How Does a Bowyer Feel?

[Jakeemt]

Well  hope you bowyers don't feel bad! Helps guys like me. I buy almost all of my gear second hand. Note because I am cheap (haha I prefer frugal) but, there isn't any places around me to try new stick bows. So I buy and sell used bows as a way of trying them out. If I can get a good deal on a bow used and I just don't like it I can resell it (minus shipping) for what I have in it. If I ever find my quest for "The One Bow" at an end you can bet your butt, I will have brand new one built!

[Bow man]

Originally posted by Holm-Made:
Personally it has never bothered me.  I look at it as exposure for my product.  If a bow changes hands then it will be exposed to another group of people who get to see what Holm-Made Bows is putting out.  In this mail order type of business that is important.  I want as many people to handle my bows as possible.  

On a similar note,  I used to call customers several months after I sold them a bow to check on how the bow is working out.  I quit doing that because I could tell some customers were uncomfortable telling me that they sold the bow or preferred to hunt with a different bow, etc.  

This is a tough business to make it in as is shown in the amount of bow businesses that come and go.  I'm sure that any bowyer that has been in business any amount of time has enough confidence in their product and themselves that it wouldn't bother them to see someone sell their bows.  
Chad

To ad to this sometimes after the bow has sold and the person says to you, why did I ever sell it, that is a good feeling

[DaveT1963]

I have never sold a bow that I had made - never.  I don't know why but I just can't seem to let them go - most have very fond memories attached.  I have on occasion bought and sold some used bows.

[Archer Dave]

I can't say I ever felt a bowyer, so it is hard for me to say how they feel.  :D  Hehe  I couldn't help it.

[Hit-or-Miss]

To me, bows are Like women; some you fall in love with and would give anything to get, then after time you realize that beauty is only skin deep and they lose their luster. Others just dont feel or look right, so you continue searching. Good ones, with power, balance, good cast and beauty are a sight to behold. Keepers are difficult to find, but once you do, they are worth hanging onto for life.

[Mike Mecredy]

Not really, unless, it's one of those times that a guy will ask me to make him one at the lowest budget I can come up with, You who? Like "I don't care, make it from scraps, like those M.U.T.T. bows you used to make, I just need to save some money but I really need a bow"  Then make it, put my name on it, fully expecting him to keep it, only to see it on a classified ad.  

It's funny but I got a Two tracks made by Chuck Deshler like that on a trade; when I e-mailed him about it he told me he made it for a friend expecting him to keep it. But I got it on trade and was going to sell it but won't out of respect for Chuck.  I told him if he wants his "experimental bow" back to let me know.  (I basically lost $400 on that deal, but I got a two tracks bow that shoots great)


If it's a good representation of my work I don't mind if it gets sold.

[JamesV]

How about you build a bow for a friend's son-in-law with his help for free and the guy disappears a week later. Then you get a call from a friend at the pawn shop letting you know he has a very nice bow and that I can have first dibs on the bow. You guessed it.............son-in-law got $35 at the pawn shop. Bright side: I did get the bow back for the $35.

James

[overbo]

I would think that most bowyers know that a good % of traditional archers are searching for that magic bow that doesn't exist.

[PEARL DRUMS]

I build all self bows. I don't make it a habit of selling them very often. But, if I gift them or sell them the owners are getting them for a reason. Swapping and selling it would be harder than cutting your arm off with a dull pocket knife. That's the same for any self bow I've ever been gifted. There is something about "live" bows that doesn't make it easy to ditch them. That's just my spin.

[Sixby]

Chris, I hear that, If I were ever to come into one of your bows , no way would it leave me until I leave the earth. God bless, Steve

[Whip]

In order to pull the trigger on a new bow many of us have to justify it by selling an existing bow. As a collective group it would seem to be a good thing for Bowyers in general when a bow is sold because that often means someone is going to get an order  

It would be best for bowyers to look at this from a macro economics standpoint.  People who buy and sell bows frequently are the backbone of their business.  Sure they may sell one to buy from another bowyer but sometimes the reverse will be true as well. A bow being sold means there is money in the system for another, and some bowyer is going to benefit.  If we all bought the perfect bow the first time there would be no need for another.

[McDave]

Yes Whip, that's true, but how would we KNOW that we had bought the perfect bow the first time?  I think I would have to go through at least 20 more bows before I could be comfortable with that conclusion.

[Mike Mecredy]

Actually I'd rather see I bow I built get sold, than have the customer call me and say "Look dude,  my wife is really mad that I bought another bow, can I return it for a refund?"  It's usually not a big deal because I can sell it pretty quick, but I'd rather see him take the initiative and sell it himself, or even better, grow some man parts.

[newhouse114]

I make my living as an artist/sculptor, and it is often rough letting a piece go to the original purchaser. Once I actually turn loose of something, it matters not at all to me if it is resold or given away.

[Wallydog]

People are fickle. I used to make custom rifles with accuracy being the primary focus. I had a guy who commissioned maybe 10 rifles over the years. He loved everyone of them (he said) but sold each one within a few years. He was one who loved getting a new one and the excitement that came with that. It took me a while to accept that because I am the opposite. I also have guys who still have the same rifle after 25yrs and will never sell them.

[UrsusNil]

I'm guessing a lot of new bows are sold because the buyers soon realized they were over bowed.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Originally posted by Sixby:
Chris, I hear that, If I were ever to come into one of your bows , no way would it leave me until I leave the earth. God bless, Steve

Steve, PM me if you'd like to share each others work.

Thanks

[legends1]

After the crying stops ,sometimes takes days.No, really I understand like anything we all have a type of feel in a bow that is personal. I changed as I found something that seemed better before I became a bowyer and sometimes I had regrets. No bad against a bowyer or bow .The bow will make its way to someone who its perfect for.

Sometimes a bow is beautiful, shoots great etc but is just not a good fit for the buyer. When that happens, as it does with all kinds of things from shoes to blue jeans to bows, best to send it on its way with good wishes to someone who will make it their new best friend.

[BUCKY]

Agreed Susan.