This is a great discussion in here, and so i want to tell about my experience in bow shopping. My local violin repair man happens to be an professional bow maker. That in itself is very interesting. I didn't buy any of his personal $$$.$$-$,$$$.$$ bows but i tested bows in the $100-$200 range. I ended up purchasing a bow at $119.00 made from a nice Brazil wood stamped S.Pierre. The bow itself is a dark color with lots of grain lines, it looks like it was made from a nice tree because of its grain. I'll post pics soon...

btw, my previous bow was made from fake wood with a nasty warp, and stamped 'CHINA' underneath it. Funny because the $250 I spent on my violin outfit clearly went entirely to the instrument...

anyways new bow story:

four bows two cf and two wood; the cd bows I felt were to light. Simple is that, at the time I wanted something that was balanced across the strings and that has weight to the tip of the bow so that I can play a strong g string, but not to heavy that it is sluggish.

After acquiring my grainy brazilwood bow I've only had it rehaired once. My violin repa man / bow maker Gregg uses Siberian horse hair for his craft and so I suspect I'm ready for another year of playing. I think this $119 bow has enough balance to be perfect for my $250 fiddle.

The bow feels so great in my hand; that I often have to remind myself to keep moving my wrist when playing at the tip of the bow.The bow feels so great in my hand and it plays like velvet and is balanced.

finally, I think in terms of pricing often times especially in the violin community, your paying for a brand or name. Often, in my experience; quality and affordability can be found in the most conspicuous of places.