Bow Prices/Reasonably Priced Bows...

[blueline]

""My question was simply why aren't we seeing more economical bows particularly from the outfits that are essentially or specifically making production bows?""

If your not finding what you want at the price you want to pay, Start looking elsewhere!!!

There are great bowyers out there and some great prices to be had.

I got the bows I wanted for a long time, the pain and wait made it all that more special!!!

Brandon I am glad to see you want to be an Entrepreneur. Start up a business of your own and don't look back. Don't let any one tell you YOU Can't, there just the ones not doing it!!!

Good luck

[LEWIS VADEN]

I have 2 Morrisons, a Blacktail, and 3 other bows.  Entertainment wise I have less than a dollar an hour in each.  Before archery I had a bassboat and all the goodies.  That was probably a couple of hundred dollars an hour for entertainment.  Archery is great!!!!!!!

[BD]

Mr Morrison said above that you get what you pay for and I completely disagree as this just isnt always the case. More expensive does not necessarily mean better. There are some great bows out there that are underpriced and some OK bows out there that are way overpriced.

[BobW]

Originally posted by Holm-Made:
 I have about 12 hours into a bow, not counting phone time or other time related to the business end of things.

you left out all the R&D to get to that design.  How much time/effort/money did it take to get there?

[Steel]

I am Guilty of paying to much for a bow several times over the years. The way I look at it is Trad Archery is my hobby I don't have a 25,000+ bassboat,1000+ golf clubs,a 40,000 4 wheel drive truck, or even $5000 4 wheeler sitting at home. I have paid around $1000 for a bow twice and several bows in the $600 to $750 range. They were all really nice bows and I enjoyed owning and shooting them. Will a used $100 bear recurve kill deer you bet it will if thats all you are concerned about. I can't blame a bowyer for making a living they have lots of cost to running a business and feeding themselves.I was self employed till last year my health insurance alone was $300 a month just for me not counting family. When you do the math none of these bowyers are making the Richest Americans list last time I checked.

[Bob Morrison]

Tax deductable doesn't mean Free.... You have to make enough to do the show ( not free either) the hunt or what ever. All of this is not a 100% deduct from you taxes. My Health insurance is $425 a month and that is $3000 deductable. One of the things about being a custom bowyer even with employees, you can take off, start work and quit when you want and build bows for who you want. Its not all that bad.

[vermonster13]

You also need to remember that the service and warranty you get are built into the price for guys like Bob. He backs his bows like few others and gives service second to no one.

[Steel]

Bob I think most fellows that have never owned their own business don't have a clue to the extra expenses it takes to make things run and the amount of time and effort a guy has to put into the business to make it successful. I owned my own business for 16 years and loved it but it was very hard and everyday you wondered if you would make enough to keep the doors open the next month. Plus when you have employees you loose sleep worrying for them and their familys if your business was to fail they would loose their jobs also. As far as bows go they are not all equall from the start. You take a bow add carbon,highest grade wood avaiable, phenolic, snake skins these things cost the bowyer extra also. And with mass produced bows you can make less per bow because you sell more bows. When you make 100 bows or less a year thats all the room you have to make a liveing after cost. Fact is everything is high these days who ever thought there would be such a thing as a $50,000 pickup truck?

[arklongbowman]

I shoot a couple of Martins and a Lonetree Custom and all do really well, the shooter doesn't always though.  I too look at the Web sites of bow maker and dream, but my family comes first and my bows all shoot well for now.

[Brandon Stahl]

[George D. Stout]

We had very few bowyers in the 60's and 70's, most were big businesses.  Demand will always decide the fate of those trying to sell, and demand will drop if people are priced out of business.  There are great bows being made out there for less than $500.00 by individual bowyers, so yes....$900.00 is too much for a bow made of actionwood and clear glass.

[Holm-Made]

To answer your initial question, I think most bowyers offer a basic bow at a base price for the economically minded buyer. That usually includes colored glass and a riser that is not laminated.  This bow has the same workmanship, durability, warrenty and performance as the bows with the options.  This is for the guys who want functional bow that will last a lifetime and don't want to pay for the fancy extras.   To me that is what custom bow making is about finding a bow that fits the buyer and the buyer's budget.  

Like buying a new ford pick up.  They have XL models, XLT models, Lariat packages, and the "King Ranch" package.  The XL will provide the same performance as the King Ranch but if you want swuede leather seats your gonna have to pay for it. (just like ebony risers and snakewood veneers)      Take care,  Chad

[Bob Morrison]

If your wanting a Ford (Which I drive now) that is fine but if your wanting a Corvette your not going to get it from a Ford dealer or even close to the XL price. Thats just the way things are...If your going to spend $250 on a bow Don't look at $900 bow and say it is overpriced....

[George D. Stout]

If bowyers go out of business, then they did not react to the customer base with a product that would sell.  That's not the consumer's fault.

