My husband is in taxidermy school now and will be finishing up soon, we are interested in opening our own business, probably part time to start, but hopefully, eventually, on a full time basis and plan to sell online (Ebay) until we get more local work in, can any of you share your experiences about the financial aspects of just beginning a business such as this? We know we will have to put out alot of money for supplies and such, already have a building to work in, but don't know how much to expect to make..? Does anyone here sell online? Some things seem to bring more online than expected and others not nearly as much, from what I have seen the quality of work varies greatly on Ebay, some VERY nice and others are a bit questionable, to put it nicely lol :) Anyway, any advice or info would be appreciated..Thanks Tiffany
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Most of us have opinions that might not be what you want to hear, but they're already in the archives. I just checked and there are 662 entries already on that subject. Just type in "Making money in taxidermy".
Second, check with the Pennsylvania Game Commission before selling animals on-line with Ebay. (I saw in an earlier post that you were from Pennsylvania)
You and your husband are in for an exciting time...I wish you well in everything along the way.
Yes...you certainly can make money in taxidermy. Even starting part time as you suggested. The quality of mounts on eBay reflects the skill...or lack of it...by the taxidermists presnting their work for auction.
You will notice that some bring high prices...because the quality of workmanship is high. Others that don't reflect badly for everybody concerned.
As you gain more exerience...your bidding proces will rise accordingly. I know of three people who make their entire living off eBay (unrelated to taxidermy). One fellow makes over $40,000. a month...another over $3,000. a month. A part time taxidermist mounts a specimen and sells it whenever he wants extra money to buy something.
It all depends on your own initiative, fortitude and drive as far as how much money you will be able to make.
Get some business cards printed and distribute them to everyone you know...inseert one in every outgoing bill you pay through the mail...to everyone on your mailing list...with your Holiday Greeting Cards.
Offer to give a talk at schools for 'Show and Tell' Days...you might inspire a new wannabe who may become the next Colomon Jonas.
Last, but not least...check the Archives like George said. Be prepared to Copy and Paste a LOT of good material...or print hard copies on youir computer...or store them on a CD for future reference.
THEN take the CD to a Quick Printer and have it printed and plastic comb bound into a notebook with clear plastic covers...you'll have areference work worth it's weight in gold to you...which you can refer to from time to time...for 'new ideas' you forgot you read.
Best Wishes And God's Blessings To You And yours In Everything Always...ETCC
Thanks once again for all of your help, we're not looking to reach the Fortune 500 here lol :) but I guess it's the American dream to hang out your own shingle and I admire all of you for that, besides it's a beautiful form of art, hopefully someday when we learn more, we'll be able help new comers here also.. Tiff
good luck Tiffany , I hope your not relying just on Ebay, most of the buyers there are just looking for cheap stuff,and don't care about quality . I know because I have sold there , my suggestion is that you try and buy old mounts and clean them up and refurbish a bit and buy cheap, sell cheap, Most of what I sold there has been stuff I buy in garage sales and refurbished the new stuff might be a little more difficult to sell .
ive been monitoring ebay and like alex said mostly your just going to run into bargain hunters. your husbands work or the specimen will really need to stand out to even get a fair price. I plan on doing wildlife reproductions and starting out putting them on ebay so I have all african horn mount sales copied from the past 3 months to get an idea of what to expect. I have seen resonable taxidermy work go for dirt cheep deer heads $100, saw shoulder mound eland go for $250 fish for less than $5 an inch. ive actually been tempted to buy mounts just for the horns because its cheeper than buying elswhere. I dont mean to discourage you, the good thing is if you can get cheep specimens and work fast, there are unlimited buyers out there.
so good luck.
some extra advice
start a web page, pay for a premium listing on google(its the ads on the right when you do a search, they charge by the hit)
take pictures of all your work