Is it reasonable charges for Dip and Packing?

I am a booking agent and outfitter in China. I found a Namibia Outfitter (hiding his name) from internet and sent my clients to implement the hunt in July 2005.

Oct 2006, A taxidermy in Namibia showed up who told me that they could not send trophies to SA taxidermy. Ridiculously this taxidermy sent me a $83K USD bill with some photo, informing me that my clients allowed them to mount all trophies without any signed contract and any deposit. My clients were surprised too. They told me that they had been guided to this taxidermy with their trophies by the outfitter during the hunt.

Sept, 2007, -- NAPHA gave judgment "So, all we need from you now is a letter with the client agreeing to this compromise and agree to paying for the normal packing and dipping and freighting out of Namibia."

Dec 2009, -- The taxidermy sent me a bill
Account Your Reference Tax Exempt Tax Reference Sales Code Expiry Exclusive
TD400 1623 + 1634 N 01/08/07
Code --- Description --- Qty --- Unit --- Unit Price --- Tax --- Discount --- Nett Price
0170 --- Giraffe - slaughter, drive to farm --- 1.00 --- 500.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $500.00
0172 --- Giraffe - Skull Cleaning & Bleaching --- 1.00 --- 190.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $190.00
0484 --- Giraffe-Treating of Capes/Skins --- 1.00 --- 95.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $95.00
0253 --- Kudu - Cleaning & Bleaching --- 1.00 --- 96.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $96.00
0490 --- Kudu-Treating of Capes/Skins --- 1.00 --- 44.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $44.00
0452 --- Waterbuck - Cleaning & Bleaching --- 1.00 --- 96.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $96.00
0502 --- Waterbuck -Treating of Capes/Skins --- 1.00 --- 42.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $42.00
0410 --- Springbuck - Cleaning & Bleaching 3.00 --- 60.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $180.00
0499 --- Springbuck-Treating of Capes/Skins --- 3.00 --- 16.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $48.00
0129 --- Eland - Cleaning & Bleaching --- 1.00 --- 100.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $100.00
0481 --- Eland-Treating of Capes/Skins --- 1.00 --- 56.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $56.00
0469 --- Zebra Mountain - Cleaning & Bleaching --- 2.00 --- 96.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $192.00
0504 --- Zebra Mountain-Treating of Capes/Skins --- 2.00 --- 70.00 --- $0.00 0.00 --- $140.00
0192 --- Hartebeest - Cleaning & Bleaching --- 1.00 --- 96.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $96.00
0486 --- Hartebeest-Treating of Capes/Skins --- 1.00 --- 42.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $42.00
0166 --- Gemsbuck (Oryx) - Cleaning & Bleaching --- 3.00 --- 96.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $288.00
0483 --- Gemsbuck-Treating of Capes/Skins --- 3.00 --- 42.00 --- $0.00 0.00 $126.00
0024 --- Baboon - Cleaning & Bleaching --- 1.00 --- 78.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $78.00
0473 --- Baboon- Treating of Capes/Skins --- 1.00 --- 20.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $20.00
0232 --- Jackal - Skull Cleaning & Bleaching --- 1.00 --- 48.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $48.00
0489 --- Jackal-Treating of Capes/Skins --- 1.00 --- 15.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $15.00
0129 --- Eland - Cleaning & Bleaching --- 1.00 --- 100.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $100.00
0481 --- Eland-Treating of Capes/Skins --- 1.00 --- 56.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $56.00
0432 --- Warthog - Cleaning of Tusks per pair --- 1.00 --- 8.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $8.00
0433 --- Warthog - Skull - Cleaning & Bleaching --- 1.00 --- 85.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $85.00
0501 --- Warthog-Treating of Capes/Skins --- 1.00 --- 18.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $18.00
0472 --- Zebra Mountain-Tanning of Skin with Felt --- 2.00 --- 325.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $650.00
0506 --- Zebra-Hoof Tan & Form --- 4.00 --- 42.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $168.00
0731 --- Gemsbuck-Hoof Tan & Form --- 4.00 --- 42.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $168.00
0527 --- Packing --- 1.00 --- 582.50 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $582.50
0510 --- Documentation --- 1.00 --- 75.00 --- $0.00 --- 0.00 --- $75.00
Sub Total $4,402.50
Discount @ 0.00 percent $0.00
Amount Excl Tax $4,402.50
Tax $0.00
Total $4,402.50

Received in good order __________________ Date___________________

I have sent my clients to SA, Botswana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, but I never never meet this kind of guy and charge.

Aug 17, 2010 -- I yield to pressure of client and trophy holding by this taxidermy. My company paid this bill, while this taxidermy promised
"the documents will take +/- 14 days and will cost US$ 60.00"-Aug 18, then "But tis takes a little time, most probably to the end of this month" on Sept 20.
"It is only right if you also could be please a bit more patient" Oct 20.

