My first bow was a Fred Bear bow. It was a perfect bow for me at the time. We ended up having to sell it to pay for some bills. Now I shoot a Mathews Mustang. As much as I enjoyed shooting my Bear (And I absolutely LOVED spending that time with my husband and kids) I shoot a ton better with my Mustang. Not saying that one bow is better than another, merely that different bows work differently for each individual. It's all about shooting what feels best for you. Nothing less, nothing more. You can and will find that in every product you buy. Some people will only shop at the top notch stores because they think they are getting a better deal for paying a higher price. In some instances that may be the case, but in most instances you can find something that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg that will work for you just as well without having to pay top dollar. Some of your best companies (as far as customer service) are the little guys. They know thatyou will be coming back if you are treated right. Not all big companies care about that. Their motivation will always be how many they can get out on the market and if you have to buy another one due to a defect, so be it.... more money for them. Do what works best for you. If everyone were the same then we would only ever need "one size fits all" and there never would need to be choices. As much as I love my bow and what it has done for my shooting, I'd pay the price again and again for the confidence and accuracy that I've gained.