Some questions about selling a bow

[WhistlingBadger]

Howdy, all.  I've decided to sell my juniper/sinew/bullsnake recurve because a)I need cash for some more important projects, and b) It just isn't a good bow for me (not heavy enough to hunt elk, and doesn't work that well with my shooting style), and c) that juniper/snake combo is far too pretty to just be sitting in my garage not making anybody happy.  At least, I think so.
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,73173.msg1026375.html#msg1026375

I plan to list it on Etsy, where people seem to like stuff like this.  But I've never sold a bow before so I'm wondering if I could hear from those of you who have.  Do you ever worry about the general unpredictability of natural materials and techniques (i.e. getting sued if it comes apart on someone)?  How much would you expect to get from a bow like this?  Anything else I should know?

Any insights, wisdom, advice appreciated!   
Thomas

[Eric Krewson]

I have sold about 75 of my bows, the first thing to realize is most people don't know squat about selfbows. I put a very detailed description in my ad specifying every aspect of the bow, maximum drawlength and making it clear that this is not a bow to let anyone with a drawlength longer to than the bow is tillered for shoot the bow.

I have found that a non selfbow guy will pass his new bow around and let everyone try it out, even cousin Elbert who stands 6'6' and has knuckles that drag the ground. I told them never to hand their strung bow to anyone to look at, the person will yank it back to full draw and beyond before you can stop them, it is a guy thing I guess.

You have to make it clear how the bow is stored, unstrung and never left strung in a hot car and to unstring it after use.

I include a very detailed "care and feeding" sheet with the bow when I ship it.

I ship a bow with a detailed order form that I make up to look professional, it will have "ES Krewson Wood Bows" in bold letters across the top. On the form I give a description of the bow, mark it as a custom bow with the specs and price and "PAID IN FULL" hand written across the form with a personal note of something like "good luck hunting with your new bow".

Now, I include the exact same "order" form on a bow that I am giving away and shipping. If the USPS will go to great lengths to dismiss a claim for a broken bow, I will go the extra mile to put an undisputed value on the bow to make it hard for them to not pay what they owe. I never pad the value of a bow on the form for extra insurance money; I include the price of shipping in the value but don't state it as such. I want the customer to get ALL of the money he has invested in the bow back; the shipping cost is part of that.

I have only had one bow broken in transit, because of my order form shipped with the bow, my claim was settled in a week or so for the stated value.

Now for the down side; some bows break after the user gets them, I included a year warranty on the bows I sold but not the freebies. I would either make the owner another bow or refund their money included what I charged for shipping.

I got a run of bad bamboo from Frank's one time and made 5 BBOs that all had a bamboo failure, I made new bows for everyone before I realized I had bad bamboo. One guy had two of these bows break on him, I refunded his money, no questions asked.

That was my position on replacing bows, no questions asked. I know some of them were abused and broken but a deal is a deal.

Once people realize you are an honest craftsman who stands behind his bows, people will come out of the woodwork to order a bow. I was turning down 15 people a month at my peak because I didn't want to live in my shop.

[WhistlingBadger]

Eric, that is very helpful information.  Thanks.