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Handling Warranty Issues

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adb:
Cam,

I didn't sell a bow, or feel comfortable doing that, until I had been making bows for more than 3 years. Make a bunch, and give them away. That way, you can see how your work holds up, and if the bow breaks, no one has any hard feelings. That's what I did.
Also, I won't sell a bow to someone I don't know, or whom I believe won't care for it appropriately. I also won't make a bow for someone, for any price, if it's a bow I'm not comfortable making. Usually someone I sell a bow to has to endure extended conversations about wooden bows!

All that being said, I do offer a warranty on my bows, on a sliding scale. Full replacement for the first 6 months, 50% from 6 - 9 months, and 25% from 9 - 12 months (that's replacement cost, and buyer pays shipping). All that is contingent on following my care and feeding instructions provided with each bow I sell. Also, I provide NO warranty on bows >70# draw weight, and I am very upfront with anyone who wants a higher draw weight war bow. More importantly, this applies ONLY to the original owner.

However, I have replaced bows for people outside these guidelines. Of the hundred (or so) bows I've sold, I've only had to replace two, and one was not the original owner. I made a bow for him, he gave it to a friend, and his friend broke it by over drawing it. I made his friend a bow for the cost of the materials. Sometimes it pays to maintain your reputation, regardless the cost.

JW_Halverson:
There is HUGE liability with selling a bow, not to mention the taxes on manufactured hunting/shooting goods here in the us that comes to 17%, plus sales and use taxes, business licensing, etc.  I've sold a few to like minded people and took my chances. 

So far I can brag and say no one has ever broken one of my bows....mind you, I break plenty of them, though!

Good luck.

Cameroo:
Thanks to everyone for input.  I think what I'll take away from all of this is that IF I do end up selling a few bows, I will limit it to people that I know.  I'm also thinking that if this person is relatively green, some hands-on instruction and demonstration would be beneficial to all involved.  The owner of the bow that I donated for a charity auction (the only bow I've given away so far) agreed that he would wait until spring so we could go out shooting together so he could learn the ropes.  I gave him an extensive "instruction manual" of sorts as well, for future reference.  It mainly explained what NOT to do.

And you're probably right Adam, I should get a few more under my belt before I make any assumptions about the longevity of my bows.  Also, I think your warranty policy makes a lot of sense.  I would think that if a bow is going to break, it would likely happen within the first 6 months anyway.

Jesse:
[quote author=Eric Krewson link=topic=22729.msg307373#msg307373 date=1291986663 This year I donated a bow to a Catch-A-Dream auction with nothing but wheel shooters in attendance. I didn't sign the bow with my name like I usually do because I knew who ever bought it wouldn't know anything about taking care of the bow. I wanted my donation to be anonymous, getting kinda' paranoid in my old age.


[/quote] So it was you that made the bow? I won it and it blew up the first day. I was shooting ultra light carbons with 75 gr. points and a release and on the 50th shot I had it back to my 36" draw and I only held it back for like 1or2 min and I heard a little tick. I kept shooting and the thick turned into a cracking sound. Next thing I remember was waking up with a lump on my head. Could you make me a new one since that one was defective? ;D  Joking :D

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