SABO BOWS

[PAPALAPIN]

I have a 62" 55# CAMO model SABO.  I don't know the model.  A good friend has what I think is the same bow, same weight in a regular finish.  Does anyone have an idea of their value.  My friend would be interested in selling his, but we don't know what they are worth.  They are very uncommon bows, made (It think) in So California in the '60's.  I have only seen two on eBAY in the last 5 years.

Any input will be appreciated.

I told my buddy that I thought they were worth about $5.00 and I would give him $6.00 for his.  That is when I found out that he was a little bit brighter that I had given him credit for.

[Archery_Collector]

I have heard of SABO, I dont have one in my collection. As with most bows of this type, I would place it in the $50-$150 range, only slightly more at best and then based on it being a nice shooter.

If rarity entirely dictated bow prices then Bears would be at the bottom of the value scale and not the top because thats what people remember and what they want.

Heck, I would have gone $10  

[raghorn]

The SABO was a great bow, and I believe the takedown model was also sold under Browning name. As stated above it's not in demand but so are a lot of other great bows.
Looking in my 1959 Kittredge catalog there are 26 different manufactutures of recurves. MAny not heard of now; Jaguar, Smithwick,Perry,Gordan,Royal,Eddings, Tarbell,Har-lee. Most were good bows probably just laked marketing skills.
I'll up the anti to $20 for the Sabo, only if it's a leftie.

[PAPALAPIN]

RON

 I guess the offer stands at $10.00 because it is a righty.  

The one I have was given to me by my gransons other grandpa.  He bought in California, it is the only one bowhe ever had.  He knows my grandson will eventually inherit my collection, so he kicked his into my collection rather tha give it to a ten year old who would probably not take care of it.  He says he paid about $75.00 new in the '60's, but he is not dead sure of the year he bought it.  

My only knowledge of SABOs is that I have seen them a few times on eBAY, but I cannot remember how much they went for.  This research started as a result of my buddy wanting to sell his.  Propr to today,  neither one of us knew that the other one hd a SABO.

[PAPALAPIN]

TIM

I agree that rarity is not the only thing that determines the value of a bow, but it is a factor.  Bear Archey was the ultimate leader in Recurve bows up to the '70's.  They made the best production line bows at the time.  Fred Bear was a master at marketing, and he certainly did more than any else for promoting archery as a whole.  In my opinion, old recurves are like antiques.  They are worth what someone will pay for them.  No more, no less.  If  SABO (or any other bow) goes up on eBAY, and it ends at a price of $30.00 after being up for a week, then that is all it is worth.  However, if it ends at $300.00, it must be worth that because it took at least two bidders to drive the price up.  In 1983 a JACK HOWARD GAMEMASTER JET sold for $200.00.   Now Jack will make you one for $1,000.00.  I just bought a used one for $460.00 and have seen them sell used for $600.00.  

I could get real cockey and say that the SABO is worth $200.00, but if no one will pay that price, then I am wrong.  The only real way to tell is to put it on eBAY, and I don't want to sell mine.  Actually, I can't sell it because although it is in my collection, it belongs to someone else.

I have picked up some great bargqins for collectible bows on eBAY, and I have seen some bows go for three times what I feel they are worth. It all depends on who is bidding and how bad they want it.

I just picked up a TICE & WATTS SPARTAN.  It was on ebay and the bid was $26.00.  I contacted the seller and offered him $50.00 + shipping to end the auction.  He agreed.  I immediately sent him payment by PayPal but before he ended it the bid was up to $52.00.  Judgeing by other auctions for Tice & Watts Spartans I would have expected teh bid to end somewhere around $200.00, even thought the recurve market is down at this time.  So, what is my SABO worth?  I will probably never know since I don't intend to sell it.  If another one comes up it may give me an indication of the value of mine.  Thanks for your input, and Ron's

[Archery_Collector]

"They are worth what someone will pay for them."

True, I state this fact on my web site here:

 http://www.neoreality.com/archery/bowvalue.htm

But...there are things to consider as I will state below.

A price guide is just that...a guide. Unfortunately, we (archery collectors) dont even have that, as I say here:

 http://www.neoreality.com/archery/bowcond.htm

As this article states, condition is a big factor too. You are right, rarity is a factor but not across the board. Among Bears it comes into play but not neccessarily for bows in general. As a general rule, I stand by the $50-$150 value. It may bring more or less based on interested bidders, exposure, bidding competition and other factors. If a single example of a bow brings more or less than the general rule, that does not mean all examples of that bow are placed in that value range.

I read an article recently about the collector car market where an insurance rep in the business for the leading car collecting insurance company  stated that if an example of a car brings twice its stated value at an auction, they will not adjust thier scale based on that one auction nor will they insure a car for the inflated price a bidder pays. There will have to be multiple examples before that happens. The car price guides do use the insurance rates as a basis. I dont love insurance companies nor am I defending them but their logic is sound.

