Problems Getting Elephant Tusks from Collette’s

[Rare Breed]

While I know many on here have good stories about using Colletts I do not. It has now been 17 months, i have paid all their fees. Not like I asked for anything exotic one ear and my tusks. Got my US permit in four months then thought no problem with Colletts…man was I wrong. Now they are telling me their agent says I don’t want the trophies after I paid all fees…such bullshit!!!! I will never use them again

 

[wildwilderness]

In Zimbabwe? that’s not good. What’s their story?

 

[Rare Breed]

Still trying to get it. They are saying I did not want my trophies after paying almost $5,000 with as you know so many hands in the pocket. They select the shipper not me. I select the inbound which is coppersmith, never any problems with them. Thank God this is my last taxi…only pictures from now on…taxi in my opinion has become just a cost trap not worth the headache…just me

 

[Franco]

Sorry to hear you are having problems. It's been over a year since they processed my elephant, but they used Outbound Exporters at that time. They were in contact with Coppersmith and Conservation Force. I believe I may have contact info for Outbound if you want it.

 

[TheGrayRider]

Sorry to hear about the issues. Very frustrating, I am sure. I am certainly glad that my leopard and bongo are already at a taxidermist here in the United States.

+1 on Coppersmith. Always had good service from them in Chicago. I’m skipping ivory in this lifetime - only hunting tuskless cow elephant in 2027. See many of you soon in Nashville!

Good luck and happy hunting to all, TheGrayRider a.k.a Tom.

 

[Foxi]

"Thank God this is my last taxi…only pictures from now on…taxi in my opinion has become just a cost trap not worth the headache…just me"



A true word.
When it comes to elephants in this country,- younger hunters in particular- are switching to having only plastic replicas made.
Nowadays, they are also very heavy and look so real that customs officers push their caps back and start wondering whether they are real or not.
All the fuss about export and import is eliminated.

Sad to hear about your trouble.

 

[Rare Breed]

Sorry to hear you are having problems. It's been over a year since they processed my elephant, but they used Outbound Exporters at that time. They were in contact with Coppersmith and Conservation Force. I believe I may have contact info for Outbound if you want it.

Good news. Steve got personally involved. Outbound typed the wrong email misspelling so it never got to me then compounded the problem by telling Collets I no longer wanted the trophy even after I had paid for everything. Everyone makes mistakes me certainly included. Steve told me it should go out in January making it two years from start to finish with my US import having to be reapplied to get the shipment. After all my safaries just never taken this long

 

[Franco]

Good news. Steve got personally involved. Outbound typed the wrong email misspelling so it never got to me then compounded the problem by telling Collets I no longer wanted the trophy even after I had paid for everything. Everyone makes mistakes me certainly included. Steve told me it should go out in January making it two years from start to finish with my US import having to be reapplied to get the shipment. After all my safaries just never taken this long

That certainly is good news. The paperwork has certainly proven to be the most frustrating part of any of my safaris. Glad you will be getting your trophies soon.

 

[PARA45]

Oh man, what a nightmare, but glad it's getting resolved. I can't say I blame you for being upset. You know what they say about ASSuming. Please keep us posted on the process, and good luck getting them.

 

[BRICKBURN]

It takes such small mistakes to cause such huge headaches.
You would think that someone could have clued in and questioned the reason the hunter did not reply.
$5000 should provide one rather large clue that the hunter wanted the trophy.

Hope the worst is over.

 

[VertigoBE]

Good news. Steve got personally involved. Outbound typed the wrong email misspelling so it never got to me then compounded the problem by telling Collets I no longer wanted the trophy even after I had paid for everything. Everyone makes mistakes me certainly included. Steve told me it should go out in January making it two years from start to finish with my US import having to be reapplied to get the shipment. After all my safaries just never taken this long

I still have all my PG taxidermy from my NOV22 Safari sitting at Colletts. Fingers crossed 2026 will be the year.

 

[BourbonTrail]

I still have all my PG taxidermy from my NOV22 Safari sitting at Colletts. Fingers crossed 2026 will be the year.

And I thought my stuff from ‘22 finally making it on the wall this year was a long wait…

 

[Nomsag]

They told me my serval hide was ruined, that I had been waiting on for over a year. This wait for the serval caused my elephant import approval to expire. Never Collette’s!!!

 

[Tanks]

Hmmm, just sent them the deposit for my stuff, crossing fingers.

 

[VertigoBE]

And I thought my stuff from ‘22 finally making it on the wall this year was a long wait…

They did get my ele stuff out to me within about 1-1.5 years, as my CITES import license was about to expire. Made it with one month left on the clock, and was possibly the last guy in Belgium to have imported fully legally ele taxidermy. That window has now completely closed.

 

[VertigoBE]

Hmmm, just sent them the deposit for my stuff, crossing fingers.

They do good work though. I think they have just become a bit a victim of their success.

There are only two big taxidermists in Bulawayo I believe. Which serves as the hub for most of the western Zimbabwe hunting.

One thing is for sure, as I know the real costs and prices of taxidermy, we are all paying at least 4x of what it could be with better info and more competition. There are no poor taxidermists.

 

[sureshot375]

So at the end of the day it sounds like someone other than Collette's made a mistake by mistyping your email address. This ultimately resulted in erroneous information being relayed to Collette's. When Collette's realized the problem Steve Collette personally jumped into action and diligently sorted out the root of the problem, which wasn't on their end.

This sounds like great customer service to me.

The taxidermy and shipping process is frustrating and lord knows it's expensive. It is also kind of part of the deal if you want to hunt internationally and bring back trophies.

I don't think this incident should cast a negative inference towards Collette's in any way. To the contrary, I think it shows a situation where they added value by solving a problem they didn't create.

 

[Rare Breed]

The key as we all know is communication. I have no problem with delays if I am communicated with. You are correct, I have no doubt my final product from Collets will be outstanding. After this experience Steve is a real standup guy for finally sorting out the problem. However, given they choose the shipper not us, their learning is they should be more diligent in ensuring their product gets out of Africa

 

[Hunt anything]

"Thank God this is my last taxi…only pictures from now on…taxi in my opinion has become just a cost trap not worth the headache…just me"



A true word.
When it comes to elephants in this country,- younger hunters in particular- are switching to having only plastic replicas made.
Nowadays, they are also very heavy and look so real that customs officers push their caps back and start wondering whether they are real or not.
All the fuss about export and import is eliminated.

Sad to hear about your trouble.

Curious, what taxidermist makes reproduction tusks that are heavy? I had a reproduction of a tusk off of a PAC elephant and it’s made of what feels like foam and is as light as a feather. It being light is the only thing I don’t like about it.

@Rare Breed , glad you may finally get to touch that cool ivory again!

 

[Andrew62]

While I know many on here have good stories about using Colletts I do not. It has now been 17 months, i have paid all their fees. Not like I asked for anything exotic one ear and my tusks. Got my US permit in four months then thought no problem with Colletts…man was I wrong. Now they are telling me their agent says I don’t want the trophies after I paid all fees…such bullshit!!!! I will never use them again

This just sucks, I’m sorry to hear this!