# Bowstick.com Review (buyer beware)



## drewkincaid (Jan 9, 2010)

I recently bought a 60" hickory U Finish bow from bowstick.com. It took 7 days for my order to ship, and I could not get ahold of anyone at the company. Their 800 number doesn't work, and he apparently doesn't like responding to emails. Upon FINALLY recieving my bow (ordered 12/31 and recieved 1/9, and their website says orders ship within 2-3 days), I opened it to find a piece of junk. On the back of the bow, on one limb, I can count a dozen growth rings, and on the other limb I can count five. Any novice bowyer will tell you that cutting through even one growth ring is a big no-no. This particular bow is advertised as coming with an extra long string for tillering, and the string that comes with it, I can't even get it on the stupid thing. It's a good 4 inches short even if the bow was already tillered and I wanted to use it as a shooting string. Nevermind the fact that it is supposed to be an extra long string for tillering! The shaping of the bow is laughable. On one limb, it looks like it has been gouged with a router. I'm not sure if I can take that out. I will probably have to back the bow and do some other serious remedial work to get it remotely functional, but this will never be a good bow. I will never use it for hunting, which is what I purchased it for in the first place.

On bowstick.com, if you go to the "Shipping & Returns" page, you find nothing. NOTHING. So, I'm assuming that this guys likes to take your money, send you a piece of junk and offer no options for returns. I have emailed him (sure can't call him), but I don't expect to hear a response. And I surely don't expect to get a refund if I returned it. 

If you are thinking about making a purchase from bowstick.com, I would strongly advise against it. This guy has no business being in business.


----------



## dustyvarmint (Dec 22, 2005)

I'd make sure to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I've had good luck with them.

Sorry to hear about your situation, dv


----------



## ChadMR82 (Sep 22, 2009)

This is good to know. I have been thinking about getting one. Not anymore!!!


----------



## gutwrench66kg (Apr 21, 2010)

The company has changed hands in the last year or so. Justin who used to own the company ended up getting shipped to Iraq. I made a good number of purchases through Justin, and was always happy with my results.. I ended up getting a gift certificate for Christmas right before Justin sold the company.. the service went waaayy downhill.

Justin frequently had things stocked, was always offering a new product, or some new idea he'd crafted up (e.g. the gemsbok horn bows) etc... only thing "new" that I saw from the "new" bowstick were the laser-cut u-finish bows he offered about a year ago... those were added, and then nothing (save for a handful of bows from "cottage bowyers")

The site has stated that they're "having technical difficulties with the phones" and to "please bear with them as they get fixed"... which seems to have been a problem for 6+ months. I too haven't had any luck in getting an email response in a very long time.


----------



## Sleepyarcher (Jul 29, 2004)

i just got arrows from them that i ordered about 9 months ago, took so long i forgot about them and ordered form another place. i thought i got a refund through my bank because there was no way of contacting the company but i dont remember, i dont have any emails anymore. the arrows are nice though. was totally blown away when i got them this weekend.


----------



## Thisjustin (Feb 12, 2011)

Sounds similar to my experience with Justins new company gibow.com. I ordered three bows from him. They all violated growth rings and the survival bow had a gouge taken out of it. I post a pick of it. They said it was there mistake but it wouldnt affect the bow so that was that. It took 3 weeks to recieve my bows but with no strings. Another 2 weeks later i got the three strings that were supposed to come with it but not the two i ordered separately. Ive sent about 15 emails since i first ordered and they replied to only 2 or 3 of them. Its been 2 weeks now since i heard from them last and still no strings. A total of 2 months. I requested something in return for this horrible service. Maybe some free backing material for one of my bow where the grains were violated many times and cracked along the grain at 8inches of tiller. Barley past brace height. The bow claimed to have a 26 inch draw.


----------



## Thisjustin (Feb 12, 2011)

made me do it in a few replies so continued......................but they havnt replied sense. I also see justin in his videos bend his bows backwords. Wish i would have seen that before. Im not gonna tell anyone to not buy from this guy. Ive seen threads where people are happy with what they got. I am not and i hope i atleast get what i payfor and want to share my experience with potential gibow ufinish buyers. Quite a few similarities in defects between bowstick.com and justins new gibow.com. The horrible this is i read this before i ordered from gibow because Justin talked up hype about new management and that they use cnc routers. He made it sound like he used hand tools. I dont use routers so i dont know if this was done by one or a saw but it was one of the two. Below is a few pictures of the survival brush bow i bought from gibow right out of the package. Its a little hard to see the gouge but i hope this helps show it.


----------



## Thisjustin (Feb 12, 2011)




----------