So I need judge and get answer my question:
1) Is this $4,402.5 charges fair?
2) If my clients refuse to pay me this charge and only agree to pay shipment, what should I say?
3) Who should response this bad service? This outfitter always get away a war between me and the taxidermy.
4) Is it normal case in Namibia or Africa?
Thanks.

The bill posted looks mixed. Post it again in picture.

Your clients are responsible for the bill, unless you agreed to pay the dip and pack charges in the contract, when you sent them to this outfitter. Your clients are also responsible for the shipping.

I have warned, people like "million" times the true of a hunt has to be considered, when you go to Africa. Know before hand what dip and pack costs, also shipping. If people knew how much it costed....sometimes they would do less taxidermy. Taxidermy costs can get crazy!!!

Somebody is going to have to pay the bill if they ever want there animals back.

Of course, dip and packing was not included prepaid billing. I can ask or force my client to pay this bill, but I want to be fair for everybody. Fair is the base rock of our business. Putting client in trap is bad and sad. I hate it.

Well the outfitter obviously brought the trophies to his taxidermy business, so he or she can get a 20 to 15 percent commission on the work done. Is it fair "no". Your clients should have been very clear on where the trophies where to go...even if extra money was involved. Some outfitters aren't as customer friendly as others. It's part of the research...in finding the right outfitter for you. I had something similiar happen to me in Namibia...and there was a heated discussion. I will say, Some outfitters are better than others...some are really pigheaded. I think it's a part of hunting. And I think until you have spent a good amount of time with a PH or outfitter...crap like this can happen. Some outfitters are pretty good salesman or saleswomen.

The bottom line here is...your clients are going to have to pay the bill.

This might be a good opportunity for other taxidermy businesses in RSA or Namibia to post what they charge for services as a comparison.

I have to agree with enysse on his feelings with regards to the dipping/packing/taxidermy business and how it relates to African hunts and clients having their trophies processed and shipped. Years ago it seemed to be more straightforward than it is now. The rates being charged were substantially lower than they are now and there were not nearly as many headaches. Many operators included it in their hunt prices or had a set rate per animal of $35-50. Over time this has become a value added gold mine for the local taxidermists/shipping houses and one more thing that the hunters themselves have to really research to make sure they are not getting overcharged and becoming part of a kick back operation between a taxidermist and local operators.

I have said it before and enysse has echoed this many times. In the end, the 'cheap' plains game hunts are not that cheap when you factor in all of the added expenses and the processing and shipping of trophies, plus taxidermy, regardless of whether it is done there or at home, can add up to a whopping big bill. It should also be common sense that the more you pull the trigger on a plains game hunt, the more expensive the final bill is going to be and not just for trophy fees.

You have to do your homework. It is also the responsibility of booking agents/consultants to make sure that they know what is happening with trophy processing by the operators they represent. They are booking the hunts and taking a commission and part of their job is to lay it all out in black and white for the clients. This same responsibility exists with the safari operators as well, although a few take the tact of "if they don't ask, don't tell". In the end though, it will always come down to the hunter asking the right questions of all involved. Ask the hard questions and be specific....................and if you don't get straightforward answers look for another safari operator. There are lots of good operators, hunting consultants and taxidermists out there. The good ones try to look after their clients as it is ultimately in their best interest.

For my 7 plains animals, I was charged a total of $1000USD total (processing, crating, documents, etc.) by DipAndPack.com from our trip to RSA last year. The only thing they didn't do as we asked was to ship all items in one crate.

enysse said:

The bottom line here is...your clients are going to have to pay the bill.

Click to expand...

My bottom line here is,
-------I paid the bill
-------We should post out the bad outfitter and taxidermy name with reason, to protect other hunter, to protect the Namibia or Africa hunting business.

If you want to post the outfitter, go ahead, just be prepared for their side of the story, on what happen. If a outfitter brings it to a taxidermy firm and they do a good job and...the outfitter just mentioned the work needed to be done...then it's not the taxidermy firms fault.

I have no problems with someone discussing problems that occur on a hunt....in fact, I encourage it, so nobody falls into the same trap or predicament. I think it's perfectly normal to discuss, what went right on a hunting trip...and what went wrong.

Good Luck!

Reiser Taxidermy Namibia

For comparison, attached are taxidermy and dip and pack prices for Reiser Taxidermy in Windhoek, Namibia.

Is it reasonable?

Be careful. Greed will damage our industry. As long as charges are reasonable and relate to actual costs, they will be understood and accepted by most. Many of our local taxidermists have built their businesses over the years through quality and competitive pricing. Many local Outfitters and PH's are now demanding a substantial kickback from the local taxidermists when refering their clients work to them. Taxidermists load prices to cover the kickbacks - and who pays - the client of course. Not good for our industry.