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Bow upgrades and trade-ins

KnuckleDragr

KnuckleDragr

Active Member
I know a lot of you guys buy the newest bows on the market every year or two. Do you keep all your old bows or trade them in every year? If you trade them in, what kind of value do you get from them? Say for example... 60% of the original cost. I shot my previous bow for 10 years before upgrading. My current bow will see its third year this year. I can't imagine spending almost a grand every year on the hottest new bow without getting most of the cost back on a trade-in. Just curious on how this works as I might be interested in looking into this.
 
KnuckleDragr said:
I know a lot of you guys buy the newest bows on the market every year or two. Do you keep all your old bows or trade them in every year? If you trade them in, what kind of value do you get from them? Say for example... 60% of the original cost. I shot my previous bow for 10 years before upgrading. My current bow will see its third year this year. I can't imagine spending almost a grand every year on the hottest new bow without getting most of the cost back on a trade-in. Just curious on how this works as I might be interested in looking into this.
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I trade my bow in every other year and my bow is usually $800-900 bare bow and for trade-in my shop gives me $400. Could be different for other shops. Just putting my two cents out there.
 
There is an extreme amount of market up in bows. In some cases it's nearly 100%. Do not trade your bow in. It's the same principle with a car deal. Sell it outright. The problem being that the market is so saturated with bows that a year old now isn't worth anything. A lot of times you can buy a brand new year old bow for what guys are paying for a used one.
 
I bought a Mathews Drenalin when it was brand new, so around 5 years ago and I just sold it for $400 with everything still on it. I think Scheels was going to give me around $200? The bow was $900 bare and probably had $1500 in accessories on it. Just bought the new Mathews Creed and paid a little over $1000 after taxes. Would have been a little cheaper but i got it in all black. Seems like a lot of money especially after i get it all set up but ill probably have it for 4 years or so and for as much money as I spend on food plots, camo, stands, boots, etc im not going to go cheap on the thing thats actually going to kill the deer. I spend way too much time torwards deer hunting to not have every advantage possible when I finally get that chance at a buck. Just my opinion.
 
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I don't get new bows very often...maybe every 10 years, and I just keep the old one for a spare.

NWBuck
 
I've been shooting my Bowtech Commander since 08 and I don't see myself getting a new bow anytime soon. It still shoots great and its proven itself enough times. I don't have a need to get a new one. It would be nice to be able to afford a new one every year, but I don't think its too important to upgrade that often. Sure there are some fancy ones but I'm going to get as many years as I can out of mine.
 
I get a new one every year and usually can't get much out of the old one, Last year i sold my bowtech assassin for 400, this year I'm buyin a new prime defy and selling my prime centroid for 600. That's just the way it goes.
 
I'm not sure what the real story is on mark up. Maybe the manufacturer makes a mint, but I dont think the local bow shop does. If so, most of the owners would be alot better off than they are.

That said I've been shooting a used 2007 model bow for a few years now and no complaints. When I was trading in alot I'd be lucky to get 50% even on a 1 year old model. You're better off selling outright than trading.
 
I have every compound bow I have ever purchased.

I bought a PSE Vulcan in 1983, used it through the 2005 bow season. After that season, I bought a 2004 Mathews Legacy and archery suddenly became fun. :D

Decided not to wait so long this time and recently bought a 2011 Bowtech Assassin.

At least this time I think I have a solid back up bow with the Legacy.

I just can't see dropping the coin on a new bow.
 
Interesting feedback so far. I have a 2011 Mathews extreme and love it. I don't plan to replace it any time soon, but if a guy could upgrade for only a couple hundred bucks a year it might have been worth it. I guess I personally would rather spend that money on trail cams and food plots and upgrade as I feel the need. But I ain't going to lie. Some of the bows out there got me lookin.
 
KnuckleDragr said:
But I ain't going to lie. Some of the bows out there got me lookin.
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I agree, I went looking.

I shot the Mathews Creed and HeliM at the local shop. I was impressed with them, depressed with the sticker shock.

Even the guy at the shop said they will have a flood of year old bows to sell when people "upgrade" next year.
 
I've always thought of buying new bows as of buying new cars. The old man always said when buying a new car "The most expensive drive you'll ever take is the one leaving the dealership". Holds alot of truth IMO.
 
hoosierhunter said:
There is an extreme amount of market up in bows. In some cases it's nearly 100%. Do not trade your bow in. It's the same principle with a car deal. Sell it outright. The problem being that the market is so saturated with bows that a year old now isn't worth anything. A lot of times you can buy a brand new year old bow for what guys are paying for a used one.
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I don't know how much your paying for your bows but I can tell you that most shops probably make $100-$200 bucks selling a new bow. So it's more like 25% markup.:confused: And that's on a highend $800 plus bow.
 
jjohnson said:
I don't know how much your paying for your bows but I can tell you that most shops probably make $100-$200 bucks selling a new bow. So it's more like 25% markup.:confused: And that's on a highend $800 plus bow.
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I have insured several bow shops and have seen the cost of those bare bows. I've also bought my last two bows at cost. Two different bow makers and one was 100% mark up and the other was 75%.
 
Bought my bow used about 4 years ago and pretty sure it was a few years old then. Paid $400 for the bow with accessories, 12 arrows, release, and hard bow case. Needing to upgrade the sight since I broke a pin last fall, and will probably put a new string on, but other than some maintenance I think I'm ok using it for a while longer. The buck I shot with it last fall seemed to be just as dead as the first deer I shot with it!

But as far as trading, I'm also thinking it's like a car. The value you get on trade is just for the convenience of getting rid of your old one without having to sell it yourself. And many times, if not all, this value is already built into their price, so they can make you feel like you're getting a deal.
 
"The buck I shot with it last fall seemed to be just as dead as the first deer I shot with it!"

Now that's a funny (and amazingly accurate) statement. I have never been a guy to be on the cutting edge of technology (computers, vehicles, bows, etc). But, if ya got the coin, who am I to say anything about how you spend it.

I shoot an 07 or 08 Hoyt Vectrix (won it in a contest so don't remember exactly what model year). Decent shooting bow for me and seems plenty fast. I put $100 into a new string last season and will most likely shoot it until the string is needing replacement and then upgrade again. Justin, I'll look you up in say 2014-15 maybe ??:D
 
I used to buy a new bow every year. Then I got married, bought a house, wife had a baby...now I just buy my bows used off of Archery Talk, and I don't sell them. Why pay $900+ for a new bow when I can get that bow for $500 off AT next year?
 
SEIowaDeerslayer said:
I used to buy a new bow every year. Then I got married, bought a house, wife had a baby...now I just buy my bows used off of Archery Talk, and I don't sell them. Why pay $900+ for a new bow when I can get that bow for $500 off AT next year?
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Ssshhhhhhh, don't say any more let them buy new and trade every year. It's good for us if they continue to do so.
 
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