Is it a standard charge to charge $100.00 to cape a muley in Wyoming(case cut down the back)? The reason I ask is because one of my customers was charged this by a taxidermist when on a paid hunt......I,m just curious......TY....TD
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It depends on your outfitter/taxidermist. My buddy was charged either $300 or $400 (can't remember) to cape out/salt/pack his elk in CO. It's getting to be common practice I guess, probably another way to make a little more money.
Thats what I charge here in Wyoming. I have to drop everything and spend and hour or more dealing with them and thier animal. I am nice and helpful and I have had only a few complain and if they do I tell them of the other shops in town. The local locker plant charges 40.00 to "cape" a deer that means leaving the head in. I turn the ears lips, salt it, box it up and saw off the antlers etc, etc. I am in business to make a profit.
Jim .....I can see chargeing 100 if you turn, flesh and salt ......but I think its a little steep just to cape it...... and not even a short Y incession ....heck I can cape one with a case cut in ten minutes......I was just wondering if the prices were alot higher out there in Wyoming........Is that the standard charge just to cape one?.......Here in GA it,s around 35-40 dollars....short Y cut.
$50.00 to cape a deer or antelope completely off the head with a short Y incision, bagged in a plastic bag and frozen, and also cut off the antlers or horns at our Locker Plant, $100 to cape out an elk and $200 to cape out a buffalo or steer. We are located in Western South Dakota on the Wyoming/Montana line. I think $100 to cape out a deer or antelope is too steep, in my opinion, anyway. Just my $.02.
I cape alot of deer every year at that price, and I NEVER pressure anyone to spend it, so what if it only took you only 1 minute, its a skill you know and they do not and they are willing to pay for the skill and service so I charge them for it. No wonder so many taxidermists are always broke and poor! Most taxidermists have NO true Value concept of what they know, thier skills and service and the work they can do! George is right on with this quote: "The unprofessional professionals" Its a perfect discription for 90% of taxidermists! I will add to that its THE reason for the high turn over in this business. Most taxidermists think poor, stay poor and struggle to stay in business. Thank God for the other 10% that are producing great work AND charging for it thereby keeping some respectability in this business.
Yes Jim ....I agree that u should be paid for your skill but I also believe it is just as UNPROFESSIONAL to overcharge......but come on get real ....I can see 50 bucks and doing a good job but 100 bucks and a case cut to boot.....now that,s what I call UNPROFESSIONAL......If you charge someone 100 bucks for a lousy job capeing then you are just ripping them off......It,s not like they can carry it to someone else.....They travel miles for a hunt and pay big time to take thier trophy and the taxidermist takes advantage of them...... Well unless your doing a competition capeing.... then it,s a rip lol.....U said u charge 100 bucks to cape,flesh and salt....what do you charge just to cape and freeze? As far as this 10% you are reffering to that charge high.....well they must deal in High quality.....so sure they should charge more....but I,ll tell ya....those lowbs that do crappy work ....well they are charging just what they should charge.......Crappy art U pay Low.....quality art U pay High.....That,s just the way it is and always will be.....Not everyone has to talent to produce those high dollar mounts.....but they have a market demand for what they do as well.....If You are chargeing 100 dollars just to cape some ones deer then it will hurt you in the long run......eventually they will realize that you are way way out of the market price and start takin thier work to bonedaddy and probly get just as good a job lol......anyways thats my oppinion in the matter.....TD
TD, I hope your work is better than your writing skills, if not who cares, right? You have not carefully read my posts. Charging what I feel is fair for what I do has never hurt my business, I have been in business here for over 30 years as a full time professional and I have never been low or out of work, ever, not even close. I have a good reputation and I produce an above average job, my best. If you feel you are only worth or can only cater to low balls and price shoppers, good for you, be proud of your lot in life, its what you seem to want, what you work for and what you desearve and its also what you will attract to yourself. And you are right on, there is a market for you. Its a market I am NOT interested in catering to. No one is ever forced to do business with me, there is lots of competition around here and everywhere.
