Hair slippage or normal characteristic?

[Mekaniks]

@Gater have they provided you with their 110% proof yet?

 

[Gater]

@Gater have they provided you with their 110% proof yet?

After having the ear hole repair become visible, I'm convinced enough that at least that hide is mine. But, no, stalling is all I received in regards to that matter.

 

[Mekaniks]

After having the ear hole repair become visible, I'm convinced enough that at least that hide is mine. But, no, stalling is all I received in regards to that matter.

That sucks. They are hoping that you will cut your loses and move along. Such BS

 

[Gater]

That sucks. They are hoping that you will cut your loses and move along. Such BS

Well, unfortunately, that's exactly what's going to happen. I'm cutting my losses and moving on.

I e-mailed the PH again on Tuesday with my final words and what I felt was a fair proposal. I basically asked for a refund equal to the amount it would cost to buy new hides for the waterbuck and kudu, plus a little for shipping them to me. I agreed to assume financial responsibility for remounting them. The total amount of this refund request equaled 18.5% of the total taxidermy bill. I felt this was as fair of an offer as I could present.

I received a response this morning - which was basically that he was astonished that I would be asking for money, when early on, I agreed with some of his points about the cause of the hide condition and that he doesn't understand my motivation.

Full disclosure - before I created this thread, I actually started to buy into his nonsense and began to waffle about how I felt about the hides. However, after reading all the posts here, I should have listened to my gut and stuck to my guns, because now he's quoting my early emails with my agreements about environmental conditions and so on causing the poor hide conditions. However, never once did I agree that the waterbuck was acceptable. I did also state that "All-in-all the mounts look great. I just didn't expect them to arrive with large bald spots in the hides. I'm going to share the images and get some 3rd party opinions in the matter. In the meantime, I'd love to see the waterbuck examples you mentioned." He's now trying to hold the "All-in-all the mounts look great." comment over my head.

I've drafted a response to him where I'll agree, the MOUNTS themselves look great, the details, the positioning and realism are all acceptable. But don't cherry pick my comment - it's immediately followed by my dissatisfaction with the quality of the hides.

So, since it's obvious that the PH isn't interested in doing anything in matter, I've got no reason to maintain any anonymity. The PH in question is:

Neil Barnard
NB Safaris
http://www.nbsafaris.com/

The taxidermy broker is:

Karen Barnard (Neil’s ex-wife)
African Expressions
http://aetaxidermy.com/
NOTE – when the crate with my mounts arrived, both Neil and Karen’s names are listed for African Expressions.

The taxidermist is:

Burns Taxidermy in Pretoria
http://www.burnstaxidermy.co.za/

I've also placed a link to this thread in the response I will send to Neil. I've challenged him to come here and defend his position. He'll likely take to his WhatsApp former client list to urge them to come post how awesome their mounts are - I won't know, he removed me from the group this morning. But, he’s done that before on AH when people bashed NB Safaris for their pricing...

I'm not saying all their work is sub-par, but it was in my and my dad's case and he's clearly not owning up to it.

 

[YancyW]

I can check another outfitter off the list of people I will never book a hunt. I am sorry this happened to you, but thank you sharing.

 

[slam8031]

Indeed sorry for your troubles!

 

[fourfive8]

Unfortunately, you are correct in writing it off and moving on- no choice. And unfortunately also you are also correct about his future references will be cherry picked. So obvious the arrogance of youth in his approach with no interest in correcting or resolving the issue. He will easily lose more than the cost of the hides of a couple of common PG!.... likely many times over in lost business sooner or later because of that arrogance. Gotta luv, NOT, his playing gotcha lawyer by cherry picking your earlier statements and your attempts as diplomacy. I will say he's got a slick website and lots of pics and references..... clue, clue, clue! to future hunters who shop the net and have no experience in Africa.

 

[harden]

Gator , what were the taxidermy charges for the shoulder mounts, crating, shipping and clearance and delivery to your door , All in? If you don't want to say, I'll understand. Thanks

 

[TheGrayRider]

Sorry to read about your troubles and losses. I always try to use local taxidermists. Unfortunately, there are too many war stories out there like yours. The lower prices advertised by foreign taxidermists is not worth the risk. Happy Autumn here in the States!

 

[Deleted member 15212]

The problem really is he was basically pushed into using their taxidermist there. Gator didnt even want his animals mounted there in the first place.

 

[Gater]

Gator , what were the taxidermy charges for the shoulder mounts, crating, shipping and clearance and delivery to your door , All in? If you don't want to say, I'll understand. Thanks

I’ll PM you.