I would not want one like that either so not making excuses, but some of the old "greenies" with the white (where wood did not take dye) look mighty cool.  

I might find one of these with more white attractive too.

Again, no excuses, you ordered black and wanted black.  

I would recommend they sell the ones with the white as "seconds" or via some means where folks can see before they buy.

I'm not taking Bear Archery's side on this matter, but I find it interesting how fast people jump on the bandwagon to bash Bear Archery today.  

My point is, if you or I were to have an issue with a bow we received from Tall Tines or Schafer or Stalker or another custom bowyer, we would go to great links to resolve the matter in private without tossing our issues out there on a public forum.  

I had a horrible experience with a custom bowyer several years ago and only myself, the bowyer and a few close friends know anything about it.  

I'm sure Bear Archery will get this one right eventually. Neil Byce is a standup guy and he and others are working hard to keep a traditional archery line alive at Bear Archery in a high tech, 350 fps, parallel limb, profit driven corporate world.  

I wouldn't be happy with the riser you received either, but at least in your case the "bowyer" made an attempt to make it right and will likely make another and another until you are satisfied.  I was told by the "custom" bowyer I had a bad experience with, to live with it or sell it and get back in line for another. No thanks

It's not a Grayling versus Gainesville thing either.  Quite a few bows were returned to Grayling back in the day.  Fred Bear stood behind them then and Bear Archery and Escalade Sports stand behind them today.  Bear bows are mass produced.  That's just the way it is, and the way it has been since Bear Archery started using fiberglass on limbs around 1950.  They aren't Custom bows and haven't been since Nels Grumley stood at a shaving horse in the 1940s.

Even though they are production bows they still aren't cheap and you should get a product you can be proud to own.  Stick with it and I bet you'll get a good one.  Bear will make it right.

DD

I guess I'm not familiar enough with the takedown system, but why would they exchange it instead of repairing your original riser?

expecting quality as advertised product is not "bashing"...  Its holding companies  accountable for basic standards.

Shipping a riser with obvious flaws, even cosmetic, should be a huge NO for any company that wants to stay in business.

Well first off there quality control is suffering lets not forget his first riser had a bad latch why they just wouldn't send him a new latch I don't understand and then to say they would send him a,new 2014 2 tone riser to make him feel ok about sending back his riser that just needed a latch and then to send him  a reject riser like they did. That's not a human error. That's someone trying to pull something and get away with it or its,someone who does not care.
It's like when you order a pizza and you get a burnt one. They knew it was burnt when they put it in the box.

Frustration is a pretty reasonable feeling. I really hope they get this fixed for you. Let us know...

I've always been a big Bear fan.  My very first recurve when I was 12 was a Bear.  But in today's world of functional art customs I cannot justify paying Bear's new prices/MSRP for their top range bows, simply for a name and 'history'.  There are too many other choices where my dollar will go farther or at least pay for a good chunk on something better.  I wish the company all the best and know that there are many loyal fans who will keep them making bows.  Hopefully issues like this are far and few between.  If not, then they should quit.

I have five of the new risers now, Diamondwood, Bubinga, Maple, and a total of six sets of the new limbs. I also have one of the 2014 two toned bows on order.  I have owned custom bows by Bighorn, Black Widow, Hummingbird, Robertson,etc., and the new Bears don't give up anything performance wise to any of the customs I have owned.  I did have a problem with the limbs on one of my bows and I couldn't be happier with the way that Bear customer service handled it. They are working hard to uphold the Bear name and product line. I would be disappointed in the riser that you recieved myself, as would anyone. Carry it to Kalamazo with you and they will take care of you.  Let us know how it is resolved.

The poster stated it was a latch problem, later corrected himself and said it was a mis-aligned locator pin.    

I guess mistakes do happen.......


I think this topic was covered about a month ago.

Maybe it's their version of "Pierce Points"?   :eek:  
I too would be upset and I'll be on the phone again and trying to get this resolved...
Did you contact them again about it?

Maybe they could take those "seconds" and spray them factory camo like they used too   ))) I would be all over that!

QuoteOriginally posted by Pokerdaddy:
 

QuoteOriginally posted by jeff w:
What was wrong with the latch?

The locator screw was off a bit and wouldn't allow the lower limb to seat. [/b]

Please come by the G Fred Asbell booth and tell me how they resolved it. That's awful.

I think I would have given Bear a chance to "make things right" before using the "nuclear option" and going on the forums. A year or so ago I bought three sets of very high performance, very expensive, ILF/DAS limbs for hunting from a well known manufacturer. In the following 10 months I had a total of four limb failures as they were replaced. However, I didn't go on the forums with it because the maker made it right every time, and did so quickly. I am all for holding manufacturers accountable but I am also all for giving them the opportunity to clear the issues up in a timely manner.

The frustration comes from the fact that their replacement/fix was shoddy, and seen as an acceptable fix.  I know of no bowyers or businesses in the archery community that would consider this quality customer service.

I just received this response from Bear, after I expressed my frusration to them:

" those are birth marks where the wood and caused by the wood grains being so tight that they would not except the wood dye......not defective, and usually the birth marks are more rare than the other bows."

let us know what they say when u speak with them one on one this weekend.

Looks like someone was in a hurry to go home for the day and threw it in the mail. I'd give them a chance to make it right, and send what they told you they were going to send. Hope you didn't throw the box away...that needs to go back. Good luck.

Big Jim is a sponsor here and does quite a bit of dealing with Bear.  I know he thinks Bear is on the right track these days, but would like to know his thoughts on this issue.  

Over the past 3 or 4 years I've seen quite a few positive comments regarding Bear products, but it only takes a bad one like this to turn folks off.

I have a couple of the new TD's and the new 59 model...and very happy with them.  My bet is that Bear will make things right.

QuoteOriginally posted by KSdan:
Just a human mistake.  Betting they resolve it.

Maybe not a popular opinion, but I appreciate posts like this.  It is great when a manufacturer makes right on a problem, but when there are repeated problems or a manufacturer doesn't stand behind the product, prospective customers have a right to know. How else can one make an informed decision?  That should be true regardless of who yhe manufacture is, IMHO.  Then again, I don't make the rules.

QuoteOriginally posted by Pokerdaddy:
The frustration comes from the fact that their replacement/fix was shoddy, and seen as an acceptable fix.  I know of no bowyers or businesses in the archery community that would consider this quality customer service.

I just received this response from Bear, after I expressed my frusration to them:

" those are birth marks where the wood and caused by the wood grains being so tight that they would not except the wood dye......not defective, and usually the birth marks are more rare than the other bows."

ARE YOU KIDDING??????
   :eek:      :eek:      :confused:      :confused: