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Is it just me or is it virtually impossible to have trouble free dealing with taxidermists? After making a phone call enquiring about the price, I sent a pronghorn cape and skull to a taxidermist back in 2010. I recall the quote was for around $500. A year later I get an email telling me the mount is ready, and asking for the original hunting license, which is needed for export purposes to me in Italy. It took a few weeks to get a copy of the license from the DOW since I never kept it because I wasn't aware that anyone would ask me for it again. Then I received the final invoice, asking for a total of $1540, of which $592 are for shipping, $595 for the mount, and the remainder for various expenses. I wrote back expressing my concerns about the shipping cost being rather high, and was told that it may be “due to the insurance purposes”. In all honesty, I don’t find that to be a satisfactory response, nor do I find it probable or comparable to the freight I have paid for trophies come from all corners of the world. Does anyone feel the same way as I do about this? So far my correspondence has been only with employees and not with the owners of the company, so I have written through the website hoping to get the owners opinion on the matter and see what comes of it. | ||
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Everybody needs to get that stuff in writing on the front end. Unless, of course, you have dealt with the vendors before. Look at the screwing those guys got for dealing with Blair. Aim for the exit hole | |||
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Triple the quote seems very high, but I do know that shipping costs have gotten outrageous. And if it is a taxidermist that doesn't do much overseas shipping, they might not be dialed in to cheaper shipping alternatives. | |||
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These guys are used to dealing with international clients, and over on the taxidermy forum there are people telling me the shipping quote sounds about right. I still can't get my head around how I got a quote for $500 and a bill for $1500. | |||
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One thing you can do is reduce the insurance way down. When I have trophies shipped, I always reduce the insurance down to $200. I want the shipper to know its insured so they handle with care. But let's face it, if its damaged in shipping you would really want probably $4000 or more to cover the cost of a trip back to the united states to redo the hunt and that amount of insurance would be crazy expensive. Mike Legistine actu? Quid scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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You sure as he** aren't trying to say that you figured $500 was going to cover ALL expenses are you? If you are, I've got news for you. I paid a little over $600 to a top notch guy in Cody, WY for my goat shoulder mount two years ago and by the time the shipping crate and shipping charges were added in, all on paper and before it was left with him, I paid $750 to get it here to Michigan. I have no idea what the costs are to ship to Italy, but as in all dealings that involve any real amount of money like this, Blair, etc. you need to get ALL costs put in black and white. Then if the contract isn't met you have due recourse. I would check further on shipping charges, but if others are already telling you that fee is in the ballpark I would probably be ready to pay up. However, what are these other expenses that took it up to that $1500 amount? That is where I have a little bit of a problem with their quote for payment! | |||
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International freight seems to be expensive. Just to get my trophies back to the US out os SA usually runs about 1600.USD. I have my mounts done here and the taxidermist that does them is a genius. Best mounts I have seen. | |||
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Sounds like you misunderstood right from the start.....$500 for a mount is about right, $600 for shipping to Italy is about right, and they always charge for fabricating the box it is shipped in. People get screwed not infrequently by taxis.....doesn't sound like you're one of them. If you think you were defrauded, then post his name on this thread and allow him to defend himself. | |||
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No, Topgun, I did assume that $500 was going to cover it, I assumed that shipping for that size mount would come to a hundred dollars, plus some money for a crate, and that maybe after all was said and done it would cost $700 to $900. They are charging $95 for the crate, which in itself is absurd, these days you can buy boxes for a fraction of that, and $595 for shipping, $240 for export inspection and processing fees, which as far as I know should not be needed since this animal is not CITES app I, and $17.85 for misc additional surcharge. Pagosawingnut, I suppose you are from Pagosa Springs? I was there Oct 2010 hunting elk DIY backpacking in the Weminuche, great place to be and can't wait to get back there. | |||
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You are correct in your assumption, EXPRESS. I do live in Pagosa Springs. Have little propane business here and sell firearms on the side. Been here about 19 years now and absolutely love it. Live outside the city limits so I can(and do) shoot a lot. Get to watch the wildlife most of the year and just living the dream. | |||
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Seems within the ballpark for the mount, the hassle of shipping, building a box, putting together the paper work, etc. $100 to build a box seems cheap, unless it is just a cardboard box. It isn't like the materials are just free, waiting to be magic-ed together. If I went to Italy, shot an animal, and expected them to box it up, do the paper work, and ship it then I'd expect it to be well over $1,000. The title of your thread is very misleading. The guy told you the mount would be $500. It seems that is what he charged for the mount. It is all the extras that you are comparing to the original mount price. My friend shipped an antelope head within the US and it cost $85 + the insurance. | |||
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Don't know about costs of shipping from the USA to Italy, but a cleaned red hartebeest skull and horns (without a plaque) bubble wrapped and shipped in a cardboard box from Kimberley, South Africa, to Tucson cost a bit over $200 in 2007. I shipped a small 6x9-inch book to Pretoria the cheapest way I could find last week and paid $36. Shipping anything overseas is expensive. Bill Quimby | |||
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Ship it to me, then on your next trip to the states pick it up or I can meet you some where and you can take it back with you. | |||
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Sorry I meant to say that I did NOT assume $500 would cover the whole operation. Pagosawingnut - I think I might have seen your place out by the highway? Kudu56, I am thinking that I might get a frend in Denver to go pick it up, and get him to put it in a nice Ikea box, and post it to me USPS, which I am sure will cost just a fraction of that the taxi is proposing. | |||
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Not trying to stir it up but......do your mounts usually arrive thrown in a box? Or are they screwed into and well-secured in a solidly-constructed heavy crate? I've only received a dozen or so.....but if I'm gonna go thru the trouble, I want to make sure it arrives intact. | |||
