Post by: Kuduman on September 11, 2010, 07:29:01 PM
I had done some work for his brother and that's how I got involved. I'll be doing his rug for what I'll bet he will call a crazy good deal.
Now I like making a profit but $2200 for a 4 ft bear rug..... That's crazy
I charge 145 a Ln.Ft. and that's about average or even a little low.
Post by: markts on September 11, 2010, 07:35:57 PM
Post by: Wea300mag on September 11, 2010, 07:40:18 PM
Post by: wsucowboy on September 11, 2010, 07:51:55 PM
Post by: 400out on September 11, 2010, 08:12:29 PM
Post by: WCTaxidermy on September 11, 2010, 08:23:49 PM
Post by: carpsniperg2 on September 11, 2010, 08:33:12 PM
Post by: Kuduman on September 11, 2010, 09:08:23 PM
I'm not sure how well known outside his local area he is. Your not going to open Breakthrough and read about him.
At $2200 it better be a real nice rug and 400out your right, Although price alone isn't an indication of quality I'm sure there are some that don't even bother asking around. In this case I was sure to ask if the quote was for a rug and it was. the estimate for a lifesize was 5K. Wow again.
Post by: carpsniperg2 on September 11, 2010, 09:16:33 PM
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on September 11, 2010, 09:26:14 PM
Every Taxidermist has atleast 1 if not more critters that when they come through the door it like "gosh daing it!". Maybe this is the case for this individual taxidermist. He doesn't like working on Bears so he jacks the price up to the point he brings very few in. I know several taxidermists that do this. Most of the time though it is skunks, Wild Boar, Bear Rugs, and Porkies.
Those prices seem extreamly high for a 4' Bear.
Post by: Kuduman on September 11, 2010, 10:39:57 PM
Not sure what that first sentence means :dunno:
I agree that allot of taxis inflate the prices of those items they really don't want to do and that might be the case here. I actually like to do bears they are messy but after the first few hundred you BEARLY notice the mess :chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle: Pun intended
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on September 12, 2010, 01:16:44 AM
When I was down South I use to hear from quite a few Taxidermists that they hated doing Wild Boar or Wild Hogs. Several had pretty high prices on them so people wouldn't bring them in.
Post by: bucklucky on September 12, 2010, 08:31:49 AM
Post by: Kuduman on September 12, 2010, 01:32:00 PM
carp I thought your buddy does your work for you doesn't he? Does he charge you full price? Doesn't sound like it.
Michelle:
Sill a bit confused by that corrected sentence. I think you might be under the impression that I consign out some projects... I Don't... I actually warn customers from using taxi's that consign out work. My philosophy is that my customers are paying me to do their mount not someone else. I know a few that do this and I don't agree with that.
If that sentence means something else let me know
Thanks
Jeff
A.K.A Kuduman
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on September 12, 2010, 01:42:38 PM
5k for a life size, my half mount last year with 650. guy must be trying to pay for a new beach house or somthing :yike:
carp I thought your buddy does your work for you doesn't he? Does he charge you full price? Doesn't sound like it.
I am not under the impression that you consign out your work.
Post by: Kuduman on September 12, 2010, 02:28:53 PM
Thanks for the clarification. I don't know who that was intended for or what it meant.
Thanks Again
Jeff
Post by: Coasthunterjay on September 12, 2010, 07:52:19 PM
Wonder what a 4ft $2200 dollar rug looks like :o :o :rolleyes:
that is rediculous...i hope he was going to throw some golden laced stitching and a complete leather strip all the way around it and add a nice rifle to it...lol...Jeeze....thats not ok...
Maybe some one should find out who this guy is and maybe report him to the local Taxidermy association and possiably approach him and tell him that this is un called for....THAT IS MESSED UP...!
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on September 12, 2010, 08:03:34 PM
Maybe some one should find out who this guy is and maybe report him to the local Taxidermy association and possiably approach him and tell him that this is un called for....THAT IS MESSED UP...!
