I have only been doing taxidermy part-time for 2 years (college student). I was just wandering why they charge 32 dollars for the same size mannikin I can get from Van Dykes (with free eyes and ears) for 28 dollars. I know McKenzie has a great selection of poses and sizes, but if I were you guys doing over 100 deer a year I would have to do the math on that one. I've only ordered from WASCO, Van Dykes, and McKenzie and have had no problems with any of them. Not trying to step on any toes, but just wandering the opinion of full-timers.
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I charge $400 for a shoulder mount and you charge $250. Makes sense to me.
you will figure it out. It has to do with quality, reputation and sales gimmicks. Every company thinks theirs is the best, but you have to decide that for yourself.
I think that McKenzie forms are of much better quality.
Order of of each and you'll see the difference.
I think that McKenzie deer are more atomically correct, and
don't need as much altering. Those free eyes, look like free eyes too.
Remember that saying -its not new.I buy whatever mannikin works best for the application.Mostly I buy Research,but on occaision I will buy some McKenzies .Free eyes -I quit buying mannikins with them,they never look as good as Eppley eyes.Learn to buy the best materials you can find,your price and results will reflect it.Try not to short cut your techniques either -it'll show later.Kind of like the old hide adhesive subject a few years ago .Everyone used a dextrine /water based paste and spent a week adjusting and babysitting a mount til it was dry,costing you time and we all know that Time=$ or Time spend on one thing takes time away from others and wastes $.Since the epoxies hit the market tons of time has been put back into the taxidermists schedule allowing the artist to mount a specimen and go on to the next making the follow up adjusting minimal.Finish time is reduced also since most of the finish epoxies only take 90 seconds to 4 hours to set and ( a fish for example) can be finished in less than a day once the skin is dry :Time saved = more $ made per mount.A full freezer is sucking money from your business, an empty one is saving or making you money.
I also buy most of my forms from Van Dykes. Ain't forms like Ellzey Squirrels going to be the same wherever you buy them. How can McKenzies' Ellzey squirrels be any better than Van Dykes' Ellzey squirrels? McKenzie charges more.
If you buy 1000.00 worth of forms from McKenzie,you get a 12% discount.I have to see if Van Dykes does that too.
My thoughts on this are that McKenzie has done what no other company has done in taxidermy- they have amassed a huge selection of mannikins by buying other supply houses of quality products and adding to their own lines of forms. No place else will you fine such a broad range of choice. They back this with some of the fastest service in the industry and shipping errors/shortages are rare. They continue to refine and improve the products, even "resculpting" some items. The addition of preinstalled hangers alone saves a load of time for those that mount lots of gameheads. The accuracy of facial anatomy is consistant and equals time saved. I use mostly McKenzie for these reasons though I also use some others and I do shop around at the shows and in catalogs. One company that I used to deal with beats the dollar comparison every time but each form needs nostril correction and some have unequal eyes. If you have to spend 30 minutes fixing a form you have lost. Just my thoughts, Aaron H.