Fair Pricing Structure?

Popular thread,

Bogtrotter, I think covered most of it on his first reply.

Remember there are diferent scenarios, in as far as who is letting. Traditionaly the stalker on the Estate would be an employee and it would be the estate letting. More and more stalkers are self employed and are lease holders.

Personaly, I want the system I am using to be as transparent as possible, no hidden fees.

For stags - buck, a stated number of animals for the week/day

it would be stated that a refund would be made if all the animals were not taken, unless!

There were a number of missed chances ie 3 misses at resonable range [100m]. 3 misses = 1 animal
Client not fit for hill, they would recieve a full instruction pack prior to arriving, stating level of fitness required. Again, we would strive to accomodate and rarely did it be too much of a problem. Just slow your pace!

Client being sent away due to unreasonable/dangerous behaviour. Only once! Austrian Client for bucks, who was staying with me - he was rude to my wife [fluent german speaker] self professed facist and holocaust denier. The most unpleasant guy I have ever met[and I've met a few]. My employer met him for 5 mnutes and backed me completely.

Even with a couple of misses, we would strive to make our number, where reasonable! if there was a definate deer welfare risk then the person would not be allowed to carry on shooting, they could though carry on with the week and accompany the stalker who would shoot.

additional animals would be charged at an agreed price. no trophy fees. no trophy prep fees. although trophy prep was done often after 8pm, it would be hinted that a tip would be appreciated NOT MANDATORY usually to gillie [who would often be a student].

Does, hinds forestry bucks

Day, week rate.

Flat rate, shoot what you are asked to shoot, 1 animal makes it quite expensive , 7 or 8 = cheap day!
This takes the pressure of of the stalker who may often be getting pushed, in getting a hind cull.
If I knew the guest well and was happy with their abilities, I would often take a rifle as well. This would increase the number of deer taken, the client would always get preferential treatment. Help is always great in the larder and can be a good learning experience pre DMQ2 for clients.
On these types of days we would charge £150 - £200, the guys would get a good day, if the weather hampered us and we didn't get anything, I would stick i an extra day, free gratis.

I've never charged for shots fired or damaged carcasses.

Venison always available a dealers price. and we would have venison cuts in the freezer for £x per kg. normally 20% on top of dealers price.

Always a cup of tea, breakfast or bowl of soup and a bottle of malt in the larder for after.

I used to offer B&B for buck clients, makes it easier for unsocial hours, although this is a huge ammount of work to the stalker and his family but very rewarding and has led to some great friendships.
 
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It's funny, I don't hear people tearing into the cost of food in a cafe or restaraunt?

I can buy food in a super market and cook it myself at a fraction of the price that Gordon Ramsay charges!

The prices are that charged on an estate, where there are other income streams and the stalkers are directly employed. When working for myself, I often found that clients other from at the stags were a hinderance and the additional money didn't cover the possible inefficiencies.

Now before you all go nuts, I'm not saying all clients are crap, what I mean is that in circumstances where you have a large cull to take, clients will often hamper you. Some will be a great help, others not so. This is not just down to shooting but ability to drive ATV's , not knowing the ground etc.
 
Egg,s you seem to take this personally mate and this is an open post. I am sure your clients are very happy but from reading posts like this the PRO,s might be able to clear some areas out for a novices that were not apparent. Let me assure you the Pro,s there are plenty of new customers out there that will not go out with pro,s because they do not know what the cost will actually end up at.
There are many pro,s that guess up a trophy knowing that they will benefit from the cull. Like i said charging per cm on the hoof is a rip off. To Suggest to a client who might be out on his first stalk who has travelled 100,s of miles to stalk with you that if he is unsure then don't pull the trigger is just why this post was put up. You also forgot to mention the £50 boil out fee lol.

I dont take it personally at all, I was just pointing out that what he said is how most of the stalking is sorted in this country. How on earth is that taking it personally.

" You also forgot to mention the £50 boil out fee lol." Correct me if I am wrong here but when you book stalking, are you not booking just that?? If the cleaning of the skull is included then T and C's then there will be no charge. If you then request an extra service then expect to pay for it. A bit like if you take your car for a MOT you don't expect them to service it for free. PS I don't charge anything close to £50.

Let me make this simple for everyone.

- Before you book ask for the terms and conditions.
- If there is anything you don't understand then ask them to clear it up
- If you are still not happy then don't book with them.
- If you are happy then book with them and go enjoy the stalk.
- At the end of the stalk if you don't feel they represented value for you then don't book again.

Every stalker has different rules and there is no way they can all be put in one thread.
 
That is a great reply Ian, but perhaps you forgot something, like me you pay to be a trade member on here to advertise our services, something some people on here are reluctant to do but still mention they take out clients.
Cheers
Richard

As a part time pro stalker who does not pay trade memberships to this site I will explain why.

I have only once taken a member of this forum stalking and he did not find me on this forum. I don't advertise my services on here but I do feel as a member of the forum I can contribute, or do we have to pay for that privilege just because we work in the stalking industry?
 
This thread has been very informative but as ever had decended into people taking things personally, or being accuses of such etc. So I'll take what I've learned and drop out. Thanks Bogtrotter I understand you position perfectly and appreciate your input. Also I would like to say that the thread (including myself) did deviate from the original question. I never expected people to give my a cost analysis of their business. I do think there are a number on here that have missed the point. As a novice I wouldn't have know the RIGHT questions so as I suspect other will also have paid for things that a more informed or experienced guy may well of questioned. Thanks guys I now consider I am well enough informed to ask those questions to ensure both myself and the stalker both come away from the day happy.
 
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