Debate : Price vs. Quality

[Auggie]

    The taxidermy section has been a little quiet lately. So lets rev it up a bit. When you get that trophy mount are you looking for the cheapest price or the best quality? I will chime in as I feel I need to once this thread gets going. Sure it won't take long!

[Woody]

Quality first and foremost!  It makes absolutely no sense to spend a little now, only to have it fixed later (if it can be).  So spend enough to get a quality job done now, so your trophy will last years to come! 

This coming from someone so broke-I can't be fixed! 

[beeker]

well I'm cheap by nature... but if it's worth mounting it's worth doing right.
  Auggie you ever turn someone away or suggest not mounting something because of size or condition? I know it takes different strokes an all.. not trying to be a jerk but I've seen some small deer mounted that aren't the kids first or the last one granpa got. or imature pheasants/ducks that just look sick.

[dakids]

Generally you get what you pay for.  Don't just call around looking for price.  Go and check out there quality.  See what they have in there studio.  Some guys are great on fish but not as good on deer or vise versa.  Do a little leg work up front and you will be happier in the end.

[Auggie]

well I'm cheap by nature... but if it's worth mounting it's worth doing right.
  Auggie you ever turn someone away or suggest not mounting something because of size or condition? I know it takes different strokes an all.. not trying to be a jerk but I've seen some small deer mounted that aren't the kids first or the last one grandpa got. or immature pheasants/ducks that just look sick.

    You bring up an interesting question. Back when I first started I would take anything. Didn't matter to me at all. I was taking in poor quality specimens and doing them for less money by far than I charge now. Not only did it hurt the quality of my work, it burnt me out. To this day I still enjoy doing waterfowl less because of all the poor specimens I took in and mounted for peanuts and still looked like ass when they were done. Now that I have been doing this for sometime I have a whole different perspective. When I was doing all those poor quality specimens I was not only making less money (way less) but, I was turning out a finished product that just could not be made to look good, no matter how much time I spent on it. it could have been done by the #1 taxidermist in the world and still come out looking bad. It not only hurts the bottom line, it hurts your reputation when people see sub par work with your name on it. Now days I turn away any severely damaged specimens and all immature birds whether it is your kids first pheasant or grandpa's last duck.
    Now that being said, size and condition are two different animals altogether. I never turn away "small specimens" if they are good quality. For example : Reason #1 is a 170" buck pays the same money as a spike or a doe for that matter. Bottom line is I need to feed my family. Reason #2 is that the size of an animal doesn't always have the same meaning to everyone. That spike might be more important to Grand Dad cuz his 12 year old grandson just got his first buck. Even if he shot a 170" deer the same season. Now when it comes to condition size means absolutely nothing to me. I have seen 100's of "this is my kids first bird" come in the door that are taken early in the season. Some maybe older birds (huge early season Canada geese for example) but have very immature plumage. I turn all of these away. Every single one. Now on occasion if the guy is hell bent about getting the mount done, I offer to replace the bird with a game farm or pen raised bird of good quality. Some guys opt for it and others take it to the next guy. But I refuse to put my name on anything that is damaged severely and/or of poor plumage. Same goes with deer capes. One full of holes not only takes me more time to mount but, it also ends up being a smaller cape by the time you finish all the repair work. Then the guy pisses and moans about his neck being "way" smaller than it was when he shot it. So what do I have in a situation like this? A pissed off customer that will bad mouth my work 9 times out of 10 and less money in my pocket for the effort. Is it fair to charge the same price for the guy that brings in the average deer with say one easy bullet hole vs the guy that comes in with the brisket cut half way up to the chin and three slugs in the neck? Nope. Not fair to me or the guy that took proper care of his deer and didn't need a tommy gun to bring it down.
    I think I answered your question, if not let me know.

[Stensethfan]

I am definitely a quality guy.  I would not be able to look at the trophy 5 years down the road if it did not still look like it was almost alive.

[beeker]

you explained it quite well... when it's all said and done it's nice to have a quality mount that brings you back to that moment when you got em.

[JCAMERON]

I have yet to take anything that I felt needed to be on the wall. I have big plans of putting something on the wall, but haven't gotten the opportunity to yet. When I do I will be looking for quality for sure. If I'm going to mount an animal that defines how much time I spend afield or on water doing the things I love, it would be foolish not to have it done right so it can last.
Auggie - your at the top of my list for when that time comes... just a heads up. 

