what's it worth?

[Eric Krewson]

I don't sell bows anymore but never tried to make a killing on one. I started out selling them for $150, as my skills improved I raised my price to $300 and never went higher. If the buyer wanted snake skins I charged the actual cost of the skins and $50 to put then on.

I bet there are a bunch of folk who would jump on one of my $300 bows now if I sold them.

I only made them when I felt like it, topping out at about 15 bows a year in my heyday. I was turning down up to a dozen people a month when I was selling them. I refused to keep a backlog which would have turned my hobby into a job.

Another thing; for every bow I sold I gave away two, always to close friends and special people who I felt deserved some sort of recognition for going above and beyond in whatever field they were in be it in support of archery, the Catch-a-Dream Foundation or service to our country.

[PatM]

I hear a faint tooting sound on this thread now. lol 

[bradsmith2010]

I thought I heard it too,, but my hearing is bad,,

[Stringman]

Easy Pat. Funny thing about high horses...  .

 

[Eric Krewson]

I raised a lot of money for worthy causes buy donating my bows. I donated at least one or two a year to an auction to raise money for the Alabama Children's Hospital put on by the ASTB, I lost track of how many I donated, I did it for years. A bunch went to raise money for the Catch a Dream Foundation at shoots over in Mississippi.

I am proud of what I accomplished, if that is horn tooting to you guys, so be it.

The one I am most proud of was making one for Gil Magallanes. A badly wounded Special Forces vet who with one other guy were the only survivors of a horrible friendly fire accident when A 5K bunker buster bomb was dropped on their position in Afghanistan by mistake. Most of these guys in the picture are dead,. Gil is the guy behind Hamid Karsi.



Here is Gil with his bow. His injuries are too many to mention, he is legally blind, can see in patches and can outshoot most selfbow shooters in spite of his condition.

[bradsmith2010]

Gil was a good friend when I lived in Tenn,, he was a great shot,,,glad he is doing well,, please say hello to him next time you see him,,B

[Badger]

  Sometimes a little horn toot serves to set a good example. I never have a problem with setting a good example.

[PatM]

   Sure, as long as it's on a thread along those lines. Guys just want to know what a bow is worth not that they should feel inadequate if they're not giving away more than they sell and underselling them as well.

[PatM]

Easy Pat. Funny thing about high horses...  .

 

 I never ride anything bigger than a large pony.

[JoJoDapyro]

I think this is turning into a sewing circle.  Too much crap getting tossed around, leave that to the bow trade thread! 

[LittleBen]

I think this is turning into a sewing circle.  Too much crap getting tossed around, leave that to the bow trade thread! 

I don't know what that means, so I guess I'll take your word as the sewing circle expert .... Lol

[Drewster]

Good advice above.  If you want to know what your bows are worth, keep track of the hours and materials cost for your first fifty bows.  Decide what your time is worth and add it all up.......plus your overhead.  You may be shocked.

[toomanyknots]

Good advice above.  If you want to know what your bows are worth, keep track of the hours and materials cost for your first fifty bows.  Decide what your time is worth and add it all up.......plus your overhead.  You may be shocked.

Yup, and then good luck finding someone willing to pay that price for a wooden bow when you can buy a fiberglass takedown for 100 bucks + free shipping.

Edit: I think as a business model your doomed trying to sell wooden bows you make yourself, mostly because of the nature of this little addiction. You put so much into the bow you make, it becomes personal, you become attached. It is priceless, to you anyway. That's no way to run a business. Manufacturers make and sell products, products that usually are made in bulk, usually as efficiently as possible, for usually as little cost as possible, in order to create a product that can be priced competitively and still marked up and turn a profit.  If you wanna manufacture a higher end product, and charge a higher price, you still need to find an efficient way produce enough of these products to get your return on investment. One man just doesn't make wooden bows by the skid. The only guy I know of doing that is Jim from Ruddersbows, but he has a warehouse and a staff helping him. Forgive me if this is getting a little off topic.

[toomanyknots]

I bet there are a bunch of folk who would jump on one of my $300 bows now if I sold them.

If I had 300 dollars I would!  Don't you sell yew staves too? I'd love to pick me up one of those too sometime..

[mullet]

Put a price on the bow what you think it's worth. If it doesn't sell and you keep lowering the price until you do, ought to give you an idea what someone would pay for one of your bows.