Why such a long wait for bows?

capt eddie · June 23, 2012, 09:56:00 AM

Can someone tell me why there is such a long wait for a custom bow? Does it really take 6 months to build a bow. Are the bowyers that far behind on their orders? Are there that many bows ahead of your? If a bowyer has that many orders to fill, why do they not go up on the price of their bows so that they can make a good living and be able to get bows out in a reasonable length of time? Like 30 days. I would rather pay them a higher price and get the bow earlier. From start to finish if it takes 12 hours of real work to produce a quality bow why not charge $100 an hour and build one bow instead of charging $25 an hour and needing to sell and build 4 bows for the same money? Yes one bow cost $1200 and the other bows cost $300. More people can afford a $300 bow but now the bowyer most built three times as many. I think that in this day. There are people that would pay $1200 for a bow if they could get the bow in a reasonable length of time.

Gator1 · June 23, 2012, 10:02:00 AM

From my experience, there are a variety of quality bowyers out there. They all vary on lead times depending upon how many orders they have, and how much help they have.

One of my favorites from NC builds fantastic longobws. When I first called him 5 years ago, he told me he would rather build a quality bow a working man can afford. I really appreciated that. You are right, you can spend quite a chunk of change, but you'll find bowyers are very ethical and upfront in lead times. They don't move peple up/down the list depending upon what someone is willing to pay. My opinion, if 12 month wait is too long, move on.

A number of bowyers have fantastic instock bows, one comes to mind that I just checked, is Cari-Bow Abes bows are masterpieces, as most all the sponsors here on Trad Gang.

many bowyers don't have extra help, as they are very particular on quality, and having extra hands some feel compromises there quality.

degabe · June 23, 2012, 10:19:00 AM

It seems to me that most bowyers are also artists, and very particular about what they produce. They won't sell a bow that does not meet their very high standards, so it takes extra time to get it just right before it goes to the buyer.

SS Snuffer · June 23, 2012, 10:26:00 AM

I saw a nice wheelie bow on the shelf the other day for only $1,650 no wait at all.
I'll wait for a nice longbow made by hand rather than a button push on a CNC machine. All I can say is thanks to all the bowyers out there for keeping the price with in reason.

Pat B. · June 23, 2012, 10:45:00 AM

I hope I never have to pay $1,200 for a bow !

187BOWHUNTER · June 23, 2012, 11:02:00 AM

6 months is a long time, but if I had to wait that long I would be ok with it because I know Im getting a good bow

**DONOTDELETE** · June 23, 2012, 11:22:00 AM

I know quite a few bowyer's that are running their business solo, and I'm one of them.

Building a custom bow is much more than just having the customer pick out a wood choice and design, and just build it to their desired weight.

The time it takes varies on the design I'm building and the specs. If i could choose a few types of wood myself and mass produce riser blocks, and the lamination's needed for the limbs, i could boost my production and cut my lead time down a lot..... but... they wouldn't be considered custom bows anymore, would they.

For me the wait time can change from 60 days to 6 months very quickly depending on sales. It seems to run in spurts for some reason. if i could get the orders coming in at a nice steady rate as fast as i can build them, that would be excellent.

But then you still have machine maintenance and repairs, time chasing materials down, advertizement and promotion time to include traveling to a few events. Now take all this stuff and add a bit of warranty work and R/D work on new designs, and build a few stock bows for your display..... Well there just isn't enough hours in the day, or days in the week to stay ahead of schedule sometimes.

Just about the time you start getting caught up and announce your lead time is shorter, You get swamped with orders again....

i didn't even mention that somehow you need to work 7 days a week keeping your customers happy and still have time for your wife and kids at home too....

If i didn't have such a passion for building bows and enjoy my work so much. i would find something else to do to make a living. The profit margin for a custom bowyer isn't very high at all when you start adding it all up.... If you don't enjoy your work you'd go nuts....

my .02 cents.... Kirk

centaur · June 23, 2012, 11:25:00 AM

They are worth the wait. Patience, Grasshopper, patience.

