First off I don't know of a bow costing$1000, maybe after all is said and done with outfitting it but not bare bow. Secondly, do you buy your add on's at the big box store? If so don't you think the shop should charge you for installing? If you bought it at the shop the owner would most likelt install it free at time of purchashing the bow. Maybe, maybe not the same price was paid but in the end you still will have paid the same. A small pro shop has a lot of overhead to absorb without other departments kicking in with thier sales to help. To me it is worth the little extra money to know what I buy will be right and that my bow will perform at the moment of truth. Can you trust that salesman behind the counter of a big box store with that, after all, in more cases than not he is just that, a salesman.

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Function: noun
: a shop at which equipment for a particular sport (as golf) is sold typically by a professional in that sport

You guys are making me blush with these nice comments. Thank you.

On top ofwhat Rick wrote, I'd like to address the prices of Muzzy broadheads quoted. $35 is the average price for a 'six pack' of Muzzy BHs. Bass Pro Shops just down thestreethas there 'six pack' price between $34 and $38 depending on the time of the season. I know this very well because I keep a very close track on this item. $18 is the average price for a 'three pack' of Muzzy BHs. Did you get them confused??

Because smaller pro shops typically cannot get the products at the same prices as the bigger retail store chains. Many shops deal directly with various local distributors. In my area that is typically something like a Kinseys Archery. Prices from the distributors are higher than what a place like Cabelas pays directly from the manufacturers. The pro shop has a standard markup...30% is probably average. If your pack of Muzzy broadheads costs Cabelas $19 from Muzzy and costs the local pro shop $23 from the local distributor and they both use the standard markup percentage then you can see where the price difference comes from.

Now, there are things called "buying groups" which allow many small pro shops to band together and order large numbers of a product directly from the manufacturers. However, there is a cost to belong to the buying group and many times larger orders need to be placed by a certain deadline in order to obtain optimum pricing. If you, as a shop owner, do not know how much you are going to sell of a particular product, especially a newer one, then putting together an order for it can be a real gamble as you can take a huge loss.

The sad part is that many consumer do not care about this. The only thing they care about is getting the lowest pricest on the newest gear. That, in and of itself, is one of the major reasons that many of the smaller shops are going out of business. They just cannot compete in most cases.

Couple of things to clarify myself. The price for the Muzzy's were in fact for the 3-pack. The $1000 for the bow was for a full set up w/accessories. Now, I just went to a new proshop yesterday, & found that his pricing was comparable, just a few dollars in difference. I don't have a problem spending $$ there, which I will do, because he is comparable. It just might be the guy near me charges really high prices. The new guy also stated that if u buy a bow from him, he doesn't charge anything for the setup of accessories.He was extremely accomodating even thoughI bought my Black Ice elsewhere. I paid him for his time &expertise in adjusting the bow. We even discussed this very issue. As I had explainedearlier I need to make mymoney go as far as poss.ButI do needto say that I had a greatexperience w/a professional. He was extremelyknowledgable & if he didn't know it, hedidn't blow any smoke. In fact, while I was there, I shot the 06 allegiance, & like it enough to maybe sell the Black Ice & buy the Allegiance from him. I do thank PABowhntr for a reasonable explanation on the pricing issue. It just might be that particular shop that I have dealt with.

Now don't get carried away. That Black Ice is a real shooter.

You are more than welcome. If I didn't have some inside experience in regard to this issue then I would probably have had the same opinion as you. I tend to view alot of issues now as though I do not know the whole story...at least not at first.

I think your guess is probably right. Some shops just do have larger markups than others. The reason for it is because their customers are willing to pay it for one reason or another. In one case it may be because the owner has the knowledge and abilities to actually assist customers with in depth archery equipment related issues. In another it may be because he is the only one to carry the most popular bow line in his area and it is more convenient for folks to just get everything from him.

Good luck with whatever you end up shooting. It sounds like you cannot really lose with either of your choices.