#1. Ebay is an awesome source for buying vintage equipment, but you have to be careful and know what you are buying before you buy it. We recommend buying from Ebay sellers who have great reviews and well trusted that what they are selling is exactly as promised and you are most likely to receive your bow / archery equipment in a timely manner.
#2. Pay attention to brand names when buying a vintage bow. Trusted names like Bear, Browning, Ben Pearson, Hoyt, Martin, Black Widow, etc tells you that the bow was made by a manufacturer that is still around today and their bows are still shooting amazingly well after decades of use.
You should also use this to your advantage when searching for a particular bow, thus if you search for "vintage bear recurve bow" you will find a selection of Bear Archery bows (or similar bows by similar manufacturers as sometimes sellers "name drop" certain keywords to get more people to look at what they have for sale).
The good news is that you can find high quality bows that are in great condition with prices ranging from $50 to $1500 - so depending on what you want to spend or what you are looking for, you can get a great bow for comparatively little.
#3. Pay attention to shipping rates. If you are reading this you likely live in Toronto, Canada, but you might be ordering your bow from the USA or even further away. Expect to be paying $40 to $50 to have your bow shipped to you. The shipping could potentially be more expensive than the bow itself.
If the shipping isn't specified try contacting the seller and asking for the price of shipping to Toronto, Canada.
#4. Look for deals that are ending soon. One of my favourite things to do is to click Sort By and then select "Time: Ending soonest". This way I can bid on a bow I like that might only have a few hours left, and I can make a bid that is much lower than the asking price. So for example if the seller is trying to sell it for $75 I might offer him $50, and he still gets 66% of what he was hoping for, and I still get a good deal on that bow.
#5. Don't worry about the bow string, you will probably need a new bow string anyway. Instead look for marks, cracks, damage on the bow's limbs, riser and tips. A good seller posts photos of both top and bottom tips, plus front and back images of the bow so you can check for any damage. This way you know you are getting something in good condition.
When it comes to bows being in good condition this often goes back to the issue of Brand Name - as the big name manufacturers often make their bows to last, and their previous owners often take very good care of them.
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