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The bow buying experience...

Micneador said:
Find a different shop lol.

The new one I've started using near me is great. Happy to help, usually don't charge me for simple fixes. Let's me throw a shot through paper after a minor adjustment is made and a chrony if I want to. My biggest positive is they don't try to sell me a bow. They show me different bows and the pros/cons of each.
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My shop too. I drive 40 minutes to see this one guy, who's always about informing the customer, because the product usually sells itself. They never talk with a superior air but will instead chat you through your decision. It's always a good sign if people are just stopping by to chat at the shop.
 
Horn said:
I'm probably (lol, probably) going to buy a new compound bow in the next few months. I'm excited! The shops around me are not. Is this typical? It seems like no one could care less about selling me a bow.
Is there a code word or a secret signal? Do I need to wear a Sitka hat in? What's the deal? Some pretend interest in taking a lot of money off my hands would be nice, just saying.
Hopefully this doesn't come off as whiny, I'm really just curious
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What area do you live in?

I’ll easily drive two hours every once and awhile to get the right bow shop. I have one that I can’t stand and refuse to go in. One is a big box store but the person there is legit. And one gentleman shut his shop down but works out of his garage.
 
I've never had a good experience with a bow shop. I've been slowly acquiring the tools and sometime in the future I'll be able to do away with them all together.....with the info on utube and internet on setup and tuning and the fact u can just order and ship to ur door there's really no need to go to a shop.....with that said...down south by my grandma's house there is an awesome bow shop...if for whatever reason I had to take the bow in I'm more inclined to drive 2 hours down and 2 hours back...and with that being said...I could drive to bear home base in less than 2hrs so I'd probably just drive there and buy right from the showroom if I wanted a new bow
 
Zero One Actual said:
What area do you live in?

I’ll easily drive two hours every once and awhile to get the right bow shop. I have one that I can’t stand and refuse to go in. One is a big box store but the person there is legit. And one gentleman shut his shop down but works out of his garage.
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I live in Greenville mi, about 35 miles NE of Grand Rapids.

The shop @MattMan81 suggested in Jackson is about 2 hours, but is kind of convenient because I'm from that area so I have friends and family around. Shop for bows, visit. There's worse ways to spend free time.

I see the point about tire kickers, I see where they'd wear you down. I'm trying to avoid being that guy. I know what brands, models and specs I'm looking for. I'm not so dead set that I wouldn't discuss a similar bow, but I do know what I'm looking for and where I'm going to have to compromise or prioritize with features.

It feels like if I asked why they sell bows or what interests them about archery most of the responses would be along the lines of " because they won't let me use a gun" or "gun season is short"
 
Well I gave schupbachs a call because it looked like they carried all my top choices in one place. Not quite anymore but that's OK. I didn't ask for his name but the guy I talked to was BY FAR the most friendly, honest and helpful guy so far( seemed that way ahead anyway, I've been to at least 7 shops off the top of my head). I'll be paying them a visit.
 
Schupbachs is great, another option for you being in Greenville would be Beckers Archery in Fowler. Back when I was in highschool it was a small time shop that they guy ran on the side from his plumbing, heating and cooling business. But he had a techno hunt in there so we would still go to his shop just for that. He has since sold off the big business and only does the archery shop now. He has the little store jam packed with every bit of new gear he can fit, is super knowledgeable and a great guy to deal with!
 
kyler1945 said:
Humans are broken. We were doing a crappy job at staying in our holes so we didn’t have to interact in person. Covid helped us perfect the craft. It’ll be a generation before we can get our act together. If ever.

Sorry to be a downer. I interact with people at all levels of companies with work and in all kinds of folks in my personal life. As a general rule, everyone is worse at social interactions now, And want to do it less. Specifically the mechanics of it. The habits. And the desire.



It’s probably that. Or maybe you have bird crap on your hat or something…
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This. Things should change going from a few weeks to two years.
 
