I am going to mount my first elk for a customer, first ever for that matter, but he told me to try it and if it didn't turn out that it would be fine he would still have the horns. (small 4x4) I have full confidence it will be fine and I have reference however since he is taking a chance is $400 a fair price?
Thanks, John
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what all have you mounted before to give you the confidence & is this guy a "customer" or a "good buddy whom you do work for".
reread my response and it reads kinda like a smarta.. set up question- it isnt, there is good reason for both questions-just didnt want them taken wrong
John, I understand you are a beginner, but make sure you don't allow yourself to be abused. Now think about this: Is this your very first mount ever? If it is, it will be a daunting task. You certainly should've started lower down the totem instead of right to the top. But look it it from a mathematical standpoint. MOST taxidermists get $400+ for a whitetail shoulder mount. A whitetail takes about 1/3 to 1/4 the time as does an elk. A whitetail form will run you about $40, but you'll likely have nearly $100 when you start talking eyes, earlines, glue, staples, hangers, and paints. An elk, on the other hand is going to cost you from $80 to $130. The eyes and ancillary requirements run you about $70 more. Now you're into a project for over $200 and you're not going to make any profit at all.
Just for shtz and giggles, I charge $950 as a baseline for elk. The extra-big guys cost a little more. You'll mount a whole lot of lifesize animals in your lifetime that won't be as big as an elk shoulder mount. Charge accordingly.
First I agree with george you should charge accordingly. Your in for $200 w/out any tanning costs. If this is your first mount ever I think your setting yourself up for failure. If you have mounted some white tails or mulies you shouldn't have to much trouble. I think you will be in for a surprise when that hugh box shows up though. Good luck... Mark Natures-reflection.com
$400. is about actual costs if it were your elk. "Fair" is whatever you make it to be.
We mounted an elk in class. It took four of us to stretch the cape. Used 2"x6"'s to stretch it. Four of us to get the hide on the form. If you have mounted a few deer, GO FOR IT! Most things are just like a deer, the finish work is a little different, but basically the same as a deer. $400 isn't doing yourself any justice though. At least $600. Your still cutting the guy a break but to do that much work for that little money isn't good business. Hope it helps
Boy do i know what your taking about i remember when i got my first call on a large buffalo.I charged a stupid amount of 550.00 boy did i kick myself in the ba$$s, But i learned a valuable lesson on taking in any BIG GAME animals you'd better STOP and figure out the expence,labor and discomfort you will be recieving! Experience is the best teacher you will ever get Go for it GOOD LUCK! ED
john, you never answered back & you said you needed help quick!(ha ha )anyways, the reason i asked those two questions is simple, george explained the first question perfectly , and what i would like to add is that a "customer" will not be a customer long if he loses $400 on any mount. taxidermy is not a poker game, odds are guarenteed that customers getting a "chance" mount expect a winner everytime.most customers expect you to set the price accodingly and will pay you accordingly for your experienced work! but the others dont care if all you charge them for is the supplies, they expect to get a labor free mount that they can hang on the wall and show off to theyre friends, especially for a supplies only price, thats why theyre mounting it in the first place is to admire and display it . if this customers not upset by a first time $400 looking elk head then i can guaretee that his buddys bullcrap -about that time he knew where he could get his elk mounted for next to nothing and then wound up taking it back to his other buddys taxidermist to get it remounted after he blew $400 on the 1st guy will come up the next hunting trip will definetly get him pissed off .small percentages of hunters epect to get something outstanding even though they know there paying someone sweatshop wages to get it(i think underpaying for it it helps to pacify themeselves on how much theyve already spent on there lease) most hunters though want to spend there money once on a good mount and only have to take a chance on mounting it one TIME. but you,ve got those guys who spend thousands(conservatively) on theyre lease and raise hell about paying $375 for a mount. when these people have spent a couple of years working, managing,culling feeding, videoing, field planting , hunting , bragging and driving over 500 miles every weekend for 4 months out of the year just to shoot the this damn deer they go and take far out shots on saving $150-200 on the mount ,and then they raise holy hell about how shi... the damn thing looks and that you should have been alot cheaper in the first place like the other guyso he could have brought it to you!(i still for the life of me cant figure that one out!) it would be like dale j.r. on raceday deciding to use the walmart auto center guys as his pit crew, that s... just aint gonna work! John, YOUR WORK & WORD OF MOUTH is your #1 advertisement, dont take a chance with a paying customer. unless you can sit down at a hot poker game with this person and lose $400 and then tell him you dont have the money on you so you will try to pay him sometime in the future and he smiles and says"o.k. let me go buy us a six pack and we'll play some more because if i lose, im still gonna pay you $400 because i dont care if i lose or win, your getting the $400 regardless " unless you can do that with this guy dont even considere mounting it because you do not wanna even chance ruining even an aquaintences hard hunted little elk! they really tend to care alot more than they saythey do ! if this mount doesnt quite go as exactly expected(when has a 1st time experience for any of us in taxidermy turned out as we expected!) and unless you KNOW this mount will be acceptable, first time out, to hang in this mans home and have his buddies -i.e.future customers(and word of mouth) critique it,- it doesnt matter if you charge $2. remember the future cost it will have for you as to how much profit paying customers it gains you! if it turns out to be a fantastic job, what are your new customers gonna say to you having charging them double(at a minimum)what you charged the other guy. go get you a set elk horns, a green froze elk cape, unthaw it and start your next , excuse me, your first elk right there,get some experience, it can cost a little money to make money, but money can not buy experience!
I have been mounting deer for about 7 years or so but everytime I had a someone call and ask if I would mount their elk I told them yes and that it would cost around $700. Then they asked the question "How many elk have you mounted?" When I told them theirs would be my first they all bailed out.
So, when this guy I go to church with told me he was going I told him if anybody killed a bull and was not going to mount it I wanted the cape. He called me last night and brought me a 4x4 elk he himself had killed.
He told me that he had not planned to have that small a bull mounted but since it was his first if I wanted to give it a try he would let me do it.
As soon as he arrived I let him know that an elk required a lot more work than a deer but since he was the only person willing to give me a shot at it I would get him out for cost plus $100. That I thought it would probably be around $400 dollars.
So I guess the rest is just the price of experience.
Thanks, again for the responses.
John
hey john, you sound like a very honest, good person. i'll bet with your determination and confidence the elk will turn out great! good luck, let us know how everything turns out