Ten and a half months after our hunt last year our trophies are finally shipping out of South Africa! The cost was not as bad as I thought that it would be:

Kudu cape, skull and horns
Gemsbok cape, skull and horns
Bushbuck skull and horns
Warthog skull
Two Impala skulls, horns and tanned hides
Blue wildebeest skull, horns and tanned skin
Blesbok skull and horns
Edit: Add a bushbuck flatskin

Wish to advise that we are in receipt of your trophies from Karoo Taxidermy for freighting to San Francisco c/o Coppersmith.

Costs to SFO are as follows;

Freight $ 464.00
Fuel surcharge 63.00
Security fee 7.00
EDI fee 60.00
Terminal fee 70.00
Insurance 60.00
Rex Freight 195.00

Total $919.00

Frank:
That don't sound half bad.
Sure nothing like I've read about.
Thanks for sharing.
George

Sure beats $9,934.00 quote I just got.

quote:

Originally posted by tanks:
Sure beats $9,934.00 quote I just got.

This is about 10 times Fjold's cost! Both shipped from (presumably) South Africa to California? Question is, is it also for about ten times the trophies? If not, please say which taxidermist & shipping firms are involved? Maybe you should send Fjold's posting to whoever sent you the quote and ask them to explain the difference?

Frank

Hope you have better results with Karoo than I did...

Frank,

Your costs have been right in line with what I've spent on my previous safaris. I hope my latest trip is roughly the same, too.

quote:

Originally posted by BNagel:
Frank

Hope you have better results with Karoo than I did...

The only thing we had done there was the tanning of a couple of hides and that was actually done at the tannery. As long as the raw capes and horns come through OK, that all we're concerned about.

My freight from Maun, Botswana was over 3x that (2 hunters) so I'd be very happy with that number.

I too am looking at a $9k shipping cost from a safari in Zim last year. The trophy list is roughly 16 more animals over what FJold is reporting and includes 2 giraffe.

Crazy money. I'm done with Taxidermy after this.

quote:

Crazy money. I'm done with Taxidermy after this.

In just 3 safaris I've spent enough money on shipping & taxidermy to have been able to afford another safari.
Think from now on I'll just spend more time getting more & better photos.
I can always have Late-Bloomer do his magic on the special ones.
Who the heck am I going to leave all these dead animals to anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by bwana cecil:

quote:

Crazy money. I'm done with Taxidermy after this.

In just 3 safaris I've spent enough money on shipping & taxidermy to have been able to afford another safari.
Think from now on I'll just spend more time getting more & better photos.
I can always have Late-Bloomer do his magic on the special ones.
Who the heck am I going to leave all these dead animals to anyway.

I have reached the same conclusion.

I just wired money for my lion shipping from Burkina and I think that is my last trophy I am mounting for taxidermy.

I have stuff in Botswana. I rather have someone tan the hides and do europeans and put the damn crate on ocean freight.

Mike

$919 is not bad at all!

I paid $2315 in 2011 for my shipment of mounts which included a pedestal mount of my eland.

I'm leaning towards having all european mounts done next time.

$919 is just fine. I had about the same quantity shipped from Namibia a couple years back and thought I STOLE shipping at about $800. $900 is great in this day and age.

Sounds very reasonable. I received our trophies from Life-Form in Joberg to SFO a few months back. $1361 total for the shipping (3 crates). This was for:

2 kudu capes, skulls, horns
2 nyala capes, skulls, horns
2 impala capes, skulls, horns
1 klipspringer cape, skull, horns
1 mt. Reedbuck capes, skulls, horns
4 Warthog tusks
1 Bushpig hide

quote:

Originally posted by Andrew McLaren:
...
This is about 10 times Fjold's cost! Both shipped from (presumably) South Africa to California? Question is, is it also for about ten times the trophies? ...

The quote is for the following:
Elephant tusks
Elephant panels
Zebra skin
Leopard full mount

They had actually left out Cape buffalo which adds another $550 if shoulder mount or $450 if European mount.

What puzzles me is the tusks which by themselves is $1800 or so.

Destination is Europe not US.

Frank, wait till you see what Coppersmith charges for their services and forward shipping to Bakerfield. you might have a bit of a surprise. the last shipment i had through SFO wanted $450 (for a single 4x2x6'crate)to forward ship to Fresno( and that didn't include the customs clearance). i drove over and picked them up.....

my last time the shipping was $1100

this was for a pedestal mounts of, gemsbok, blue wildebeest, bushbuck and an impala; as well as hides and horns from 4 other animals. There were two crates.

This was from Jberg to Portland.

I used Coppersmith and was very happy. When I subtracted what I would of paid for the various permits and other things, including a hotel room for hopefully no more than one night, they covered they only made what, I thought was, very reasonable.

I will use them again.

shane