Where can I buy and sell used archery kit?
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Archery is an inclusive and accessible sport that can be enjoyed by everyone but like any other sport it can involve a large investment in kit, particularly when you’re first starting out. This can be a daunting prospect, as is the continual expense of upgrading and changing your kit throughout the different seasons.
It’s never been easy to buy and sell second hand archery equipment, which is frustrating as most high end kit is seriously expensive and archers do tend to acquire a lot of it. So how do you grab yourself a bargain without compromising on quality or in the case of sellers; how do you re-coup some of the money you’ve invested in the sport? Old habits die hard |
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In the past archers have advertised equipment for sale in local clubs and at tournaments; and though it’s nice to trade among friends it can be a very limiting source of both product and buyers.
Archery shops can sometimes offer a trade-in for your old bow, but this is at the discretion of the shop and you’ll probably be offered less than you expect so your bow can be re-sold at a profit.
With the advent of online selling, the world has opened up and we’re no longer confined to our local area, as a result auction sites such as e-bay have seen a massive increase in archery listings (over 90,000 at last count). Though selling your kit on a platform such as this may not be as simple as you think, as archers are often competing alongside large volume sellers and fees can be extortionate.
Facebook has a large community of archers and its international marketplace was rightly seen as a great point of contact between buyers and sellers – at last count there were over 30 selling groups for archery kit alone. Though this does come with its own issues – how do you know which group to join and how do you ensure your post is being seen? In recent years Facebook has been cracking down on the sale of archery kit, classifying it as weaponry, which has created a whole new host of problems for the archery community. Bows, arrows, even spotting scopes have to be creatively re-named to bypass Facebook’s algorithms, so now you can’t even label what you’re selling. Some archers have resorted to posting a single image of their archery kit and adding the description in the comments, but this too can sometimes be rejected at random.
Archery forums are often viewed as safe spaces by archers as they are dedicated solely to the sport, they encourage conversations and opinion, which is great if you want some advice but not so good if you want to buy and sell kit without debate.
Archery shops can sometimes offer a trade-in for your old bow, but this is at the discretion of the shop and you’ll probably be offered less than you expect so your bow can be re-sold at a profit.
With the advent of online selling, the world has opened up and we’re no longer confined to our local area, as a result auction sites such as e-bay have seen a massive increase in archery listings (over 90,000 at last count). Though selling your kit on a platform such as this may not be as simple as you think, as archers are often competing alongside large volume sellers and fees can be extortionate.
Facebook has a large community of archers and its international marketplace was rightly seen as a great point of contact between buyers and sellers – at last count there were over 30 selling groups for archery kit alone. Though this does come with its own issues – how do you know which group to join and how do you ensure your post is being seen? In recent years Facebook has been cracking down on the sale of archery kit, classifying it as weaponry, which has created a whole new host of problems for the archery community. Bows, arrows, even spotting scopes have to be creatively re-named to bypass Facebook’s algorithms, so now you can’t even label what you’re selling. Some archers have resorted to posting a single image of their archery kit and adding the description in the comments, but this too can sometimes be rejected at random.
Archery forums are often viewed as safe spaces by archers as they are dedicated solely to the sport, they encourage conversations and opinion, which is great if you want some advice but not so good if you want to buy and sell kit without debate.
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Out with the old, in with the new
Despite all this archery has a supportive and sociable community with a thriving second-hand market and its lack of a dedicated marketplace has been felt for some time, until now.
Sell My Bow was launched this April as the first online marketplace designed exclusively for the sale of second hand archery kit; it’s a safe and secure platform that allows archers around the world to trade with each other in confidence and without restrictions, sales fees or judgement.
