What Happens to My Taxidermy Deposit?

It’s common practice for taxidermists, big and small, to request a deposit. In theory, it’s money that will be spent on necessities for your mount. But in practice, that’s not always the case. Here’s what to understand about your taxidermy deposit, and why that money is long gone if you haven’t received your finished mount in six months.

A Flawed Business Model

A great number of taxidermy studios around the world are run by folks who are taxidermists first and businessmen second. In other words, they spend the majority of their time doing taxidermy. But a clear business model is a necessity for any successful company, no matter the industry. And make no mistake – the lack of a business model is itself a business model, albeit one that’s very flawed. It breeds very serious problems, and massive delays are one of them.

If you pay a deposit to a taxidermist and your mount isn’t ready in six months, be very clear – that deposit money is gone. Almost always, it’s gone into an operating account that pays for things like overhead, salaries, materials for other mounts, and the general costs of doing business. The unfortunate truth is that if this taxidermist gets behind, your deposit is used to cover the backlog of mounts. The only way to keep the lights on and the work continuing is by accepting deposits from new clients. And that puts you and your mount at risk if the taxidermist runs out of incoming deposits and resources. It’s a classic scenario of robbing Peter to pay Paul, and it’s far more common in the taxidermy industry than you might think.

A Different Approach

The process of taxidermy itself is fairly standard. Skins are sent to the tannery and often shelved once they’re returned to the taxidermy studio while projects ahead of them are completed. Once it’s your turn, the process of mounting, drying, and finishing the trophy is relatively quick – it’s getting to your skin that actually takes the most time. And it’s during this waiting period that most deposits are spent elsewhere.

This is a persistent issue across the taxidermy issue, and it’s one that Animal Artistry sidesteps completely thanks to a completely different approach. Instead of dumping deposits into an operating account, they go into a specific deposit account. Every client’s deposit money is used only for that client’s projects. And because of our ninety-day turnaround, we’re able to ensure this approach. Your deposit is immediately applied to tanning – with finished skins returned in thirty days – as well as materials for your mount and labor relative to your project.

Here’s the bottom line – when your trophies sit not just months, but years, you put so much more than your money at risk. Learn more about Animal Artistry and our ninety-day turnaround by contacting us today.