Not another pricing thread

good point dennis

 

Best post of this whole thread Dennis.

 

It's easy for some people to set a price when they aren't out in the "real" world making it on their own. I set my price where i'm making money, Way more than any job in my area. I am not overly booked up with low price crap, but I have a steady good work load. I have bill to pay, and all that crap.
Too many taxidermist live with Mom and Dad or right near by, and don't have the full responsibility of all the expenses when someone is out on their own. I know many and most of ya'll are out on your own, supporting a family and everything else. A single guy living at home can make it cheap, you don't have to do a volume to make the cash flow figure out.
There are people around me that are cheaper, some higher, but I set my own prices.

I wouldn't say Taxidermist are the stupidest Business people in the world. That's ridiculous. Many have stepped away from high paying jobs, 6 figures to do taxidermy. And they run a very successful business.
I don't care for that statement. If they were so bad at business, they wouldn't be in business long.

 

After reading this thread I did a little research.
In my are there are several full time taxidermists.

I checked prices of 3 of the biggest that have been around the longest. All of these guys have been in business for over 30 years, I know for sure that all of them this is their only source of income.

Their prices are $385, $410 and $400. The $385 guy mounted a couple deer for me years ago and he does a decent deer head.
The 410 guy also does solid work, he has been at it for many years. He used to compete and do pretty good.

All of these guys are with in 20 miles of me.

There are several low priced part time guys that take in 30-40 in my area as well.

I could jack my prices up $140 above them, but I am sure I wouldn't take in enough deer to make it worth my time.

 

ENOUGH! Will some of you guys think about what you're saying before you put your mouths into gear. You've used 9 pages of pure, unadulterated bullspit to slander, ridicule, embarrass, and insult YOUR PEERS. Why does it make one good damn what someone else charges for his or her work. Do you realize that measuring dicks is not going to work. I've harped for years about taxidermy not being a business but then somebody whips out a ruler and here we go with the same crap. FACT: You are part of an industry where 99% of the people in it do it as a hobby or a part time job. FACT: Though most of us pay closely to the same amount for the supplies on each animal, we only have ourselves to gage how much we're willing to accept in return for the work we do. FACT: Taxidermy is cerramics with fur. Less than 1% of us even know how to make a form, much less sculpt one.

I corrected someone on Facebook a day ago about puffing your chest out. The post said that putting borax on a skin and stretching it over a form didn't make you a taxidermist. Well, it damned sure won't make you a brain surgeon or a rocket scientist, but if you want to call yourself a taxidermist, what gives me the right to say you're not. What standards I hold MYSELF to are purely my own. On this thread I see someone advocating requiring new members to have seminars before being allowed to join. REALLY? Most organizations operate on a shoestring and most say they welcome taxidermists, nature lovers, bird watchers, carvers, etc. Why would you risk jeopardizing your membership just to meet a standard YOU have decided on.

I've had about enough of the "talent" argument. Talent plays such a minor role. One of the first "laws" in art is "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Pablo Picasso turned out some of the most hideous POS that I've ever seen that he called "art". He even created a "movement" to group his admirers under and his "paintings" are worth small fortunes. Damned sure wasn't because he had "talent" as I would define talent, that's for sure.

A bit over a month ago now, I had major back surgery done. I picked a surgeon out of the phone book. He was a young, actually good looking guy, who'd just moved here from Philadelphia and in one of the endorsements on the net, one individual said he wouldn't allow this guy to work on his dog. As surgery grew closer, I became a bit anxious. No one could tell me this was a world class guy but my instincts were telling me I could trust him. So on the last appointment before surgery, I just blurted out: "Doctor Malone, are you worth a damn as a back surgeon." He looked at me for a second and then said, "Mr. Roof, I'll write down the phone number of my mother and you can call and ask her. She thinks I'm the best in the world."

The moral of that story is that you can tell yourself anything you want. You can have your mother, sister, wife, whomever tell you that you're the best there is, but it still ends up being the CUSTOMER who decides if what he's willing to pay is money well spent.

So stop this crap. You only have yourselves to answer to and if you're content and sleep well at night, it's no one elses damned business what you charge or how much money you make. And in the future, I'd like to see Ken institute a rule that when a person starts another dumbassed post like this one, they get sent to band camp for 2 weeks.

