Beannie Babies being sold at the last gun show I went to. You may want to read Part 1 of this article here
Some may think this is still a serious flaw, let me add some more perspective based on my personal observations. A gun show will have dozens of gun dealers with FFL's that are selling hundreds of guns each, literally several hundred each for some of the larger ones. A guy who is selling Egyptian cotton sheets might have as many as six he is selling. Now most people selling sheets, Tupperware, and helicopters are not selling their guns. In fact very few of them are. My estimation is for every 1000-2000 guns for sale by an FFL dealer there is approximately 1 gun for sale by a civilian. Usually when they are it is one of two outcomes:
1. They have something that is kind of rare and they are asking a ridiculous price for it in the slim case that someone will buy it (usually this person is just showing off how cool of a gun they have and rubbing in the fact you don't have it), and most of the time they don't end up selling it. It has been my observation they will usually trade for something else they want instead of selling it, which is also perfectly legal.
2. They are in a serious financial bind and they are selling anything they can to get the money. I have seen ads for cars for sale on the tables of people doing this. Usually it is due to a medical emergency of a family member. Why else do you think the guy who sells helicopters at the mall is working all weekend at a gun show and having someone cover his kiosk at the mall also?
Whether or not you agree with firearms and their transactions hopefully this post sheds some light on the reality of gun shows. Keep in mind if a civilian is busted for selling guns commercially without and FFL the ATF will be all over him. The ATF trolls gun shows for people doing that. If they are caught they are looking at serving time in a federal prison.
I have a friend who is in law enforcement, but he also works gun shows for some extra money (quite a few law enforcement officers do). He is not an FFL, but he sells accessories for firearms which does not require and FFL so what he is doing is legit. He was working a show years ago and a guy offered to selling him a gun for well under what the weapon is worth. He could have easily put it on the table and doubled his money. Throughout the show several people came by and inquired about the gun and offered to buy it for well more than he purchased it for. My friend bought the gun because he wanted it not to flip it to make a few extra bucks. Come to find out that is exactly what the guy was hoping for as he was an undercover ATF agent that was baiting non FFL dealers at the show in order to see if they would try to flip the gun and make a quick buck. My buddy was not stupid, he knows what the laws are and intends to keep them, he assumed it was a sting operation anyway, so he was able to buy a gun that he wanted at about half the price and keep it.
Some may think this is still a serious flaw, let me add some more perspective based on my personal observations. A gun show will have dozens of gun dealers with FFL's that are selling hundreds of guns each, literally several hundred each for some of the larger ones. A guy who is selling Egyptian cotton sheets might have as many as six he is selling. Now most people selling sheets, Tupperware, and helicopters are not selling their guns. In fact very few of them are. My estimation is for every 1000-2000 guns for sale by an FFL dealer there is approximately 1 gun for sale by a civilian. Usually when they are it is one of two outcomes:
1. They have something that is kind of rare and they are asking a ridiculous price for it in the slim case that someone will buy it (usually this person is just showing off how cool of a gun they have and rubbing in the fact you don't have it), and most of the time they don't end up selling it. It has been my observation they will usually trade for something else they want instead of selling it, which is also perfectly legal.
2. They are in a serious financial bind and they are selling anything they can to get the money. I have seen ads for cars for sale on the tables of people doing this. Usually it is due to a medical emergency of a family member. Why else do you think the guy who sells helicopters at the mall is working all weekend at a gun show and having someone cover his kiosk at the mall also?
Whether or not you agree with firearms and their transactions hopefully this post sheds some light on the reality of gun shows. Keep in mind if a civilian is busted for selling guns commercially without and FFL the ATF will be all over him. The ATF trolls gun shows for people doing that. If they are caught they are looking at serving time in a federal prison.
I have a friend who is in law enforcement, but he also works gun shows for some extra money (quite a few law enforcement officers do). He is not an FFL, but he sells accessories for firearms which does not require and FFL so what he is doing is legit. He was working a show years ago and a guy offered to selling him a gun for well under what the weapon is worth. He could have easily put it on the table and doubled his money. Throughout the show several people came by and inquired about the gun and offered to buy it for well more than he purchased it for. My friend bought the gun because he wanted it not to flip it to make a few extra bucks. Come to find out that is exactly what the guy was hoping for as he was an undercover ATF agent that was baiting non FFL dealers at the show in order to see if they would try to flip the gun and make a quick buck. My buddy was not stupid, he knows what the laws are and intends to keep them, he assumed it was a sting operation anyway, so he was able to buy a gun that he wanted at about half the price and keep it.
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