The point is not what I charge or the quality of my work.....which You presume is low....and although my writeing skills are not so great....it has no bearing on this matter....point is ....If you are chargeing some hunter 100 bucks just to cape thier deer then you are ripping them off ....period.....if you understood that then my writeing skills are good enough. lol and besides that......you never answered the question I asked in the first place.....whats the standard rate to cape a deer?.......I didn,t ask for all this 10% 90% crap....just a simple answer .......TD
$50.00 to cape it, leaving the head in; $75.00 caping it out including the head; $100.00 to cape it out totally which includes turning the ears, lips, nose, fleshing and cutting the antlers off the skull, it also includes salting and storing it all for a day or week and handing them it all in a box. I believe this is all pretty standard and very fair in the Rocky Mtn States for a hunter that wants to take his cape and antlers home to be mounted by someone like you. Happy? Good, now kiss my a..
....in the first place.......and yes I am happy I took the mount.....probly why the guy charged him so much.....cause he didn,t.....and there,s only one a,, i kiss in this world and it,s certainly not yours lol......TD
When someone knocks on your door at 8:00 pm saying they have to catch a flight at 8:00 am the next morning and have a animal that is not on your normal schedule/working hours 100 bucks is dead on and fair. This is my price I already added into my overall mount price as a whole. If someone tells me they can skin, flesh, turn lips, eyes, ears, nose, salt hide, cut the rack off and pack it up for them in an hour or less let me know because I am going to ask this person if I can take lessons from them. It takes me two hours or more to do this. If you want to make $15 an hour doing taxidermy than charge them the $40. Not me though. When I go on a hunting trip and come back tired as hell at the end of the day and the guide wants to make some more cash caping out an animal out and I know their capabilities I give them 100 bucks for doing the job.
...Hedhuntr....but the question is ,,,,,what do you normally charge?.....not fleshing or salting or turning.....just capeit, cut antlers and bag it.....maybe 100 is justified under unusaul cercumstances but what about the normal charge......Thanx ....TD
Too much? Get real 100 buck's is very fair in my opinion! Cape, turn split, salt and package in a box. Paper work, hear some sorry hunting story, clean up. Capeing and skinning is the least desireable job in taxidermy in my opinion, and should be charged accordingly. My price is 125 dollars! Dont like it? Take it down the road. You guys are either nuts or just love being poor!
...another one....read it next time....did I write turn lips,nose,eyes ears....and salt.....and did I write skinning the deer....NO I DID NOT....cape only.... dohhhh....
....$40 just to cape a deer and I charge $100 to flesh and salt.....but I,ll be darn if I,ll charge someone 100 bucks just to cape the deer(a cased cut at that).I know my writeing is not that great but it,s not THAT BAD ....lol....I haven,t heard one of you say that you charge 100 bucks to cape.....
the deer is something that normally wouldn't do because I am not in an area as where someone would want only this done to take with them, it takes me about 45 min to do a short Y incision cape without the fleshing turning ect ect ect.... So with that said I can see where you are coming from TD. Plus if an outfitter is bringing customers to you for the service you may have a potential customer for a mount. Some guys just want to do the whole thing to get paid for the extra service.
I'm in S.E. Wyo., I charge 50.00 to cape out a deer, and freeze it. 75.00 if they want it fully fleshed , turned and salted. The price around here seems to vary from 30.00 to 75.00 for just taking the cape off. Heck, the local meat processor charges 30.00 extra for their version of caping, which is to roll the skin all the way down to within 6 inches or so of the skull, and cutting the head loose. After reading Jim's post, I think it's time to go up!
I've alway's felt that if someone agree's to pay the price asked, then they aren't getting ripped off. If one doesn't like what's quoted, pricewise, they alway's have the option of going elsewhere, or educating themselves to do the job.
....if you are able to go else where but if you are out of town and out of time and they use it to thier advantage then that is a ripp off.