Sell My Bow’s marketplace is designed by an archer for archers; international competitor and coach Duncan Busby recognised the difficulty that he and many other archers faced when trying to sell their kit. “I found that my sales posts were getting constantly rejected by Facebook, even if I uploaded a photo of archery equipment without any description it would often be kicked back by their algorithms. I didn’t know how else to connect with the archery community so I decided to create a single marketplace where every archer, whatever their discipline, can list their kit. A safe space, without controversy, that focuses on the sale of archery equipment. I also wanted to include a lost, stolen and found page for anyone that was missing kit; this was a personal decision after a friend had their entire archery kit stolen from a secure lock-up. I didn’t want to see it being re-sold before it could be recovered, so I hope it allows the entire community to keep a look out for missing items and report any they’ve found.”
Sell My Bow was launched this April as the first online marketplace designed exclusively for the sale of second hand archery kit; it’s a safe and secure platform that allows archers around the world to trade with each other in confidence and without restrictions, sales fees or judgement.
Sell My Bow’s marketplace is designed by an archer for archers; international competitor and coach Duncan Busby recognised the difficulty that he and many other archers faced when trying to sell their kit. “I found that my sales posts were getting constantly rejected by Facebook, even if I uploaded a photo of archery equipment without any description it would often be kicked back by their algorithms. I didn’t know how else to connect with the archery community so I decided to create a single marketplace where every archer, whatever their discipline, can list their kit. A safe space, without controversy, that focuses on the sale of archery equipment. I also wanted to include a lost, stolen and found page for anyone that was missing kit; this was a personal decision after a friend had their entire archery kit stolen from a secure lock-up. I didn’t want to see it being re-sold before it could be recovered, so I hope it allows the entire community to keep a look out for missing items and report any they’ve found.”
The marketplace is designed to be user friendly; listings are organised into categories so equipment is easy to find; whether you’re looking for bows, arrows, cases, strings or even clothing it’s simple to navigate your way around the site to find what you’re looking for. If you want to narrow down your search simply use the filter box to choose your price range, as well as the items location, condition and handedness. And if you want to search for a particular manufacturer or product you can use the search bar at the top of the page to bring up listings that contain your keyword.
Sell My Bow is packed with so many great features – if you see an item you’re interested in but you’re not ready to buy yet, you can add it to your ‘favourites’; this allows you to return to the items you love quickly and easily.
Sell My Bow also prides itself on being an international marketplace, so to make it easier for members to buy from sellers around the world; every international listing includes a handy tool that uses current exchange rates to convert prices into your local currency.
The future of the secondhand archery market is here
The marketplace is free to browse and has no joining fee; if you want to sell or a contact seller simply sign up for a free account.
Standard listings are £1 each whatever the value of your item and for sellers wanting to make a quick sale Sell My Bow offers a ‘featured listing’ option. For only £3 featured listings appear on the homepage as well as at the top of the marketplace search results, they are also guaranteed to be featured on Sell My Bow’s social media posts across Facebook and Instagram. Sell My Bow charges no sales commission either, so all the proceeds from the sale are yours.
Standard listings are £1 each whatever the value of your item and for sellers wanting to make a quick sale Sell My Bow offers a ‘featured listing’ option. For only £3 featured listings appear on the homepage as well as at the top of the marketplace search results, they are also guaranteed to be featured on Sell My Bow’s social media posts across Facebook and Instagram. Sell My Bow charges no sales commission either, so all the proceeds from the sale are yours.
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Not wanting to exclude anyone from the marketplace, Sell My Bow recognised that it’s not just archers that own second-hand kit; archery shops often find themselves with used items and old stock they would like to sell. The marketplace is the perfect place for them to offer second hand, ex demo, shop soiled or end of line equipment to the entire archery community. Genuine archery retailers are identified with a ‘verified shop’ label and have the option of choosing either standard or annual membership, depending on how many items they want to list.
Sell My Bow is proud to increase the sustainability of our sport by making it more accessible and affordable for every archer and with your support they hope to become everyone’s most favourite and trusted place to buy and sell their preloved archery kit. www.sellmybow.com |
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