Seller bow ratings on Archerytalk - Rant

[Destroyer]

I've been looking at the bows in the classifieds on AT and the way the sellers use that stupid rating of 'out of 10' is giving me the sh*ts!!! How can a target bow that has been shot for a season be classified as '10 out of 10'? Looks a 10 (possible maybe) but the condition can't be 10. Personally I'd like to see an actual rating system enforced by the moderators. A local shooting magazine had specific rating system and everybody had to conform to and it worked.

It all comes down to ones 'perspective' not fact. What ya think?

[gravedigger]

i could not agree more.but i look on crfaigs list more then anthing and i see people selling bows from the 90's and up,listing them as new or in like new condition.it just tourq's my waund.list it as what it is..a used bow in good or decent condition.just makes me a bit *^&%$$

[HawgEnvy]

craigslist bows can be a joke. The same bows from late '80-early '90's "used one season,never shot. Been in the case under my bed for last 12yrs. $450 firm" WTF? For a Bear Superstrike XLR,metal pins,metal stab,mis-matched aluminum arrows and a cracked hard case? NEGATIVE! Go smoke some more crack, D-bag!

I did find a loaded,ready to hunt AR 34 for $225/bo. My wife would kill me. I'll save that fight for when I walk in w the Iron Mace I've been eyeballing. Lol!

[gravedigger]

im still trying to find that deal i cant passs up.i found my bengal on CL,i got it for 300 w/sights and a rest.and it was new to my suprise.but for the most part 5000 for a 1990 youth bow in newcondition,need everything firm..lol

[NeilMac]

I never take the slightest notice of those sorts of things, however, a recent experience with AT ads, when I bought a Shadowcat with a bent module and no STS, means I read the advert descriptions VERY carefully and I also ask quite a lot of questions. If I don't get satisfactory answers, I don't buy.

In defence, I have a Bowtech Constitution which I have used for two seasons. It has been well looked after and I don't shoot in the rain, so on cosmetic grounds it could be described as 10 out of 10, as it does not have a mark on it. On the other hand, I could not even tell you how many 1000's of shots I have taken with it, so in another respect it is probably a 5 or 6 at best.

Looks can be deceiving!

[Destroyer]

a used bow in good or decent condition.

Agree, you might be able to stretch it to 'excellent' if its unused or very little use. Brand new to me is 'new in box' although a lot of people would argue that.

I'll save that fight for when I walk in w the Iron Mace I've been eyeballing. Lol!

LOL!

If I don't get satisfactory answers, I don't buy.

Good advice. You can 'probe' for answers and get a feel for the sellers response, should have done that with my shadowcat. I think there is a lot of people selling bows on AT who have never shot a bow or at least not the bow they are selling.

[cyclepath]

I don't know about all people spreading it on pretty thick but there are some for sure. Some people are very anal about there things and treat them better than most people treat their kids. I can see some guys saying their bow is a 9 or 10 outa 10 even if it has been used for a year. I would be more careful dealing with someone I didn't know, but with that said if you do business with someone on AT you can get a feeling about them from the amount of feedback they have and how long they have been there. No way I would buy a 700 dollar bow from a guy who's only been there for 1 month and has 0 feedback. By the same token I wouldn't even consider buying a bow on craigslist unless they were close enough for me to meet them and try the thing before I would think about buying it. Kinda like buying a used car I guess.