Bob T. · June 23, 2012, 11:26:00 AM

Very well said Kirk.

rastaman · June 23, 2012, 11:31:00 AM

So let me see if i've got this right...if a bowyer can't get a custom bow made for you within 30 days, that bowyer shouldn't accept anymore orders til he has those bows made? Or he should jack the price up so he will have fewer orders but make just as much money? Christopher Cox of Habu bows has jacked his price up to about $2000 and he still has about a two year waiting list. There are a lot of other good bowyers out there that charge in excess of a $1000 for their custom work and still have a year waiting list. i hear what you are saying, but....
i don't have a problem waiting if i really want that bow and the bowyer is up front with me on how long the wait will be.

Johan van Niekerk · June 23, 2012, 11:36:00 AM

I received a bow 2 weeks ago which was ordered 2 years and 6 months ago. The worst part was that the bowyer promised to deliver it within 3 months after my order.
Personally I believe many bowyers are great tradesmen but not really good at business management. Or at least not good at managing customer expectations...

toddster · June 23, 2012, 11:45:00 AM

a Custom built bow is like fine furniture. If you want something to throw in a corner go to walmart and buy a 100 dollar manufactuered piece. But if you want something that will last your and your children lifetime, a piece that you are proud of and want to show all in the house, then that is Custom. Bowyer's don't make alot of money on the product and work of art they make and for what they do come up with work of art. If you don't want a custom, there are still plenty of Manufactured companies out there, but once you shoot a custom, guess what?

bigiron · June 23, 2012, 11:45:00 AM

because they are their own boss.

Bjorn · June 23, 2012, 11:45:00 AM

Most bowyers are meticulous about their work, and if you can create a decent backlog you can improve margins.
And don't forget many have day jobs too so they can feed their families and put kids through school just like the rest of us!

June 23, 2012, 11:57:00 AM

At this point I would like to thank Mike at Maddog for making a superior product at a poor man's price, it seems that there are more than enough people trying get rich rich quick these days. If tradtional archery gets too expensive, it will go away. I for one am glad that the lesser priced bows are quite often as good as the custom bows.

TonyW · June 23, 2012, 12:17:00 PM

Twelve months for a custom made bow is not a long time.

Remember that time can be on your side, too.

I waited 12 years to get a custom made Wes Wallace Royal. Of course, it had been custom made for somebody else 12 years ago, but I only had to pay half the price of the original owner.

Factory made bows? I waited almost 60 years before I got my birth year Bear Kodiak!

sledge · June 23, 2012, 12:18:00 PM

kirk-

great explanation. thanks

i've run into this with custom knifemakers, and wondered some of the same things as the original poster.

you've cleared it up for me.

joe

medicineman · June 23, 2012, 12:22:00 PM

I recently waited 11 months on a bow, which was a few weeks later than what I was originally told. What makes it hard is seeing the people who post here and elsewhere that say they talked to bowyer today and their new limbs will be ready in two or three months. Some send bows to be refinished and comment on the fast turnaround. Occasionally they order a stock bow and want extra limbs made which will be ready next month. Then some post that they ordered a new bow today and they claim their bow will be ready before yours. Certainly not true of all bowyers, but has prevented me from ordering another bow. I'm presently watching posts about another bowyer with about a seven month wait to see what others say. I don't mind waiting my turn, as long as things are as presented.

Zradix · June 23, 2012, 12:28:00 PM

Toelke has a fast turn around.
Darn nice bows too.

Danny Rowan · June 23, 2012, 12:45:00 PM

Most bowyers are one man operations and they may have another job, even if they only build bows for a living, it takes time to build a quality bow the way someone wants it built. It is not just a matter of slapping some wood together and calling it good, a lot of work goes into each one. A one year wait is not bad for a quality bow, some have a two year wait. If you do not want to wait, buy used or off the shelf if they have any or buy a production bow.