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I plan on going to the Austin Gun Show this Sunday and am looking to purchase either a small .380 or a Remington 870..

What are everyones recommendations for negotiating?

Also how much simpler does having your CHL make the process and is that a bargaining tool?

Thanks,


***Edit***

Well I went to the gun show today and wasn't that impressed. $7 to pretty much walk into a Gun Store with crafts and food for sale :)

However I did get what I went there to get so I guess there is something to say for that.

I ended up getting this little gem.



$230 for the gun plust the $14 in entrance fees to the show = $244 OTD

As far as the negotiations went I asked the gentlemen what he was asking for it and he said $275 which I responded by saying that was a lil more than I wanted to spend. I had $231 in my pocket and said I will give ya $230 for it and he said sold!!!!

Private sellers negotiate better than dealers.
With dealers, negotiation is generally limited to sales tax, and whether they charge you credit card fees. Of course, it doesn't hurt to point out that the same gun is $X cheaper at the table over there and see what happens.
If the negotiation involves a trade-in to a dealer, you are going to get taken

1. Know what you want before you go... Make/Model/Accessories
2. Have more than one option, if possible.
3. Look around... find several vendors selling the same item. Ask them for a price. Say "thanks", but don't try to haggle yet.
4. Get a feel for show price, options, and what vendor you think you'd like to do business with. (I've run into folks at shows that I would never give my money to... even at the lowest price... Folks selling lots of Nazi paraphernalia, sporting white supremacist tats, or just plain bad attitudes, for example. YMMV.)
5. Go back to the one you think is best and make them an offer.... Be sure that your offer includes everything you hope to by from that vendor.... Extra mags, a case, maybe ammo too...
6. If you don't like their counter offer, consider focusing on just the gun first.... then the extras.. but.. I find that there's more wiggle room on things like accessories, so, the bigger deal will usually have the greater price flexibility.
7. Cash price is usually best..... Bring cash.
8. If you don't find a deal that makes you happy... don't buy... keep looking.. there are shows every weekend and lots of online places to buy. FFL fees are cheap and shipping costs are only $25-$30 bucks....
9. Have fun...

RoyGBiv wrote:1. Know what you want before you go... Make/Model/Accessories
2. Have more than one option, if possible.
3. Look around... find several vendors selling the same item. Ask them for a price. Say "thanks", but don't try to haggle yet.
4. Get a feel for show price, options, and what vendor you think you'd like to do business with. (I've run into folks at shows that I would never give my money to... even at the lowest price... Folks selling lots of Nazi paraphernalia, sporting white supremacist tats, or just plain bad attitudes, for example. YMMV.)
5. Go back to the one you think is best and make them an offer.... Be sure that your offer includes everything you hope to by from that vendor.... Extra mags, a case, maybe ammo too...
6. If you don't like their counter offer, consider focusing on just the gun first.... then the extras.. but.. I find that there's more wiggle room on things like accessories, so, the bigger deal will usually have the greater price flexibility.
7. Cash price is usually best..... Bring cash.
8. If you don't find a deal that makes you happy... don't buy... keep looking.. there are shows every weekend and lots of online places to buy. FFL fees are cheap and shipping costs are only $25-$30 bucks....
9. Have fun...

I agree that trying to negotiate usually won't hurt, as long as you're polite. Some dealers get upset if you try to negotiate but there are plenty of fish in the sea.

Like auctions, know what you're willing to pay before you walk in the door. I like having a max OTD (out the door price, inclusive of all taxes, fees, etc.) that I'm willing to pay for a gun, and I know the pre-tax equivalent, and I won't go a penny over that. My target price is less, to give me some room. If they can't meet or beat my max price, I walk. There are plenty of fish in the sea.

Bring cash. Not only do you avoid CC fees, but there's a psychological advantage to (for example) pulling two Benjamins out of your pocket and asking if he'll take $200 OTD.

tacticool wrote:Bring cash. Not only do you avoid CC fees, but there's a psychological advantage to (for example) pulling two Benjamins out of your pocket and asking if he'll take $200 OTD.

Definitely good advice there...

i will ask at gun shows and even most "real" gun stores about the price. if they say thats the price and they wont budge i either buy it or say thanks for your help.I never say well your price is higher then everyone else or anything. If you dont like the price buy it from someone else.

I just recently bought a gun that is pretty rare and i asked if they would go any lower on the price and he gave me a number i asked if he would do 1100 and he said nope. so it was either buy it for that price and pay a little extra or probably never see another for a few years.

Go on the last day about 3 hours before closing time. If it has been a slow show for them that is when they begin to want to deal. Works now and then for me.

