What THe FLip Cakes is Up With WISCONSIN?

General General Discussion
1

Went to a local gun show…

after hearing awesome stories of 6920’s for less then $1100 at gun shows in Fort Worth and Dallas, I was expecting greatness today…

What I found was insanity!! Colt 6940’s for $1900, and that was the DISCOUNT low price… normally they were going for $2200!! So by that logic, the 6920’s for $1600 were a steal!!! Can you imagine that? I was blown away to say the least…

Tho every dealer and his mama was telling me that the BM’s, RRA’s, and the Olympic Arm’s that were anywhere from $1200-$1800(BM X**) were as good as it got as far as AR’s are concerned… THANKS TO THIS FORUM and the awesome people and chart thats floating around here… I KNEW BETTER!!

Granted… I know next to nothing about AR’s compared to PEEPs on here… but compared to the good ol’ gun folks here at the show… I was an AR god!! and I owe it all to this site and the fine knowledgable blokes on here! THANK YOU!!

But seriously I should have known what was up when at the VERY FIRST table… there were Smith and Wesson M&P15T’s for $1800!!! Now I know, S&W is a more then decent make…but $1800 for an M&P15T?? Say WHaT!!!

DPMS which I didn’t even bother checking for, were all like $1200 and up!!

Its pretty much the same story at all the local shops I have visited in the area, i.e. super high prices for all things AR!

Anyone have any idea whats up with these prices, or better yet WiSconsin in general? I would love to know!

THis also being my first “REAL” gun show that I attended I was not aware of the protocols in place… I went in with the swap meet mentality…

To say the least, I offended quite a few dudes by trying to haggle I guess… One guy even told me where to stick it… after I(or so I thought) reasonably suggested $30 for 2 Magpul pMags w/window for $30, hey they were going $18 a piece… but he flatly refused… I even coyly said, hey lets do $33 and thats when he went off on me!!

Granted I know little about the pMags, except they get high ratings online…but they seemed flimsy to me and well they are made of plastic, so…yeah…

I guess haggling is a no, NO at the gun show and EVERYONE seemed to take offense at my mere suggestion of a price meet… with the exception of one guy…

Took TWO hours of haggling and negotiation and me “walking” away, like actually leaving twice… to FINALLY getting a…drum roll…ta, da. dooooom!!! a COLT LE6920 for $1175, OUT THE DOOR PRICE!! We’re talking brand spanking NEW, not even taken out of the box… with the new small/standard size pins even!! but yeah, that was the exception and Like I said…took a lot of work, but once dude knew that I “knew” my guns, he was semi-happy to “help” me out!!

So yeah, thats Wisconsin or should I say, SOUTH EASTERN Wisconsin gun show’s for ya! Are we just behind the times or not “with it” as far as the general gun world goes?

oNe

p.s. Even tho BCM headquarters is like 15 min’s from my house and the gun show itself… every dealer looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if they knew who BCM was… very shocking to say the least… they thought I was crazy!!

also learned another AR heavyweight is based in Wisconsin… LW…something or other? a little help here?

2

You did well. Glad to hear that you relied on the information on the forum. You won’t have any regrets.

PS: Don’t buy your carbines at gun shows anymore, unless the seller is a recognized specialist. You can get the best carbines at the best prices from the dealers/sellers that are associated with this forum. Grant has a BCM rifle for the same price as your Colt, for example.

3

Pretty much the same here. Dealers here think that selling everything OVER msrp is normal. There is one dealer here that has normal prices, they seem to stay closer to online prices than most. Prices do seem to be slowly dropping now, I guess the shops are over stocked now that the frenzy has died down.

Daniel Defense is a local company but you would not know it by the shops here. It is sad that shops dont even try to promote a local company.

4

Good job. Now use the rest of the cash to get ammo, an optic, and a sling. And take a class.

5

BCM is the shit

Pmags are the shit

You cant go wrong with either

end of story…now give Grant a call

6

i know down here in Florida the prices for ARs at gun shows has gone up a lot. probably similar prices to what you experienced. even the cheaper models are going for over $1000 now.

7

That is why you see so many people buying firearms over the internet and just have them transferred to their local dealers. It is pretty typical in Iowa also.

8

It doesnt make sense to me. Most gun shops now sell stuff on gun broker and similar sites, so they should know what the going rate is. Somehow they would rather take a $25 transfer fee instead of selling someone the same gun themselves.

The last shop I was in I asked if they could lower the price to match the online price I could get PLUS what it would cost me in shipping and the transfer fee. They didnt even come close to the price, and were still like $80 higher on a gun with an msrp of $499.

I guess shops got used to people paying over msrp for guns and think that will continue.

9

What is a “flip cake(s)?”

M_P

10

That is just WI in general. When I used to live up in River Falls back in 05 it was much the same, and slightly worse just across the border in MN.

11

Gun show IMHO are on the way out. Generally, the dealers that go to them buy only through distributors (not direct). So prices will almost always be high on EVERYTHING.

Can you find deals or odd things? Sure, but you are better off waiting in the parking lot as people come out of their vehicles and seeing what they have in their hand.

As I have told you, BCM has all of 3 dealers (with only one being in WI and they do not do gun shows). So you will most likely NEVER see a BCM product at a gun show (even though they might be right down the street).

C4

12

Bravo Company did the Waukesha show in May. I think this was Paul’s response to exactly what goes on at gun shows, and to make his products (BCGs, uppers, etc) available at decent prices to the WI gun buying public. That having been said, I’m not sure he’d ever do another one…

13

Ya, he said he did one or two of them.

I did a gun show once in VA. Never again.

C4

14

Probably because all he heard the whole weekend was “BCM? Never heard of 'em. Ya’ll got any DPMS?”

15

Oh ya. I am sure some village idiot tried to tell Paul that his stuff was not up to DPMS’s quality. :rolleyes:

C4

16

THAT would be an interesting conversation to hear. You guys are definitely better men than me, I wouldn’t be able to tolerate that BS. Can’t wait to meet you guys at SHOT 2010.

17

In order to be successful at gun shows in Virginia you need to stock and sell the following (not in any particular order):

  • Beef Jerky
  • Rubberband Guns
  • Assorted Jelly/Jam
  • Freaky Cloth Dolls (reminds me of voodoo dolls)
  • The same Colt 6400c that I’ve seen since 2003 for $1850

Any of those items will generate MAD CASH!

18

Who and where is his dealer in WI??

19

Bravo Company USA.

They do not have a store front (FYI).

C4

20

…You forgot the Shamwow booth, and the Tacky “Authentic” Native American Art (usually made in China)!