Bob Morrison, the problem is there are very few if any $250.00 bows, and if a person does buy one of those, I'm sure they know what they are buying and not expecting a $900.00 bow.  The problem lies in a person making a $500.00 bow and charging $900.00 for it.  

In the end, the customers will decide whether or not a particular bow is worth a particlar amount of money.  A look at the various classifieds and auctions will give a hint as to what may be happening as we speak.  I sure don't want to see any business go under, whether it's archery, golf, or any other sport.  Failure to react to customer demand, both now and in the future, will decide who stays and who goes.  Good luck.

[wingnut]

George,

I understand where you are coming from, but do you expect bowyers to work for below minumum wage.  If you are building bows by hand you have up to 20 hours in each bow.  The average sunk cost in the bow is over $125.  So to build a $250 bow your asking the bowyer to work for about 6.25 an hour.  Now you are probably retired.  But how many of the folks asking for prices too drop are working for less then $15 an hour.

Why is it that folks think that custom bowyers are rich people that are making a lot of money.  We are mostly month to month manual labors that just try and meet the bills.

I'm with Bob on this one.  If you want a $250 bow, stop looking at $900 bows.

We are making a bunch of bows under $500 and some still think we are making a killing.

Kinda hard to swallow from our end.

Mike

[MikeW]

There are great bows being made out there for less than $500.00 by individual bowyers, so yes....$900.00 is too much for a bow made of actionwood and clear glass.

Not if they don't shoot the same. Is the bow made from actionwood a better design than the $900 bow? Or does it just shoot better for that person?
Only the consumer can justify the $400 difference.

 

The problem lies in a person making a $500.00 bow and charging $900.00 for it.

Ties into the same as above. This is the same as arguing or whining about all those new $35+ each broadheads. If you think it's not worth it or can't afford it don't buy it. Some folks want what they want and will pay what they want for it. If a bowyer is out of line with his prices he won't be in business long. Most of the ones I know charging 900+ have been doing it awhile, they must be doing something right.

My best to all of those who had the courage and motivation to take their hobby and love and make it a business.
   

[Bob Morrison]

If I were selling $500 bows I would have been done years ago. This is my only income and it is full time 10-14 hours a day, and it isn't all just building bows, it is all about getting things right so we can build bows for 6 to 8 hours a day. And yes I need employees to help keep it all together, believe it or not a good employee doing the same single job day after day get to were they can do it better than I can. I can still do it all (On our bows) and they never will or want to. I use to build custom Homes and believe me you wouldn't want me to do all the work myself, it would take 5 years to get it done. So George I understand I will never be selling you a bow and that is fine. Just don't keep me from making a living doing what I love. I can't get Barb to believe I need a Corvette either( she knows I can't afford it)  

[amar911]

I have bows made by Bob Morrison, Chad Holm, Gregg Coffey, John Harvard, Bill Howland, Norm Johnson and several others. There is not a single one of their bows that I think is overpriced. I know Chad's bows are only priced the way they are because he is building his business and needs to sell for less than the better established bowyers. I am glad to be able to have these artisans building such incredible bows for the prices the bows sell for. Writing a check for a first class bow is a happy experience for me, because I know I am getting a bargain, even when the bow costs more than $1,500.

Recently, I reluctantly took my family to a rock concert because my kids really wanted to go. I didn't particularly care for the experience, and to make it worse, the evening ended up costing me $500 in tickets alone! If I spend twice that amount and buy a $1000 bow, it will last me a lifetime and give me thousands of hours of enjoyment. I would say that my entertainment dollars are better spent on the bow. Take into account the price of tickets to movies, sports events, plays or most other forms of entertainment, or even the costs of various hunts, and the costs per entertainment hour to shoot an "expensive" custom bow become negligible.

I want to extend a big "THANK YOU" to the custom bowyers out there whom I know (and those I don't) for giving me and other TradGangers a lot of joy for the money we paid for these works of art. I know what good people you are and how hard you work, and I admire each and every one of you.    

Allan

[J-KID]

We should be thankful that we have an abundance of bows to choose from that are not built on an assembly line in some foreign country.  I don't know anything about bow building but I assume that cost is based on time and materials.  For the most part a bow that costs $900 took longer and/or had more expensive materials and processes than one that costs $500.  That does not necessarily make it a higher performing bow (though it might be).  I wish bows were less expensive but when I consider what is involved in making one, and how blessed we are to have so many choices of custom bows, I'm alright with the prices.  If they lower the prices they go out of business and we all loose.  Not good at all.

[Rooselk]

Originally posted by amar911:
I have bows made by Bob Morrison, Chad Holm, Gregg Coffey, John Harvard, Bill Howland, Norm Johnson and several others. There is not a single one of their bows that I think is overpriced. I know Chad's bows are only priced the way they are because he is building his business and needs to sell for less than the better established bowyers. I am glad to be able to have these artisans building such incredible bows for the prices the bows sell for. Writing a check for a first class bow is a happy experience for me, because I know I am getting a bargain, even when the bow costs more than $1,500...

Allan

My sentiments exactly. Well said.