Or maybe people should just be allowed to make there own decision if they are willing to pay that for a Bear Rug. Instead of messing with some guys livelyhood and telling him how to run his buisness. There are plenty of taxidermists to choose from. :rolleyes:
Post by: duckaholic on September 12, 2010, 09:25:22 PM
Post by: duckaholic on September 12, 2010, 09:48:48 PM
Post by: JackOfAllTrades on September 12, 2010, 10:29:30 PM
-Steve
Post by: duckaholic on September 12, 2010, 10:55:02 PM
Post by: carpsniperg2 on September 12, 2010, 11:02:34 PM
5k for a life size, my half mount last year with 650. guy must be trying to pay for a new beach house or somthing :yike:carp I thought your buddy does your work for you doesn't he? Does he charge you full price? Doesn't sound like it.
I am not under the impression that you consign out your work.
o.k. now i am really lost :chuckle: my friend does do my work for me. but i still pay full price for eveything other then 1 horn mount that i had already boiled the skull and was going to do the work myself but took it to him since i wanted it to look nice for my wife. since it was her deer and he knocked 10.00 off. i have a lot of friends but doesn't mean i get things or free or discounts :dunno: what is the normal charge for a half mount bear i thought 650-700 was standard.
and i was not talking about anyone here when i said what i said i was meaning the other guy that quoted him the price. not anyone here :bash: :chuckle:
Post by: duckaholic on September 12, 2010, 11:04:06 PM
Post by: bucklucky on September 13, 2010, 09:13:34 AM
5k for a life size, my half mount last year with 650. guy must be trying to pay for a new beach house or somthing :yike:carp I thought your buddy does your work for you doesn't he? Does he charge you full price? Doesn't sound like it.
I am not under the impression that you consign out your work.
o.k. now i am really lost :chuckle: my friend does do my work for me. but i still pay full price for eveything other then 1 horn mount that i had already boiled the skull and was going to do the work myself but took it to him since i wanted it to look nice for my wife. since it was her deer and he knocked 10.00 off. i have a lot of friends but doesn't mean i get things or free or discounts :dunno: what is the normal charge for a half mount bear i thought 650-700 was standard.
and i was not talking about anyone here when i said what i said i was meaning the other guy that quoted him the price. not anyone here :bash: :chuckle:
Lets keep in mind these figures are off the top of my head and not perfect by no means but get to the point.
OK, here we go again about pricing, lets see if I can make this sensable to people. My half mounts are $1200.00 starting depending on habitat, open mouth , etc. Prices vary on form prices , but on average lets say 300 for the form. Ok now shipping on top of that say 40.00 . Now factor in caping, turning , fleshing, and about 2 1/2 hours time on that, so $125.00. Now the tanning Im gona say about $75.00 plus time or shipping envolved. Factor in fitting , and mods. I havent had a 1/2 mount fit perfect yet, average about 4 hours on the form, there is another $200.00 in wages. OK, now final prep on the cape, lets say about an hour to get the eyes, nose , lips and ears done and ready for the mount. 1 1/2 hours, theres another 75.00. Now mount time and I will say 3 hours on that so 150.00. There is other costs in there like eyes, hide paste etc...Almost forgot the finish work. Closed mouth add another hour on there so thats another 50.00. Well grand total is $1015.00 if you broke it all down. This is how I break down all of my pricing on mounts, you have to figure in wadge, material costs, and buisness profit. If it is my buisness, Im not going to be doing mounts at a loss, if you do that means what? I dont think I have to answer that. I see myself as fairly priced. Now Carp, if your buddys prices are truely that low then he is cutting his own throat, but if thats what he wants to charge so be it. $2200.00 for a rug is holy cow expensive, but like I said before, maybee it was for a 14 foot bear LMAO! If somebody had buiult up a reputation to get that kind of price then whats the big deal. Im jelouse :chuckle:
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on September 13, 2010, 11:03:32 AM
Post by: Coasthunterjay on September 13, 2010, 08:10:59 PM
and if any taxidermist wants to sit at that guys side and say that its ok what hes charging...Then im sorry that wrong! two three hundred dollars difference maybe...i can see that...But seriously..when it comes down to it, its not another taxidermist thats gonna help the customer make the final decision...ITS THE CUSTOMER....and the only way a customer can make a well educated decision is if the taxidermist is truthful....Luckily his cost was so rediculously expensive that it raised a red flag and the guy i hope took it else where...