 

I was patiently awaiting your input here George, and you did not disappoint me at all. Good humor Mr. Roof.

 

Aaaaaahhhhhhh! Finally, Thank you George.

 

Kerby...

 

Kerby...

 

Kerby...

 

Kerby...

 

Kerby...

 

I will make it simple for everyone ......

Every year I utilize a demand response program that addresses critical itemized pricing program by reacting to peak or heavy material incidents that have occurred during the previous fiscal year. This enables me to predict, rather than react to the inflated transmission level that others fail to correctly deduct. This typically has a direct correlation (positive or negative to the number of pages that occur in the McKenzie Taxidermy Supply Catalog). This pricing program typically sends a uniform signal to all facets of my taxidermy inventory, thus reducing the coefficient of negative man-hours. This enables my one man taxidermy business to reduce the load on my network and thereby ensures grid stability. This proven approach has enhanced my taxidermy operations to be precise and coordinated, which in turn demands a response to my pricing methods which enables my distribution network assets to be utilized at it's maximum load and gives me the optimum leverage on my price load decision matrix.

These simple taxidermy pricing capabilities are possible due to my grid-aware architecture that combines awareness of load and voltage profiles at the system, substation and feeder levels to determine the optimal mix of taxidermy assets that can be used to support taxidermy pricing system objectives.

There! I can't make it any clearer ..... unless I draw a picture.



Kerby...

 

I too use a formula. My formula is mostly for things I don't get many of. I charge a certain percent for a lifesize over a shoulder mount. Sometimes I feel it needs tweaking. I'm doing a life size goat now for $2100 including habitat. I'm wondering if next year I should go to $2400. Most of us wonder if we can raise our prices on certain items without pricing us out of too many jobs. Some don't ever wonder. They just charge what they've always charged for 20-30 years.

 

Boarhunter67, why are you giving that goat habitat away? The fact of the matter is we all see things differently from the next guy. Some of us out there don't have visions of becoming filthy rich but others do, that is fine. Why anyone thinks they have the right to tell others what to do and how to do it is what chaps my arse. I have to think for many out there, one of the reasons they took up taxidermy, is because they don't like being told what and how to do things. These more seasoned taxidermists have learned through their own experiences how to increase prices and when, they come across as pompas jerks but maybe we should listen to them a bit. I personally think prices should go up every other year or every year, just like everything else does. In my experiences moderate price increases don't chase away customers, it is over inflated ones that do. Moderate meaning under $40.00 increase on things like shoulder mounts and the like. This is how I operate my business and I really couldn't care how others price their services.

 

In the town I live in There is a Rolls Royce , Bentley dealership then there is the harpeth bargin box car dealership and both have been in business a long time obliviously both selling cars& making money... I THINK THIS TAXIDERMY GIG IS NO DIFFERENT , there is room for both at each end of the price scale , I personally had just rather be towards the upper end than the low end with taxidermy because there is too much dam time and work involved

 

I see some of you can't resist keeping your rulers out, can you? In the big scheme of things, my question remains unanwered: What the hell diffierence does it make to YOU what anyone else charges?

 

Competitive aggressiveness refers to a firm’s efforts to outperform its industry rivals.
Companies with an aggressive orientation are willing to “do battle” with competitors. They
might slash prices and sacrifice profitability to gain market share or spend aggressively to
obtain manufacturing capacity.

 

But Joe............

Joe, that is great if you are a company that is buying widgets at wholesale and selling them at retail ..... the sky is the limit.

But for one man taxidermy shops that relates to ignorance of business principles.



Kerby...

 

Im not calling BS, but Ill say what others wont...I think almost everyone DOES care what the other guy charges. Otherwise they wouldnt vehemently deny it or criticize those who do, or join in on every pricing thread. Theres nothing wrong with having those concerns, and feeling its foolish, or that it perhaps undercuts or simply looks like desperation when it seems obvious to do something besides taxidermy. Its how you react to it that is the issue. Screaming for controls isnt right, and wont happen. Just suggesting ways for others to get more of their worth wont hurt anyone, though.