(R.I.P THREAD)I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

Dont do it..

Put out your best in each mount and charge them all the same..
Now if they want a custom piece Then THAT would be extra of course... But for basic deer heads, they are all the same here.

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

dont do it.

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

No, Just do quality work and the customers will come . If your only making 8$ per hour your still not charging enough!

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

if you are charging 600 and only making 10 per hr,don't blame the customer,look at you're techniques and what you can do from a business point of view to improve the bottom line.

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

I Agree... I charge 600 and IM sure not making only 10.00 an hour

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

How much time do you have in a deer? I would be around $40hr at that price. What does your work look like?

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

30 hrs?!

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

30 hrs?!?!!

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

you can put out quality work in half that time, you may want to work on speed.....you will pay yourself more an hour.....double

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

Including tanning, dealing with customer, fleshing, mounting, ordering supplies, prepping form, cleaning up the mess, finish work, I can't come up wth more than 13 hours unless there are major cape problems. And I allowed 2 hours for dealing with the customer. Normal time is 8-10 hours. I didn't even have 30 hours in my first mount. 30 hours sounds more like comp work tha commercial.

Oh, back to the question - no it's not a good idea. Person A pays extra, person B doesn't, they get together, B doesn't tell A he's a cheapskate. Person C sees both and thinks "inconsistant", or sees only the cheaper one and thinks it's the higher one so thinks the quality is poor for the price. One price for all unless they want a custom piece, then it's extra.

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

IMO, even $600 isn't enough for 30 hours. That's almost a whole week's worth of work on one piece, by the time you take out all the overhead, well, yep 8 bucks/hr. At that rate, you can only do about 50 pieces a year.
Good luck.

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

I smell something LOL

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

If you are putting 30 hours in a deer head after 2 1/2 years it's time to take a look at your techniques OR get out of the business. Sounds brutal but is not meant at all that way.

Also....the "you can't price your work by what the others charge" is TRUE to a certain extent. However, some areas will not support a $600 deer head. At least not in the numbers you need to stay alive. I guarantee you there will be guys coming into this thread saying differenty....that cars, gas, houses, wages etc. are all cost the same everywhere but it is not true. Take a realistic look at the economy in your area. You can find stats on income and employment on the net. If $10 an hour is considered a decent job in your area then $600 deer heads will not be selling in volume anytime soon no matter how GOOD they are or how COOL you are.

Some will say you need to get work from outside your area to charge Premium Price. Very true, BUT those Premium customers come at a price as well. You will need to get out to sport shows, try and win some BIG awards that you can PIMP, get a good website and make sure everything in your showroom is CLEAN, well done and IMPRESSIVE. A good friend does a great business. He still goes out to sports shows, banquets, promotes, hangs fliers, etc etc several times a year even though the LAST thing he needs is more work.

If you can mount a decent head and still cannot make money in this business it is usually about YOU and the promotion of your business. Hard words to swallow for sure. I learned the same thing myself years ago

Taxidermy Skill has VERY little to do with the success of a Taxidermy Business. I mean, realistically, ANYBODY can mount a decent deer head with very little practice and investment.

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

i wanna see some pictures myself.

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

If you want to do competition quality mounts for every customer, then you damn well better
charge for it. Your going to have to have clients that will pay for it. After 2 1/2 years, i dont believe
your even close to that. This is no different than any other business. If i spent 30 hours on a deer,
or 22 hours on a duck, i will be out of business very fast. Its hard to get high end clients. A lot of
work and dedication i think. I think its great you want to give your clients a great product, but
reality has to set in at some point.

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

Let's see your work

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

What i'm saying is that after 2 1/2 years, Most taxidermists are just trying to make ends meet. It
takes a long time to get the kind of clients your looking for. You may do better work than other
guys in your area, but there making a living not putting 30 hours in a deer. Bottom line is business,
if you want those clients, advertise for it. Like Jim said, if your area doesent support 600.00 heads,
your not going to get it, unless you look elsewhere. Your getting kind of defensive, are'nt ya ???

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

I smell pot stirring ;D LOL

 

Re: I NEED opinions from SERIOUS TOP NOTCH taxidermist

ID like to see what 25,000.00 got you...specially if your taking 30 hours to do a deer.. I am self taught, takes me about 10 hours and I do tan my own. Like mentioned above, you need to work on your speed.. At 30 hours it is costing you money. You should be able to do 3 deer in that time, more if you do more than one at once.
Post some pics of your work...