddy!"
Another one of the top items to not do is to bring your item to my table, stand in front of me and give me a very, very long, very, very detailed "history" of the item and how you came to own it and then ask me what it's worth. It's even worse when you start your diatribe with, "Do you know what this is?" not in a manner of "Can you help me?" but with the attitude of "I'm going to teach you something." What's most irritating is when I've answered your question that I do or don't know what the item is and ask if you want to sell the item to me and you respond with a resounding "Of course not!" or "Depends on what you tell me it's worth! Why should I give you an appraisal for free? You don't get other items appraised for free. Why should I utilize the many years research and knowledge that I have to tell you something that (1) you think you already knew or (2) had no clue about and not get anything out of it? I don't work for Antiques Roadshow so my appraisals aren't free!
Also, when I give a "value" on an item, it's going to be one of three things -- (1) the current market value of the item based on others I've seen sell at retail or auction, (2) an estimated insurance value if it's something that I've already been informed is going to stay within the family (and my appraisal fee is paid), or (3) what I think it's worth to me or what I'm willing to pay because I am going to resell it and need to be able to make a profit. I'm not buying your memories or appraising your family's history -- I'm in this game to make money and just because you saw someone else told that their item is worth $30,000 doesn't mean that your's is as well! Not every World War II uniform was worn by Eisenhower or Patton and not every German pistol was carried by Goering or Hitler. And trust me on this, there are a LOT of faked items out there! Collectors and reenactors have demanded reproduction items and manufacturers have been more than happy to provide them, especially if they're Nazi items! They first started reproducing the uniforms but used actual WWII-era materials and thread which made detecting a fake almost impossible. Then they reproduced weapons with old parts found in defunct factories. The parts are "original" but the build of the weapon didn't happen until the 1980s -- so saying it's "real" is kind of hard to do. Now, there are companies that not only fake the medals (and not just the high honor ones but even the ones that EVERYONE got) but they even fake the presentation boxes the things came in from the 1940s!! It's getting so you can't trust anything as "authentic" anymore!
Oh, and when I said "real" above, that word drives me insane. People come up to me when I'm wearing my WWII-era authentic uniform and ask, "Is that real?" I tell them, "Why, yes, it is -- in the sense that it takes up time and space." That usually baffles them for a few moments until they decide to ask, "Is it really your uniform?" I reply, "Yes, it is mine because I bought and paid for it myself and am the only person who wears it." Again, I'll get some blank stares because they're not sure of what to say. What they should have asked is, "Is that an authentic WWII uniform?" or "Is that uniform original to the WWII-era?" or "Was that uniform made during WWII and possibly used by a soldier then?" Then I could answer them whether or not my uniform is "authentic," "genuine" or "vintage." "Real" is a word that has way too many meanings. And asking if it is "mine" implies that I am the person who wore the uniform during World War II and earned the medals pinned to the dress jacket and actually obtained the rank worn from the United States Government. I may be starting to look older, but I'm not THAT old yet!!
So today wasn't filled with as many questions or issues like those. It was nice to have intelligent and humorous conversations with prospective customers. And when some would ask me for my "expert" opinion or for clarification with regards to an item or type of items I've spent a lot of time researching, I was happy to oblige. True, there were a number of people who tapped on the helmets to make sure they were really made out of metal and others who tried to "inform" us that we couldn't own or sell our wares because "it's illegal to own government property" even though the items are edging 70 years old and no one in the government has been searching for them (especially since they discontinued them and threw away what was left-over ages ago).
Hopefully tomorrow will go well. And if not, at least I'm still on my painkillers from yesterday and they help mellow me out for short periods of time.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Whee!! Over 1000 views on my WordPress version of this blog!!!
Yippee! My blog has over 1000 views on it as of late last night!! Of course, it's really easy to get me happy and giggly about something right now. Had to have some minor oral surgery and the anesthesia has still not totally worn-off. They asked if I wanted a "local" or "general" and I said "general" would be fine and probably safer for them because if I was awake during it I'd probably have been trying to talk and ask too many questions. An unconscious patient is an easy patient at times.
Plus, I got my own bottle of prescription pain-killers, too! Those will be fun once I start needing to take them. All weekend Husband, Youngest Son, and I are supposed to be working for my online company at the local gun show. No, not a "gun show" where steroid-riddled guys show off their muscles; a "real" gun show. I enjoy looking at firearms, using them, and having my Second Amendment rights protected. We'll have a few for sale and a bunch of military surplus items as well. We don't get rich off of it but it gives me something to do to help make money when my primary employment doesn't have a huge disaster to which they want me to respond.
But for now, the "voices" and I are going to go curl-up on the couch and let the remote become one with my arm. It's going to be a long day tomorrow and I'm pretty sure those pain-killers will be needed soon. Time to rest, relax, and....um....something witty that fits there. Yup, the brain is already decided it's down for the count today!
Plus, I got my own bottle of prescription pain-killers, too! Those will be fun once I start needing to take them. All weekend Husband, Youngest Son, and I are supposed to be working for my online company at the local gun show. No, not a "gun show" where steroid-riddled guys show off their muscles; a "real" gun show. I enjoy looking at firearms, using them, and having my Second Amendment rights protected. We'll have a few for sale and a bunch of military surplus items as well. We don't get rich off of it but it gives me something to do to help make money when my primary employment doesn't have a huge disaster to which they want me to respond.
But for now, the "voices" and I are going to go curl-up on the couch and let the remote become one with my arm. It's going to be a long day tomorrow and I'm pretty sure those pain-killers will be needed soon. Time to rest, relax, and....um....something witty that fits there. Yup, the brain is already decided it's down for the count today!
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