Timberdonkey_059 said:
Schupbachs is great, another option for you being in Greenville would be Beckers Archery in Fowler. Back when I was in highschool it was a small time shop that they guy ran on the side from his plumbing, heating and cooling business. But he had a techno hunt in there so we would still go to his shop just for that. He has since sold off the big business and only does the archery shop now. He has the little store jam packed with every bit of new gear he can fit, is super knowledgeable and a great guy to deal with!
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Thanks, I'll check into them
 
Timberdonkey_059 said:
Schupbachs is great, another option for you being in Greenville would be Beckers Archery in Fowler. Back when I was in highschool it was a small time shop that they guy ran on the side from his plumbing, heating and cooling business. But he had a techno hunt in there so we would still go to his shop just for that. He has since sold off the big business and only does the archery shop now. He has the little store jam packed with every bit of new gear he can fit, is super knowledgeable and a great guy to deal with!
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A local shop that I used ti use when I was a teen had techno hunt. Dad and I used to shoot a league every week. Loved it. It changed ownership and has since gone down hill unfortunately
 
Weldabeast said:
I've never had a good experience with a bow shop. I've been slowly acquiring the tools and sometime in the future I'll be able to do away with them all together.....with the info on utube and internet on setup and tuning and the fact u can just order and ship to ur door there's really no need to go to a shop.....with that said...down south by my grandma's house there is an awesome bow shop...if for whatever reason I had to take the bow in I'm more inclined to drive 2 hours down and 2 hours back...and with that being said...I could drive to bear home base in less than 2hrs so I'd probably just drive there and buy right from the showroom if I wanted a new bow
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I drive 2 hours to get to a bow shop (lancaster archery) that i feel actually "tries" AND enjoys it (or at least act like they enjoy it) but only if i absolutely need to (broken limb, etc.)

The closest bow shop to me is alright. He doesnt like people and he will rip you to shreds. Kinda like an old barber. One time he told me my bow wasnt worth fixing haha. Killed 9 deer that season, jerk... BUT Id rather have a mechanic fix my stuff and be a total a-hole rather than ACT like he fixed it while being super nice and friendly.

I guess we gotta think about how many tire kickers they deal with every day. After a while it wears on someone. What im saying is, it depends on what the shop is mainly focused on. Selling more bows, or fixing/tuning them. All mechanics arent salesmen and all salesmen certainly arent mechanics.
 
Andrew920 said:
[mention]Horn [/mention] Hey bro, if you decide to go to Beckers let me know. A friend of mine works there part time.


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I'll do that too, thanks man
 
Maybe wear a shirt that says “I’m here to buy a bow.” Haha jk

What I have seen is that people will come in and act interested in making a purchase and run the pro shop guys through the ringer. Shoot multiple bows and then walk out the door. Meanwhile there is a backlog of service work that needs to be done to bows left by other customers. Then add in the fact that good workers are difficult to come by.

It’s no one’s and everyone’s fault at the same time.

I have seen a change within the past year. I would shoot in the back with the guys at my pro shop. I barely see those guys anymore. they are slammed.


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Or bite the bullet and become your own personal bow shop. You can get flagships a year old at discounted rates and tune 'em up the way you would like. A lot of nice bows sold in the classified's here too.
 
Me too, way out of the way. But they take the time to get my stuff right & charge fairly

PEEJAY said:
I drive 2 hours to get to a bow shop (lancaster archery) that i feel actually "tries" AND enjoys it (or at least act like they enjoy it) but only if i absolutely need to (broken limb, etc.)

The closest bow shop to me is alright. He doesnt like people and he will rip you to shreds. Kinda like an old barber. One time he told me my bow wasnt worth fixing haha. Killed 9 deer that season, jerk... BUT Id rather have a mechanic fix my stuff and be a total a-hole rather than ACT like he fixed it while being super nice and friendly.

I guess we gotta think about how many tire kickers they deal with every day. After a while it wears on someone. What im saying is, it depends on what the shop is mainly focused on. Selling more bows, or fixing/tuning them. All mechanics arent salesmen and all salesmen certainly arent mechanics.
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too
 
When i need a new bow i drive the 3 hrs to Pearl, Ms, anything else (set up/tuning) i do myself at home. We had a few awesome shops in CenLa but for some reason they keep shutting down.
 
If I could buy new, flagship bows online, I'd never step foot in a bow shop again.

The only thing keeping them open is the monopoly granted them by the dealers. Without this monopoly, bow tuners would pop up that actually did good work for folks and had to survive by word of mouth and good reviews and not propped up by a monopoly power within a region.
 
I've seen bow shops with different employees every year. It's luck of the draw if they even know anything past a d-loop. I however have been very fortunate to have the same bow mechanic for almost 20 years or whenever that hoyt x-tec came out. To have someone u trust is invaluable .
 
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