$275.00 for a whitetail shoulder mount?

since when does any hunter care about quality? Ok, there are SOME.....but all the guys that take stuff to the cheap taxidermists.....they dont. add the numbers up.

 

Poor, poor Ryan. (Pun intended) If hunters didn't care about quality, *, myself, and many others wouldn't take in a single deer.

The whole pricing argument is silly to me. I think most taxi's are very good at charging what they are worth, even the $300 guys.

 

you both mis-understood me. Let me clarify.
You got the $200 guys that take in 300 deer.
you got the $500 guys that take in 20.
Like i said, you do the math.........
It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out that out of 320 hunters only 20 care about quality.
My customers know what they are getting back, i have deer hanging in my shop (3 to be exact) that have been brought in for remounts. By my local competition. I show them whats what and they leave my shop knowing what they have. I may not be a great taxidermist but i damn sure have a lot of people in my area beat.
So Bobbi and Cole...
catch my drift?

 

Ryan, I bet it's more like this:
You got the $200 guys that take in 20 deer.
you got the $500 guys that take in 300.

 

Well Ryan......

Well Ryan, let's get REAListic here,

On your example of a guy charging $200 and gets 300 deer, and lets say that it costs about $125 to mount a deer (form, eyes, earliners, tanning, SHIPPING, hide paste, misc, overhead, blah blah-and I don't give a rat's ass if you use bondo or Krowtan). He is making $75 on each deer($200-125=$75 per deer head)....so he clears $22,500. That is PATHETIC for an hourly wage!

And I question your logic on a guy charging $500 ONLY getting in 20 deer, let's say he ONLY gets in half of the other guy (that would be 150 deer). $500-125=$375 per deer head. 150 deer x $375 = $56,250. MORE THAN TWICE THE MONEY FOR HALF THE WORK.

I KNOW that if you slowly raise your prices EVERY YEAR you will understand.

Actually Ryan, using your rocket science math, it would ONLY take 60 deer at $500 ($500-125=$375) to make the same amount of $$ as the guy taking in 300 deer at $200. See 60 deer with a clearance of $375 = $22,500 and have MORE time to do other taxidermy (birds & fish) at higher prices than his competitor and take in again HALF as much and MAKE MORE $$.

LOL

Kerby...

 

Like it or not, but part of being a professional taxidermist is educating your clients and helping them understand what they are paying for. If I went to a car dealership and I asked a salesman what they sell and he simply responded "Cars" he leaves me with no incentive or reason to buy from him. Now if he would have responded "well we sell classic sports cars that are one of a kind", now he has my attention and suddenly I begin to see their is a difference in the products he is selling verses the lot down the street.
My point is this if you want high end clients that are willing to pay your price educate them that your product is the logical decision. Other wise you are no different than the guy down the street. There are corvetts and chevetts in every industry you need to decide what you want to sell and sell it!

 

JoeHunter, my statement was correct. Thats how it is around here.....HOW CAN YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THAT!!!
Kerby, its sad....it really is, but its the truth. My prices are going up $80 this year so im sure i will only get 5 or 10. But the hack down the road will take in plenty. The truth hurts!

 

Sorry Ryan......

Sorry Ryan, but it ain't so. You raise your prices and you will probably get more business. And I lived in Georgia a couple of times and you guys are charging 1980's prices...STILL. Supplies have gone up since the 80's, so has gas, doctor's bills, electrician, yada yada. Hell, even PLEASURE/RECREATION BASS BOATS have gone up since then,.......you know YOUR CUSTOMERS that have no problem paying MORE today than in the 80's on EVERTHING that has to do with WHY they are your customers. Some taxidermists have figured it out and a lot haven't and the sad thing is they just keep defending their low prices. I actually find it humerous, cause it really doesn't affect me.



Kerby...

 

Ryan,....let go of your ego......

**My prices are going up $80 this year so im sure i will only get 5 or 10. But the hack down the road will take in plenty. The truth hurts!**

Why would that hurt you? He takes in more work and your figures that you gave he is ONLY making $75 on each deer head, hell I hope he gets a thousand deerheads this year LOL

RAISE your prices, make more $$ and have time to do other taxidermy work than just deer heads. And if you aren't taking care of the bird, fish, animal customers, then you ARE LOSING $$.

