best way to establish value

[the other DWS]

what is the best way to figure out a value on a classic bear bow.  I have a very nice greenglass KM and recently was given a (I believe) 56 or 57 greyglass/silkscreen labled 54# KS.
I've been reading everything I can find on the site here on them including the whole Resto 101 thread and looked at ALL the bows for the past 75 days in the classifieds.  My head is still spinning from that, but I didn't find any listings for any KS form that era?

are there other sites worth checking?

[Migra Bill]

I have collected many things in my life. Baseball cards, World War 2 Rifles, Coins, Stamps, and many others. Trad bows is the ONLY thing I have ever collected that does not have a set Price Guide that comes out monthly or yearly. It is something that , I think, is lacking in the industry/hobby.

Because of that the only way to determine value is to track actual sales that occur and how much someone was willing to pay for a comparable bow. Many suggest looking at completed auctions on epay to see value. I think this is a good measure of what someone is willing to pay for a bow that they really want, but I think bows tend to sell for more on epay then they do on the classifieds here, or other archery related websites.

Just try to find some place where a similar bow actually sold and see what it sold for (this is what the traditional price guides for sports cards, coins, etc do.)

Then you have to keep in mind that things like holes, refinishing , etc affect the price. When someone asks "What is bow X worth" I think that all of us collectors come up with a price in our head, but who's to say than one persons opinion is betther than anothers. That leads to the age old answer "the bow is worth what someone is willing to pay for it."

[jcar315]

I agree that the "value" of anything is established by what 1 buyer will pay for it.

Are you looking to sell the bow? If so take lots of pics from all angles and slap it up on **** and you will find the "value" in one week or so. Seems that on **** when you open the bidding up to Europe they can go for more but be ready for the shipping headaches to begin.

I have a 1957 KS that is in near perfect shape and I paid $100 for it. I have a 1955 KS that is in very nice shape that I paid $200 for. Does that mean one is worth more than the other? The seller had a price in mind when I talked to them and I felt they were prices I could live with so I paid them.

The completed listings on **** can be a starting point. All depends on who is bidding, what kind of shape the bow is in, and the particulars of that bow. If someone wants it bad enough they will pay.

Any pics of you bow?

[the other DWS]

I agree,  willing buyer/willing seller with both walking away thinking they got a "deal".   I also agree that the well-known world-wide fleamarket is a blindman;s crapshoot.  I was hoping to find some sales on more reputable sites to give me a general idea.  I under stand "condition" "local market demand" etc.  I have not made up my mind what I'm going to do with them yet.  May just carefully clean them and hang'em on the wall with all the others.

[Migra Bill]

Jim-
The same examples you state for the bow hooby can be stated about baseball cards, coins etc. Coins especially are market generated as the price of silver fluctuates greatly. Sports cards fluctuate greatly based on the players performance. This has not stopped The Coin Guide and Beckett Publications from thriving for over 30 years.

A price GUIDE is just that - a GUIDE. We all would then vary what is written with condition, market trends etc. Just like coin collectors and baseball cards collectors do. I don't think it stagnates the market at all, I think it encourages selling because people will fell like they have a guide to go by so that they are not getting ripped off.

Where it may hurt us is in the yards sale finds. Where it would help us is that 1965 Kodiaks wouldn't go for $700 on the Bay.

[reddogge]

It would be like the Blue Book of Gun Values which can give you an idea but they tend not to take into consideration hot trends and cool trends which happen all the time.  The Blue Book is updated every year but still falls behind.

To be honest valueing a bow or gun to me is a Voodoo science and basically boils down to what is it worth to me but I use the auctions sites and trader forums to do my research.

It's obvious my tastes run different to others on this forum and what may excite me to no end is viewed with a hoo-hum attitude by others and visa versa.