Boywers with trade in/payment plans

[JRY309]

What I did with my Zipper,I put the down payment down and put back some each month and had all the money when the bow was done.Did the same thing with my Fox longbow a few years ago.

[7 Lakes]

I like to trade but you can do better on your own.  Remember I have to trade for about 50% of retail.  Mostly because bows that actually sell, sell for 30% less than what everyone thinks they are worth.  The classifieds section would only be a page long if bows were selling for what they are "worth".  Prices seem fair but the bows aren't selling.  

I'll do payments but in all fairness to you, if you don't have the disposable cash it's really not time to buy a bow.  I don't want to be in the middle of a job loss where a customer has to decide to give up a deposit on a bow or pay a mortgage.

[Roadkill]

South has a Bobcat that has a trade up limb policy.  It is a uouth, ladies bow.  He had an ad with this ladt edition of trad bowhtr

[jax]

If you need other things more than a bow te you shouldn't buy the bow. Guess who gets shorted when you can't ake the payments? The bowyer. That is wat iswrongwith this country now . We borrow what we can't pay for. Jmo

[Gator1]

I know bowlers will take installments just have them start the bow when it's paid in full

I can see a hassle if someone has made payments then changed there mind

I don't see possibly getting a bow up front and financing however

[LongStick64]

Bow values have really dropped, I couldn't sell a mint condition bow at half the retail price, ridiculous. I pulled it back off because I'd rather it stay on my rack and shoot it once and a while than hand it away. So if you are asking a bowyer to take back a used bow and hand you a new one, he is probably not going to make anything worth his efforts to sell.
I was in the market for a new bow, I ended up selling a special bow I had and another at below market value to have the money to buy something new.

[stabow]

I bought a few bows off the classified on the payment plan all you need to do is ask.....

[Chester Thompson]

Thanks everybody. I knew that it would be a risk for the bowyer, but I thought that I would see. I would be looking for a bow in stock from somebody as my current bow is way to heavy for me to shoot, it hurts my shoulder, so that is why I was asking about a payment plan.

[petalumapete]

I don't think I would ask a bowyer to take payments or expect him to. Just bad business. There are to many buyers with cash for him to want to mess with it.

From the bowyer's end of it, he is in the business to make bows not keep track of how much money customers have paid on account. What if something happens. The buyer has money problems and can't finish paying for the bow. Is the bowyer the responsible to return the money? Even if he has not started on the bow he has probably bought wood, carbon, what ever getting ready to start. He has scheduled and is counting that bow in his production.
If he doesn't return the money  the slighted client would be on forums like this bashing his business. Not good!


It seems to me taking payments would open a can of worms. If ya can't afford a custom bow buy an off the rack or used bow. Lots of good ones out there.

[Chester Thompson]

Originally posted by petalumapete:
I don't think I would ask a bowyer to take payments or expect him to. Just bad business. There are to many buyers with cash for him to want to mess with it.

The question that I asked was if any of them did already. I would not call a person and ask the to take payments, but if they already did then it would be somebody that I could look at. In face the one that I was thinking of stopped doing this as it was to much of a hassle.

Edited this, the first reply was sounded rude when I reread it. What I was trying to say was I would not expect one to that did not do it already. I am sorry if anybody read it and thought that it was rude.

Chester

[justracey]

Chester we do that all the time for our customers !!!

[Burnsie]

Originally posted by petalumapete:
I don't think I would ask a bowyer to take payments or expect him to. Just bad business. There are to many buyers with cash for him to want to mess with it.

From the bowyer's end of it, he is in the business to make bows not keep track of how much money customers have paid on account. What if something happens. The buyer has money problems and can't finish paying for the bow. Is the bowyer the responsible to return the money? Even if he has not started on the bow he has probably bought wood, carbon, what ever getting ready to start. He has scheduled and is counting that bow in his production.
If he doesn't return the money  the slighted client would be on forums like this bashing his business. Not good!


It seems to me taking payments would open a can of worms. If ya can't afford a custom bow buy an off the rack or used bow. Lots of good ones out there.