I know it never hurts to ask and I DEFINATELY plan on bring cash to the table.

Both of the guns that I want are pretty much the same price..

Kel Tec P3AT and the Remington 870 12 GA I believe $225 OTD is a good deal and about what I want to pay.

Another thing to keep in mind that hasn't been mentioned...

I always try and negotiate in private or out of ear-shot of other customers. They don't want to have to honor the same price twice, and are more likely to budge. If you have an audience, they'll likely stick to the marked price and/or follow the standard policy.

http://consumerist.com/2010/03/7-ways-t ... tions.html

Also, never pay retail:
http://consumerist.com/2010/02/why-aren ... g-yet.html

General advice, but I assume you already know:
There is no reason to feel bad about trying to save money. The other party isn't going to agree to any sale that they don't also profit from.

RoyGBiv wrote:1. Know what you want before you go... Make/Model/Accessories
2. Have more than one option, if possible.
3. Look around... find several vendors selling the same item. Ask them for a price. Say "thanks", but don't try to haggle yet.
4. Get a feel for show price, options, and what vendor you think you'd like to do business with. (I've run into folks at shows that I would never give my money to... even at the lowest price... Folks selling lots of Nazi paraphernalia, sporting white supremacist tats, or just plain bad attitudes, for example. YMMV.)
5. Go back to the one you think is best and make them an offer.... Be sure that your offer includes everything you hope to by from that vendor.... Extra mags, a case, maybe ammo too...
6. If you don't like their counter offer, consider focusing on just the gun first.... then the extras.. but.. I find that there's more wiggle room on things like accessories, so, the bigger deal will usually have the greater price flexibility.
7. Cash price is usually best..... Bring cash.
8. If you don't find a deal that makes you happy... don't buy... keep looking.. there are shows every weekend and lots of online places to buy. FFL fees are cheap and shipping costs are only $25-$30 bucks....
9. Have fun...

Always watch out when you ask for any wiggle room... you may just get this:

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=34r4-yzCyVw[/youtube]

I'm trying to ponder all this, and nothing seems to square up if I took a seller's point of view. Let me explain (to be fair, this only really applies to new, retail firearms. Used firearms are pretty fair game for negotiations):

Option 1) You see a lower price at the table yonder, so you want to haggle the price at the table you're at. If I was the seller, I'd be a bit puzzled. Why not buy the gun at the other table?
Option 2) You want to use the power of cash (vs credit) to reduce your price. Sure, as a seller, I could trim the CC fees I'd likely have built into my merchandise, but most gun sellers run at very low margins on firearms themselves (so I'm told).
Option 3) You see that the price is significantly higher than what you know is a reasonable price for a firearm, and it's the only version available at the gun show, so you want to haggle it down. Again, as a seller, I'm listening to a guy try to knock off all my profit margin and haggle as I watch 10, 20, 30 or more people that might buy at my asking price walk by, because I can only negotiate with one person at a time. Why do I consider this desirable?

This comes off as rather negative, so let's not ignore the fact that you might have purchased from me before, or you want to buy multiple items, etc. I'm just saying, overall, haggling on a new firearm seems like a waste of everybody's time. If you're an educated buyer, you already know what a fair price is for a firearm.

(Boy, if I ever start my own FFL business, this post is probably going to come back and haunt me All humor aside though, if I was selling guns, I'd be more interested in winning customers that want to keep buying goods from me. A gun show seems like a rather poor way of winning customers hearts and minds, because it immediately sets you up in a "lowest price wins" race, and removes the ability to genuinely make long-term customers)

tacticool wrote:I agree that trying to negotiate usually won't hurt, as long as you're polite. Some dealers get upset if you try to negotiate but there are plenty of fish in the sea.

Like auctions, know what you're willing to pay before you walk in the door. I like having a max OTD (out the door price, inclusive of all taxes, fees, etc.) that I'm willing to pay for a gun, and I know the pre-tax equivalent, and I won't go a penny over that. My target price is less, to give me some room. If they can't meet or beat my max price, I walk. There are plenty of fish in the sea.

Bring cash. Not only do you avoid CC fees, but there's a psychological advantage to (for example) pulling two Benjamins out of your pocket and asking if he'll take $200 OTD.

So tacticool, it sounds like your saying that there are plenty of fish in the sea. Is that right?

lkd wrote:Option 1) You see a lower price at the table yonder, so you want to haggle the price at the table you're at. If I was the seller, I'd be a bit puzzled. Why not buy the gun at the other table?

Well, I did this once because the dealer with the slightly higher price was based much closer to me than the dealer with the slightly lower price. I knew if I had any issues, I could drive back to the closer dealer.