DISCUSSION: Buying/selling used bows on the auction sites

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Captainkirk
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Re: DISCUSSION: Buying/selling used bows on the auction site

#16 Post by Captainkirk »

On the other hand...you know how I feel about Tamerlanes. BUT.....I wouldn't touch this with a ten foot pole!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1967-BE ... SwEgVWT1CV

Why someone would bid almost 150 bucks on a bow with very obvious severe finish checking, and possible lamination cracks, is completely beyond me. And the seller seems to have no issues trying to move it.
Aim small, miss small!

Carpdaddy
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Re: DISCUSSION: Buying/selling used bows on the auction site

#17 Post by Carpdaddy »

Stop it Kirk, you got me looking!! And I have only bought one Tradbow in my life, a bamboo backed Hickory that was unfinished. To me they are way too much fun to build, I would pay more for the materials to build one than for the finished product, yep; I'm crazy!

Captainkirk
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Re: DISCUSSION: Buying/selling used bows on the auction site

#18 Post by Captainkirk »

Carpdaddy wrote:Stop it Kirk, you got me looking!! And I have only bought one Tradbow in my life, a bamboo backed Hickory that was unfinished.
Nothing wrong with looking! It gives to an up-to-date picture of the used bow market. Besides, you might just find something you HAVE to own! (How do I know this? Don't ask....)
Carpdaddy wrote: To me they are way too much fun to build, I would pay more for the materials to build one than for the finished product, yep; I'm crazy!
Actually, I really admire your ability to build a nice bow and I don't think you're nuts! I would love to do that, but...once I build a bow, what would I do with the mold and hotbox and all the other trifles? If I was going into the business or hobby, like you, then sure! For me, it's far easier to decide on a vintage classic and then hunt one down and kill it. (we did mention this is a 'hunting' site, right?)
Aim small, miss small!

Captainkirk
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Re: DISCUSSION: Buying/selling used bows on the auction site

#19 Post by Captainkirk »

I guess this thread was left unfinished, and since Dave brought up the topic, we should revive the thread.
To recap, you need to determine the Big Three before you start bow shopping;

1) Know what make and model you are looking for (roughly)

2) Know what bows of this make & model are selling for. If you don't know, simply compare the pricing on similar bows recently sold and average them out for an average mean pricing.

3) Know your limit. The worst thing you can do is get into a bidding war at the last minute. Set your absolute top dollar value and don't exceed it. Not even by $5.00. Many people don't realize eBay is a proxy bid site; that is, if you bid $100.00 and the highest previous bid was 70.00 with a $5.00 increment, you are only going to pay $75.00, NOT the $100.00 you bid (as long as you've met the minimum bid requirements). Bidding $75.00 is foolish and will likely lose you the bow, because the other bidders are likely playing the same game. Set your top dollar bid and pull the trigger (more on this later).
The proxy bid feature will automatically do a last-minute scramble between the top bidders.

Now that you've identified a couple bows you like, bid on them, Right? WRONG!!!
Now is the time to start reviewing the information you have. Look at all the photos provided. Use the Magnify tool (+) to scan the bow inch by inch looking for possible defects such as limb twist, delaminations, scratches, nicks, chips, gouges etc. Look carefully for obvious signs of finish checking. You can often times use the bow string (even if unstrung) as a 'chalkline' for limb twist just by looking at the alignment.
Now is also the time for looking at the SELLER as well as the bow. What is his feedback rating? Does he have any negative feedback? If so, review it. Read carefully what others have to say about this seller. Read carefully his description of the bow as well. Does it 'ring true', i.e. match up to what you know about the bow? (perfect example is the earlier-mentioned common blunder of reading the PATENT DATE off the bow sticker on Bear bows and listing it as a "1953 Model"). If all the info matches up and the info jives, it's now time to CONTACT SELLER.

(to be continued)
Aim small, miss small!

Captainkirk
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Re: DISCUSSION: Buying/selling used bows on the auction site

#20 Post by Captainkirk »

Contacting the seller:
Why in the H-E-double hockey sticks do we want to contact the seller? :? Several reasons. First, many sellers don't include enough pictures, or don't give a complete visual of the bow in question. Pictures cost money on a listing. Sending you additional pictures via your email costs them nothing. If you have questions about a certain area that is blurry, shadowed (no, not you, Jason) obscured, etc, ask for better, clearer pictures and more of them. Lots more.
Second, ask a list of basic questions. Why? Because if you do ask, and they lie or don't answer them, there is a reason for that. Here are the questions I ask:

1) Is there any known damage, scratches, nicks, chips, delaminations or finish checking? If so please describe and send photos.

2) Is there any visible limb twist?

3) Are they (the seller) aware of any handling incidents, i.e dropping, dry-firing, water damage, etc?

This seems like a lot of nosy prying, but here's the thing; if they answer "no" and have lied, you now have a written communication from them stating the opposite. You can use this to dispute a bad transaction rather than "He said/she said"...same goes for the photos the buyer emailed. They can take down their ad but not your email photos. Call it...insurance. :lol:
If you paid using PayPal, PP can and will open a fraud investigation on your behalf if requested. Evidence is key here.
If any seller refuses to comply, dances around the issues, gives you a sob story about how his camera broke...don't listen. Cross it off your list and move on.Likewise, if they don't respond to your email, move on. There are plenty of other fish in the sea.