My point being, there are exceptions, if it brings more, be happy. So where am I going with all this?

As an individual example, your SABO may bring more or less but for SABOs in general they will still be in the $50-$150. As for the $50-$150 price range, this is a figure that I picked based on my observations as a collector and I am the first to admit its not set in stone, however, if you do a completed search on ebay for recurves, it will back me up. The top bows are the typical Bears, Wings, Modern shooters and Olympic bows but the prices quickly settle in the stated range.

I've been rambling WAY too long. Probably without really saying much    I just started writing and couldnt stop! Basically just throwing out food for thought.

BTW, did you see these SABO pictures on the History site? Not like yours but interesting all the same.
 http://www.archeryhistory.com/recurves/recurvesmain.htm

[PAPALAPIN]

TIM

You cannot possibly ramble on too much for me.  I enjoy every word.  It is great to have a site like this where those of us that share a common interest can meet and chat.  Also, I have been known to ramble a bit myself.

I agree that a single sale of  a bow will not set the price of other bows of that model.  I disagree that rarity is not a major factor.  I believe in the below formula

R X I X C X OF = $Value

Where R = RARITY
      I = INTEREST
      C = CONDITION
     OF + OTHER FACTORS (+/-).

Bear bows probably corner the market in the INTETREST catagory.  That is because A) there are so many of them, and  B) because Fred Bear probably did mor to stoke the interest of archeyr than any ever, living or dead.  Of course other brands such as Pearson, Wing, Widow, Hoyt, Howatt,  Herter's, Shakespeare, and others also own their fair share of that  catagory.  I know of several collectors that only collect Herter's or Shakespeare bows.

Then you get into the Staghorns, Groves, Drakes, Sabos, Tice & Watts, Howard, Brackenbury, etc...  These bows where not as common as the others, but they were certainly high quality, and are really sought after by some collectors.  I have an "NE TELLUM" which is even more uncommon.

Another factor for consideration is if the BOWYER is still making bows, or even still living. BRACKENBURY bows made by Jim are sought after as collectibles.  Now Bill Holland is making the BRACKENBURY bows and they are sought after as SHOOTERS.  ElRod is now making the GROVES bows. It is sad to say, but the old quality bows are like works of art.  The value goes up after the artest has departed.  We have lost many of  the quality bow makers over the years.  Thank God that bowyers like Holland, Elrod, Morrison, Palmer, Assenheimer, and far to many others to mention have come along to take their places.

If we all had to depend on our own ability to make bows, I would be shooting a solid Bamboo bow.  That would be a Bamboo fishing pole bent with a sting on it. I have to admire anyone that can make a good recurve, even from a Bingham kit.

As a collectible, and as a shooter, my all time favorite is the Jack Howard GAMEMASTER JET.  That bow goes back to the early '80's, but Jack has been making bows since the '50's, and is still making them.  If I am not mistaken, the JET came out in about 1983 at a price of $200.00.  You can still get a brand new one exactly like the original but it will cost you $1,000.00 each. I just picked up a used 49# JET for $460.00, and that was a bargain.  I have seen them sell for over $600.00, used.  Jack is trying to retire and his company is up for sale, to include three months of training in his unique methods.  I sure hope somebody continues his line, because I hate to see his JETS and CLASSICS come to an end.  

As far as rarity goes, it comes down to simple economics.  "Supply and Demand".  If there is a lot of interest in a rather RARE bow, the price is not going to be low, in any brand.  

Not that I am trying to hold up the value of my personal collection, because I don't intend to sell off my good collectibles. They will be left to my grandson. I should be saying that any bow from the '60's (the golden years of recurves,in my opinion) is worth only ten bucks each, because I am a buyer, not a seller.  I have a rare desease.  I consider myself to be a RECURVE-A-HOLIC.  It is a sad degenerative desease that only gets worse with time.  The degenerative part is to the checkbook - devastating.

I bought my grandson two recurves, but he outgrows them so fast that now I just let him shoot out of my collection.  How many 10 year olds are out on the 3-D range in the CUB division shooting a 35# STAGHORN.  Not many, I'll bet. He has no concept of what he has in his hand.  To him, it is just an "OLD BOW".  At a 3-D shoot in Georgia last year he saw a lady with a new, beautiful ACADIAN WOODS BOW. ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS.   He says to me, "PaPaw (that is cajun for GRAMPAW), I want one of those for Christmas". Yeah, Right!!  I'm gonna spend that kind of bucks to buy a bow that fits him at 10 years old for him to outgrow in a year.  I told him to save "HIS" money for one.  His next bow is scheduled to be a 40# 1964 KODIAK in great condition.

Now I have to concede that when it comes to collecting bows, I will probably have to defer to your superior knowledge, as a collector.  However, when it comes to "RAMBLING ON", I can hang in there with the best of them

TAKE CARE
JACK