New bow authenticity

[Aleph5]

Just a general hypothetical, and absolutely NO reflection on any bow maker: How would a potential customer know that a given bow is authentic and not a very decent import--say a $99 bow from China--that was hand selected, marked way up, and represented as being handmade in the U.S. (or Germany, etc.)?

This might not have been much of a problem before Chinese bows got good (reputedly) and cheap and the rest of all available bows have climbed so much in price.

To be clear: This is not based on any evidence, hearsay, or suggestion that this has ever occurred. Just that in virtually every other business this general practice is a known risk, so why not in the DB world too?

[jisbass]

I don't know much about bows, but this came up before.
There are bows being sold on ebay that say that it's "stamped" whatever bow maker. Most likely those bows are fake.
But I guess the best way to know is to take it to a reputable bow maker/restorer, or contact the maker if still around.
Ken Smith and others on this forum seem very knowledgeable about these things.
Wouldn't it be pretty easy to tell as soon as you play it if a $99 bow is being marked as a $2000 one? Or if a bow that's worth $2000 is being sold for $200?
The safest thing to do is to not but anything expensive online w/o trying it out first.

[Aleph5]

I guess because I almost posted the question as part of another thread, I forgot about the frauds on ebay, which are fairly well known. So forgot about that...

I was just thinking in terms of the temptation for someone to take some nice but cheap imported bows and mark them up ridiculously to fill a price point where quality and abundance is thin. It seems there are a lot of really suprisingly good bows from China in the $100-400 range. Then you don't really hear of non-Chinese made bows being really good until you get close to a grand (or a lot more).

Of course the multi-kilobuck ones should really play and sound like butter. But it seems like there's still a lot of room in the middle for someone to pass off a better $400 Chinese-made bow, say, as an $800 hand-made bow.

I suppose it's a small enough industry that the risk for a retailer or reputable bow vendor to being exposed if they did that is too great for it to be worth it. Except for the non-reputable sellers that mostly use places like ebay.

OK, I think I've convinced myself all's right and I can rest easy.

[najcross]

I have the opportunity to get a bow that is stamped A. Nurnberger. In the description it doesn't say much other than the name and it needs a rehair. My concern is that the bow is fake because it is CHEAP(1000s less than it shoild be)!!! I have not seen the bow yet or talked to the seller. My question is... going to see the bow, what should I be looking for that will immediately tell me if its fake? The fact that the seller posted the name of the bow would lead me to believe that he would be atleast research it and get a general price. It seems to good to be true.

[crowsmengegus]

Originally Posted by najcross

I have the opportunity to get a bow that is stamped A. Nurnberger. In the description it doesn't say much other than the name and it needs a rehair. My concern is that the bow is fake because it is CHEAP(1000s less than it shoild be)!!! I have not seen the bow yet or talked to the seller. My question is... going to see the bow, what should I be looking for that will immediately tell me if its fake? The fact that the seller posted the name of the bow would lead me to believe that he would be atleast research it and get a general price. It seems to good to be true.

The Nurnberger stamp is used on shop bows associated with the Nurnberger family. It does not mean the bow is made by Albert Nurnberger (which would make it worth several thousand probably). The shop bows seem generally to be worth some money, but not as much as the original ones by Albert.

[bassics1975]

If you have concerns about the authenticity, it would be best to take it to someone who has the expertise to determine whether or not it is as it is described. I would never purchase a bow on the basis of name alone regardless of who may have made it. See if the seller would let you take it on a trial basis and then you will be able to get a more educated opinion on its authenticity.