[JohnWester]

quality... hands down.and once you find it, you tend to go back.

[deadeye]

I saw in today's paper that Oakwood Taxidermy in Zimmerman filed for bankruptcy.  I have seen some of thier work and it was very good.  I guess from the taxidermist side, you have to balance doing a very good job and making money.  Not that Auggie or lltaxidermy can't do both, just my thoughts. 

[kingfisher1]

I am definitely a quality guy.  If I am going to shell out the money for a mount, I want it to last long enough that my child can have it after I die.  I have seen poorly done mounts, and the look like something that I dropped in the toilet last night....  My father in law "self mounted" a buck last year to save money and it already looks worse than a mount my dad has had for over 25 years. 

[Woody]

Just thinking out loud here, but shouldn't it be thought of like an investment?  Even if you don't ever plan on selling it-it's still valuable to the person to tagged/bagged/caught/shot it. 

[beeker]

yup.. it's an investment and somthing you can pass down from one to the next.. I always see mounts on craigslist and wonder why people are selling em and for that matter who would just want to buy one? I suppose some could just be a taxidermist who mounted it for extra $$$. but I love seeing my mounts it takes me back to the day I harvested the critter and reminds me of the people I was with when I got em

[Auggie]

Beeker and Jeff,
     Even the best mounts done properly can look poorly after a few years. For example the one that hangs in a smokey bar over the fireplace next to the window for 10+years or more. Not to mention the thing never had a dusting in the same amount of time. The customer needs to do their part once it leaves the taxidermist if you know what I mean.
     When it comes to getting sold many reasons can be brought to attention. The top one for me is deadbeat customers. You can weed most of them out from the start. The price shoppers tend to be like this. Call every other day to see if it is done and then you sit on it for 6 months(or forever) when they don't show to get it when you tell them it is done. New customers I have a gut feeling are going to be hard to collect from need to put down a larger deposit upfront. Another is some guys just mount and sell to the public as they don't have any deadlines and less "people face time". Some people look at taxidermy as a true art form. As they should. They do not have the opportunity to hunt or get a trophy but still want to decorate a home, cabin, or maybe the office with a work of art. Another that comes to mind is the daughter that loses a father or grandpa and inherits a ton of mounts she wants nothing to do with.

[Auggie]

I have yet to take anything that I felt needed to be on the wall. I have big plans of putting something on the wall, but haven't gotten the opportunity to yet. When I do I will be looking for quality for sure. If I'm going to mount an animal that defines how much time I spend afield or on water doing the things I love, it would be foolish not to have it done right so it can last.
Auggie - your at the top of my list for when that time comes... just a heads up. 

Thanks. Hope to see you soon!

[Auggie]

I saw in today's paper that Oakwood Taxidermy in Zimmerman filed for bankruptcy.  I have seen some of thier work and it was very good.  I guess from the taxidermist side, you have to balance doing a very good job and making money.  Not that Auggie or lltaxidermy can't do both, just my thoughts. 

I used to do some contract work for Oakwood. I know his fish and turkeys looked great for a couple years;). The mounting part that is. I don't know about the paint jobs however. They did the finish work themselves. Glad I got out when I did. I know his subcontractor for birds took a bath.

[trophy time]

Auggie, you got that right about the customer that calls all the time to see if there stuff is done yet.  They are always the ones that take forever to pick up, after you call them letting them know it is done.  I have a finished wood duck for about 7 months now, every once in a while she will call with some excuse or tell me she will be here at the end of the week, but guess what, never shows up.
Tim

[22lex]

Quality is #1!

Even though prices for the taxidermist I have used have rose (inflation) over the years, I still wouldn't go to anyone else for any of my mounts. He has done around 10 mounts for me in the last 11 years and I have never had a problem.

Your trophy's aren't something you want to shop around with (in my eyes).

[Auggie]

Quality is #1!

Even though prices for the taxidermist I have used have rose (inflation) over the years, I still wouldn't go to anyone else for any of my mounts. He has done around 10 mounts for me in the last 11 years and I have never had a problem.

Your trophy's aren't something you want to shop around with (in my eyes).

It isn't just inflating cost, or at least it shouldn't be. If he does nice work I would say he also deserves a raise on a regular basis. 

[JCAMERON]

Quality is #1!