You wont see me charging that much for a rug. Kuduman...I understood what you where throwing....And i was just saying there should be some kind of code of conduct....Not to screw people.....Taxidermy is a hard job to do sucessfully yes(as bucklucky said it is time consuming and expensive...and We as taxidermist ear that money), but holy cow....i hope that guy gets to sleep every night nowing that he is litterally raping someone for a 4ft bear rug. It really honestly is uncalled for...
Guess i can say im just suprised that more people on this site arent appolled anymore than they are.....Oh well....
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on September 13, 2010, 09:30:04 PM
I agree that taxidermist get every little bit of what they deserve, BUT.....and i say BUT! There is no excuse for someone charging $2200 bucks for a 4 ft bear....That is uncalled for....
and if any taxidermist wants to sit at that guys side and say that its ok what hes charging...Then im sorry that wrong! two three hundred dollars difference maybe...i can see that...But seriously..when it comes down to it, its not another taxidermist thats gonna help the customer make the final decision...ITS THE CUSTOMER....and the only way a customer can make a well educated decision is if the taxidermist is truthful....Luckily his cost was so rediculously expensive that it raised a red flag and the guy i hope took it else where...
You wont see me charging that much for a rug. Kuduman...I understood what you where throwing....And i was just saying there should be some kind of code of conduct....Not to screw people.....Taxidermy is a hard job to do sucessfully yes(as bucklucky said it is time consuming and expensive...and We as taxidermist ear that money), but holy cow....i hope that guy gets to sleep every night nowing that he is litterally raping someone for a 4ft bear rug. It really honestly is uncalled for...
Guess i can say im just suprised that more people on this site arent appolled anymore than they are.....Oh well....
Appalled? Why would I be? There are dozens of other taxidermists for that guy to choose from. Do I think it is to high of price? Yeah, but I am not about to tell someone else how they should run tere buisness. I do not have the time to tell other taxidermists how to run there buisness.
If you feel that strongly about it than find out who the taxidermist is, call him up, and tell him he is ridiculous. While your at it why don't you educate him on the proper way to run HIS business.
Post by: carpsniperg2 on September 13, 2010, 09:54:09 PM
Post by: Kuduman on September 13, 2010, 09:56:05 PM
I totally agree with your comments. that $2200 was brought down to around 750 for an open mouth rug. The customer was very pleased and after looking at my work is very happy he came to see me. It's unfortunate that there is no moral or ethical code of conduct in our trade. I guess the philosophy would be that the bad taxis don't stay around long.
Post by: gutsnthegrass on September 14, 2010, 01:50:18 PM
Post by: bucklucky on September 14, 2010, 03:29:20 PM
gutsnthegrass, that price sounds fair . Did that inlude doing the skull also or just the rug? Looks like you paid about 175 a foot plus Tax. I call that a high average price. The staples shoudnt be there. There are so many ways Taxi's do things I couldnt tell ya why they are there. I dont use staples so I dont know.
Post by: Kuduman on September 14, 2010, 03:57:57 PM
I'd like to give the name of the taxi but I have not personally talked to him about it and I don't plan to. His quote is his business and I don't feel it's to anyones benefit to address his personal business habits. Additionally I have a strict rule that I try never to say or do anyting to bring discredit to any other fellow taxidermist. I feel that dragging another person through the mud gets everone dirty and more often than not it's done for personal gain only and that's not what I wanted to do here. My only motivation in posting this topic was to educate sportsman as to what a reasonable price would be for a bear rug.
Gutnthegrass:
Those staples are probably there because the taxi used a slow set ear adhesive when he worked on the ears. the should have been removed before leaving the shop so your probably OK to remove them. additionally I agree with Bucklucy on the price.
Charles I'll send a reply
Post by: gutsnthegrass on September 15, 2010, 12:22:33 PM
No that didn't include doing the skull, wish it did. I don't think I would recommend the taxi out here in Enumclaw, he did my bear and it took me 6 months to get the cigarette smell out of it, and wasn't the most personable guy. That's just my experience with him, I hope others have had a better experience, he seems to be pretty busy.