I don't think I'll ever buy a NEW bow again, that's for sure. For me, the best bet for your money is to buy a quality used bow, especially if it's not a Hoyt, Bowtech, or Mathews.

For example, I picked up a 06 Pearson Stealth, shot less than 50 times, for about $300. This bow was basically brand new. It's a parallel limb, hybrid cam bow with pivoting limb pockets, a 316 IBO and a 7.5" Brace Height. It's very quiet, shock free, and fast. It shoots very much like the Hoyt Vectrix XL that I shot.

That bow retails for $769 and I got it for less than half that. I plan on shooting it for at least 4 or 5 years so resale value isn't important to me.

It's just like buying a car. The worst investment you can make is a NEW car, unless you are going to drive it until it dies.