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Kudu, when he meets you to take it back with him, where would you suggest he puts in? The overhead bin, or under the seat in front of him?  | |||
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You could probably buy an extra seat cheaper than he is being charged,  Take it as luggage, properly packed it would make the trip. Some plywood, a few screws, a strong tote, and some packing bubbles. | |||
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Express, I help a friend of mine who is a taxidermist build crates to ship mounted heads. We build them out of 1x4's that are screwed and glued together, the head is mounted inside the crate so it is not resting on the horns or hair. Antelope are very tough to ship because the hair on an antelope is hollow and will actually break if it rubs against something. Just to crate one and ship it across the U.S is about 250.00 (not including cost of building crate), so overseas I would expect to run 500.00+. If you try and put your antelope in an IKEA box and mail it you are going to destroy your cape. I don't think this taxidermist is trying to rip you off, I think he is doing his best to get your trophy to you in one piece. Like a few others on here said, get all costs up front before you have the taxidermist do your work. | |||
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My thoughts exactly. A good crate that will protect the mount is big and heavy and wont be cheap to ship | |||
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Fine, so it looks like $1000 is the ball park figure to ship a single head from a taxidermist. I can appreciate that a heavy crate with the mount hung inside it offers the best protection and costs much more than a box filled with bubble wrap. I was just a shock to see a bill for three times what I was casually quoted on the phone. Aaron, been wondering what you've been up to, how are things? | |||
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Bummer to hear about the troubles with the trophy. I hope you post pictures once you get it home, that was a damn nice goat for the area we were hunting! If you think every possible niche has been filled already, thank a wildcatter! | |||
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A Pronghorn mount would not cost $1000.00 ANYWHERE in the U.S.A.!!! | |||
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Man, I've been well and you? At least we got ya a good one, sorry getting it home is such a hassle. Although its expensive, what you've been quoted sounds about right to me, to be honest. I see alot of guys saying to get the entire "cost" up front. But guys, unless I'm wrong a big portion of the additional cost is shipping, correct? Most shipping costs are based on dimensions/size of the item to be shipped, and the weight of the item as well. Its gonna be pretty hard for a taxidermist to tell anyone the exact shipping charges, 6-12 months before he even builds the crate, or gets a shipping quote from the shipper, correct? | |||
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Size and weight determine most of it. The only way it could be less expensive is to ship skull cap and dried cape. My son just had a crate with just capes and horns from 16 plains game, shipped from Zim, and it was only $1300 to denver. | |||
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Kudu - As you say, size/weight is most of it. So, it would be impossible for any taxidermist to give an exact cost of the entire "package", before hand. As for roughly $600.00 in shipping to Europe, to include insurance, does not surprise me at all. Last week I shipped our TV from Denver to Vegas (for SCI), just regular ground transportation, no rush service, and with $1,000.00 insurance it was $100.00 to ship it - one way. | |||
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SLIDER---Nobody said the mount cost $1000. The cost for the mount on the bill was $595 with all the shipping, handling, crate, etc. making up the rest of the costs to get it to Italy. I think the mistake that was made was that the OP should have got an approximate cost for everything needed to get it to his home so there wouldn't have been sticker shock. I believe he stated the taxidermist was familiar with overseas shipping and probably could have given him a ballpark figure. | |||
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Ok fair enough, the mount cost $600, the crate $100, shipping $600, and another $200 of misc. expenses. Considring what I padi for the hunt, I really shouldn't be worries about this cost here, didn't really think it it like till the other day... Cheers. Aaron, I'm still waiting to see you here, how about you try for the roe deer in May? I now have my own hunting in the mountains for them and chamois, which is going to be very cool. | |||
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Ouch. That hurt. I have switched to photos as the shipping is so expensive and my wife is getting tired of things looking at her. Hope it works out. | |||
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European mounts can save you money to. | |||
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The taxidermy part is the cheap part. Shipping is the main cost but clients do not think that way. Here at the studio We have a MAJOR discount form a main freight co. and after I email the client the freight bill with the discounts,they feel more informed and are willing to pay the ship bill after they see the differents but international shipments are off the charts and are at shippers mercy. And rates are always changing....  life member of SCI life member of NRA NTA Master Scorer SCI Scorer for Rowland Ward www.african-montana-taxidermy.com | |||
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I'm constantly amazed when I see all this stuff advertised on the TV for what are supposed to be real low prices. Then they (gently)tack on S&H and the price goes to more than double than what the great price for the product was advertised at. The big thing is that there are obviously millions of consumers that are suckered in and think they got a great deal. I'm not saying this is the case on what we are talking about, but that this just brought that S&H stuff on TV to mind. | |||
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While I have never had anyting shipped from a Taxidermist, if they would have it ready when promised, I might not have a problem with it. Biggest problem with Taxidermists I have experienced is not delivering when promised and almost refusing to contact the customer to explain why. I understand can't work on my trophies if on the phone all day, but a courtesy call to let me know how things are going would be nice. There is one Taxidermist that routinely delivers ahead of schedule and for the amount quoted, which gets him a huge tip. He specializes in BIRDS and is located in Corpus Christi,Texas. We Band of Bubbas N.R.A Life Member TDR Cummins Power All The Way Certified member of the Whompers Club | |||
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I've only had one mulie mounted by a taxi here in Michigan and one antelope done by one of the top taxis in the business who is out in Cody. Both took 9 months to do the job and the price charged was as quoted when the paperwork was completed BEFORE I left the animals with them. I had a good experience with both and the mounts look great. | |||
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