I wouldn't expect to get a bow in hand, and then make payments and basically have the bowyer be my bank (I commend bowyers that will do that).  But sending in payments until you have it paid for before the bowyer starts the bow seems reasonable to me. The bowyer defintely needs to puchase material ahead of time, and thats what an appropriate intial down payment is for. On the other side, I'm not sending a bowyer the full amount up front and then wait sometimes 12-18 months either.(note: I've never dealt with a bowyer that has asked for that)- a lot of "life stuff" can happen to a bowyer in the course of 12-18, just like it can the buyer. Seems boths sides need to assume roughly equal amounts of risk.

[BigJim]

We take trades daily. Our deposit requirement is only $100 and a trade can suffice as a deposit.
It is also acceptable to send in payments while you wait for you bow to be built.

If when your name comes up, you aren't ready, we will happily move you down the list until you are.

thanks, bigjim

[petalumapete]

I agree.
I wouldn't send in the total amount  if asked. It would send off warning flag's to me.
I commend the bowyer's who are willing to take payments. I think it's great. In my pea brain it would be just to much paper work to keep tract of it.
For myself, I've ordered two custom bows so far. I send the deposit. Then the balance when the bows ready to ship. I like to keep things simple.

[Wheels2]

I know Fedora does a payment option.  On a bow that is in stock, he will hold it and take so much a month on the balance.

[SlowBowinMO]

We understand that bow preference is a very unique and individual thing.  As a result buying a bow on line you've not had first hand experience with previously can be troubling.  For this reason we offer "Buy it try it" on our in stock bows.  Buy a new Firefly and if you decide it's not "your" bow within 14 days, simply return it in new saleable condition and receive a full refund, no questions asked.  You're only out the shipping charges.    

But I will add, the Firefly is so good we've never had a bow returned on our "Buy it try it" plan.  

Additionally, if you have "Bill Me Later" on your Paypal account, you can use that feature to purchase a Firefly Bow and make payments as you like.

[Keefer]

You cann't top Lee Hoots payment plan!
He will build the bow ,send pics as he builds it,see if you are satisfied,make corrections if any and then ask for payment before it's sent out... My case I kept wanting to atleast sent something but he insisted not to..I finally just sent it just before he was done just to get the cash from burning a hole in my drawers where I kept it...
  "No my dresser drawer" not my under drawers!  :rolleyes:

[Over&Under]

Originally posted by Braveheart Archery:
We understand that bow preference is a very unique and individual thing.  As a result buying a bow on line you've not had first hand experience with previously can be troubling.  For this reason we offer "Buy it try it" on our in stock bows.  Buy a new Firefly and if you decide it's not "your" bow within 14 days, simply return it in new saleable condition and receive a full refund, no questions asked.  You're only out the shipping charges.        

But I will add, the Firefly is so good we've never had a bow returned on our "Buy it try it" plan.      

Additionally, if you have "Bill Me Later" on your Paypal account, you can use that feature to purchase a Firefly Bow and make payments as you like.

You just can't beat those options, and Firefly bows are extremely nice shooters!

Originally posted by ishoot4thrills:
At my house, if I save up for anything, it always ends up going for something else that's needed more than a bow!(auto repairs, water heaters, trips to the vet, etc.) I suspect that happens to most people that want to make payments for something instead of just saving up for it or there would be no need for credit for anything!      

This is not a jab, just a question.  So if you are making payments on a bow (instead of just saving for one), and the hot water heater or the car takes a crap, then what?

[McDave]

I think that if I were in that business, I would be happy to hold payments for my customers until their names came up on the waiting list.  I would go ahead and buy the materials, and still be willing to refund the money if the customer changed his mind before I started the bow, because I could use the material on another bow. Many times I have discussed wood with a bowyer, and have asked him, "What do you have that you think would look good for my bow?"  And I have always been pleasantly surprised, because his reputation is on the line when he recommends something.  I would not offer financing after I shipped a bow, because that is a whole 'nuther business.  Just because someone is an expert bowyer doesn't mean that he is an expert banker (whether bankers are expert bankers is a whole different subject, given their credit losses in recent years!).  I would probably not take trades, because the time I spent buying and selling bows would take away from the time I could spend building bows, but some people might enjoy doing that, so that would be an individual decision.

Granted, sending a refundable deposit off to a bowyer is not much different from putting it in a drawer at home, but if it helps some people to save, then why not?