i picked up a cape and antlers from a local processor last year. since then i have spoke with the customer by phone on 3 or 4 different occasions to request mounting instructions and deposit. he has put me off each time saying ill pay you next week. since then i have sent two letters, and attempted to send two certified letters requesting deposit or him to come pick up antlers and cape. the certified letters have been returned to me both time " undeliverable" and i have no luck contacting the guy anymore. by now, i should be able to claim the cape and antlers, right?
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I would put them in the back room and forget about them. If you use them or sell them and he comes back for them in a week or a year and you do not have them. Then he is going to tell everyone he sees that you stole or used his deer(not good for business). I have a set of horns and a salted cape in the back that I have had for 2 years. If he comes back I have them. Craig
if he lives close enough ,I would call him up,tell him your dropping it off on his doorstep and be done with him.Do you think he's going to pay you when the works done,if he can't come up with the deposit right now?!This way he can't really pin it on you because he now has the hide and what will he tell his buddies,they'll know somethings up with him if your refusing the work.
"If no deposit is left by a certain time the specimen is forfeited to the taxidermist to do with as you see fit." You drove to pick it up, processed it, and then spent how much in postage to try to inform him of his responsibility? You stored it for how long with no deposit? Sounds like he isn't interested in having it mounted. I would sell it on eBay and deny I ever had it. Apparently there is no paperwork, other than your undeliverable returned certified letters, stating you have the thing.
Good luck with your decision. I hate dead beats!
as long as you have room it dosent hurt anything laying around, its money in the bank. mabey
This isn't rocket science. His wife "Don't want that stuff in her house". He's whipped. I had a doctors wife tell me that. Another wife kept throwing away the finished pick up notices I would send out to her husband.
You will not have PROOF YOU LEFT THEM! Get a sign receipt.
If you have the extra cash mount it up and use it for the showroom, then someday of Rusty Deadbeat shows up, you get the cash and he can have the head.
I used to have a problem with this and I would get stuck with a deer in my studio that isn't mine and I really don't have room for. In our invoice at the bottom we require a deposit for the mount, then we state in black and white "Upon completion of the mount , they have 60 days to pick up the mount or it will be sold on the 61st day unless arrangemnets are made." Under this clause is a customer's signature and he and I both know that this is our policy. No questions. As far as no deposits at the beginning, we let them tell us when they will be in with the deposit. After that day I charge $5.00 per day for storage until the deposit is met. haven't had much trouble since I started this policy. Hope this helps. Remember as taxidermists we need to cover our butts, so there is no doubt to the customer who doesnt want to pay.
I had a similar situation last year. Two guys went on a hunting trip together and they both got big bucks. One of the guys, a repeat customer of mine brought over both specimins but only gave me a deposit for his. The other guy did not respond to my calls for three months. I just left the rack in the corner of my drying room and forgot about it figuring he would eventually get a hold of me. About three months later he finally called and came in. As it turned out, he had been out-of-state for a prolonged period. I collected his deposit and got his signature on a contract. A couple months later and I finished his mount, which required extensive antler point repair. He was so happy with the way the mount turned out that he was downright giddy with joy. I was also able to cross sell him a fishing charter (I'm a charter Captain on the Great Lakes) for this past summer. He and his buddies limited out on high quality fish on that trip and he has already booked another trip for next year. If I would have hastled him, I doubt that things would have worked out better.
You customer surly has some excuse. Most likely his is broke and to embarised to contact you. There may be other reasons though. I'd just keep the specimin and don't worry about it. If a year goes by and you still havn't heard from him, then I'd dispose of the specimin.
send him a certified letter but not by postal. send your letter inside a big attractive looking box, inside.. just your letter. send it fed-ex and require a signature. people will usually sign for that, notify him that he has 30, 60, 90 days or whatever. the signed recepit is aknowledgement, and if that time expires you could legally do whatever. he might trash talk you after, but business is still business. what do you do when a customer doesn't pick up a finished mount? let it sit around for 2 years? when do you resell it, start collection action, charge storage costs, and interest? treat it as if you were making/selling vaccuum cleaners or t.v.'s or something,on credit. because essentially that is what you are doing everytime a customer brings something to you, taking him on the integrity and honesty that he will pay and pick up his piece, when asked to, in exchange for your word that you will do your best for him. unfortunately their are alot of folks whose word doesn't mean much.