Who is this Seller

tcthomas · Post by **tcthomas** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 8:19 am

Have you called Bill T and asked him? Obviously this guy is set up as a wholesaler himself or he is selling them at a loss.

Maybe this seller on Ebay is really the Excalibur marketing dude in disguise!

Tim

mdcrossbow · Post by **mdcrossbow** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 8:26 am

A good price war only helps the buyers. Wait ! I'm a buyer. LOL

Jim C · Post by **Jim C** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 8:33 am

In the short run it will help you I suppose. In the long run it won't help you if there are no shops around to help you fix your bow or tie you a string in an emergency.

you all seem to operate under the mistaken assumption that this guy is buying these bows for the same price legitimate retailers are.

bj · Post by bj » Wed Dec 08, 2004 8:39 am

it's plain and simple...how do you sell merchandise for less than what it normally costs to buy it from a manufacturer or a distributor...something just a little bit "fishy" here...

- i'm sure you will see this fella out of the excalibur business, "shortly"...

wayne...

Evan · Post by **Evan** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 8:46 am

I think a lot of stuff that sells on Ebay in this way (seems too good to be true) is probably stolen ... if not directly by the seller then indirectly somehow. I've heard several times over the last couple of years about rings of thieves dumping stuff on Ebay.

Jim C · Post by **Jim C** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 8:51 am

this is true Evan though this guy could be liquidating the wares of a legitimate dealer who went out of business. Hoyt bows, for example, have serial numbers on them and if Hoyt compound bows show up "NEW" on ebay and are traced to an ongoing dealer he will quickly lose his contract with Hoyt. same with mathews and I know of cases of dealers dumping mathews bows on ebay getting their contracts terminated.

apparently this "Sports planet" scooby guy keeps his identity hidden despite efforts of others to find out where he gets these bows so he might merely be a liquidator or a fence.

Any of the other retailers on this forum can tell you he has listed bows-and sold some-at less than what we legitimate dealers can buy them for

Fur & Feathers · Post by **Fur & Feathers** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 9:31 am

It is common practice for manufacturers to have different tiers of discounts depending on volume. The bow shop that sells 20 Excaliburs a yr. probably won't have the same discount structure as a shop that sells 200. The shop that sells 20 may get 25% off. The shop that sells 200 may get 40%off. The 200 shop can mark up 10% & sell for less than the 20 shop buys for. Not sure if this is the case here, but it is common practice with the manufacturers our company deals with. Just my guess as to the pricing discrepancies.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 9:32 am

Jim C said:

In the short run it will help you I suppose. In the long run it won't help you if there are no shops around to help you fix your bow or tie you a string in an emergency.

Not taking sides, but I'll bet Excalibur would fix one of these bows if there were a problem, and a phone call to Excalibur would probably be all it would take to get the information of where to take or send it for repair.
I've looked at the bows on eBay, and even considered buying one, but I just get a bad feeling about this seller

As for eBay, I do some limited buying & selling there, but unless it's an honest bargain or hard to find item I shop locally. I recently bought a watch. I looked on eBay, found a used one I liked, then did an internet search for the product & was able to buy a brand new one from a legitimate dealer for less! The moral of the story - caveat emptor
(sp?) buyer beware!
wabi the guest

Jim C · Post by **Jim C** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 9:48 am

Fur & Feathers wrote:It is common practice for manufacturers to have different tiers of discounts depending on volume. The bow shop that sells 20 Excaliburs a yr. probably won't have the same discount structure as a shop that sells 200. The shop that sells 20 may get 25% off. The shop that sells 200 may get 40%off. The 200 shop can mark up 10% & sell for less than the 20 shop buys for. Not sure if this is the case here, but it is common practice with the manufacturers our company deals with. Just my guess as to the pricing discrepancies.

this is true in some cases but not here

GaryL · Post by **GaryL** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 10:50 am

I understand where you are coming from Jim C.,

"you all seem to operate under the mistaken assumption that this guy is buying these bows for the same price legitimate retailers".

I think he takes a loss on one every now and then, but my guess is he ends up selling most for what it would cost a person to go buy one from a store if not more

Some just get carried away bidding on things at Ebay and end up paying more then they could have got it for at a store.

Think I will follow his sells for awhike just ta see.

Right now it's selling for 319.+ and no bids, little over a day left...Exocet Delux

Sandman · Post by **Sandman** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:09 am

I cant speak to this buyers methods and/or motives. But there are some great sellers on E-Bay. I picked up a brand new Exocet from another seller and it arrived as advertised. I think the Excalibur Marketing Dude may be the one to answer the question at hand!?

Regards,
Robin

Jim C · Post by **Jim C** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:17 am

nothing wrong with Ebay per se-my wife actually took a class and is planning on using it to move out consignment bows, used stuff and obsolete models. I have no problem with someone selling a new excalibur they may have won or were given below fair retail. what I worry about is this guy who has 3-4 bows a week going for less than I can buy them for at wholesale.

btw I believe the powers that be know about this

as I said, Friday nite he sold a vixen deluxe that went for exactly what I pay for it. his current vixen is far less than my wholesale cost.

guest · Post by **guest** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 12:23 pm

They are selling an accessory package. The picture shows a scope. But the description doesnt mention it ??????
These prices are cheaper than retail in Canada where the bows are made ??
Shootone

Hi5 · Post by **Hi5** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 12:47 pm

I noticed that Cabela's now sell some of the Excalibur line. I am not an insider to have personal knowledge of the wholesale pricing policies of Excalibur or Cabela's.

Let's just say though, that if Cabela's were to order 2000 bows and possibly be a continuing market, they would pay a per unit wholesale price that would knock your socks off. A smart manufacturer would also keep confidential any such special arrangements, especially from his smaller retailers.

Maybe this guy got a special deal? After all, is there a better advertising for excalibur than having their stuff show up on Ebay when someone does a search for "bow" or "crossbow"? I'd say this might be a sample of smart marketing by Excalibur. If the guy sells off a couple dozen bows a year on Ebay it won't hurt regular retailers, but it will increase interest in the product and that will sell more product at regular prices.

Good Luck to Excalibur, I say. Also to the regular retailers. I think they all stand to gain.

bj · Post by bj » Wed Dec 08, 2004 1:03 pm

Hi5 wrote: Let's just say though, that if Cabela's were to order 2000 bows and possibly be a continuing market, they would pay a per unit wholesale price that would knock your socks off. A smart manufacturer would also keep confidential any such special arrangements, especially from his smaller retailers.

I have been an excalibur retailer for quite some time, and i can tell you that this "most definitely" goes against all of excaliburs' marketing principles...trust me, as i mentioned before, there's something not quite right with the picture here...

wayne...