Raise your prices on ALL YOUR taxidermy work......and make more dinero!

Kerby...

 

Kerby, he's a teenager. Remember when we were teens, we thought we KNEW it all. LOL
I think I made more mowing grass when I was a teen than he makes doing deer mounts.

 

These price debates make me chuckle..Isn't it funny how Every one of these statements from this thread can be interchanged quite well with-in the Carpentry trade..
I see Carpenters working their way to the bottom everyday. Some will never get it..The idea is - live to work ,not work to live..Demand what you're worth , free up time for things other than work and enjoy life..I won't say how I solved my rate issues..We've beat that horse too


* "I guess you really do get what you pay for".

* At that price, they'll need another job.

* Fact is, if they would just raise their prices, take a little less work in, do less work.......AND MAKE MORE $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

* You still need to be compensated for your time and TALENT (well, you know what I mean). It is all about choices. I could go fishing today, or spend time with the family, or I could do some taxidermy work. Well, if I am going to do some taxidermy work I am going to be compensated for it, just not "get by".

* Everyone erroneously thinks that if you raise your prices you will lose customers...it ain't so.

* Welcome to the real world folks. You get what you pay for.

* It doesn't matter how much work you take in if you aren't going to be paid well for your time. Everyone talks about the economy and how much their area is hurting and how it effects prices, I just don't see it.

* When you are in an area that has cheap taxidermy it only gives you an opportunity to show why your work is worth more. Grow your business because you work smarter not harder!

* then try and justify the mount looking like crap with the price they paid. "But I only paid 195 for it, so I think I got a bargain."

* I am in business to make money.

* I have worked my butt off to produce the quality I do, and I will get paid for it or find something else to do.

* I am not trying to start something here, just want you disbelievers to start believing in yourself, and your work.

*I can only think of two reasons to not charge more than everyone else in your market area;
1) you hate money
2) you are not proud enough of your work for whatever reason

*When people are trying to make a living I think it's only right to respect the craft. Not just this craft, but any craft.

* If my prices allowed me to only collect 12.50 an hour I would have to give it up.

* As I stated you must first understand it isn't what everyone else is charging, it's what you need to charge to make a living.

* PROFIT. This is what businesses do, they make PROFITS so that they can REINVEST in themselves,

* How many of the parts stores and auto dealers are going to sell them to you for what they paid for them? NONE, They have marked them up to make a profit to stay in business!

* WHY wouldn't you mark them up by adding a profit so you can stay in business?

* I want to make the most money I can for the least amount of work!!

* nobody wants to work for less than what they're worth

* I just prefer to market a little higher end client, seems to be working

* I only wish more people in this industry would wake up! It is a shame that the supply companies are the ones making most of the money in this industry while the Taxidermists/ Artists who purchase the materials and put in all work to produce the finished product really do not.

* 99.9% of the people that will not raise their prices live in FEAR

* Your quality will bring them back, not your price.

* MORE THAN TWICE THE MONEY FOR HALF THE WORK.

* I KNOW that if you slowly raise your prices EVERY YEAR you will understand.

* And I lived in Georgia a couple of times and you guys are charging 1980's prices...STILL. Supplies have gone up since the 80's, so has gas, doctor's bills, electrician, yada yada. Hell, even PLEASURE/RECREATION BASS BOATS have gone up since then,..

* I prefer to take my wife out to dinner and movie once and while, other can sit home eat some beans, and watch a $3.00 rented video with the pop bottle return money.


* Someone has to be the highest priced. I volunteered for that position years ago.

 

Joehunter. You dont know me. I dont do taxidermy full time, im 20....just to clear that up. Please everyone pat Joe on the back...he made more money than me cutting grass...woo hoo. I never said i knew it all. And i dont. But when me....A 20 YEAR OLD PART TIME TAXIDERMIST is charging more than a world champion what can i expect? Just shut up and do your thing, you dont know how it works around here. Are you even a taxidermist?
Not everyone has extra money to spend on a deer mount so they take it to a cheap taxidermist. All they want to see is that rack on the wall.

