Do any bowyers honor the warranty period for other than the original owner?  That is the kind of service I look for.

Many of them will work with second/third etc owners b/c most bowyers are good folks, but really I don't think that there should be an expected obligation. After a bow has been passed around/sold a few times, who knows what abuse that they've undergone? I've seen some amazing generosity and willingness by multiple bowyers to 'make things right' several years after the bow was sold, but that's not always the case, nor should it be. It's generally best to discuss with the bowyer and work something out that is FAIR to both parties and not just 'no cost' to the owner. Bowyers have bills to pay just like the rest of us.

Exactly the same experience as David above.

If there is a problem with a bow I built due to workmanship or faulty materials, it is my job to make it right, regardless of who owns the bow at the time.  The reputation of my business depends on it.

David and Bjorn, appreciate your input but my bow is 6 months old and the riser is cracking from fade out to fade out.  My high end bowyer ($1000+ single piece) suggests he will super glue and refinish the area at my expense.  I worry the wood was not totally dry and will continue to crack.
The above response is the kind of bowyer I am looking for.

I don't know who your bowyer is, but I do know Chad Holm, and he will make it right if there is a problem on his end. Great guy, and he builds one of the best bows around.

Allan

Chek-Mate's "official" warranty is with the original owner, but they have taken care of bows well outside the warranty.  No doubt in a situation like yours, unless it was obviously your fault, you would be getting a new bow asap.

It's pretty sad that your bowyer won't stand behind a bow that's 6 months old, but it happens.  Happened to a friend of mine too--for his time and trouble and about $1,000, he has pieces and a splinter in his hand from a shattered riser.  He was the original owner too.

Hope it works out for you. Most will do everything possible to make it right. On the other hand, it's getting more difficult for bowyers to stand behind their products as much as they would like since there are some unscrupulous folks out there who abuse their bows and then expect the bowyer to come out of his pocket to fix it.

IMO if you bought the bow used you obviously saved some money in doing so over buying new part of what YOU sold for that little bit you saved was the obligation of warranty.

With that said there are great bowyers who stand behind their products %100 and they can usually tell if the problem stems from abuse or failure in material or manufacture.

Bill

I have 2 Traditional bow as you can see below. I think that either of the bowyer's that made them would stand behind their work. I too find it hard to figure why someone would not stand behind their work that was only 6 months old. But again I'm sure there are those out there that are looking for a way to shaft someone too. It's like I say about everything; It is only a few who mess it it up for the many. I sure hope you get your bow repaired. I had a wheel bow one time that I had to go round and round with the manufacture about before they would stand behind their work. It was deer season too. It worked out in the end. Good luck.

To answer your question, yes. Dan Toelke goes above and beyond what is expected in his customer relations. He has gone out of his way to help me on several occasions.

QuoteOriginally posted by easyup:
my bow is 6 months old and the riser is cracking from fade out to fade out.

That's a materials problem, plain and simple.  The wood was either not properly seasoned, had a fault to begin with or was ill-suited to the use it was chosen for (ie bocote has a tendency to crack with normal seasonal changes)

Though the bowyer shouldn't be under obligation to replace the bow free of charge (afterall you didn't buy it new) most of the bowyers I've dealt with would try to fix/stabilize the crack w/o charging you more than for shipping.  If it couldn't be fixed a few I know would offer to replace it for the cost of materials.  It's their reputation and that definitely sounds like a material problem.  

Did the bow show any signs of a crack when you bought it?

"With that said there are great bowyers who stand behind their products %100 and they can usually tell if the problem stems from abuse or failure in material or manufacture."

Yep--generally they can tell, and won't be offering bs excuses as to why there was a failure.  I know CM has repaired/replaced bows in the past in which the damage was questionable, even helped folks out that admitted the damage was their fault.

Unless the bow was dry-fired or something along those lines, it really shouldn't matter if it's changed hands 15 times.  The bowyer got paid in full by the first owner--any losses were taken by the customer(s).  When a bow that's 6 months old fails, something was very wrong, either in the build or how it was treated.

I know that most warranties are only for the original purchaser, so technically the bowyer isn't obligated to  do anything...but in the long run they are only hurting themselves by not taking care of a situation like this.  That kind of stuff will shut down a shop sooner or later.

There are some real gems out there that go out of their way to support their customers. That being said, I had a very high end bow, I was the original owner and my top limb was twisted right out of the box. Bowyer asked me to bump them back. Well after two weeks of trying that, let's just say, I will not be his customer anymore.

Well I think a 0ne year warranty should cover the product,not just the person that bought it.After a year it is up to the bowyer to do what he fells fits the situation.Not an always fix this type of thing but on a issue to issue bases.Any defects that should be addressed by warranty work most likely will show up before a year is up anyway and most times much quicker.After that it is usually something caused by the person shooting the bow.

I don't worry too much about warranties on bows and it would not be a deciding factor on buying one or not for me.I can tell when it was built right to start with and am capable of fixing anything that might go wrong later on.I certainly would never hold it against a bowyer that would not fix something outside the warranty period or if I bough a used bow.But that is just me.    jmho

I am not going to be too quick to make any kind of judgement here as their are too many questions. If the bow is only 6mos.old,did the previous owner sell it as is? how long has it been in your possession? Do you know that the previous owner was telling you the truth about condition of bow? Did you get in touch with the previous owner about this problem? If the bowyer policy is warranty only to the purchaser why would anyone expect him to fix for free. Remember buyer beware.

I am the second owner of a Wes Wallace "Royal" longbow. When the tip came apart he fixed it with no charge. I did pay shipping and since the bow was 10 years old(?) I paid to have it refinished. Wes Wallace is one of the first I will call when a new bow is needed.

From some of the comments regarding bowyers not warranting their bows to another owner, the bow still being in the warranty period, would you feel different if the product was different?

Ford, GM, toyota, Honda etc warranty their products for the full warranty period so why wouldn't a "custom" bowyer do the same. Many people buy a custom bow rather than a "factory" bow for the quality and performance advantages???

in this case it may be a hard lesson but if you can afford it I would purchase another bow from the names mentioned above, and keep 6 month old "custom" and bring it to very 3D shoot I went to.

QuoteOriginally posted by LBR:
Yep--generally they can tell, and won't be offering bs excuses as to why there was a failure.  

The other side of the coin is sometimes someone has abused the snot out of one, expects the bowyer to take care of it and the bowyer who's already making very little on the bow has to come out of his pocket. Enough of those will shut down a bowyer just as fast as not standing behind a warranty for the "good" customers. As said, one bad apple can spoil it for everyone else.

I certainly wouldn't want to be a bowyer today with the way I've seen folks use/abuse their bows, especially the high performance ones.

The difference between Ford, GM, Toyota is their warranty states it is transferable, while most,if not all  custom bowyers state to original owner. Two different circumstances, with auto's buyer usually having a period of time to register their name to qualify for remaining warranty. I realize what you are saying but a deal is a deal if you accept the offer. I am still curious about the guy that sold the bow to him.