Whats Your Warrenty

[matts2]

I was working at a big hunting/outdoors show this weekend and there was a custom longbow builder there selling bows.  One of the guys I was working with had a bow from him that he has had for 15 months.  Its a glass bow and it has some major delamination in it.  He brought the bow to the bowyer at the show to see if he would take it and fix it.  The bowyer said he wouldn't fixed it but he will give him a discount on a new one.  Obviously that didn't fly to well with the bow owner and he almost got thrown out of the show because of the that.  He actually put a questionable sign on the broken bow and walked around the show with it.  Anyway, I know most of you would do whatever it takes to make your customer happy, even after 15 months.  But do you have a standard warranty for your bows?

No, I will not name the bowyer here.

[TWarrows]

Sorry to hear about this problem showing up at a big show. Its not the place for warranty issues to be adressed.. First after 12 months you cant really expect a warranty unless your VERY GOOD friends with a bowyer many bowyers will offer to discount a new bow, but very few will relace free of charge after 15 months.. IMHO the bowyer did all he could do to help out a customer,,But with not knowing how the bow was taken care of you cant just give away you bows every time a customer demands it..Just my 2cents

[matts2]

He didn't expect a new bow out of the deal, but maybe try and fix it.  I think it was the glass on the back or something was coming off.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

It all depends on what's wrong with it? If it looks abused all scratched up like it's been thrown behind the seat of a pick up then I wouldn't even offer a discount. But in this case if the glass was coming off then it's a delamination issue and a hefty discount or full replacement may be in order because that's a flaw in the craftsmanship in my opinion. Unless of course it was soaked in solvent or some other chemical that would cause that.

I've only sold one of my selfbows and the guy is a friend of mine. I told him any problems or concerns just let me know and I would fix it. If I can't fix it, then I'll make him a new one for the first year. After that and we could discuss what could be done. Either way I want the bow back so I can see for myself what went wrong.

Of course all the above is only my opinion and everybody has one of their own.   :rolleyes:

[bjansen]

Its hard to fix a delamination...usually when a limb delaminates it does not do so cleanly at the glue joint, thus it is pretty hard to fix well.  After 15 months of use, a good discount on a new bow is a fair deal I think.  

Its a hard thing because custom bows are costly, and for the money a guy should have a good shooting bow that lasts a long time...on the other hand, given the time it takes to make a bow they are usually worth every penny and it is hard to just replace a bow with free one like other company's do wiith a mass produced product that you don't have 20 hours in.  


How was the show anyways... I never made it over there.

[GREG IN MALAD]

It depends on what the bowyers written warranty is and if the bow showed serious signs of abuse. If it wasn't beat up and was still under warranty it should have been replaced. If it was out of warranty then a discount was fair.

[Walt Francis]

What Cecil, Greg and Brad said.  

Many bowyers with a one year warranty will pro-rate their warranty after the first year for a specified duration, usually an additional one or two years.  For example, on $1000 bow with a 24 month pro-rated warranty, they would replace the bow for $625 (24/15=.625, that amount of the warranty had expired and the bowyer would eat the $375).
Most times It is hard for the bowyer to determine if the bow was dry-fired or had been shot with arrows lighter then recommended.   For instance, my Schafer longbow came with a warranty certificate that listed all the particulars, on which said that shooting an arrow less then a certain weight (I think it was 400 grains) voided the warranty.

I think your friends actions were wrong.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I agree a show isn't the place to deal with warranty issues. That would be a slap in the face to most any bowyer to bring a broken bow to a public event.....

I'll bet there was more to the story here.

Btw,,, a de-lamination of a limb is not repairable IMO.

Here is my warranty.

WARRANTY and DISCLAIMER
All original Big Foot bows carry a full two year replacement warranty against defects in materials and workmanship for the original owner. Neither seller nor manufacturer shall be liable for any injury, loss or damage arising from the use or operation of any Big Foot bow. All risk and liability in the use of any Big Foot bow is assumed by the user.

Thanks,
Kirk

[AKmud]

30 seconds or 30' whichever comes first.     (Obviously I don't sell bows...)

[Javi]

Originally posted by AKmud:
30 seconds or 30' whichever comes first.      (Obviously I don't sell bows...)

Back when I was about 20 I asked an old fellow what his warranty was.. his response was ...

30-30-30-30... I looked at him a second and asked what that was...

30 seconds...

30 Feet...

Or unlimited if you brought your 30-30....

 

[matts2]

I agree his reaction was not appropriate.  I don't know him and I never saw the bow, so I can't go into particulars.  I am just going by what I was told by others in my group.  That just got me curious what other custom guys do as far as warranty.

[Red Tailed Hawk]

I like the concrete guarantee. "When your truck leaves the concrete driveway, warranty is up"  

[Sixby]

I keep my customers happy. I have fixed bows that I knew were broken by customer accident. The owner admitted it when I told him what he did. Shot the bow underneath his porch and broke the tip off. I just cut the bow down two inches and worked the poundage down. He was happy and still is. A couple of bows I just replaced no charge. Customers happy. I have been blessed with good people that are not trying to rip me off. If someone has a legitimate problem then it needs to be addressed. IMHO in this instance the customer was out of line and what the bowyer offered was a generous offer.

God bless you all, Steve

[NYArrow]

Touchy subject...from a bowyers perspective it seems one maybe two years is as far as one could stick their necks out. Sometimes the unexpected happens, we are dealing with natural (and man made) materials that fail at different rates. No amount of craftsmanship can stop mother natures plan.

[Eric Krewson]

I am pretty generous about replacing failed bows, depends on how the bow failed mostly. I didn't replace a broken BBO that failed after 8 years of heavy use but I did move the owner up to first on my list for the next bow I made.

 He is very happy with his new bow and has killed a lot of game with it since I sent it to him. Even though his bow was 8 years old I felt bad about it breaking and added a lot of extra fancy osage burl wood to his new one so he would have something special.

[PEARL DRUMS]

If the guy wont cover a GLASS bow after 15 months I would be extremely upset. I wouldnt do the same at the show, but he and I would have conversation afterwards.

[Pepper]

With a glass delam, I would have concerns.
There are several reasons that this could happen,however if there were no outward signs of abuse, and the overall condition of the bow shows due care and diligence, I would have to throw a manufacturing issue into the mix.
I wouldn't expect the bowyer to eat the entire cost, but a substantial discount, and go to the top of the list should be in order.
The owner showed little class, and not something a trad ganger would do.  He also has to take into concideration that he has been using the bow for 15 months, and therefore it is used, whether he abused it or not.
These custom bows are expensive, and are probably going to get even more so as time goes on, I can see his frustration, but he needs to take a look at it from the bowyers side of the page.