Oh and Joehunter...never....never underestimate me, i may just be 20....so what? Just dont underestimate somebody like me, someone you dont know. Ive come a LONG WAY since i started doing taxidermy. Thank you.

 

You made a comment about you taking a supervisor of a lawncare crew (woo-hoo) so you were raising your prices so you WILL NOT get as much work as you did this year? Your attitude is something that is probably running your customers off. Ever thought about that???

 

I have raised my prices every year but one, and that was before I knew better. My mount count has stayed steady, right where I want it, for many years. The one year it dropped a little bit was the 08-09 year and I don't know if it was the recession or the deer herd, but I'm right back up there this year. When you make a name for yourself, they will come. I rarely have people call and the first thing they ask is "how much?" Most just call and say they're coming over. Yeah, I'm part time and no, I don't advertise so all of my customers have had me recommended to them. I'm sure that makes a difference. Oh, and of the taxidermists around me that I know personally, I am the lowest priced! In fact, one charges almost two hundred more than me, and takes in hundreds of mounts. Yes, I do think he deserves it.

If I can't make money at it, I'd rather not do it. JMO.

 

This thread is a hot issue......I'm not a full time or part time taxidermist....just a hobby to me for 40 some years. I went through all the books like some old timers on here....northwestern,pray,and moyer and the breakthrough manuals.....i stated before i do work for less then 5 people, i started in the early 60's with my friends and now with there son's and daughters,always 5 or less people...i tan and clean all my work as good as anybody.I don't consider myself a hackadermist,in my state of maryland in my early days, the commerical taxidermist were not that good...one guy painted his fish using those little golden books,another couldn't sew that good every mount he did , had exposed stiches....even McGinnty, the people who do fish repo's, were here for a while...while there fish repo's were good, the mammal and birds weren't that good...i remember seeing aq deer head in there showroom window, its eyes were set straight ahead, just like a human's is.......thats why those people started comming to me, i produced better mounts...why...because i can take my good ole time....like a museum taxidermist.....commerical taxi's can't take that long..i'm not out to steal other taxidermists work....the people i do work for, i've known a long time......i don't do deer heads....only fish and birds and small mammals.....i make or sculp my own forms....i have hundreds of rock and bark and log molds, along with some plaster fish molds from long ago.....large habitat,mammal forms are still layed up with red rosin paper......and one last thing, its my hobby, i don't do it for the money, I do it for the enjoyment and pleasure it brings me.....it spite of what you may think, i enjoy reading all you good people write.....i enjoyed juknuth's series on molding and casting a white crappie....great tutorials by everybody else......thanks for reading this..............

 

i dont recall ever running any customers off.

 

using that logic,I'll raise my price to $100,000 per head and i only have to do 4 or 5heads ot make my year.The market will only bear so much,and quality is always a factor,you can't get posche prices for a hyundai.bottom line is a 275 head is worth 275,and just like there are totally satisfied hyundai buyers,there are totally satisfied 275 head buyers who think they got a good value for their buck.

 

Not true in the least............

**you can't get posche prices for a hyundai.bottom line is a 275 head is worth 275,and just like there are totally satisfied hyundai buyers,there are totally satisfied 275 head buyers who think they got a good value for their buck**

Not true because a porsche cost the same in Georgia as it does here in Arizona, same as a Hyundai, cost the same here in Arizona as it does in Georgia. Your analogy has nothing to do about the topic. The cost of doing taxidermy in Georgia is the same as it is here in Arizona........Some guys have no clue what the market will bear because their prices haven't changed in 20 years and the cost of living on everything else has. Ryan has NO LOGIC in saying that if he raises his prices, he will lose customers....WHEN IN FACT many have raised their prices and are doing quite well.

Also, LOGICALLY speaking, no one is charging $100,000 a deer head.....but LOTS of taxidermists are charging $600 - $800 a deer head. You choose.

Also there is no direct correlation either + or - between pricing and quality. Some great taxidermists are real low on prices and some not so good guys are higher on their prices. People WILL pay.

It's a dead horse....I give up.

It's not like people in Arizona are any richer than those in Georgia. Our customers are no different and raising prices out here WORKS!



Kerby...