Even though prices for the taxidermist I have used have rose (inflation) over the years, I still wouldn't go to anyone else for any of my mounts. He has done around 10 mounts for me in the last 11 years and I have never had a problem.

Your trophy's aren't something you want to shop around with (in my eyes).

It isn't just inflating cost, or at least it shouldn't be. If he does nice work I would say he also deserves a raise on a regular basis. 

Absolutely! A guy deserves a raise for his gained experience. If a taxidermist has been doing quality work for a very long time you almost know that your mount is going to be nice.

[22lex]

Quality is #1!

Even though prices for the taxidermist I have used have rose (inflation) over the years, I still wouldn't go to anyone else for any of my mounts. He has done around 10 mounts for me in the last 11 years and I have never had a problem.

Your trophy's aren't something you want to shop around with (in my eyes).

It isn't just inflating cost, or at least it shouldn't be. If he does nice work I would say he also deserves a raise on a regular basis. 

You bring up a great point Auggie that I totally agree with which I asked my taxidermist about a few years back when I stopped in to pick up a brown trout I had mounted.

I pretty much asked him why he didn't charge more for his work compared to other guys in the area that realistically didn't even come close to the quality he put out.

He told me that there were too many taxidermist's in the area to realistically charge that much more for his quality. He said that customers that truly appreciated good work that lasted over time were a small percentage of his customers. I asked him how much he has increased his price on mounts, he told me that he has raised his price for cost of materials, and some for himself over the years, but he always compared prices with the rest of the taxidermists in the area even though as I stated before, I think he could have charged alot more. He told me that too many people shop around for the fastest, or cheapest guy to do the work for them and it some times ends up as sub-par garbage.

Granted this was his full-time job, and I can't give a good estimate on how much work he puts out, but he told me he is busy year 'round except for a month or two.

[kingfisher1]

I know that I am willing to go a little out of my way and pay a little extra for work done that will last forever rather than save $$.

[Auggie]

Quality is #1!

Even though prices for the taxidermist I have used have rose (inflation) over the years, I still wouldn't go to anyone else for any of my mounts. He has done around 10 mounts for me in the last 11 years and I have never had a problem.

Your trophy's aren't something you want to shop around with (in my eyes).

It isn't just inflating cost, or at least it shouldn't be. If he does nice work I would say he also deserves a raise on a regular basis. 

You bring up a great point Auggie that I totally agree with which I asked my taxidermist about a few years back when I stopped in to pick up a brown trout I had mounted.

I pretty much asked him why he didn't charge more for his work compared to other guys in the area that realistically didn't even come close to the quality he put out.

He told me that there were too many taxidermist's in the area to realistically charge that much more for his quality. He said that customers that truly appreciated good work that lasted over time were a small percentage of his customers. I asked him how much he has increased his price on mounts, he told me that he has raised his price for cost of materials, and some for himself over the years, but he always compared prices with the rest of the taxidermists in the area even though as I stated before, I think he could have charged alot more. He told me that too many people shop around for the fastest, or cheapest guy to do the work for them and it some times ends up as sub-par garbage.

Granted this was his full-time job, and I can't give a good estimate on how much work he puts out, but he told me he is busy year 'round except for a month or two.

That is to bad. Many taxidermist seem to have that problem. In this day and age the only limit you have on yourself for a service area is determined by what you want. I could care less what the guy down the road charges. I determine my price by what I need to make the wage I want after all expense. I have clients nation wide. I would guess only 25% - 35% of my business is local (with in 50 miles). A total of 50% give or take comes from outside the state.
Everyone has different circumstances, but letting your immediate area determine your wage in this business now days is a poor excuse. Would I like more local business? Sure I would. But you need to find elsewhere if you don't have it.

[ChrisWallace]

I take my big game to a family friend who I bowhunt with, so he knows that the animals I harvest I work my tail off for just as he does. He works for the BCA in forensics so attention to detail is in everything he does.

I take my birds to a guy in ramsey. He does great work and hes pretty reasonable to me I have a snow, blue, ross done on a fence post/habitat mount with a lesser and canada on the way and Im hoping to get a speck and a quill lake one to put on there as well. You also need to have a taxidermist who is creative and will go out of his/her way to make the mount unique and one of a kind.

Fish I take to Wings and Things and have never been disappointed.

Heres a pic of my Ram and some other mounts. Ram is the last two pics in the slideshow.

     Link Removed By bowhunter73