what's it worth?

[stuckinthemud]

Hi All,

I don't know where to post this so if a moderator wants to move the post that's fine by me.  OK, so when, one day, I produce a bow that is of a professional standard and I want to sell it, how will I know what to sell it for?  Please, I do not want the 'how much is your time worth', or 'add a premium if you are a reputable maker' or any of the other how long is a piece of string platitudes.  I have been a wood-worker for long enough to have heard all those answers that ultimatley are meaningless.  A yew longbow of a good quality and a draw-weight of, say 50# will have a ball-park price it generally sells for; a pyramid selfbow in osage would also have a price they are generally sold for but while I can find a price for the longbow, I cant find prices for the less main-stream offerings - like a character short-bow, or a hazel flat-bow, for instance. So what are the different types of bow generally worth, assuming the quality is of a professional level but sold privately, i.e. without the mark-up a shop must add?

[paulsemp]

It's only worth what the buyer is willing to spend on it. I've seen bows by big name guys that sell for over $1,000 and I wouldn't give you a nickel for em. I think value is based on the maker and the reputation. And plenty of times reputation supersedes the quality. And on the other hand there's a lot of skills guys that have a hard time getting minimum price.

[PEARL DRUMS]

A high quality, well built, and VERY well finished osage self bow will go for 400-600. Any more from anybody and your getting robbed. I've seen a lot of junkers go for $150-200. I've also seen wayyyy too many junkers go for $1200. But, if some fool wants to give me $1200 for any bow, I'll gladly build it.

[blackhawk]

+1's @girlypearly and st pauly boy 

I think your getting waaaaay ahead of yourself and shouldnt even be worrying/thinking about it.

Go make over a 100 bows,and by then you wont have to ask this question. I see way too many trying to sell after a year or so of doing this and have no business selling them imho. How do you know you can make durable bows that last years when you've only made a couple dozen in a year or two and have no clue if theyll last or not?

[Stringman]

I agree with Chris, for a base price (extras are extra,) but I have found this to be one of the more difficult things to get folks to agree on. Your biggest issue will be finding the right market. Your local crowd may not be willing to pay $200 while the same bow may be worth $600 in a different area.

[OTDEAN]

Do what most other businesses do.  Weigh up the costs of producing said item.  Look at what the competition is charging and then decide upon what margin you want to remain competitive.  Pretty simple really.  IF you are too expensive or not depends on your brand, costs and what everyone else charges.

[PatM]

Unless you make better bows than Marc St Louis, don't charge more than he does.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Wont work Pat. I shot, handled and looked at a $1200 bow from a well know bowyer and it seriously looked like a 3rd grade class art project. Guys are lined up to buy them, why is beyond me. Ignorance is bliss I guess.

[stuckinthemud]

I know I am waaay ahead of myself which is why I started the post the way I did - one day, far from now, I will make a bow to a professional standard -  but this topic is the elephant in my house - I get to learn a new skill while avoiding The List on the understanding that one day there might be a return on the investment of the time spent learning the skill.  Knowing what a base price might be would be useful, no? Finding out what that base price is is really not straightforward. I do not want to know what specific bowyers charge for specific products as I know there are many variables, just a ball-park figure, so that when my other half huffs 'messing about with bows again?!' I can at least defend why I am not painting the spare room!.

[JoJoDapyro]

Enjoy the process and you are making more than money. With the number of people who build bows, the market is flooded. I'm sure you could make a living at it, but it wouldn't be worth the risk to me. I just make them to get better at making them.

[James Rodney]

so that when my other half huffs 'messing about with bows again?!' I can at least defend why I am not painting the spare room!.

 Now that! is FUnny! lol  thanks for the laugh.  i'll use this too!

[JoJoDapyro]

HAHA, The same thing came out of my mouth last night. My wife asked what I had to do last night. I said "take the trash to the road and some other stuff". She said "What other stuff" I could only smile. I "Had" to work on reducing some staves!

[Pappy]

Sounds like yall need to get a better understanding with you better half.  :)Miss Joanie just says he could be doing a lot worse things. Like was said 4 to 6 hundred is about the going price if you are building a good durable bow from what I have seen. Some get more and some less depending on who's building it. The name means a lot to some and I will say I have seen some well know names that the bows didn't look like much to me but have also seen others that are beautiful/sleek works of art and very nice shooters.
 Pappy

[Badger]

        I agree with Pappy, the name doesn't really mean much about the quality of a bow but it does help to fetch a bigger price tag. Because I have written in the traditional bowyers bibles and been around for a while and been vocal I have established a little bit of a name. I don't have any delusions about myself. I have never been a great craftsman, I have never had much interest in that aspect of bow building. I like to experiment and look for tecniques that might help the performance of the bow. If I am lucky enough to stumble across something worthwhile and I pass that on then it is no longer a unique skill set. Most all of us have passed on everything we have leaned building bows so we have lots of good bow builders out there right now. The profile of the bow will usually tell the story assuming the bow is ballanced and lined up properly.

       I believe a well made bow should fetch a good hourly rate based on how long it should take to build a quality bow not how long it does take. If you say it should take 12 hours to make a nice well finsihed bow and a fair hourly rate is 40.00 per hour than about $500.00 would not be a high price. Out of that $40.00 you figure you have expenses that lower it down considerably. I also believe that if a bow builder has established himself as a bowyer who sells very high quality bows he should be able to ask a premium price especially if he has a somewhat unique style.

[Buckeye Guy]

every bow I make is priceless !!!!!