OK; bid NOW?
No. Not yet. Patience, grasshopper...

(to be continued...)
Aim small, miss small!

Captainkirk
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Re: DISCUSSION: Buying/selling used bows on the auction site

#21 Post by Captainkirk »

By now, you should have a list of several bows you want to bid on. Here are some ways to segregate them:

1) By auction ending date.

2) By condition of bow (nicest vs 'rattiest')

3) By price range

4) By bid increment (some go in $1.00 increments, some in 5, others at still higher rates. It makes a difference)

5) By number of bidders. When you have a hot item, you can get 1 or 2 buffoons bidding against each other early on driving the price ever higher. Back away.


Sometimes you have to choose between putting a bid in on a pristine example that ends later or a lesser example that ends first. This can be a tough decision at times, but really hits home when you bypass the lesser bow and lose out on the later-ending sweetheart due to outbidding. Don't despair if this happens. There will be more. Many times I've lost out on what I thought was the finest example of something only to see an even better one listed a week later. Generally you should take them one at a time, by soonest ending date. Never bid on two bows at the same time unless you are prepared to own both of them!

Bid NOW? :shock:
No. Sit down and shut your pie hole. I will tell you when to bid.

(to be continued...)
Aim small, miss small!

Captainkirk
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Re: DISCUSSION: Buying/selling used bows on the auction site

#22 Post by Captainkirk »

Shipping. You DID look at shipping, right?
Why? Because I have seen shipping fees as low as $8.00 and as high as $68.50. Makes a bit of a difference, no? Not saying you shouldn't pay $68.50 (because most of these $8.00 guys will lose their shirts when they get to the Post Office and find out what it costs) but rather, that if the guy is going to charge that much, you have to deduct it from your bow budget, all things being equal. If you set your max at 200 and throw in $68.50 for shipping, you really didn't buy the bow for 200 now, did you? Or, taken another way, you blew the budget by over 25%.
Some people say "Shipping doesn't count". I say, "Hogwash!"

"Buy It Now". Your bow might have a "Buy It Now" button. If the BIN price is within your budget and there are already a number of bids on the bow, you might want to consider it. This will save a lot of time and aggravation in the long run. Look at it this way; you had that amount budgeted to begin with. It's human nature to think you can get it much cheaper than the BIN price, but truth be told, most auctions go right up to that price by the time they end and somebody loses. If it's the right bow for you and the BIN price is OK, why not bypass all the tomfoolery and snatch it out from the clutches of the fighting magpies? Bam. It's yours. End of story.

"Make An Offer"
Some auctions have this option. If the bow has been listed for several days and is close to ending, what have you to lose? The worst he can do is say "no". Word of caution; don't 'lowball' and insult the seller's intelligence. Make a fair offer that might be accepted rather than a dirtbag offer that's guaranteed to be rejected...and piss off the seller.

Bid NOW?
Unless you are hitting BIN or Make An Offer, then stuff a sock in it and shut up. I have duct tape and I'm not afraid to use it.

(to be continued...)
Aim small, miss small!

Jamesh76
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Re: DISCUSSION: Buying/selling used bows on the auction site

#23 Post by Jamesh76 »

Pretty old original post. However, these are the a few of what I do.
1) ask for more pictures
2) never buy a bow that has the string on backwards. I have bought 2, both have had twisted limbs. Some say it doesn't hurt the bow. But regardless, I will never buy one like this again.
3) Check sellers history of items sold and currently for sale. Make sure they have an idea of what they are selling or have sold so they can properly provide knowledgeable information on the product.
4) check physical location its being sold from as well as if the seller is an individual or a store
5) watch the items, so you can check it frequently before you bid.
6)hold seller to an accurate description. The last Kmag, I bought had a small piece of glass gone between the string grove and tip. The seller advertised the bow as good condition with typical scratches from usage. I bought the bow for $110 shipped. I called the seller out on the condition not as advertised. I figured it was fixable but went ahead and messaged them about the chip of glass (1/8"x1/2") missing and sent them a picture. After 2 messages back and forth. They refunded me $25 of the sale making my purchase a grand total of $85 for the bow shipped. I went down into the garage, cleaned the spot up real good and epoxied it. Let it cure for a few days. Sanded it down and refinished with tru-oil. Bow looks good now, all of the scratches but 1 was removed. Bow looks good again.

stumper
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Re: DISCUSSION: Buying/selling used bows on the auction site

#24 Post by stumper »

Love all the advice. I would love to pick up another grizzly or a k mag.
Nothing clears a troubled mind like shooting a bow.

Longbowfanatic
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Re: DISCUSSION: Buying/selling used bows on the auction site

#25 Post by Longbowfanatic »

My hard fast rule is I will only purchase from someone with 100% positive feedback. That said, I pass on many items I would like to bid on. I figure if they have 100% positive feedback, they're reputable and care about their rating. To go along with the 100% feedback requirement, I will only buy from people with a significant amount of sales history. People who have only one or few purchases/sales are kind of a gamble to deal with IMO. Lastly, I try to communicate with the seller, prior to bidding, if I have questions and I gauge their response to determine if they're good at communicating with prospective buyers. Doing these things have helped me avoid any problems when purchasing from Ebay.

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