I saw recently where New Breed came out and basically said they were going to stick behind their customers who had bought their last bow line instead of releasing a new bow this year, just to say they have a “new” bow out (and devaluing last years worth). Thoughts on this business model? I’ve said for quite awhile in my circle of friends that bow companies do nothing but hurt their customers in the long run, but also hurt themselves by constantly trying to regurgitate the same bows year after year with minimal, if any, technological advancements. I get it, some people like to buy what they feel like is the latest and greatest each year, blind to any marketing ploy they may be playing into...I’m sure we’ve all fallen for it in some capacity or another. Bow companies are also just that, a company built to make money and turn a profit at the end of the day. I’m sure there is some chart out there that points to this being the way to go also. But, I’ll use myself as an example. One would call me a “Mathews” guy. I saved up and bought a Switchback brand new when I was 17 in 2005. I shot every single line after, and it wasn’t until I got my hands on a z7 in 2010 that I thought I noticed an upgrade that warranted some money. Same thing for my Halon in 2016. The last 2 were bought slightly used for nearly half the price of what they cost just 5-6 months prior. How is this model beneficial to your loyal customers? Granted I do absolutely love the bows I have purchased, make no qualms about that, and I’ve ran a lot of arrows through critters in the last decade. A few weeks ago I sent several arrows through my 3 year old Halon alongside a Vertix. I swear if you had me blindfolded I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Disclaimer, I have never shot a New Breed before, so I cannot speak to their product quality. I don’t follow the industry trends nearly as closely as I used to, so this whole post may be completely off base! But I do like supporting people and companies who come out and call a spade a spade. They’ll release a new bow when they feel it’s better than their last. I’ll be interested to get hands on one to try out if I can. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It's a novel idea and I'm sure some people will appreciate it, but the fact is we live in a consumer-driven world. People want the latest and greatest even if the change is nothing more than cosmetic. So long as people continue to buy the new stuff there will always be businesses out there to make it.
I'm also a "Mathews guy". Got the Switchback as my first "real" compound bow. Shot it, and plenty of deer until 2015 when I shot the No Cam HTR and felt it was a significant upgrade and justified spending 1,000. But since then, I've shot the new bows every year and no way would I be shelling out that money every year for a new bow, that in my opinion doesn't out-perform my HTR. But if guys want to buy the same ol bow every year, with minor to no changes at all, to each his own.
They do a direct to consumer now. You can call them up and they send you one to try i guess. I haven’t done it but thats my understanding.
Yes, that is what I was told via email. I’m crazy busy for the next few weeks, but may give one a whirl this spring and see. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
New Breed is high quality bow. I have had three of them and bought my son the youth bow, new breed spawn. Kind of way over kill for a 6 year old but what the hell. I agree the model used buy bow manufacturers is totally absurd. It does nothing but devalues dealer inventory on yearly basis and is slowly killing their dealer bases.
I have a Mathews LX. I think the bow is close to 15 years old. I killed 2 deer with it this year. I don't see a reason to buy a new bow until this one is no longer usable.
As a manufacturer, if you are not innovating, you are falling behind. If you don't keep up with the times and trends you will quickly become irrelevant. There's plenty of examples of this throughout the history of manufacturing. Packard Automotive comes to mind. There are a dozen or more competitors in the compound bow market. Consumers will gravitate to the latest and greatest and if a company just sticks with what they have, they will lose sales, guaranteed. Some smaller companies have realized they can't compete with the major brands in a traditional way, so they look for other ways to build value in their brand. Direct to consumer is one approach, trying to provide additional warranty and services is another. Either way, if they quite introducing new products, they will feel it on their bottom line.
